Week 10: The Kinglets Are Among us

A Ruby-crowned Kinglet - The Most Banded Bird At The Rocky Station This Week (Gaelin Armstrong)

Week 10 (September 21st – 27th) has come and gone, and Fall has arrived at our stations, and so have Kinglets!

Rocky Point 

Our Rocky Point station caught 382 new birds banded and 46 recaptured birds this week. The most caught bird this week was the Ruby-crowned Kinglet with 62 individuals. The second most banded bird was the Yellow-rumped Warbler with 48 total banded, including unknown subspecies/hybrid with 36, Myrtle with 12, and Audubon's with 12. The third most caught bird this week was the Golden-crowned Sparrow at 40, followed by the Pacific Wren at fourth with 25 banded, and then tied for fifth were the Fox Sparrow and Spotted Towhee, both with 20 banded. 

A Hermit Thrush (Gaelin Armstrong)

Pedder Bay 

The Pedder Bay banding station caught 436 new birds banded and 106 recaptured birds this week. With the top species being banded this week with Fox Sparrow with 75, followed by Hermit Thrush with 69, Oregon Junco with 53, Golden-crowned Sparrow with 46, and both Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Golden-crowned Kinglet tied for fifth most banded bird this week with 30 of each caught.

A Hatch Year Male Sharp-shinned Hawk (Gaelin Armstrong)

A Northern Saw-whet Owl (Rebecca Reader-Lee)

Banding highlights this week were two Northern Saw-whet Owls, which were caught early morning, along with a few Varied Thrush and several Stellar's Jays, as well as a Sharp-shinned Hawk which are always a joy to see up close.

This Golden-crowned Sparrow originally banded in 2021 as an after-hatch year, meaning this individual is a minimum of 7 years old! (Rebecca Reader-Lee)

A Male Bull Roosevelt Elk Surveying the Back Meadow (Gaelin Armstrong)

Observational highlights this week included massive kettles with a high count one day of 950 Turkey Vultures seen, mixed in with Broad-winged Hawks and Red-tailed Hawks. Flocks of Black-tailed Pigeons have been seeing flying over the station towards Bentinck Island, and a pair of Greater Yellowlegs were hanging out and foraging along the shore in the front for most of the week. Flocks of Greater White-fronted Geese, Canada Geese, and Cackling Geese were seen flying in V's over the station. Massive numbers of Common Murres were observed, and the Red-footed Booby was seen offshore of Rocky Point in with a bait ball feeding frenzy.

A Varied Thrush (Carter Strope)