for us here at Rocky Point Bird Observatory. We've had more raptors this week than ever and (as you may know by now) were privileged to be graced by the appearance of a VERY RARE visitor - a BROWN SHRIKE from Asia on Tuesday!
Uncommonly observed even in their home range, this gorgeous (albeit very lost) bird was caught in the net at Rocky by a very stunned Siobhan this week. This is only the second time this species has been recorded in Canada - the first time was an observation in Nova Scotia in 1997 - and the first record for BC, so it speaks to the significance of our banding operation at Rocky. If the Brown Shrike had shown up and we weren't there to observe (and even more unlikely - catch) it, we would have never even known it was there. Rumour has it that our volunteers Joachim and Ian's voices hit all new highs as they shrieked loudly upon seeing the extremely rare visitor.
 |
| Brown Shrike Photo: David Bell |
This little beauty turned out to be a hatch-year female and was banded by our Bander-in-Charge David Bell - who to our knowledge is the only person across the country to ever band this species on Canadian soil. It was history in the making! Watch the video of Dave unveiling the Brown Shrike (below).
Video and narration: S. Darlington, 2019
As of this writing, the bird has not been sighted since October the 3rd, so it may have moved on after putting on some weight after hawking for insects for the past few days. We are really hoping for its success but are also wondering where it will end up next being so far outside its normal migration range. We may never know, but as it is now equipped with a band to identify it, we'll have a better chance of knowing if it gets recaptured in the future. UPDATE: Our Brown Shrike was mentioned on the American Birding Association's Podcast this week.
We only have two more weeks left of passerine banding, and three more weeks of owls, so if you've been meaning to visit the station or volunteer with us it's not too late - come on out! We have had a bit of trouble filling shifts lately so if you can make it, we could really use your help. Migration is slowing down, but that means now is a great time to sign up for shifts because fewer birds means we can spend a bit more time on each one, allowing you to work a little more closely with the banders and hopefully get some more hands-on experience. So don't delay, sign up for shifts today!
Banding and Obs Recap
The winter residents are back and in higher numbers than we've seen all season, with Ruby- and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Spotted Towhee, Golden-crowned Sparrows and Fox Sparrows making frequent appearances in the nets at both stations this week, while warblers, vireos, flycatchers and Rufous hummingbirds have really slowed down.
 |
| A probable second-year female Spotted Towhee at RP with retained hatch-year feathers. Photo: D.Talluto |
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me back track for a moment: On Monday at Rocky we started the day with a Red-tailed Hawk in the nets! It was Donna's first time banding one and we couldn't be happier for her. Way to go, Donna!
 |
| Donna with the HY red-tailed hawk. Photo: M. Motek |
For Monday's totals the Spotted Towhees came out on top with 12 out of our 53 total birds banded and our daily estimated total (obs + banding) for the day was 82 species with a an awesome flyover of a Lapland Longspur. At Pedder we had a slower day, with one very late Wilson's Warbler making an appearance and banded a total of 47 birds of just 16 species, the most frequent of which were Hermit Thrush (8), American Robin (6) and Golden-crowned sparrow (5).
 |
| Brown Shrike Photo: D. Bell |
Tuesday at Rocky was the big day when the BROWN SHRIKE was caught in Net 6 making the highlight of the week. We also had a great day for DETs with one Short-eared Owl found in the back meadow, an Orange-crowned Warbler on census, and Turkey Vultures, Red-tailed Hawks and a Broad-winged Hawk seen on Obs. It was relatively slow otherwise, with 56 banded of 17 species. Pedder also had a relatively slow day with 32 banded of 16 species and 55 species on DET including six Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers three Townsend's Warblers and a Common Yellowthroat seen on Obs. Our volunteer Brielle also got to band her first Steller's Jay at Pedder and was quite obviously thrilled and we are so happy for her!
 |
| Brielle banding her first Steller's Jay Photo: A.Veldhoen |
On Wednesday we were still excited about the Brown Shrike and put a lot of effort into re-finding it (successfully!) in the field with our team putting in a combined total of 20 hours into observations that day. I was lucky enough to be on the schedule at Rocky and was one of the few to see it and photograph it that day!
