 |
| Hatch Year Barred Owl - Donna Talluto |
With a new
month
came
a
surge
in
the
number
of
birds
in
our
nets
and
the
arrival
of
some
of
our
late
season
migrants.
We
were
able
to
run
nearly
full
net
hours
at
both
Rocky
Point
and
Pedder
Bay
sites,
with
the
only
net
closures
being
a
result
of
high
winds.
Banding
highlights
 |
| Alder Flycatcher - David Bell |
We
started the week off with David finding another rare flycatcher in our nets at
Rocky Point, this time an Alder Flycatcher! This is only the second record of
an Alder Flycatcher for RPBO, as they are typically found East of the Rocky
Mountains. This species is very similar in appearance to our local Willow
Flycatcher, so much so that they were once considered a single species and are
only easily distinguished by voice and measurements. As luck would have it,
there was also a Willow Flycatcher caught during the same net round, which made
for a great comparison of the two species! We also had our first Ruby-crowned
Kinglet of the year that day, which is a sure sign that migration is really
getting underway.
On
Tuesday we captured our largest bird of the year, a young Barred Owl. It had
trapped itself into one of the nets and Donna was fortunate enough to band it, her first large raptor! This bird was quite young, to the point that it still had some of its downy
feathers on its head, making it extra cute! Although not the typical target of
our passerine nets, Barred Owls do get caught several times a year. This is
likely due to the fact that they are a local breeding species and the young
birds end up bumping into the nets during the early net rounds.
 |
| Brewer's/Clay-coloured Sparrow - David Bell |
Next on the list of highlights was a bird that presented quite a puzzle
to our team. On
Wednesday, David extracted what at first glance was a Clay-coloured Sparrow.
However, upon closer inspection and several measurements, it seemed that this
bird was the Timberline subspecies of a Brewer’s Sparrow. This subspecies is
typically found far to the North and is a much less frequent visitor to this
region of British Columbia. There is still a bit of uncertainty about the exact
identity of this bird, so for now it has been recorded as
Brewer’s/Clay-coloured, but a fascinating bird regardless.
 |
| Least Flycatcher - David Bell |
On Thursday at the Pedder Bay station, we saw our first big day of migration.
A total of 72 new birds were banded, with Lincoln’s Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos
being the most prevalent. This influx of birds kept everyone on the move for
the entire day. The quantity of birds was just as significant as the quality,
with highlights including Audubon’s Warblers, which were the first of the year,
and a hatch year male Downy Woodpecker.
Continuing with this season’s flycatcher theme, Friday brought in yet
another Least Flycatcher at the Pedder Bay station, which was identified by
David. As you know, only about a week ago the first ever Least Flycatcher was
banded at this site! At this rate David will have seen every flycatcher found
at RPBO by the end of the season…
New
Arrivals, Census & Obs
 |
| Worlds best photos of a Lewis's Woodpecker |
This week, we continued to be overrun with
migrating Lincoln’s and Savannah Sparrows and we also saw an increase in the
number of Audubon’s Warblers flying over the station. We also have started to
get greater numbers of American Pipits and Horned Larks flying over the Rocky
Point station. The beginning of September is also when we start to see the
build up of both Band-tailed Pigeons and Vaux’s Swifts as they begin to migrate
South. We were excited to see a couple of rare birds show up at the Rocky Point
station as well.
 |
| Eastern Kingbird - Blair Dudeck |
On Tuesday of this week, a Lewis’s Woodpecker was seen flying
over the station. They are a central B.C. species and rare to be seen in this
area. On Wednesday, a pair of Broad-winged Hawks were seen circling with the
Turkey Vultures and Red-tailed Hawks. At the Pedder Bay station on Thursday an
Eastern Kingbird showed up for a couple of hours over the station, but avoided
the nets, much to the disappointment of those in attendance.
Wildlife
Sightings
Week seven was yet another amazing week for wildlife at
Rocky Point. Wolves were heard howling at the upper ponds several times this
week and were even photographed during census on Tuesday! Both Humpback and
Orca whales were seen several times, with David getting close up looks during the
census on Thursday. If you want to see great wildlife, you should definitely
sign up for census at Rocky Point, hint hint.
 |
| Coastal Wolf - Blair Dudeck |
Week Numbers:
Rocky Point
|
Sept
1st |
Sept
2nd |
Sept
3rd |
Sept
4th |
Sept
5th |
Sept
6th |
Sept
7th |
Total
|
Banded
|
38
|
30
|
35
|
45
|
38
|
42
|
15
|
243
|
Species banded
|
15
|
14
|
14
|
14
|
15
|
17
|
11
|
37
|
Recap
|
4
|
9
|
7
|
5
|
12
|
7
|
5
|
49
|
Species recap
|
3
|
6
|
4
|
4
|
7
|
6
|
5
|
12
|
Pedder Bay
|
Sept
1st |
Sept
2nd |
Sept
3rd |
Sept
4th |
Sept
5th |
Sept
6th |
Sept
7th |
Total
|
Banded
|
49
|
46
|
26
|
32
|
46
|
72
|
22
|
293
|
Species banded
|
10
|
8
|
19
|
13
|
17
|
16
|
21
|
33
|
Recap
|
10
|
8
|
4
|
7
|
12
|
8
|
4
|
53
|
Species recap
|
6
|
4
|
5
|
7
|
6
|
5
|
4
|
14
|
