Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Week 12: Rallidae Keeps the Dr. Away

06-12 October

This week our Rocky Point site was closed for five of the seven days for military operations so passerine banding and census could not be conducted. Pedder Bay had a wonderful week including one 100+ bird day! As the season shifts, we’re saying goodbye to our Neotropic migrants and hello to our kinglets and sparrows. Kinglets of both varieties filter through the trees like sand through a sieve. They pour horizontally through the foliage in their search for micro-invertebrates hiding in the lichens, mosses, and bark.  White-crowned Sparrows have virtually disappeared from nets to be replaced by Golden-crowned Sparrows. I have really enjoyed this switch as it brings new things to learn and new plumages to enjoy. Their sad song is new to me and I can’t help but feel it signals the end of the season and the end of my time here in Victoria

Adult Golden-crowned Sparrow showing a very nice golden crown. (Pic: Andrew Jacobs) 

Pedder Totals

Pedder Bay banded 388 new birds and processed 109 recaps. Ruby-crowned Kinglets took first place at 124 newly banded birds, Golden-crowned Sparrow followed in second place with 72 newly banded birds and Fox Sparrow in third with 69 newly banded birds.  Highlights include the first Varied Thrush of the season, Steller’s Jay, and several White-throated Sparrows.  


Varied Thrush (Pic: Max Hellicar)

Rocky Totals

Rocky Point was closed to banding crew for five days this past week. This means our Rocky Point totals are quite small. We banded 137 new birds and processed 28 recaps this week. Ruby-crowned Kinglet still took first place with 45 captures followed by Spotted Towhee in second, and Golden-crowned Sparrow in third. Highlights include a few more Steller’s Jay and of course the highlight of the week, a Virginia Rail. This is the fourth Virginia Rail to be banded at Rocky Point. The three other captures occurred one each in 1997, 2017, and 2018. 



Virginia Rail (Pic: Max Hellicar)

Steller's Jay at Rocky Point (Pic: Megan Miller)

To fill the hole in hearts left by the closure at Rocky Point the banding crew, including banders, assistants, and volunteers, contributed to eBird’s global big day on October 11th. Participants travelled across Capital to see as many species as possible. ~ 11 participants submitted 23 checklists totalling 116 species. Highlights included a Brant, a delightful collection of ducks, a tail-bobbing Palm Warbler, and two of the cutest Marbled Murrelets I have ever seen (n=7). 



Banding Crew at Esquimalt Lagoon (Pic: Megan Miller)


Bonaparte's Gull having a snack (Pic: Adam Ross)

With our final week upcoming I'm sad to see the end so soon. I've seen a lot of new things and gained a deeper understanding of many familiar subjects. Thanks to Rocky Point Bird Observatory banders and volunteer crew for hosting me! 

Thursday, October 9, 2025

Week 11: A Week of Two Halves

29 September to 05 October


With summer weather stretching well into September, fall migration has been noticeably delayed. The first part of the week was quiet and rainy, with very few birds moving and low numbers in the nets. But once the skies cleared, migration picked up quickly—culminating in the busiest days of the season so far at both stations.


Since BirdCast data isn’t available for Canada, Clallam County—directly across the Strait of Juan de Fuca—serves as the closest reference point. This week showed a dramatic increase in migration activity, rising from a low of around 800 birds on September 28th to a peak of nearly 1.3 million by October 5th. (https://dashboard.birdcast.info/region/US-WA-009?night=2025-10-05)

Pedder Bay

The week may have started slow, but it quickly got interesting. Ruby-crowned Kinglet numbers, which had been notably low so far this season, finally began to pick up. Golden-crowned Sparrows also started arriving in better numbers, after a slow start. Several late-season stragglers showed up in the nets as well, including Swainson’s Thrush, Yellow Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Western (Pacific-slope) Flycatcher, and Hammond’s Flycatcher—species that are usually well on their way south by this time of year.

