Week 5: A Tale of Two Stations

Week 5 of our migration monitoring program was an interesting week, with both our busiest and quietest days yet of the season, a few season firsts, and some notable observations of birds and other wildlife at our stations. Overall, migration has picked up a little bit, with the first arrivals of Lincoln’s Sparrows, meaning Fox and Golden-crowned Sparrows are not far behind, and a slight increase in the number of warblers and flycatchers caught as well as observed at our stations. Hopefully that trend continues as we enter the last week of August, which is typically the busiest week of the month.

South-facing view over a low tide from Rocky Point (David Bell)

This week Pedder Bay banded 142 new birds, 20 birds more than last week, pushing the season total to 866. This was below the historical season average of 161 for Week 5, and the current season total of 866 is below the total average of 947. At Rocky Point this week, our 343 birds banded is well above the week 5 average of 219, and the season total of 1617 vastly eclipses the average for this point in the year of 1020. The record for this point of the year is 1431 in 2005. Rocky Point is now at where we’re usually at by September 10th, while Pedder Bay is where we’re at usually by August 15th. Remarkable that Rocky Point has now banded almost twice the number of birds Pedder Bay has! It is a tale of two stations this year I suppose. 

A foggy morning from the hill at Pedder Bay (Mara Hanneson) 

Sunrise at Rocky Point (David Bell)

Empidonax flycatchers still made up a good proportion of the birds we caught this week, with 80 Western Flycatchers, 61 Willow Flycatchers, and 3 Hammond's Flycatchers banded between the two stations. Other birds that passed across our banding tables in good numbers this week were Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrows, Orange-crowned Warblers, and Swainson's Thrushes, as well as a smattering of Purple Finches, Pine Siskins, and Wilson's Warblers to boot.

An adorable baby Pine Siskin - still growing in those tail feathers! (Mara Hanneson)

A hatch year Hammond's Flycatcher (Evan Lewis)

It has been a record breaking season for Pine Siskins this year, as we have already smashed the all time season total (95 birds banded between the two stations as it stands). The season totals of Willow Flycatcher (125), House Wren (39), and Cedar Waxwing (30) that were reached this week at Rocky Point are now also all all-time season records at the station, and we're only just over a month in. August 23rd was the busiest day of the season yet, with 134 new birds banded at Rocky Point, 59 of which were flycatchers. At Pedder Bay on the 23rd, 52 new birds were banded which ties the record set on the first day of the season. Some heavy rain on 24th meant we had to reduce our net hours, so only 22 birds were banded at Rocky Point, and 10 birds were banded at Pedder Bay that day.

Western Tanager, the 100th bird banded on our 134 bird day (Emma Radziul)

Our nets at Rocky Point were graced by two new species for the season this week, in the form of seven Lincoln's Sparrow's and not one, but two Western Wood-Pewees!

A smartly-plumaged Lincoln's Sparrow (Emma Radziul)

1 of 2 Western Wood-Pewees (Evan Lewis)

Lincoln's Sparrow is a common migrant species that has just arrived at our stations, so those are the first of many to come, but Western Wood-Pewee is a a species we very rarely catch, as these were only the 12th and 13th banding record for us at Rocky Point all time. We've now banded both Olive-sided Flycatcher and Western Wood-Pewee this year at Rocky Point, which are both regularly occurring Contopus flycatchers on Vancouver Island.

The most notable capture of the week was somehow not the first of the season - on August 22 we banded two more Least Sandpipers, representing the second and third banding record at Rocky Point all time - and the second and third this year!

 Least Sandpiper x 2!!  (Mara Hanneson)

Lightning can indeed strike twice it seems. They were caught in an early net round, when the high tide pushed a flock of peeps up to the high water line near Net 2. Like the one a few weeks ago, these were both juvenile birds, in their fresh and crisply edged plumage, making their way south from the Arctic for the first time. It was amazing to study their structure and plumage details carefully in the hand.

There were also a few season firsts for Pedder Bay this week, including this lovely hatch year Cassin's Vireo, displaying a pattern called a 'fault bar' across the tail. A fault bar is a weaker part of a feather caused due to stress during feather growth, so when a bar can be seen across the whole tail as it can be in this bird, we can infer that these tail feathers all grew in at the same time and underwent stress simultaneously. Since adult birds molt their tails sequentially, we can conclude that this bird is a hatch year.

Cassin's Vireo (Evan Lewis)

A great example of an obvious fault bar (Evan Lewis) 

Another exciting bird to have in the nets was a hatch year Barn Swallow, which was foraging lower than usual due to some rainy conditions. Their long wings and diagnostic deeply forked tail with those white subterminal spots were fun to observe up close.

