Week 3: Black, White & Least All Over?

White-winged Dove (Cathy Reader)

Week three of our migration monitoring program delivered excitement at both stations, in and out of the nets! Pedder Bay enjoyed hosting many visitors this week, and Rocky Point had one very unexpected guest - a White-winged Dove! This semi-tropical dove surprised the team on Saturday by showing up at (and quite literally IN) the banding station. As the Southern United States is the northernmost expected range for this species, this came as quite a shock! After putting on a show, the dove departed towards Pedder Bay, but unfortunately, was not sighted again. 

A sweet and squeaky encounter! (Emma Radziul)

At Pedder Bay station, 144 new birds were banded, slightly below the average of 157. The season total, 602, is also below the average of 613 to this point. Nonetheless, the station had some interesting species that kept volunteers and visitors excited! The most surprising species banded this week was a young Marsh Wren. This bird was discovered in net 14 - dry, grassy meadow habitat, where it was not expected! A second individual was also observed in the same area that day. On a different day, but in the same area, a black bear was sighted.

HY Marsh Wren (Emma Radziul)

Western Flycatcher (Heather Tocher)

Rocky Point saw 306 new birds banded, for a season total of 956. These totals place the station well above the historical averages (224 for week 3, and 625 for the season to this point)! The good news continues, as there were two extra-special birds in the nets this week...both firsts recorded for RPBO, and coincidentally they were banded on the same day. First, at 06:05, a Least Sandpiper was found in one of the front nets! Although this species is commonly documented in our daily observations, it was a shock to experience an individual in the net. This first-year bird has a wing measuring 88 mm!

HY Least Sandpiper (David Bell)

For those who follow the blog weekly, this second bird will likely come with less surprise. A Black-and-white Warbler was observed on several days this year, beginning on July 22nd. This week, it found its way into our nets! This was determined to be a second-year Female, and she was moulting her flight feathers. As mentioned last week, this species forages in a style similar to nuthatches...did you know it is the sole member of the genus Mniotilta, which means "moss-plucking"? 

SY Black-and-white Warbler (David Bell)

Finally, thank you to all the volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure our operations run safely and smoothly - we couldn't do it without you! We hope to see you out in the coming weeks. Also, thanks to all our visitors (birds and humans alike). 

This AHY Swainson's Thrush exhibited an interesting barring on the wings (Jannaca Chick)

A young Red-breasted Nuthatch, still exhibiting a gape (David Bell)

Black-throated Gray Warbler (Mara Hanneson)

Another gape, this time on a Pacific Wren (Tamara Wolowicz)

Weekly and Season Totals (click to enlarge)

Week 2: It's not all Black-and-white

Week 2: It's not all Black-and-white         

    This week RPBO was happy to document a second-year female Black-and-white Warbler at Rocky Point. On July 22nd, an unusually postured, contrastingly-colored warbler was tentatively spotted but without sufficient viewability to confirm the bird's identification. But on July 31st the bird was refound, and positively identified, photographed and viewed by many on site. The Black-and-white Warbler creeps along tree trunks or branches in a style more typical of a nuthatch foraging for insects. It's a common eastern warbler, but only rarely makes its way past the Rocky Mountains into western British Columbia. It has a high, thin "weesa weesa weesa..." (with five to ten repetitions) song and a lower pitched sharp, dry chip call. This individual was seen foraging on trunks of alders between our banding station and Net 10, and continued on August 2nd. Rocky Point's only other observation record of Black-and-white Warbler was from September 27th, 2009.

Portrait of a young Chipping Sparrow (photo: David Bell)

    Keeping on the "black" theme, a Merlin (suckleyi or "Black" subspecies) was mist-netted on July 29th at Rocky Point. This represents a second banding record for RPBO, and it was wonderful to observe this after-second-year male's intricate plumage markings in the hand.

"Black" Merlin (photo: David Bell)

Head-on Merlin (photo: David Bell)

    In the nets, Rocky Point banded 234 new birds this week which is more birds than the Week 2 average (197). Its current year-to-date total at the end of Week 2 is on par with the average end of Week 3 numbers. Averaging 33 birds banded per 6-hour monitoring day, Rocky Point's most numerous captures this week were Wilson's Warbler (39), Western Flycatcher (34) and White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis ssp.) (17). Down by the ocean, the thistle has gone to seed bringing American Goldfinch (12) to our front nets, and MacGillivray's Warblers were also caught in good numbers this week (16).

Hatch-year Wilson's Warbler (photo: Emma Radziul)

    Often flocking in July and early August, but rarely mist-netted, Rocky Point caught six (!) swallows (four Barn and two Violet-green) in Nets 1 and 2 this week.

Juvenile Violet-green Swallow (photo: Emma Radziul) 

Wing morphology of above Violet-green swallow (photo: Emma Radziul)

Young Barn Swallow with gape (photo: David Bell) 

    Other less-commonly banded birds in the nets at Rocky Point included three Red-winged Blackbirds (two juveniles and one adult female).

