This week the weather has been nice and sunny. It was a bit windy earlier in the week so we had to close nets 1 and 2 most of the days. The base was closed for two days (Aug. 2 and 3) so the migration crew was delegated to the other banding project - Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship or MAPS as it is more commonly known.
On Sunday, July 31 we banded three new species for the fall migration season out at Rocky Point: warbling vireo, red-breasted nuthatch, and yellow warbler. Monday also had new species banded: Townsend’s warbler and bushtits.
For MAPS, we headed out to Witty’s Lagoon on Tuesday and Madrona Farms on Wednesday. Caspian terns were spotted on the beach out at Witty’s and I banded my first Anna’s and rufous hummingbirds out at Madrona. Thanks Ann for teaching me how to band them! This was the last MAPS session for the season.
On Thursday, Aug. 4 we were back out at Rocky Point. Jessie brought us delicious shrimp pancakes and Ann brought tasty bran muffins. We also banded our first Hutton’s vireo of the season that day. We banded our first cedar waxwing on Friday. Also on Friday, Jessie and Ann made giant laminated observation sheets. We will use these reusable data sheets to record our daily tally of birds observed on site. No new species were banded on Saturday. This week we also had our first “foreign” recap. We recaptured a bewick’s wren that was banded during MAPS from Witty’s Lagoon (approximately 8 Km from Rocky Point as the crow flies)! We still need to check the MAPS data to see what date it was banded to determine how long it took to fly from Witty's to Rocky Point. Exciting stuff!
Natural history notes: swallowtail butterflies, rough skin newt, and sea lions barking in the bay.
Can you guess this week’s quiz birds? Please leave your answers in the comments section of this entry. Answers will be posted after someone has guessed!
Species weekly total (Sunday, July 31 – Saturday, August 6):
Rufus hummingbird (2/4*), downy woodpecker (1/2), willow flycatcher (1/3), pacific-slope flycatcher (24/38), Hutton’s vireo (1/1), warbling vireo (1/1), chestnut-backed chickadee (2/12), bushtit (3/3), red-breasted nuthatch (1/1), brown creeper (2/9), bewick’s wren (8/19), house wren (1/2), pacific wren (2/8), Swainson’s thrush (4/16), American robin (0/6), cedar waxwing (1/1), orange-crowned warbler (13/36), yellow warbler (7/7), Townsend’s warbler (1/1), Macgillivray's warbler (12/14), common yellowthroat (1/4), Wilson’s warbler (64/90), western tanager (0/1), chipping sparrow (4/7), song sparrow (2/16), Puget Sound white-crowned sparrow (12/26), red-winged blackbird (0/4), brown-headed cowbird (2/5), purple finch (4/6), American goldfinch (10/13).
*(number of birds banded this week/total number of birds banded this season)
Banding totals:
Total birds banded this week: 188, recaptures: 16, species banded: 28.
Total birds banded this season: 358, recaptures: 43, species banded: 31.
-- Emily
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