The top five species banded this week at Pedder were:

  • Dark-eyed Junco (56)

  • Ruby-crowned Kinglet (45)

  • Hermit Thrush (37)

  • Fox Sparrow (27)

  • Song Sparrow (26)

Other notable bands this week at Pedder include:  21 Spotted Towhees, 17 Golden-crowned Sparrows, 12 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 12 Pacific Wrens, 2 White-throated Sparrows, 11 Swainson’s Thrushes, and a pair of Hutton's Vireos caught in the same net. Among the recaptures were a Spotted Towhee originally banded in 2022, and two Chestnut-backed Chickadees first caught in 2023.


Hatch year Hutton's Vireo (Gaelin Armstrong)

Spot the difference! Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Max Hellicar)

Observation highlights at Pedder included a morning flyover of 40 Vaux’s Swifts and several Evening Grosbeaks observed flying overhead. A Northern Pygmy Owl was heard tooting from the nearby woods, and a small flock of Violet-green Swallows—lingering later than usual—was seen moving through. A Long-billed Dowitcher was spotted in the front bay near the road, and a Virginia Rail was seen in the back fire lane. Sandhill Cranes were heard making their raspy, dinosaur-like calls before a group of 16 was seen flying south toward the Rocky Point station. Later in the week, once the weather warmed, Turkey Vultures took full advantage of the thermals, with an impressive estimated daily high of over 700 birds seen kettling and heading south on their way to cross the Strait.

Adult Golden-crowned Sparrow (Max Hellicar)

Rocky Point
A slow start gave way to a strong finish, and we ended up with 428 new birds banded and 83 recaptures. Spotted Towhees absolutely dominated the week, with 93 banded—more than double the next most numerous species. Ruby-crowned Kinglets were also busy in the nets, followed closely by Pacific Wrens and Song Sparrows.

The top five species banded this week at Rocky were:

  • Spotted Towhee (93)

  • Ruby-crowned Kinglet (46)

  • Pacific Wren (30)

  • Song Sparrow (27)

  • Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow (25)

Other notable captures included 22 Yellow-rumped Warblers—a mix of Audubon’s (11) , Myrtle (7), and unknown subspecies (5)—along with 19 Savannah Sparrows, 10 Yellow Warblers, 14 Orange-crowned Warblers, and 7 Western Flycatchers. A few other highlights in the nets were a Swamp Sparrow, a Western Palm Warbler, a Marsh Wren, a Red-winged Blackbird, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Hatch year female Sharp-shinned Hawk (Mara Hanneson)

Hatch year male Red-winged Blackbird (Gaelin Armstrong)

Wester Palm Warbler (Andrew Jacobs)

The geese arrived and flocks of Snow, Cackling, Canada, and Greater White-fronted Geese were heard and seen honking overhead. Over the front field, Band-tailed Pigeons flew past, sometimes in groups of more than 100, and American Pipits moved overhead in good numbers, calling with their distinctive "pip-pip" notes. Raptor migration continued to be dominated by Turkey Vultures but was lighter than expected in terms of diversity. Scattered sightings included Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawks, and a single Broad-winged Hawk among the vultures, though all appeared in lower numbers than usual. Still, the daily spectacle of vultures riding thermals remains hard to beat. 

Around the station, large flocks of American Robins descended on the crabapple trees, joined by Cedar Waxwings and Purple Finches. Yellow-rumped Warblers and juncos moved through the trees. A few Horned Larks and a Snow Bunting passed overhead. The Franklin’s Gull, spotted last week, continued to be seen around Edye Point. 

Notably absent this week were Red Crossbills and Pine Siskins—two species that are usually common by now. Whether it’s a sign of a poor cone crop or just more evidence that everything is running late, only time will tell. 

A Rocky start to the morning... (Max Hellicar)

Thanks to everyone who helped out this week as the season finally began to ramp up. With more migrants on the move and two weeks left in the season, we’re excited to see what turns up next. 

