Week 6: Steller things come in pygmy packages

A Northern Pygmy Owl banded at Pedder Bay this week. Photo S. Darlington.

What a week! Migration has really picked up at both stations with jumps in our numbers of banded birds and observations. We had many exciting firsts for our banders and volunteers, and massive flocks of birds overhead. Owls, jays, raptors - I could swear it was October. Read on to learn what went down in the last week of August, 2019.

Remember that our 25th Anniversary Celebration is coming up fast on Saturday, September 14th! Scroll to the bottom of the blog post for event details.

Volunteer shout outs:
First thing's first, we want to thank all of our incredible volunteers for coming out this week. We had some shift shortages that were quickly filled, and some days with full teams so it made our jobs easy. We were pleased to welcome volunteers Kailee Price, Vivian Pattison, and Claire Chiswell to the Rocky Point site for the first time, and see some long term volunteers like Bill Dancer and Rick Shortinghuis join us for census. A special thanks to Mark and Robyn Byrne who have been coming out every weekend this season. Mark banded his first bird, a yellow warbler, on Friday.

 Banding recap:
 On Sunday, August 25th Rocky started off the week with a strong 33 birds banded, and Pedder a cool 24.

Steller's Jay. Photo D. Talluto.

Some of you may have noticed that we've been collecting flat flies from birds. On Monday we sent our flat fly collection of over 50 vials off to VIU with one of our volunteers who will be using them for a study. Stay tuned for updates on the project - we've also got a fresh set of vials to fill!

Things started to pick up at Rocky on Tuesday when we had an invasion of 30 Steller's Jay's on DET with 2 banded. Pedder Bay also had a pair of unexpected birds on obs - two Lewis's Woodpeckers! They stuck around long enough for the folks at Rocky to come over and have a look at the end of the day.

The momentum switched on Wednesday when Pedder was invaded by White-crowned Sparrows, with 20 banded out of 49 total birds.

Golden-crowned Kinglet. Photo D. Bell

Rocky picked up again Thursday with 61 birds banded, including another STJA banded by Ashlea. She was also treated to a Redbreasted Nuthatch and a Golden-crowned Kinglet. The birds continued to hit the nets at high volume on Friday, with 68 banded - most of which were Orange-crowned and Yellow warblers.

Northern Pygmy Owl. Photo S. Darlington

It rained on Thursday afternoon, leaving the nets wet on Friday morning. Things looked pretty quiet at Pedder at 6 am net opening, until Bill heard an owl calling. Then, on the very first net run, Sean checked net 9 while I was called to net 11 for a tangled Swainson's Thrush. Moments later, he walked towards me holding none other than one adorable, tiny Northern Pygmy Owl! I gasped, half expecting to see a thrush in his hand but instead see two owl eyes looking back at me. This bird was a lifer for Sean, and a banding tick for me. I will always remember this feisty little owl, from the warm feelings in my heart to the painful talon marks it left on my fingers and thumbs.

AHY and HY WCSP. Photo D. Bell.   

On Saturday we had our first Golden-crowned sparrow of the season over at Rocky Point, and Pedder Bay swiftly captured the 4th Steller's Jay of the week in net 9. The Northern Waterthrush seen on Friday at closing time by net 12 was seen again on Saturday, but it stealthily evaded capture.

Rocky finished off the week with 338 birds banded of 33 species, with Pedder reaching 222 banded of 25 species. Our most banded bird was the Puget Sound White-Crowned Sparrow, with 80 new bands this week!



 Census & Obs Highlights

Lewis's Woodpecker. Photo S.Darlington

This week we had loads of fly overs and interesting birds on obs. The Steller's Jays arrived in huge numbers, especially compared to the low counts last year.  We had 30 + STJA around each station most of the week. At the start of Donna's census on Thursday, we counted 128 Steller's Jays flying over - with 237 on DET!

The band-tailed pigeon numbers were climbing all week, with over 300 one day. The turkey vultures, sharp-shinned and cooper's hawks were also showing up in good numbers for this time of year.  Lincoln's Sparrows have been caught daily, and Fox Sparrow and Yellow-rumped warblers are on the rise around both sites. Other notable sightings were 4 Sandhill Cranes, 2 Lewis's woodpeckers, 1 Northern Waterthrush, 1 Horned Lark, 1 Rednecked Grebe, 1 Greater White-fronted Goose, 2 Caspian Terns, and 2 Northern Pygmy Owls on obs. 

Wildlife Sightings

We had a few furry friends around the stations this week. Ann Scarfe saw a wolf right by net 5 on Thursday at Rocky, the first sighting this year! The rest of us were unfortunately too slow to catch a glimpse. There have been near daily sightings of humpback whales at Rocky, and the occasional pod of orcas. One fawn decided to make a new door out of net 11 at Pedder Bay, and a black bear made an appearance at Rocky.

Rough-skinned newt. Photo D. Bell.

That's all for this week, I hope you join us as things ramp up at RPBO with the onset of big banding and observation days. We could use all hands on deck - plus you wouldn't want to miss the next pygmy owl ;)

Thank you for joining us!

- Siobhan Darlington, Passerine Bander 

Weekly Stats:
 

Pedder Bay	Aug 25th	Aug 26th	Aug 27th	Aug 28th	Aug 29th	Aug 30th	Aug 31st	Total
Banded	24	34	39	49	23	31	22	222
Species banded	15	12	16	15	10	15	13	25
Recap	8	2	13	11	9	6	10	59
Species recap	7	1	10	7	6	5	4	17
Rocky Point	Aug 25th	Aug 26th	Aug 27th	Aug 28th	Aug 29th	Aug 30th	Aug 31st	Total
Banded	33	47	44	36	61	68	49	338
Species banded	11	17	15	16	19	15	18	33
Recap	5	7	4	6	7	7	8	44
Species recap	4	6	2	4	4	4	6	12

Week 6 vs. Season summary by species:

RPBO 25th Anniversary Celebration

*Saturday, September 14, 2019 Please join us for FREE Bird Walks and tours of the Banding Station. See the amazing birds that pass through the station year after year! Understand how the work of a banding station protects birds and the places they live! Learn first-hand how your support of RPBO makes a huge impact on conservation efforts!Please park at Glenrosa Farm Restaurant 5447 Rocky Point Road Metchosin, BC Parking is in the field. Please watch for the signs and wear field-friendly shoes!*

*The 25th Anniversary Celebration will showcase our banding operations with guided tours and demonstrations, and further our public education mandate with bird walks and educational stations. (And there will be cake!)*

*Click here <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?RockyPointBirdObserv/cbc42cc595/TEST/16b738d367> to sign up for a bird walk, or drop by the banding station on Pedder Bay Drive between 8 and 11 am Register now! Tours are filling quickly!*