Week 4 - A King in the Hand is worth Two in the Court

This past week had the distinction of ushering in the August doldrums, the period after the bulk of post-fledging dispersal has passed and migration proper has yet to really begin. With any luck the winds (northerly please) of change won’t be too far off and we will soon be up to our elbows in Wilson’s Warblers, Pacific-slope Flycatchers and other early migrants.

Love at First Sight - Blair with his BEKI by Blair Dudeck

Still, the week that was was not without its moments of excitement and we even had a lone decently busy day on the 14^th (who say’s nothing good ever happens on a Monday?), two days after we got some much needed rain. That day, at Pedder we banded 42 birds and had a further 13 recaptures. A shake up in the weather is often just the thing to get birds moving and certainly proved to be the case on this day. Unfortunately, due to military activities we were only allowed into Rocky Point for 1.5hours. In that time however, we managed to band 11 new birds.

The undoubted highlight for that day, and indeed the week, was a Belted Kingfisher that at last managed to get caught in net 13! Every day several of these guys are observed and almost daily we get to witness raucous chase scenes as they careen about the landscape chattering insanely at one another, often not too far from our nets. The discussion of catching this beautiful bird comes up on a weekly basis and despite having caught 10 over the course of the previous 5 years (including four during the 2013 season) they retain a near mythical status, a grail bird of sorts for Pedder. Not to be outdone, shortly afterwards a Hairy Woodpecker and a Black-headed Grosbeak added their painful pecks to proceedings.

Ever wonder what a King's feet look like? by Blair Dudeck

Hairy Woodpecker by Kosuke Saita

After the excitement that heralded the new “work week” Pedder followed up with a young male Cooper’s Hawk on the 15^th. There has been one hanging around the past week or so and I suspect that the next time we see him he will indeed be sporting shiny new band.

Also notable from Pedder were a lone flyover Golden-plover sp. that was spotted twice overhead early on the 13^th. Unfortunately it did not call either time it was flew over so we cannot say whether it was American or Pacific. Also seen that day were a Hooded Merganser (rather uncommon at this site) and a Peregrine Falcon.

Rocky point had a couple Peregrine Falcons as well with 2 different individuals seen on the 14^th. Both stations saw their first Vaux’s Swifts and Lincoln’s Sparrows of the fall this week while Rocky had its first Green-winged Teal and Great Horned Owl and Pedder its first Cliff Swallow.

Hatch-year Cooper's Hawk by Kosuke Saita

While Shorebird numbers have dropped in general, that didn’t stop Rocky from recording 9 species on the 15^th including 5 Black-bellied Plovers, 7 Semipalmated Plovers and 2 Long-billed Dowitchers.

Overall, we are seeing a shift in species composition with our earliest migrant, the Rufous Hummingbird only trickling through now and locally breeding species such as Chipping Sparrows, Swainson’s Thrush, Swallows and Blackbirds all greatly diminished as we wait for their migration to commence. Numbers of Alcids were way down as well this week as most days only a few dozen Rhinocerous Auklets and a handful of Common Murres were detected offshore at Rocky.

Common Yellowthroat by Kosuke Saita

On the up are Band-tailed Pigeons which, in a couple weeks’ time will be numbering up to 100+ per day. Also increasing are many of the warbler Species including Yellow (first 2 of the season for Pedder banded this week) and Townsend’s Warblers (a season high of 8 tallied on the 15^th at Rocky) and Common Yellowthroat. Willow Fycatchers and Dark-eyed Juncos are also seeming around in greater numbers, though the latter will not be peaking for another month or so yet.

Our final day for the period, the 17th, saw a noticeable influx of Pacific-slope Flycatchers and Wilson’s Warblers in the nets at Rocky. Being two of our most caught birds hopefully this bodes well for the week to come!

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Rocky Point	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	Total
Banded	25	30	11	7	11	16	23	123
Species Banded	13	13	7	3	6	7	9	24
Recap	9	4	4	5	0	3	9	34
Species Recap	6	3	4	4	0	3	7	14

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Pedder Bay	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	Total
Banded	15	16	2	42	15	16	19	125
Species Banded	10	9	2	17	10	8	10	26
Recap	8	5	8	13	5	8	9	56
Species Recap	4	4	5	6	4	5	7	15

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Week 3: Not last, but least

I was excited to find out I would be joining the team at Rocky Point Bird Observatory (RPBO) this season as every different location has a different composition of birds.  RPBO also has the advantage of having two different banding sites, with a fair bit of variation between them.  So far the season has been off to a great start, with many new birds added to my “birds banded” list, and some unusual and new birds for RPBO.

Week 3 started out much the same way week 2 ended, with a shortened day at Rocky Point due to military activity, continued hot weather, and slow days at both stations. Luckily, there were some busy days later in the week, and a few great birds! The slower days also provided a good opportunity to train new volunteers, with a few getting to try banding for the first time.

