Week 7: Land of Lincoln

As we pass the halfway point in the season, the weather remains warm and sunny, and both stations are chugging along nicely! Rocky Point had consistent numbers this week, coming in just a bit below the Week 7 average, while Pedder Bay picked up steam toward the end of the week, finishing just about at the Week 7 average. We are hoping for some rain in the near future to help bring up the numbers in the nets, and (fingers crossed) more interesting birds!

Lincoln's Sparrow (David Bell)

After saying goodbye to our early-season interns last week, we said hello and welcome to two new team members this week, whom most of you will be familiar with already! Sonja Futehally started as our late-season intern, and Ashlea Veldhoen started late this week as our third bander for the remainder of the season. We also welcomed our first long-term visiting volunteer since the onset of COVID, with Louis Driver joining us from England to help out with both the passerine and owl monitoring projects. We're looking forward to spending the busy part of the season with all three of them!

Ashlea banding a Western Tanager (Jannaca Chick)

Sonja banding a White-crowned Sparrow (Jannaca Chick)

Louis banding his first MacGillivray's Warbler (Jannaca Chick)

As the title suggests, Lincoln's Sparrows have arrived in numbers, making their way to the top of the leaderboard for this week with 127 banded of our 535 total birds (23.7%)! Swainson's Thrush (79) and Wilson's Warbler (55) rounded out the top three. Season firsts in the nets were Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, Savannah Sparrow (Pedder Bay), and Black-throated Gray Warbler - finally a capture of our logo bird! With many birds seemingly breeding later in the season than usual, we are noticing that some species are arriving late, and some resident birds are still in juvenile plumage. The Spotted Towhee in the photo below is one of these birds just molting out of its 'juvie' plumage and into a sturdier formative plumage.

Black-throated Gray Warbler (Julian Powers)

Townsend's Warbler (Jannaca Chick)

Spotted Towhee (Ann Nightingale)

Having larger numbers of birds in the nets invariably means we get to study individual variation a little more closely. The two comparisons below should help you out when observing these species in the field! The first is a hatch-year (left) and an adult (right) Lincoln's Sparrow - note the buffier plumage and eye ring on the young bird, and the orange base to the bill; the adult has a dark bill base and whiter eye ring and throat, with grayer body and head plumage. The second photo shows two hatch-year Yellow Warblers; a female on the left and a male on the right. The pink mandibles (lower part of the bill) indicate these are young birds; the female is a dull greenish-yellow colour while the male is bright yellow with a hint of reddish streaking coming in on the chest.

Young and adult Lincoln's Sparrows (David Bell)

Female and male Yellow Warblers (Ann Nightingale)

Our only 'old' recapture this week was a Swainson's Thrush originally banded in 2020; incidentally it was also recaptured last week so it appears to be hanging around!

A two-year-old Swainson's Thrush (Jannaca Chick)

New species for the season observed at Rocky Point this week included Pied-billed Grebe, Wilson's Snipe, American Wigeon, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Common Tern, while at Pedder Bay, Northern Pintail, Black Oystercatcher, and Ring-billed Gull were season firsts. A few Brown Pelicans were seen on seawatch off Rocky Point, and general bird diversity is slowly picking up at both stations as larger numbers begin to arrive. One highlight on obs last week that didn't get a mention here was a Marbled Godwit - otherwise it has been very quiet for rarities; let's hope we are just building up for a good late season!

Wildlife sightings this week mostly consisted of the usual cast of mammals and herpetofauna; however a couple of neat insects at Pedder Bay stole the show, and were new for the iNaturalist project. The first is a California Horntail, a species of woodwasp (sawfly); the second is a neat Bee-mimic Robber Fly. Apparently these flies eat bumblebees along with many other types of insects, and even spiders!

California Horntail (David Bell)

Bee-mimic Robber Fly (David Bell)

As always, a huge thank-you to all the volunteers who came out this week! It's been great to see everyone working on and improving their bird handling/banding/extracting/identification skills as our season gets busier with more diversity. With our owl monitoring program starting next week, there are plenty of open shifts available; please check your calendars and WhenToHelp to see if any open slots fit your schedule!

Rocky Point	1 Sep	2 Sep	3 Sep	4 Sep	5 Sep	6 Sep	7 Sep	Total
Banded	40	46	36	30	42	32	36	262
Species banded	12	14	13	10	14	12	12	24
Recap	2	2	2	8	2	4	8	28
Species recap	2	2	1	5	2	4	3	11

Pedder Bay	1 Sep	2 Sep	3 Sep	4 Sep	5 Sep	6 Sep	7 Sep	Total
Banded	40	37	25	25	52	36	58	273
Species banded	14	11	10	9	15	11	19	26
Recap	6	4	3	6	13	9	6	47
Species recap	6	3	2	3	4	5	4	10

 

Season totals (click to enlarge)