Rocky Point Bird Observatory: Week 5: There's nothing hawkward about it!

Week 5 at Rocky Point Bird Observatory is coming to an end with 234 birds banded at Rocky Point and 108 at Pedder Bay. The most frequently banded bird was the White-crowned Sparrow at both stations, with 36 individuals at Rocky and 20 at Pedder. Both migration stations were treated to season firsts as well as interesting flora and fauna to keep the slower days exciting for all!

Jannaca Chick displaying the wing of a Sharp-shinned Hawk (Emma Radziul)

Rocky Point celebrated the station's 1000th bird of 2023 - a hatch-year male MacGillivray's Warbler! This week saw the station's first Townsend's Warbler of the season and our first Sharp-shinned hawk of the year! In fact, this hawk was recaptured in the nets the following day! Other highlights were the first Red-breasted Nuthatches of the season (more on those below). We wrapped up the week with a season total of 1011, which is on par with the average of 1020. We had close calls with both Steller's Jays and Barred Owls narrowly evading the nets on several occasions. Keep your fingers crossed for next week! Sea-watch observations were notably high this week, including a flock of Sabine's Gulls and large numbers of Red-necked Phalaropes streaming through (15,000 on Wednesday alone).

The 1000th bird at Rocky Point - A male hatch-year MacGillivray's Warbler (James Kennerley)

Townsend's Warbler (Evan Lewis)

Pedder Bay experienced a slower week, reaching a season total of 744 birds - a number well below the season average of 966. However, we were still treated to some interesting birds! This season's first Intergrade Northern Flicker was banded on Monday - what is an intergrade, you may ask? It is the product of two sub-species. In this case, we are in an overlap zone where both Red-shafted and Yellow-shafted Northern Flickers are found. When these two sub-species produce offspring they will be considered intergrade! The station was also treated to the first Hammond's Flycatcher and Black-throated Gray Warbler of the year. The slower weeks can offer opportunities for more training, observations, and general maintenance. Thanks to several volunteers the nets are now mended and ready for the busier weeks to come!

Hatch year male Black-throated Gray Warbler - our logo bird! (David Bell)

Sunrise viewed from "the hill" (Mara Hanneson)

Intergrade Northern Flicker (Emma Radziul)

Have you heard of the term "spark bird"? It's used to describe the species that sparked your interest in birding. It isn't necessarily a rare or even remotely uncommon bird, but more likely a species you've encountered many times without taking notice. For me (Intern Mara) the Red-breasted Nuthatch was my spark bird. I've always appreciated my avian encounters, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I started to pay closer attention to what I was seeing. I had marvelled at the mysterious "honking" sounds in the woods and often wondered what was making this sound (never once considering that it was a bird!). When I finally discovered what was responsible for this clown-like sound I was sold. What else had I been missing all of these years? (Spoiler - an unimaginable amount!).

A prominent fault bar made it easier to age this hatch year bird (David Bell)

Hatch year male RBNU (David Bell)

This week at Rocky Point, I was treated to two Red-breasted Nuthatches in the nets! A dream come true, and yet another highlight amongst many during my time as an intern. I want to thank each member of the RPBO team - the staff, volunteers, donors, and educators. The collective knowledge in this organization is remarkable and even more inspiring is how generous everyone is in passing on their expertise.

For the birds! Honk-honk-honk.