 |
| The search for the Brown Shrike continued on Wednesday. Photo: D.Talluto |
Banding was slow today due to the dreary weather, with 36 banded of 13 species. It was difficult to take our eyes off of the Brown Shrike to do other observations, but we still managed a high number on our daily estimate total with 87 species including higher numbers of Turkey Vultures (280) , Red-winged Blackbirds, Steller's Jays and gulls including California Gulls (300), Glaucous-winged Gull (175) and Heerman's Gull (~40). At Pedder our most frequently caught species was the Fox Sparrow with 12 banded of the 44 total banded that day. Our daily estimated total number of species was 49 for the day but with more warblers than the previous day with both Myrtle and Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warblers on obs and two unidentified/intergrade Myrtle/Audubon's banded.
 |
| Long-time RPBO volunteer Ann Scarfe with the biggest catch of the day on Wednesday. Photo: D.Talluto |
On Thursday at Rocky the Brown Shrike was still being sighted and more of our volunteers were able to catch a glimpse of the rare species. Our most frequently banded species were Ruby-crowned Kinglet (14) and Spotted Towhee (7), with total number of 33 new bands of 10 species with a daily estimate total of 73 species on obs including six Lapland Longspur flyovers, higher numbers of Common Murre (150) and Turkey Vultures (~22), American Goldfinch (400+) and American Robin (67). American Pipits and Cedar Waxwings were also seen flying overhead in smaller groups of 10-15 at a time. At Pedder the rain made for a very slow day, with 18 banded of 8 species and a daily estimate total of 50 species, with a Slate-coloured Dark-eyed Junco being a noteworthy appearance on obs. We banded a female Slate-coloured Dark-eyed Junco at Rocky last week, so it was exciting to find another one at Pedder. Two other unusual findings at Pedder including a Marsh Wren and Swamp Sparrow observed by Dave.
 |
| Taking wing chord measurements on the Barred Owl with Donna Photo: J. Bertrands |
On Friday at Rocky we caught and banded another hatch-year Barred Owl - it was a banding tick for me and I was so happy to have Donna there to help me! We also had a gorgeous Hutton's Vireo stop by for a new piece of jewelry before a female Hairy Woodpecker also stopped in for a snack by the station.
 |
| Female Hairy Woodpecker. Photo: A. Veldhoen |
On Saturday Our new volunteer Kris expressed his wish to see a Varied Thrush, and I told him if he wished hard enough, it would come true - and it did! We had a hatch-year female Varied Thrush show up in the nets the very next round!
 |
| Hatch-year male Sharp-shinned Hawk. Photo: D.Talluto |
On the same day we also finally caught our first Sharp-shinned Hawk of the season at Pedder Bay after seeing them bounce out of the nets all season it was about time. I was surprised when I found the little guy in the net next to one beautiful male American Robin (thankfully unharmed). The hawk was much smaller than I thought it would be - only about 100 g - and its size and measurements as well as eye colour meant it was aged and sexed as a hatch-year male. This was a banding tick for me so I am elated to have been so lucky this week! We also caught two hatch-year male Myrtle Warblers and a HY female Townsend's Warbler, a few late departures we were excited to see.
I'd also like to give a big 'thank-you" to the volunteers and visitors who came from all over Victoria and beyond to help out with us this season so far. We couldn't do the work we do without you!
Written by Ashlea Veldhoen, Banding Intern at RPBO
Passerine Weekly Summaries
We had a lot of excitement this week and with the rainy weather keeping the migrants close to the ground we've been able to see some larger flocks of raptors and some very interesting long-distance migrants. It is clear that the season is winding down in terms of banding numbers but it's still been a great time to be a birder or volunteer with RPBO.
Other recent news:
THANK YOU! Rocky Point Bird Observatory's first-ever livestream event was a success thanks to your support!
Thank you to all who attended the livestream event on October 3rd. Whether you were there in person or online, we are so happy you could share our first-ever livestreaming event for RPBO with us. The recording can still be viewed for 30 days after the event, so if you missed it and would like to watch it, please visit Sunset Lab's website
here before early November to watch. Note: the presentation starts at the 08:14 mark. Sunset Labs was kind enough to donate this event to us complete free of charge, so please
check them out!
Written by Ashlea Veldhoen, Banding Intern at RPBO
No comments:
Post a Comment