Pedder BaySep 29Sep 30Oct 1Oct 2Oct 3Oct 4Oct 5Total
Banded4181820428968312
Recaps621610646174
Rocky PointSep 29Sep 30Oct 1Oct 2Oct 3Oct 4Oct 5Total
Banded1727132610215885428
Recaps91291566983

Friday, October 3, 2025

Week 10: Towhee Tuesday Never Ends!

 

22-28 September 2025


With a warm late September air we're commonly seeing foggy days at the stations with a few late summer migrants lingering before they head south like Northern House Wren and Northern Yellow Warbler while seabird numbers and winter residents are on the increase. This week in particular our most abundant bird in the nets was the Spotted Towhee! 




A glassy morning at Rocky Point. (photo Andrew Jacobs)

A foggy morning at Pedder Bay. (photo Andrew Jacobs)


A Spotted Towhee that showed up Tuesday night during owl monitoring to continue the ongoing Towhee Tuesday. (photo Max Hellicar)


Banding

This week the team at Pedder Bay processed 221 new birds and 68 recaptures.

The top 5 most banded species for this week there were:

Hermit Thrush - 34

Fox Sparrow - 25

Song Sparrow - 24

Spotted Towhee – 23

Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) -20


Many Steller's Jays have been patrolling Pedder Bay noisily flying around collecting acorns. (photo Andrew Jacobs)

A Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker the subspecies normally found in the boreal and eastern parts of North America. Typically in the Capital Region we get Red-shafted Northern Flickers and occasionally Red-shafted x Yellow-shafted intergrades. (photo Gaelin Armstrong)

The Yellow-rumped Warblers have started moving in numbers now with this Myrtle Warbler visiting the nets. Myrtle Warblers differentiate from Audubon's Warbler from the mask, slight supercilium, wing bars, extent of white in the tail and throat patch shape in addition to the white or yellow throat. (photo Andrew Jacobs) 


An Orange-crowned Warbler of the lutescens subspecies, this subspecies is all yellow and breeds in the Capital region. (photo Andrew Jacobs)


A California Quail is a bird we occasionally catch that is not part of the banding project so we can look at their fancy head plumes then let them go on their way. (photo Andrew Jacobs)



Season to date banding totals for Pedder Bay


This week the team at Rocky Point new processed 372 new birds and 76 recaptures.

The top 5 most banded species for this week there were:

Spotted Towhee – 122

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 23

White-crowned Sparrow (Puget Sound) -22

Pacific Wren – 19

Song Sparrow and Orange-crowned Warbler with a tied - 15

A Swamp Sparrow which come in small numbers in winter to the Capital Region to wet places like the front pond at Rocky Point. (photo Andrew Jacobs)

 A hatch year Cedar Waxwing showing greyer streaked plumage while not yet having any of the namesake waxy tips yet. (photo Andrew Jacobs) 


An Orange-crowned Warbler of the orestera subspecies, this is the interior breeding grey headed variety that we see here on migration. (photo Andrew Jacobs) 



Season to date banding totals for Rocky Point






In the field

At Pedder Bay 

The autumn birds have been picking up with increases in numbers of sparrow flocks, Cackling Goose, Greater White-Fronted Goose, American Robins, Hermit Thrushes, Varied Thrushes, Steller's Jays and Ruby-crowned Kinglets all on the increase while most warblers, vireos and flycatchers have migrated out. Rare birds at Pedder Bay have included Clay-coloured Sparrow and a Western Gull which are quite infrequent at the site.

A Clay-coloured Sparrow on the fire road at Pedder Bay, this has been a good year for encountering this rare species of sparrow at the stations. (photo Andrew Jacobs)


Our local wintering sparrow flocks including birds like this Dark-eyed Junco at Pedder Bay have been on the increase this week. (photo Andrew Jacobs)

At Rocky Point

The migrants have been moving at Rocky Point with Cackling Goose, Greater White-Fronted Goose, Sandhill Crane, Marsh Wren, Many American Robins and Steller's Jays. Late season warblers like Orange-crowned Warbler and Yellow-rumped Warbler are still around in fairly good numbers while most other warblers, vireos and flycatchers are rapidly clearing the area to leave on migration. In the seabird department large rafts of Common Murre and California Gull continue along the seaboard and some less common species like Western Gull, Iceland Gull, Ring-billed Gull. The Shearwater influx continues offshore with both Short-tailed and Sooty Shearwaters. Rarities this week included another Western Palm Warbler and a Franklin's Gull.