Barn Swallow (Mara Hanneson)

Check out those tail spots! (Mara Hanneson)

The best bird we banded at Pedder Bay this week however was a big and boisterous hatch year Pileated Woodpecker, only the 3rd ever banded at Pedder Bay! It was a male, as indicated by the red malar. He was a loud and powerful bird, and required all hands on deck to process. He weighed a whopping 240 grams and had a wing of over 220mm, by far the biggest bird we've banded yet this year. Truly amazing to see the 6th largest woodpecker in the world up close. It was Mara's first Pileated and this wonderful bird made sure to make his presence memorable.

Hatch year male Pileated Woodpecker (Evan Larson)

Pileated Woodpecker underwing (Evan Larson)

A few other banding highlights for Pedder Bay included a Black-headed Grosbeak, only the second of the season, and the third Red-breasted Sapsucker of the season.

Black-headed Grosbeak (Evan Larson)

Red-breasted Sapsucker (David Bell)

Outside of the nets, we encountered some fun wildlife this week. Highlights included 1 Franklin's Gull found on census on August 22nd by volunteer Joachim Bertrands, which remained present throughout the day allowing for views for all present. This coincided with a huge push of thousands of gulls into the Juan de Fuca Strait, comprised of predominantly California Gulls, with Glaucous-winged, Short-billed, Heermann's and Ring-billed Gulls in smaller numbers. Our estimated totals of gulls observed from Rocky Point were upwards of 5000 on a few days this week. Sabine's Gulls were also detected offshore in numbers as a large influx of this pelagic species is currently occurring in our waters.

First cycle Ring-billed Gull (Evan Larson)

We also observed 4 Orcas in the channel between Bentinck Island and Rocky Point on the 21st, one of which was a nice large male with a huge dorsal fin.

A large male Orca (Evan Larson)

It seemed like a family group with a large male, a female, and two younger ones. These stunning marine mammals stuck around for a day or two, as we also saw them the next day west of the station foraging near the coast. Always a highlight to encounter these spectacular and endangered whales.

Just a little bit about me - I am one of the interns here at Rocky Point Bird Observatory this year, and it has been an amazing experience thus far! I had very little previous banding experience so I was learning most skills and knowledge relevant to the banding process all for the first time. To work at a banding station for the first time, I discovered there is a massive amount of new information to retain, but looking back over the past 6 or so weeks I can see how much I have learned from my many mistakes and questions, and with more experience I have progressed and improved. Time has flown by, and I can't believe I won't be able to band anymore with school starting up again next week, but I have made the most of the time I've had here. I hope to pursue a career in field ornithology once I graduate from UVic, so working at RPBO has been a super valuable experience for my future endeavours, and as someone whose biggest passion is birds, it has just been a super enjoyable experience! I hope to be back very soon. Thanks to everyone who has helped me along the way.

And great week overall! Big thanks to all our dedicated volunteers that keep this show on the road, and we hope to see you again next week!

Week 4: Flycatcher Catching

Week 4 was a classic mid-August week for us at Rocky Point Bird Observatory. The Rufous Hummingbirds have started to disappear from stations, and the flycatchers begin to show in earnest. This week, the flycatchers were certainly the star of the show, with 1/3 of the total birds banded being either Willow or Western Flycatchers!

Late morning in the back meadow at Rocky Point. (David Bell)

This week Pedder Bay banded 122 new birds, bringing the season total to 724. Compared to the historical averages we're a bit behind, with week 4 averaging 176 new birds banded, and a season total of 787. Nothing to worry about though, big nights of migration will be coming soon! 

On the other hand, Rocky Point is way ahead of our usual averages. This week we banded 313 new birds, bringing our season total to 1274. The averages for week 4 are 210 new birds banded and a season total of 822. We're 2 weeks ahead of schedule right now, having banded as many birds as we usually do by September 1st!

Mid-August is the usual peak of flycatcher migration here on Southern Vancouver Island, and this week certainly proved that to be true. Between the two station we banded 67 Willow Flycatchers, 66 Western Flycatchers and 1 Hammond's Flycatcher. 

A hatch year Willow Flycatcher. (Emma Radziul)

A hatch year Western Flycatcher. (Evan Larson)

An after hatch year Hammond's Flycatcher (Emma Radziul)

Flycatchers are one of the easiest groups of birds to age, with the colour of the wingbars indicating hatch year or after hatch year. The Willow and Western Flycatchers above show buffy wingbars, making them hatch year birds. Compare that to the bright white wing bars of the after hatch year Hammond's Flycatcher and you can see how easy ageing flycatchers can be. Next time you're out in the field see if you can age the flycatchers you see!

