Week 11: Cool Mornings and Busy Nets

The days this week began with cool, damp mornings, where dewy spider webs shined in the early light, followed by warm sun in the early afternoons. The season is winding down, and the later migrants, like kinglets and sparrows, are filling the nets. Flycatchers and Warblers, however, are becoming increasingly rare. Overhead, the skies have been full of Turkey Vultures and other hawks, while the calls of geese—Cackling, Canada, and Greater White-fronted—echo as they fly overhead. Robins and Band-tailed Pigeons fly between the trees near the stations.

Gaelin and Mara looking east towards Rocky Point from Church Hill (David Bell)

This week, our Rocky Point station had to close early from October 1st to 3rd due to ammunition testing in the area. While the closures were unfortunate, they provided a unique opportunity to visit Church Hill, about 3 km west of our Rocky Point banding station, for a hawk watch. From this high vantage point, we witnessed impressive kettles of Turkey Vultures—up to 960 at one point—along with Band-tailed Pigeons and various raptors, including Peregrine Falcons, Sharp-shinned, Coopers and Red-tailed Hawks. It was a remarkable experience, with Turkey Vultures and Band-tailed Pigeons flying within meters of us, both above and below. Other highlights of the excursion included spotting several Western Gulls and around 1,500 Short-tailed Shearwaters in offshore waters. 

At Pedder Bay station, we banded 275 new birds this week, bringing the season total to 2,247. Dark-eyed Juncos were the most frequently banded species, with 53 new individuals.

An Oregon Dark-eyed Junco (Gaelin Armstrong)

A less common Slate/Cismonatus Dark-eyed Junco (Gaelin Armstrong)

Rocky Point station banded 270 new birds this week, raising the season total to 3,384. Ruby-crowned Kinglets were the top species, with 72 new birds banded, meaning they made up about a quarter of all captures at Rocky Point this week!

An adorable female Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Gaelin Armstrong)

Notable captures at Rocky Point include a Northern Saw-whet Owl on the morning of September 30th, which decided to take a nap after we banded it! We also banded a hatch-year female Sharp-shinned Hawk.

HY Northern Saw-whet owl - The epitome of cute(Gaelin Armstrong)

At Pedder Bay, the highlights were a couple of woodpeckers—a stunning Red-breasted Sapsucker and a noisy hatch-year female Red-shafted Northern Flicker. 

Red-breasted Sapsucker (Emma Radziul)

American Robins have also been showing up in large numbers, with a few gracing our nets, which has been a treat.

American Robin (Emma Radziul)

Other memorable birds this week include Hammonds Flycatchers and Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle ssp) (David Bell)

Dark centers in upper tail coverts means this bird is male (David Bell)

Hammond's Flycatcher (Emma Radziul)

This internship marks my first experience with bird banding or any ornithological fieldwork. Though the learning curve was steep, and there was an overwhelming amount of information to absorb, I’ve loved every minute of it. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be the fall intern at Rocky Point Bird Observatory. These past six weeks have been an amazing experience, and I’ve learned so much about bird banding and what it takes to operate a migratory bird banding station.

A special thanks to the other banders—David, Evan, Mara, and Emma—for their patience and support throughout my internship. And, of course to all the volunteers whose dedication and passion make Rocky Point such a remarkable place and passion keeps this work going.

 A handsome after-hatch-year male Yellow Warbler (Gaelin Armstrong)

Week 11 and season totals