A set of first cycle gulls on the rocks in the bay at Rocky Point with Olympic Gull (Glaucous-winged x Western hybrid) left, Western Gull middle and Glaucous-winged Gull right. (photo Andrew Jacobs)

Pedder Bay received a new set of stairs by net 14 courtesy of Mark Byrne!

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Week 9: This season is in the Palm of our hand!

September 15 - 21

A first-of-the-season: Steller's Jay! (Mara Hanneson)

Week 9 of our migration monitoring program has come to an end - which means we are well past the halfway mark of the season! In some ways, it feels like we have just begun, yet the crisp mornings, falling leaves, and dew-soaked nets make it clear that autumn has truly set in. Unfortunately, another "tradition" we've begun to anticipate is the arrival of wildfire on the landscape. This week, haze from the Bear Gulch fire in Washington State drifted into the area - reportedly the worst fire in the area (Olympic National Park) since the 1950s. (And if anyone else was wondering what differentiates a Gulch from a Gully: simply put, a gulch is larger!).

Fox Sparrow set against a very smoky morning sky at Rocky Point (Gaelin Armstrong)

Migration is continuing to build momentum, with kettles of Turkey Vultures and other raptors filling the skies, while updates from our nocturnal owl monitoring team keep rolling in. It's an exciting time to be out at the stations - the cool air is ripe with anticipation for what we might encounter next!

This week showed the usual contrasts between our two stations. Read on for updates and highlights!

Pedder Bay

Top 5 banded species at Pedder Bay for week 9

Smoke settling over Pedder Bay
(Mara Hanneson)

This week, 214 birds were banded at Pedder Bay, and 62 were recaptured. The vast majority of birds were sparrows and thrushes, led by the Song Sparrow (30 banded)! By Sunday, the station had reached 1767 new birds for this season. Unfortunately, this places 2025 among the bottom two years to date for total birds banded. Last year, at this time, was the worst season to date with 100 fewer birds banded. We're hoping that incoming waves of kinglets and sparrows will turn things around!

We also celebrated the first Northern Saw-whet Owl of the migration monitoring season, caught on September 16th (the morning after the owl program began).

Northern Saw-whet Owl.
Always a special treat to find one during passerine banding! (Andrew Jacobs)

A close view of this warbler's namesake ... check out that rump!
(Mara Hanneson)

Another significant highlight at Pedder Bay this week has been our visitors! We welcomed 57 guests to observe our operations, participate in bird walks, and learn about our local bird migration. Thanks to all of you for coming out to support! 

Rocky Point

Top 5 banded species for Week 9 at Rocky Point

A smoky morning over the meadow at Rocky Point
(Gaelin Armstrong)

As usual, Rocky Point station is a completely different story from Pedder Bay. Week 9 wrapped up with 370 birds banded and 63 recaptures. This resulted in 3,198 birds banded this year - a season record for this point! The 3000th bird banded was a beautiful hatch year Song Sparrow. A first-of-season capture of two Steller's Jays were a big highlight for all present.

Western Palm Warbler (Gaelin Armstrong)

One of the most exciting captures this week was a hatch year male Western Palm Warbler - the 5th ever banding record for Rocky Point! These warblers breed across the northern edges of most Canadian provinces, and overwinter along the southeastern coast of the United States and in the West Indies. In British Columbia, they favour the boreal forests for breeding, but can be found passing through the southern regions during migration.

Even Rough-skinned Newts like to show off!
(Max Hellicar)

Even on slower net runs, observations kept spirits high. Yellow-rumped Warblers, Turkey Vultures, and Band-tailed Pigeons have been increasing in numbers daily. Other notable observations included four Broad-winged Hawks in a single shift, Sandhill Cranes, a Wandering Tattler, and a Long-eared Owl!