3 photos showing plumage details on a Hatch-year Red-winged Blackbird (photos: David Bell)
 

    We continued to observe several Olive-sided Flycatchers, which is a Species at Risk in Canada, and banded two more individuals (a breeding female and a hatch-year juvenile; likely mother and child). This brings us to five of these large flycatchers banded at our Rocky Point station this season, for a new season record.

Hatch-year juvenile Olive-sided Flycatcher (on left) and adult female (on right) (photo: David Bell)

Dignified definitive-plumaged Olive-sided Flycatcher (photo: Mara Hanneson)

    Pedder Bay banded 161 new birds this week, which is a bit below average for Week 2 (177), but the year-to-date numbers were almost right on par with the long-term average (456). Averaging 23 birds per 6-hour monitoring day, Pedder Bay's most numerous captures were Chestnut-backed Chickadee (18), Purple Finch (17), and Wilson's Warbler (16). Pedder Bay saw five hatch-year Rufous Hummingbirds in the nets, who were readying themselves for their first extreme migration (the longest migration of any avian species relative to the bird's body length).

Hatch-year male Rufous Hummingbird, just molting in some iridescent orange-red gorget feathers (photo: David Bell)

Chestnut-backed Chickadee in the hand (photo: Emma Radziul) 

    Also caught was this beautiful specimen of an adult male Anna's hummingbird with a full, shimmering gorget.

After hatch-year Male Anna's Hummingbird (photo: David Bell)

This week, Pedder Bay caught 3 Downy Woodpeckers. First-catch-of-the-year Black-headed Grosbeaks (1), and Hairy Woodpeckers (1) were also highlights. Everyone is pleased to see two individuals of one of our most colorful species, the beautiful Western Tanager, in the hand.

Colorful Western Tanager (photo: David Bell) 

    Every day at either Pedder Bay or Rocky Point is a pleasure. Wildlife continues to abound. Photographed this week was evidence of wolves in the south inlet at Pedder Bay (fresh tracks, soon to be washed away by the advancing tide). Both Northern red-legged frogs and Pacific tree frogs were photographed at Rocky Point in the light rain of early week. This week, a little bat was also caught early morning. It was expertly removed from the net and released flew off to roost for the day.

Accidental capture of Myotis sp. in the mistnets (photo: Mara Hanneson)

A Northern red-legged frog from Rocky Point (photo: David Bell)

Wolves in the estuary (photo: David Bell)

    Please consider joining us at our Pedder Bay (public access) or Rocky Point (restricted access) on a volunteer or guest basis. Find out more about volunteering here (https://rpbo.org/how-you-can-help/volunteer/) and help Rocky Point achieve its goals of study, education and advocacy for birds and wildlife.

The team at work (photo: David Bell)

Sunrise with sunbeams over Pedder Bay (photo: Evan Larson)

Week 1: Good Evening! I mean...morning!

Welcome to the 2024 edition of the RPBO blog! As in years past, the banders and interns will be writing up a summary of the goings-on at the stations each week, and posting it here, with highlights, numbers, and photos for your enjoyment. As of 21 July, we are operating our regular migration monitoring program at both of our sites: Rocky Point (restricted access), and Pedder Bay (open to the public). The program runs until 18 October, so stop by Pedder for a visit if you’re in the area (about an hour or two after sunrise is the best time!), or consider signing up for some shifts as a volunteer – we can always use the help!

This year, we’d like to give a warm welcome back to Emma Radziul and Evan Lewis, who were both banders last year, and to Mara Hanneson, our intern from last year who is now a full-fledged bander! We’d also like to welcome Evan Larson and Heather Tocher, who are our interns for July and August, and Gaelin Armstrong, who will be joining us as an intern starting in September. I (David Bell) am also back for another season as the bander-in-charge, and am looking forward to another exciting season at the stations! We’d also like to give a huge thank-you to the volunteers who came out to help this week; it was a busy week and the help was much appreciated! There were even a few exciting birds in the mix; read on to find out more. 

It's been nice to see this view again! Race Rocks from the outhouse at Rocky Point on a smoky day (David Bell)

Rocky Point started off the season hot, with 92(!) birds banded on opening day, plus a few recaptures making for an almost 100-bird day to begin the season. This represents a new busiest first day ever, at either station, just squeaking by the 91-bird day that Pedder had in 2022. In a typical year, the first day has approximately 52 new birds at Rocky, and then trails off through the week, ending up at an average of 248 birds banded for Week 1. This year was a little different – it seems that many of the local birds had a great breeding season, and numbers remained high through the week, with most days seeing over 50 birds banded (see the table at the end of this post). We ended the week with 416 new captures, eclipsing the previous first week high at Rocky by almost 100 birds (321 in 2021). The top captures this week were Wilson's Warbler (53), Pine Siskin (46), and Western Flycatcher (41), with Pine Siskin already setting a new season high. Seeing good numbers of Pine Siskins was very welcome, as they have mostly been absent from our nets for the past three years after setting station highs at both stations in 2020 (41 at RP and 22 at PB that year). Highlights in the nets this week at Rocky Point included no fewer than three Olive-sided Flycatchers, a Violet-green Swallow, and a Black-throated Gray Warbler - it's always nice to catch our logo bird! 