We also had two season firsts this week, a Northern Flicker (Red-Shafted x Yellow-Shafted) and an Audubon's Yellow-Rumped Warbler. We can tell this flicker is an intergrade between Red-Shafted and Yellow-Shafted as it shows the red moustache of a Red-Shafted and the red hind-crown of the Yellow-Shafted. 

A hatch-year Red-Shafted x Yellow-Shafted Flicker (Evan Lewis)

The beautiful orangey shafts of Intergrade Flicker feathers. (Evan Lewis)

It's always a treat to catch after hatch year birds, as we all enjoy seeing adult characteristics! This week we had a couple great examples. First up, this after second year male Western Tanager.

Look at that colour! (David Bell)

We also caught this lovely after hatch year male MacGillivary's Warbler. The handsome black mask and only shows in adult birds. 

A MacGillivary's Warbler (Evan Lewis)

It may be the slow season at Rocky Point Bird Observatory but this week had many highlights. Thank you to all the volunteers who came out to help, we look forward to seeing you next week! 

Sunrise at Rocky Point. (David Bell)

Week 4 by the numbers!

Week 3: Black, White & Least All Over?

White-winged Dove (Cathy Reader)

Week three of our migration monitoring program delivered excitement at both stations, in and out of the nets! Pedder Bay enjoyed hosting many visitors this week, and Rocky Point had one very unexpected guest - a White-winged Dove! This semi-tropical dove surprised the team on Saturday by showing up at (and quite literally IN) the banding station. As the Southern United States is the northernmost expected range for this species, this came as quite a shock! After putting on a show, the dove departed towards Pedder Bay, but unfortunately, was not sighted again. 

A sweet and squeaky encounter! (Emma Radziul)

At Pedder Bay station, 144 new birds were banded, slightly below the average of 157. The season total, 602, is also below the average of 613 to this point. Nonetheless, the station had some interesting species that kept volunteers and visitors excited! The most surprising species banded this week was a young Marsh Wren. This bird was discovered in net 14 - dry, grassy meadow habitat, where it was not expected! A second individual was also observed in the same area that day. On a different day, but in the same area, a black bear was sighted.

HY Marsh Wren (Emma Radziul)

Western Flycatcher (Heather Tocher)

Rocky Point saw 306 new birds banded, for a season total of 956. These totals place the station well above the historical averages (224 for week 3, and 625 for the season to this point)! The good news continues, as there were two extra-special birds in the nets this week...both firsts recorded for RPBO, and coincidentally they were banded on the same day. First, at 06:05, a Least Sandpiper was found in one of the front nets! Although this species is commonly documented in our daily observations, it was a shock to experience an individual in the net. This first-year bird has a wing measuring 88 mm!

HY Least Sandpiper (David Bell)

For those who follow the blog weekly, this second bird will likely come with less surprise. A Black-and-white Warbler was observed on several days this year, beginning on July 22nd. This week, it found its way into our nets! This was determined to be a second-year Female, and she was moulting her flight feathers. As mentioned last week, this species forages in a style similar to nuthatches...did you know it is the sole member of the genus Mniotilta, which means "moss-plucking"? 

SY Black-and-white Warbler (David Bell)

Finally, thank you to all the volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure our operations run safely and smoothly - we couldn't do it without you! We hope to see you out in the coming weeks. Also, thanks to all our visitors (birds and humans alike). 

This AHY Swainson's Thrush exhibited an interesting barring on the wings (Jannaca Chick)

A young Red-breasted Nuthatch, still exhibiting a gape (David Bell)

Black-throated Gray Warbler (Mara Hanneson)

Another gape, this time on a Pacific Wren (Tamara Wolowicz)

Weekly and Season Totals (click to enlarge)

Week 2: It's not all Black-and-white

Week 2: It's not all Black-and-white         

    This week RPBO was happy to document a second-year female Black-and-white Warbler at Rocky Point. On July 22nd, an unusually postured, contrastingly-colored warbler was tentatively spotted but without sufficient viewability to confirm the bird's identification. But on July 31st the bird was refound, and positively identified, photographed and viewed by many on site. The Black-and-white Warbler creeps along tree trunks or branches in a style more typical of a nuthatch foraging for insects. It's a common eastern warbler, but only rarely makes its way past the Rocky Mountains into western British Columbia. It has a high, thin "weesa weesa weesa..." (with five to ten repetitions) song and a lower pitched sharp, dry chip call. This individual was seen foraging on trunks of alders between our banding station and Net 10, and continued on August 2nd. Rocky Point's only other observation record of Black-and-white Warbler was from September 27th, 2009.

