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). 

See our trip report and photos here. 

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!