September 15 - 21
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| 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
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| Top 5 banded species at Pedder Bay for week 9 |
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| 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).
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| Northern Saw-whet Owl. Always a special treat to find one during passerine banding! (Andrew Jacobs) |
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| A close view of this warbler's namesake ... check out that rump! (Mara Hanneson) |
Rocky Point
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| Top 5 banded species for Week 9 at Rocky Point |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| Max matching perfectly with a Steller's Jay! (Mara Hanneson) |
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| Great Horned Owl in all of it's glory (Mara Hanneson) |
I can’t believe after all that I missed the Steller’s Jays! Great photos, esp the rough-skinned newt. Newts are cute!
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