Rocky Point Bird Observatory: Week 5

The August doldrums have officially hit, exacerbated by overnight rain that halted migration on a few nights, and slightly reduced our net hours for the week when it continued into the morning. The low point came on the 21st, when a total of 16 new birds were banded between the two stations!

Foggy morning at Rocky Point (David Bell)

Early morning at Pedder (Donna Talluto)

Despite registering its lowest single week ever for new birds banded (tied with the same week in 2012), Pedder managed to snag our first Cassin's Vireo (a lifer for at least one of the volunteers!) and Cooper's Hawk for the season. Only three species managed to hit double-digits, with Swainson's Thrushes (15), White-crowned Sparrows (13) and Pacific-slope Flycatchers (12) making up almost half our catch for the week. A relatively low number of recaps toward the end of the week either means our birds have moved on or they've learned where the nets are and are now avoiding us. Our oldest bird for the week was a "Puget Sound" White-crowned Sparrow banded here in August 2018 as an after-hatch-year, making it at least three years old.


First Cooper's Hawk of the season! (Donna Talluto)

After hatch-year (left) vs. hatch-year (right) female Wilson's Warblers - spot the differences! (Emma Radziul)

A photo quiz at Emma's request - answer at the bottom! (Emma Radziul)

Rocky fared better this week, seeing more average numbers in the nets for this time of year, and managing its first Lincoln's Sparrows of the season. The nets were found by the usual suspects, with White-crowned Sparrows (37), Wilson's Warblers (28), Pacific-slope Flycatchers (27) and Willow Flycatchers (18) putting in a good showing. Our oldest recap there was a Wilson's Warbler originally banded in July 2018 as a hatch-year, making her two years old now. The week's highlight came on the 18th, when Jo came back from a net round with a bird she wasn't quite sure about. It turned out to be a nice hatch-year male American Redstart, our 6th banding record for fall migration and a new Victoria bird for me (and a lifer for Rebecca, who got to band it!). We also managed to band 'Freddie', our unofficial mascot for the season, after it landed on the banding gear, practically begging for some jewelry.

American Redstart! (Rebecca Golat)

Freddie!

New arrivals for this week included Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler and Wilson's Snipe. The continuing Gray Catbird put in a few appearances, and could be heard most mornings in its usual spot by the front pond. Its tail and wings appear to be fully molted and regrown now, so who knows how much longer it will stick around. Fog on most mornings made obs difficult, but numbers of warblers and shorebirds continue to increase around the census areas, and the first of our 'late season' birds should be showing up any day now.

Rocky on a particularly low-vis day (David Bell)

A "Gray-headed" Orange-crowned Warbler, a sure sign of fall migration (Rebecca Golat)

Non-avian highlights were topped by regular sightings of the lone wolf at Rocky. All the rain brought out some Red-legged Frogs and Rough-skinned Newts, making us watch our steps carefully on the paths! Humpback Whales and the usual River Otters, Raccoons, Black-tailed Deer, etc. rounded out the week.