Week 10: A Black Vulture and Oodles of Owls

It was another action packed week here as migration continued unabated on the heels of last weeks’ record numbers. Unfortunately we once again had to content with closure at Rocky Point so we only got 4 days of banding in there; luckily we were still able to do the full complement of owling shifts.

Varied Thrush by Avery Bartels

It is starting to feel like “late season” now in these parts with hardly any Warblers or Cedar Waxwings, Swallows and Flycatchers all but non-existent and Sparrows in every bush and foraging all along the roadsides. Some of our other late-fall migrants such as Pacific Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Northern Flicker are now more prevalent as well though it seems like it will be a slow year for each of those species based on this weeks’ numbers. It is also shaping up to be a slow year for Yellow-rumped Warblers as well with only very low numbers present at each station throughout the week.

Despite only getting in four days of operation at Rocky we managed to band 188 birds with nearly half of those, 92, coming on the 23^rd. The day saw us catching season highs for Pacific Wren (8) and Ruby-crowned Kinglet (14) as well as our first Northern Saw-whet Owl of our daytime banding. Also notable were 2 Pectoral Sandpipers seen, one of which hung around the bay for the next few days.

American Redstart by Courtney Cameron

The following day was quieter but did see us get another first for the season, White-throated Sparrow, of which we banded 2! Unfortunately, the 25^th was a wet day and neither station got in really any banding and the teams at each station packed it in early. With nicer weather on the 26^th though things improved and the highlight of the day was the second American Redstart of the season that was observed late morning! Judging by the photos obtained this individual looks like probably a hatch-year male, it was also evident from the pics that it was not banded so for sure a different bird from the one last week! Though most of us missed the Redstart, consolation came in the form of the 2^nd banded Varied Thrush of the season that found its way into net 10.

Pedder Bay's 500th Fox Sparrow of the season by Avery Bartels

Over at Pedder it was busy for much of the week with the 23^rd being the 3^rd busiest day of the season at 128 birds banded and a whopping 53 recaptures!  Once again, Fox Sparrows accounted for a large percentage of those with 37 new and 26 recaptures on the day. Later in the week we banded our 500th Fox Sparrow of the season!!! The 23^rd also saw Pedder precede Rocky by a day on catching their own 2 White-throated Sparrows. A Re-breasted Sapsucker brightened up the banding lab as well. Despite their raucous demeanour their colours are always much admired when we have one in the hand.

Likely the highlight of the season arrived late in the morning on the 27th while watching the kettles of Turkey Vultures trying to pick out any hawks in their midst. Suddenly, a Black Vulture appeared, joining its more common cousins. Fortunately it seemed content to continue soaring to the northwest of the station and was watched by everyone present as well as some other local birders who were able to make it out to Pedder Bay before it was last seen, around 2:45pm that same day. This was likely the same individual that was spotted up on Balaklava Island a few weeks ago which was just the 5^th documented record for the province of this southern species. Needless to say we were thrilled to have it visit us!

A composite of the mega-rare Black Vulture by Blair Dudeck

After getting off to a rip-roaring start the owl numbers only dropped a tad during the second week of Owl Banding. Both sites had busy nights through most of the week with the peak night being the 27^th when 72 Saw-whets were banded at Rocky and 35 banded at Pedder. 

A fantastic recap Saw-whet! by Ann Nightingale

We also found out this week that we recaptured a hatch-year female Saw-whet on the 27th that was originally banded 9 days previous at the Tatlayoko Lake Bird Observatory(TLBO) in the Chilcotin! TLBO is located near the head of the Homathko River which is one of only 3 river valleys that drains from the interior of the province out to the coast so it is placed on a natural migratory pathway and this is actually the 3^rd Saw-whet that RPBO has recaptured that was originally banded at TLBO over the past few years!

Another interesting sighting this week was a non-avian one. A Monarch butterfly visited the Rocky Point station briefly on the 26th. This species is famed for its extraordinary migration and the massive groups that gather on the wintering grounds but here on the west coast they are a very rare sight.

The wonderful thing about banding is that there is always something interesting each day, so here’s to 21 more interesting days before we pack it up for another year!

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Owls
Pedder Bay	22nd	23rd	24th	25th	26th	27th	28th	Total	Season
Northern Saw-whet	12	12	0	14	16	35	17	106	227
Barred	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rocky Point								0
Northern Saw-whet	24	61	12	23	47	72	31	270	547
Barred	0	2	0	1	1	0	0	4	7
Long-eared	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1

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Songbirds

Rocky Point	22nd	23rd	24th	25th	26th	27th	28th	Total
Banded	0	92	60	8	28	0	0	188
Species Banded	0	24	19	5	13	0	0	33
Recap	0	5	11	1	6	0	0	23
Species Recap	0	3	7	1	5	0	0	10

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Pedder Bay	22nd	23rd	24th	25th	26th	27th	28th	Total
Banded	128	86	56	5	37	47	51	410
Species Banded	19	15	15	4	11	11	14	33
Recap	53	47	40	3	31	15	19	208
Species Recap	9	8	8	2	7	5	5	15

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