Max matching perfectly with a Steller's Jay!
(Mara Hanneson)

White-throated Sparrow looking dapper 
(Mara Hanneson)

While this blog focuses on the migration monitoring program, we'd be remiss not to mention the other exciting initiative running until October 31st at both stations: Nocturnal Owl Migration Monitoring. The team has had an excellent first week, with plenty of Northern Saw-whet Owls in the nets and even a special guest appearance from another species. If you are interested in visiting, please book a spot here.

Long-eared Owl at Rocky Point! (Robyn Byrne)

As always, a heartfelt thank-you to our wonderful volunteers. It is a pleasure to share our mornings with such a passionate and enthusiastic group of people! We're grateful for your efforts and look forward to the weeks ahead!

Great Horned Owl in all of it's glory 
(Mara Hanneson)

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Week 8: Achtung (Excel) Baby

September 08-14th

This week we welcomed a significant wave of migrants passing through our bird observatory. On the night of September the 9th, BirdCast (birdcast.info) estimated 777,800 birds migrating over the area. As it happened, September 10th and 11th were our busiest days this week at both Pedder Bay and Rocky Point, with record high numbers of birds processed (this season). 

This week also brought “computer issues” that we hope have migrated through. On more than one occasion, long-time volunteer Mike Motek came to the rescue and resolved the problem(s). We are very grateful for his time and expertise.


Rocky Point:

Observations at Rocky Point never seem to disappoint. This week’s notable species were Greater White-fronted Goose, Northern Fulmar, Sooty/Short-tailed Shearwaters (over 2000 on Sunday!), Black-legged Kittiwake, Herring Gull, Sabine's Gull, Brown Pelican, Lewis's Woodpecker and Sora. 

A total of 492 birds were banded at Rocky Point this week. Our top 3 captures were Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow (63), Spotted Towhee (52) and Fox Sparrow (46). Notable captures included a Clay-colored Sparrow, Audubon’s Warbler and Sharp-shinned Hawk. 

A graph with blue and grey bars

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A great recapture for us was a Chestnut-backed Chickadee banded at our station in 2019. The recapture prompted me to reflect on this species, one that I don’t often dwell upon because it is a common bird here in the Greater Victoria area.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee originally banded in 2019

But in fact, the Chestnut-backed Chickadee which belongs to the family Paridae, a well-studied group of birds, has provided some interesting particulars. Many species in this family have a good memory for food caches which can help them survive during the winter months. Chestnut-backed Chickadees (and others in the family Paridae) are often the nuclear species of mixed species foraging flocks, vocalizing to alert other species of their presence and choosing foraging locations. In the winter, we often find Brown Creepers, kinglets and Red-breasted Nuthatches in these flocks. The use of different microhabitats while foraging together is remarkable, the chickadees inspecting the foliage of trees, creepers preferring deeply furrowed bark, and the nuthatches descending head-first down tree trunks.

Mysteriously, this week at Pedder Bay we captured an adult Red-breasted Nuthatch, and an adult Brown Creeper. 

AHY male Red-breasted Nuthatch

 Red-breasted Nuthatch rectrices

AHY Brown Creeper

Pedder Bay banded 315 birds this week; the top captures were Fox Sparrow (58), Golden-crowned Sparrow (31), Lincoln’s Sparrow (30) and Hermit Thrush (30).

A graph with blue squares

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Notable species banded include Townsend’s Warbler, White-throated Sparrow and Cassin’s Vireo. A female Anna’s Hummingbird was recaptured, originally banded here in 2021. Aside from banding, avian observations included a Northern Pygmy-Owl, Western and Least Sandpipers, Varied Thrush, Steller’s Jay, increasing numbers of Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, and American Pipit. Almost all the Barn Swallows nesting under the eaves of the cafĂ© have now fledged, the remaining chicks presumably enjoying their last few days in the nest before preparing for the perils of migration with many others. 


Recently fledged Barn Swallows at the Pedder Bay Cafe