Rocky Point Bird Observatory: Week 6: Who is Viosca?

Answer: the person who a subspecies of this week's banding highlight is named after! Read on to find out more (or just check out the header photo).

Band-tailed Pigeon (David Bell)

Despite some seemingly slow days, and having multiple nets closed at both stations due to wind on several days this week, both stations had above-average catches during Week 6. Rocky had 260 new bands compared to an average of 234, while Pedder managed 220 new bands, compared to an average of 200. Along with these higher-than-usual numbers came some new captures for the season; both the weather and birds felt distinctly like fall! Newly banded species for the season at Rocky were Barred Owl, Golden-crowned and Fox sparrows, Hermit Thrush, Townsend’s Warbler, and Hammond’s Flycatcher. New at PB were Steller's Jay and Fox Sparrow. Our top captures for the week were Swainson's Thrush, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, and White-crowned Sparrow, while Lincoln's Sparrow and both Yellow and Wilson's warblers had good pushes. Some visitors at Pedder on the 26th were treated to a whole flock of Western Tanagers in the nets as well! At the end of Week 6, Rocky remains above-average in terms of birds banded, while Pedder is still well below average (although it is catching up quickly!).

Vibrant hues on a Steller's Jay tail (Samuelle S-P)

Liam and our first Barred Owl of the season (Rebecca Golat)

Rocky dominated the banding highlights this week, with a first RPBO banding record of Band-tailed Pigeon (an adult male!) in net 5 on the 30th. We often see this species flying high overhead, and there have been a few suspicious feather piles indicating that they sometimes hit the nets, but their large size means they would get out easily. Luckily Liam was quick and managed to get his hands on it before it had a chance to escape! Band-tailed Pigeon has a subspecies originally described as a separate species: Viosca's Pigeon (hence the blog title) - it resides in southern Baja California. The other highlights were a Clay-colored Sparrow banded on the 25th (5th banding record for RPBO) and a Western Wood-Pewee banded on the 29th (12th banding record for RPBO). While not a rarity, one other highlight of the week was breaking the season record for Anna's Hummingbird at both stations! Our totals of 60 at Pedder and seven at Rocky beat out the previous highs of 55 and six, respectively.

Clay-colored Sparrow (Samuelle S-P)

Western Wood-Pewee showing off those long primaries (Liam Singh)

Observation highlights at Rocky included a Least Flycatcher on the 25th, a Pomarine Jaeger on the 26th, a Brown Pelican and a Cassin’s Auklet on the 27th, and several flocks of Short-tailed Shearwaters on the 30th. New species for the season there included Northern Pintail, Harlequin Duck, Horned Grebe, and Tree Swallow in addition to the newly banded species. Pedder Bay was quieter in terms of highlight species, but new for the season there included Rock Pigeon, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe (third station record during migration), and Semipalmated Sandpiper (fourth station record).

Semipalmated Sandpiper at PB (David Bell)

Humpback Whales seem to be appearing in greater numbers recently at Rocky, and both stations had good numbers of Black Saddlebags (dragonfly) around this week. This species seems to be increasing substantially in recent years on southern Vancouver Island. The mink family is still around at Rocky – thankfully they have been staying away from the nets. An Eastern Cottontail had a close call with one on the 31st though, as the mink chased it across the road toward me.

Interesting skies during a Rocky Point sunrise (Liam Singh)

Hitomi and a rainbow at Pedder (Rebecca R-L)

In other news, we regretfully said good-bye to our interns at the end of this week. They are both headed back to school in a few days - we will certainly miss having them full-time at the stations. Luckily for us, they are both at UVic and will be volunteering in their spare time! Thanks for all your hard work these last six weeks and good luck with your studies, Liam and Rebecca!