Least Flycatcher - Jannaca Chick

The most exciting day of the week was Saturday, August 5^th with the Rocky Point site banding 62 new birds, including a couple “first of the season” birds, one of which was a new species for RPBO! The new species was a hatch year Least Flycatcher. This species of flycatcher is relatively common across most of Canada and the US but is a rather rare visitor to coastal British Columbia and Vancouver Island, making it quite a surprise when it turned up in a net that morning.  The Least Flycatcher is a one of the smallest flycatchers, similar to a Hammond’s Flycatcher but with smaller bill and with lighter gray plumage.

 That net round, which also provided a Northern Rough-winged Swallow, proved to be something of a indication of what the rest of the day would be like, with not only high numbers but also good diversity featuring 22 species in total. One of the final net rounds on Saturday provided the second “first of the season”, a hatch year female Varied Thrush, much to the delight of volunteer Jannaca Chick and myself. Other highlights of the day were a Hutton’s Vireo, another “first of the season”.  The fourth Olive-sided Flycatcher of the season made it’s way into the net. Olive-sided Flycatchers are rare visitors to the nets, although we often hear them in the area with their distinctive call of “Quick-Three-Beers!”.

Varied Thrush - Jannaca Chick

Despite the excitement of Saturday the rest of the week could not keep up, with most days providing only around 20 new birds a day. Both stations banded about the same total number of birds as week 2, despite Rocky Point being fully open for about 3 more days than during week 2.  A total of 175 birds were banded at Rocky Point (167 birds in week 2), and 167 birds at Pedder Bay (180 birds in week 2). Rocky Point was fully closed for military exercises on Tuesday, which did not help the total numbers.

  

Olive-sided Flycatcher - Jannaca Chick

  Rocky Point averaged 29 new birds banded per day.  Wilson's warblers continued their reign as the most banded bird at Rocky Point with 25 individuals banded during the week. The next most banded species were White-crowned Sparrow (16), Pacific-slope Flycatcher (15) and Willow Flycatcher (15). We also banded a few American Goldfinch, Yellow Warblers, and some Rufous Hummingbirds. Shorebirds continue to be showing up around Rocky Point in good numbers, including several Baird’s Sandpipers seen by David Allinson.

Over at Pedder Bay, there were fewer birds to be found in the nets.  Pedder Bay averaged about 10 birds less per day then Rocky Point and was relatively standard with no changes to the total number of species banded in week 3. A Townsend’s Warbler was the flashiest bird banded at Pedder Bay this week, bringing the season total up to 2. White-crowned Sparrow was once again the most banded species at 30 individuals in week 3. The four runners up were Chestnut-backed Chickadee (19), Chipping Sparrow (18), Spotted Towhee (14) and Wilson’s Warbler (14). The numerous Belted Kingfishers at the site were chasing each other very close to the nets all week, but none managed to get themselves netted.

- Blair

Hutton's Vireo - Jannaca Chick

Rocky Point	4TH	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Total
Banded	9	62	23	22	0	31	28	175
Species Banded	6	22	14	14	0	19	14	29
Recap	6	12	8	3	0	13	12	54
Species Recap	6	9	5	3	0	6	8	14
Pedder Bay	4TH	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Total
Banded	16	24	40	20	22	26	19	167
Species Banded	12	13	13	12	12	10	11	25
Recap	3	3	11	11	15	7	10	60
Species Recap	3	2	6	6	10	4	4	14

Week 2: Hot weather, Hawt birds!

Back meadow at Rocky Point - Christian Kelly

Week two of migration and things are starting to heat up. Literally! A record setting heat wave hit the Southern Coast of B.C. this week, and temperatures reached into the high 20s and 30s. High temperatures are a serious concern during banding as birds caught in the nets are at risk of overexposure to the sun. Thankfully this was not an issue at either station as temperatures remained relatively cool for the mornings.

Unlike the weather, bird activity seemed to cool down significantly compared to the first week of banding. Both stations banded ~100 less birds than were banded in the previous week. A total of 167 birds were banded at Rocky Point (245 birds in week 1), and 180 birds at Pedder Bay (287 birds in week 1). Slower days are expected during this period of migration banding, but part of the reason Rocky Point had low numbers was because of station closures due to military exercises taking place near the banding site.

From August 1st to the 4th we were only granted access to the station until 07:30 a.m. Meaning we only were only able to have our nets open for ~1.5 of our normal 6 hour banding period. Despite this, nearly 20 birds were banded each of the first 2 mornings of military closures, leaving us to wonder how many might actually have been banded if the nets were able to remain open. If Pedder Bay was any indication, then maybe not many.