Pine Siskin, one of over 50 captured at the stations this week (David Bell)

An adult Cedar Waxwing - always a nice bird to see in the hand! (David Bell)

Up close and personal with an Olive-sided Flycatcher (David Bell)

In other news at Rocky Point, we have a new banding station! Last fall, the students at Royal Bay High built us a new banding building, with fold-down sides and a proper roof. With some custom upgrades over the spring and summer by our dedicated team, the new station has been functioning well, and I'm sure the owl banders are excited to be slightly warmer when the October chills come around!

The new banding station on opening day (David Bell)

The new station in action; we christened it with a 92-bird day! (Robyn Byrne)

Pedder Bay got off to a bit of a slower start; the 54 birds banded on opening day represents the second-slowest opening day for that station, only one bird higher than the previous lowest first day! Numbers there remained fairly steady through the week though, and Week 1 ended with 297 total birds banded, a bit above the long-term average of 282. The top captures at Pedder Bay this week were Wilson's Warbler (39), Swainson's Thrush (29), and Bushtit (25). Highlights in the nets included a young Varied Thrush on opening day, an adult Townsend's Warbler on the 22nd, and a hatch-year female Belted Kingfisher on the 24th. The main highlight at Pedder this week came on the 27th, when Net 8 produced two Evening Grosbeaks; a female and presumably one of her offspring! This represents a first banding record for the station, and also for the migration program overall! RPBO has only banded one other Evening Grosbeak previously, at a Witty's Lagoon MAPS session in 2022. I was especially excited as this was one of my 'wish birds' for the season; now I'm hoping to get the other one! What it is exactly will only be revealed if we catch it ;).  

The star of the week - an adult female Evening Grosbeak! (David Bell)

Juvenile Evening Grosbeak (David Bell)

Belted Kingfisher (Emma Radziul)

The “oldest bird of the week” award was a two-way tie this week, between a Swainson’s Thrush and an Orange-crowned Warbler. The thrush was banded in July 2019 at Rocky Point as a second-year, making it six years old now, while the warbler was also banded in July 2019, but at Pedder Bay as an after-hatch-year, making it at least six years old. A Chestnut-backed Chickadee also banded in July 2019 at Rocky was a close runner-up; it was banded as a hatch-year making it five years old currently. 

A six-year-old Swainson's Thrush (David Bell)

A six-plus-year-old Orange-crowned Warbler, showing off his very extensive orange crown (Jannaca Chick)

As always, there was plenty of wildlife around to keep us entertained, not that we needed the distraction this year with all the birds in the nets! The local mink are still around at Rocky Point, dutifully bringing fish and crabs up from the foreshore into the marsh to feed their young, and a bit of light rain early in the week brought out some frogs. Roosevelt Elk were seen on multiple occasions, in the upper meadow at Rocky Point and along the entrance road, and the local Black-tailed Deer seem to have had a successful season. The gatehouse at Rocky Point also has a new mascot in the form of a black and white cat named 'Commissioner Boots'; if you're lucky enough to see him, he is very friendly (and aptly named)!

Roadblock! Two Black-tailed Deer fawns (David Bell)

Often heard but uncommonly seen; a Pacific Tree Frog (Emma Radziul)

Our daily and weekly totals for the stations are below:

Pedder Bay	21 Jul	22 Jul	23 Jul	24 Jul	25 Jul	26 Jul	27 Jul	Total
Banded	54	49	36	40	49	41	28	297
Species banded	16	21	14	18	19	17	18	34
Recap	5	11	9	5	9	7	10	56
Species recap	5	6	8	5	6	5	8	17

Rocky Point	21 Jul	22 Jul	23 Jul	24 Jul	25 Jul	26 Jul	27 Jul	Total
Banded	92	54	39	47	59	70	55	416
Species banded	22	21	13	17	20	24	20	36
Recap	4	10	7	7	9	9	12	58
Species recap	3	5	7	4	7	5	7	15

 

Week 1 totals by species - click to enlarge

Again, thank you to everyone who came out this week to help during our busiest start to the season ever! Here are some bonus photos if you've read this far.

Daniel enjoying an after-census tea, cup and saucer included! (Robyn Byrne)

Evan banding his first hummingbird (Robyn Byrne)

Heather learning the ropes at Pedder Bay (Mara Hanneson)

Red-breasted Nuthatch (Emma Radziul)

A nice after-second-year male American Goldfinch (Emma Radziul)

Hairy Woodpecker (Mara Hanneson)

Sunrise on day one at Rocky Point (David Bell)

Pedder Bay estuary (David Bell)