Week 7: For whom the (David) Bell Tolls, it tolls for rare flycatchers!

Hatch Year Barred Owl - Donna Talluto

With a new month came a surge in the number of birds in our nets and the arrival of some of our late season migrants. We were able to run nearly full net hours at both Rocky Point and Pedder Bay sites, with the only net closures being a result of high winds.

Banding highlights

Alder Flycatcher - David Bell

We started the week off with David finding another rare flycatcher in our nets at Rocky Point, this time an Alder Flycatcher! This is only the second record of an Alder Flycatcher for RPBO, as they are typically found East of the Rocky Mountains. This species is very similar in appearance to our local Willow Flycatcher, so much so that they were once considered a single species and are only easily distinguished by voice and measurements. As luck would have it, there was also a Willow Flycatcher caught during the same net round, which made for a great comparison of the two species! We also had our first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the year that day, which is a sure sign that migration is really getting underway.

On Tuesday we captured our largest bird of the year, a young Barred Owl. It had trapped itself into one of the nets and Donna was fortunate enough to band it, her first large raptor! This bird was quite young, to the point that it still had some of its downy feathers on its head, making it extra cute! Although not the typical target of our passerine nets, Barred Owls do get caught several times a year. This is likely due to the fact that they are a local breeding species and the young birds end up bumping into the nets during the early net rounds.

Brewer's/Clay-coloured Sparrow - David Bell

Next on the list of highlights was a bird that presented quite a puzzle to our team. On Wednesday, David extracted what at first glance was a Clay-coloured Sparrow. However, upon closer inspection and several measurements, it seemed that this bird was the Timberline subspecies of a Brewer’s Sparrow. This subspecies is typically found far to the North and is a much less frequent visitor to this region of British Columbia. There is still a bit of uncertainty about the exact identity of this bird, so for now it has been recorded as Brewer’s/Clay-coloured, but a fascinating bird regardless.  

Least Flycatcher - David Bell

      On Thursday at the Pedder Bay station, we saw our first big day of migration. A total of 72 new birds were banded, with Lincoln’s Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos being the most prevalent. This influx of birds kept everyone on the move for the entire day. The quantity of birds was just as significant as the quality, with highlights including Audubon’s Warblers, which were the first of the year, and a hatch year male Downy Woodpecker.

Continuing with this season’s flycatcher theme, Friday brought in yet another Least Flycatcher at the Pedder Bay station, which was identified by David. As you know, only about a week ago the first ever Least Flycatcher was banded at this site! At this rate David will have seen every flycatcher found at RPBO by the end of the season…

New Arrivals, Census & Obs

Worlds best photos of a Lewis's Woodpecker

This week, we continued to be overrun with migrating Lincoln’s and Savannah Sparrows and we also saw an increase in the number of Audubon’s Warblers flying over the station. We also have started to get greater numbers of American Pipits and Horned Larks flying over the Rocky Point station. The beginning of September is also when we start to see the build up of both Band-tailed Pigeons and Vaux’s Swifts as they begin to migrate South. We were excited to see a couple of rare birds show up at the Rocky Point station as well.

Eastern Kingbird - Blair Dudeck

On Tuesday of this week, a Lewis’s Woodpecker was seen flying over the station. They are a central B.C. species and rare to be seen in this area. On Wednesday, a pair of Broad-winged Hawks were seen circling with the Turkey Vultures and Red-tailed Hawks. At the Pedder Bay station on Thursday an Eastern Kingbird showed up for a couple of hours over the station, but avoided the nets, much to the disappointment of those in attendance.

Wildlife Sightings

Week seven was yet another amazing week for wildlife at Rocky Point. Wolves were heard howling at the upper ponds several times this week and were even photographed during census on Tuesday! Both Humpback and Orca whales were seen several times, with David getting close up looks during the census on Thursday. If you want to see great wildlife, you should definitely sign up for census at Rocky Point, hint hint.

Coastal Wolf - Blair Dudeck

Week  Numbers:

Rocky Point	Sept 1st	Sept 2nd	Sept 3rd	Sept 4th	Sept 5th	Sept 6th	Sept 7th	Total
Banded	38	30	35	45	38	42	15	243
Species banded	15	14	14	14	15	17	11	37
Recap	4	9	7	5	12	7	5	49
Species recap	3	6	4	4	7	6	5	12

Pedder Bay	Sept 1st	Sept 2nd	Sept 3rd	Sept 4th	Sept 5th	Sept 6th	Sept 7th	Total
Banded	49	46	26	32	46	72	22	293
Species banded	10	8	19	13	17	16	21	33
Recap	10	8	4	7	12	8	4	53
Species recap	6	4	5	7	6	5	4	14