Hatch-year Virginia Rail  - Michael Newman 

On the non-closure days, Rocky point (RP) averaged 20-30 new birds banded. Wilson’s warbler was the top-dog this week at RP with 27 individuals banded. While Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow and Pacific-slope Flycatcher were the runners up with 14, 16, and 18 banded respectively. The crowning jewel this week at RP was a VIRGINIA RAIL banded on July 31st by Rick Schortinghuis. This secretive bird is often heard calling, but rarely seen, from the marsh near nets 1-4. An observation had been made earlier in the week that the VIRA would often vocalize when ever we raised or lowered any of the nets near the marsh. It is possible the VIRA confused the metallic sound of the net rings sliding up and down the net pole with the sound of an invading Rail, came over to investigate, and got caught. This stunning juvenile was the first VIRA banded at RP in 20 years (!) and will likely be contender for the best bird banded this year.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow - Christian Kelly

Other Highlights at Rocky Point this week include:

• Our first Northern Rough-Winged Swallow banded.
• Cute family of Raccoons (momma and 3 babies) seen foraging in the intertidal area most mornings.
• California Gulls streaming past Bentick Island by the thousands.
• A pair of Tufted Puffins were seen off shore by David Allinson

Pacific-slope Flycatcher nest with chicks -
ChristianKelly 

No rails were to be seen at Pedder Bay (PB) this week, but there was still a good collection of “first of the season” birds banded, including a Black-throated Grey Warbler, and a Western Tanager. Like RP, around 20-30 new birds were banded each day, with a high of 33 on Wednesday (Aug 2), and a low of 19 on Monday (July 31). White-crowned Sparrow took the top spot this week with 29 new birds banded. Perhaps more interesting is the high number of Rufous Hummingbirds that continue to be banded at PB this week. 16 new RUHUs were banded this week for a total of 38 this year. Nearly double the total number of RUHU banded at PB in all of 2016! The majority of newly banded RUHU were hatch-year birds, further supporting our theory of a productive breeding season for our smallest migrant.

We were also excited to stumble upon a Pacific-slope Flycatcher nest in the crook of a cherry tree right next to net 1. The cryptic nest was hidden in plain sight, and likely would have gone unnoticed if an adult wasn’t spotted flying off the nest on an early morning net check. Momma “pac-slope” has her work cut out for her with 4 chicks to feed and is often seen near by.

Other highlights at Pedder Bay:

• A family of Merlins seen near the station
• “First of the season” Townsend’s Warbler, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Golden-crowned Kinglet, and Pacific Wren Banded this week.

The Numbers: 

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Rocky Point	28th	29th	30th	31st	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Banded	34	29	24	34	17	19	10	167
Species Banded	15	13	12	18	12	6	5	29
Recap	9	7	5	3	4	6	1	35
Species Recap	6	5	5	2	4	2	1	14

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Pedder Bay	28th	29th	30th	31st	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Banded	20	26	23	19	26	33	33	180
Species Banded	13	9	12	11	15	12	12	28
Recap	12	7	6	11	10	10	9	65
Species Recap	6	7	4	8	7	7	7	15

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Species	Rocky Week 2 Totals	Rocky Season Totals	Pedder Week 2 Totals	Pedder Season Totals
Virginia Rail	1	1	0	0
Anna's Hummingbird	0	1	1	1
Rufous Hummingbird	3	16	16	38
Red-breasted Sapsucker	0	0	1	1
Downy Woodpecker	0	2	0	2
Hairy Woodpecker	0	0	0	1
Olive-sided Flycatcher	1	3	0	0
Willow Flycatcher	1	2	0	3
Hammond's Flycatcher	1	2	0	1
Pacific-slope Flycatcher	18	42	12	22
Cassin's Vireo	0	0	2	3
Warbling Vireo	1	4	0	2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow	1	1	0	0
Chestnut-backed Chickadee	5	12	20	38
Bushtit	4	6	4	30
Red-breasted Nuthatch	0	2	0	0
Brown Creeper	3	7	1	4
Bewick's Wren	6	15	8	15
House Wren	2	5	7	20
Pacific Wren	0	0	1	1
Golden-crowned Kinglet	0	1	2	2
Swainson's Thrush	7	20	8	22
American Robin	0	2	1	6
European Starling	2	2	0	0
Cedar Waxwing	8	12	1	7
Orange-crowned Warbler	7	21	2	18
Yellow Warbler	1	3	0	0
"Audubon's" YR Warbler	0	1	0	0
Black-throate Gray Warbler	0	1	1	1
Townsend's Warbler	0	1	1	1
MacGillivray's Warbler	6	10	12	20
Common Yellowthroat	3	9	0	0
Wilson's Warbler	27	61	17	54
Western Tanager	0	1	1	1
Black-headed Grosbeak	0	1	1	2
Spotted Towhee	2	8	16	36
Chipping Sparrow	7	15	2	12
Savannah Sparrow	0	1	0	0
Song Sparrow	14	35	6	23
White-crowned Sparrow	16	37	29	60
Dark-eyed Junco	0	0	6	10
Red-winged Blackbird	2	7	0	0
Brown-headed Cowbird	4	14	0	0
Purple Finch	3	9	1	5
House Finch	0	1	0	1
Pine Siskin	0	3	0	0
American Goldfinch	11	15	0	4
TOTALS	167	412	180	467