Portrait of a young Chipping Sparrow (photo: David Bell)

    Keeping on the "black" theme, a Merlin (suckleyi or "Black" subspecies) was mist-netted on July 29th at Rocky Point. This represents a second banding record for RPBO, and it was wonderful to observe this after-second-year male's intricate plumage markings in the hand.

"Black" Merlin (photo: David Bell)

Head-on Merlin (photo: David Bell)

    In the nets, Rocky Point banded 234 new birds this week which is more birds than the Week 2 average (197). Its current year-to-date total at the end of Week 2 is on par with the average end of Week 3 numbers. Averaging 33 birds banded per 6-hour monitoring day, Rocky Point's most numerous captures this week were Wilson's Warbler (39), Western Flycatcher (34) and White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis ssp.) (17). Down by the ocean, the thistle has gone to seed bringing American Goldfinch (12) to our front nets, and MacGillivray's Warblers were also caught in good numbers this week (16).

Hatch-year Wilson's Warbler (photo: Emma Radziul)

    Often flocking in July and early August, but rarely mist-netted, Rocky Point caught six (!) swallows (four Barn and two Violet-green) in Nets 1 and 2 this week.

Juvenile Violet-green Swallow (photo: Emma Radziul) 

Wing morphology of above Violet-green swallow (photo: Emma Radziul)

Young Barn Swallow with gape (photo: David Bell) 

    Other less-commonly banded birds in the nets at Rocky Point included three Red-winged Blackbirds (two juveniles and one adult female).

3 photos showing plumage details on a Hatch-year Red-winged Blackbird (photos: David Bell)
 

    We continued to observe several Olive-sided Flycatchers, which is a Species at Risk in Canada, and banded two more individuals (a breeding female and a hatch-year juvenile; likely mother and child). This brings us to five of these large flycatchers banded at our Rocky Point station this season, for a new season record.

Hatch-year juvenile Olive-sided Flycatcher (on left) and adult female (on right) (photo: David Bell)

Dignified definitive-plumaged Olive-sided Flycatcher (photo: Mara Hanneson)

    Pedder Bay banded 161 new birds this week, which is a bit below average for Week 2 (177), but the year-to-date numbers were almost right on par with the long-term average (456). Averaging 23 birds per 6-hour monitoring day, Pedder Bay's most numerous captures were Chestnut-backed Chickadee (18), Purple Finch (17), and Wilson's Warbler (16). Pedder Bay saw five hatch-year Rufous Hummingbirds in the nets, who were readying themselves for their first extreme migration (the longest migration of any avian species relative to the bird's body length).

Hatch-year male Rufous Hummingbird, just molting in some iridescent orange-red gorget feathers (photo: David Bell)

Chestnut-backed Chickadee in the hand (photo: Emma Radziul) 

    Also caught was this beautiful specimen of an adult male Anna's hummingbird with a full, shimmering gorget.

After hatch-year Male Anna's Hummingbird (photo: David Bell)

This week, Pedder Bay caught 3 Downy Woodpeckers. First-catch-of-the-year Black-headed Grosbeaks (1), and Hairy Woodpeckers (1) were also highlights. Everyone is pleased to see two individuals of one of our most colorful species, the beautiful Western Tanager, in the hand.

Colorful Western Tanager (photo: David Bell) 

    Every day at either Pedder Bay or Rocky Point is a pleasure. Wildlife continues to abound. Photographed this week was evidence of wolves in the south inlet at Pedder Bay (fresh tracks, soon to be washed away by the advancing tide). Both Northern red-legged frogs and Pacific tree frogs were photographed at Rocky Point in the light rain of early week. This week, a little bat was also caught early morning. It was expertly removed from the net and released flew off to roost for the day.

Accidental capture of Myotis sp. in the mistnets (photo: Mara Hanneson)

A Northern red-legged frog from Rocky Point (photo: David Bell)

Wolves in the estuary (photo: David Bell)

    Please consider joining us at our Pedder Bay (public access) or Rocky Point (restricted access) on a volunteer or guest basis. Find out more about volunteering here (https://rpbo.org/how-you-can-help/volunteer/) and help Rocky Point achieve its goals of study, education and advocacy for birds and wildlife.

The team at work (photo: David Bell)

Sunrise with sunbeams over Pedder Bay (photo: Evan Larson)