For most of the week we were back at Rocky Point. We banded at Pedder Bay on Tuesday and Wednesday as the base was closed. We had an exciting week with a new species banded (barred owl) and the second highest banding day of the season with 149 birds banded! The four most commonly banded birds this week were: ruby-crowned kinglet (80), a tie for second place with 49 each goes to fox sparrow and Pacific wren, third place is golden-crowned sparrow (46).
On Sunday we banded a varied thrush and a MacGillivray’s warbler. Acacia brought in pumpkin pie! We banded 58 birds and recaptured 2 from 15 species.
The bay at RP
On Monday, Ian spooked a ruffed grouse between net lanes 10 and 11 while on census! A once common species on Southern Vancouver Island is now an exciting find. It rained a bit today so we opened the nets late. We banded 38 birds and recaptured 5 from 9 species.
The rain continued on Tuesday and we had to shut the nets down early. Due to lack of shelter at Pedder Bay we could not keep the equipment dry enough to wait out the rain. We had muffins from Sophie. We banded 28 birds from 11 species.
On Wednesday the trees were still dripping where we normally have the temporary banding table set up at Pedder Bay so we decided to set up on the old road leading down to the nets. It was a good spot as we had a much better vantage point for observing birds and since we are not under the trees, the light is better for skulling. Banding highlight was the Hutton’s vireo. We banded 37 birds from 13 species.
We were back at Rocky Point on Thursday. We banded the first barred owl of the season. She stuck around for a few hours on a tree near the banding station looking unimpressed with her new bracelet. The other banding highlight of the day was a Pacific-slope flycatcher. We didn’t expect to see one so late in the season. Other interesting bird observations were red-breasted merganser and pied-billed grebe. Mike M. brought in muffins. We banded the 100th Pacific wren, ruby-crowned kinglet, and fox sparrow! We also banded the 50th golden-crowned sparrow of the season! On this pretty cold morning we banded 78 birds, recaptured 4 from 15 species.
Friday was our second busiest banding day of the season thus far. We had a young sharp-shinned hawk in net 9. A goshawk was observed on site. The 50th MacGillivray’s warbler was banded today. The MacGivilary’s warblers that have been coming through these last few days have had some beautiful plumages in comparison to the earlier season migrants. We banded 149 birds and recaptured 10 from 22 species.
Saturday was our coldest morning of the season with our thermometer reading 1.3°C! One of our nets nearest to the water was frozen! It was net 2 if you are curious. We banded the 2500th bird of the season! Today we banded more birds than the lowest banding season ever in Rocky Point's history. I wonder how we will fare by the end of the season. We banded 45 birds and recaptured 1 from 12 species.
Non-standard Banding – Pedder Bay Marina
Location total (Sunday, Sept 25 to Wednesday, October 5)
Alphabetical
ANHU (1), BEWR (2), CBCH (1), GCKI (13), GCSP (4), HETH (5), HUVI (1), LISP (5), OCWA (2), ORJU (2), PSWS (1), RCKI (11), SOSP (10), WIWR (1), WTSP (1).
Banding total:
Total birds banded at Pedder Bay: 442; species banded: 33.
Standard Banding – Rocky Point
Species weekly total (Sunday, Oct. 9 – Saturday, Oct. 15)
(this week/total)
Rufus hummingbird (0/7), downy woodpecker (0/3), Northern red-shafted flicker (0/1), willow flycatcher (0/43), Hammond’s flycatcher (0/14), Pacific-slope flycatcher (2/260), Hutton’s vireo (0/1), warbling vireo (0/5), chestnut-backed chickadee (3/35), bushtit (1/10), red-breasted nuthatch (0/2), brown creeper (0/11), Bewick’s wren (1/38), house wren (0/9), Pacific wren (49/123), marsh wren (2/4), golden-crowned kinglet (34/49), ruby-crowned kinglet (80/154), Swainson’s thrush (4/54), hermit thrush (33/84), American robin (2/10), varied thrush (3/4), cedar waxwing (0/2), orange-crowned warbler (5/188), yellow warbler (1/141), Audubon’s warbler (0/3), Myrtle’s warbler (6/8), black-throated gray warbler (0/6), Townsend’s warbler (0/4), white-throated sparrow (1/5), Macgillivray's warbler (3/51), common yellowthroat (1/51), Wilson’s warbler (0/340), Western tanager (0/2), black-headed grosbeak (0/1), spotted towhee (5/30), chipping sparrow (0/12), savannah sparrow (1/28), fox sparrow (49/127), song sparrow (9/93), Lincoln’s sparrow (7/136), Puget Sound white-crowned sparrow (3/128), golden-crowned sparrow (46/88), Oregon junco (14/50), red-winged blackbird (0/8), brown-headed cowbird (0/5), purple finch (1/17), pine siskin (0/1), American goldfinch (0/63), olive-sided flycatcher (0/1), Traill’s flycatcher (0/12), sharp-shinned hawk (1/5), Cooper’s hawk (0/1), barred owl (1/1), saw-whet owl (0/1), Northern waterthrush (0/1), Western palm warbler (0/1).
Banding total:
Total birds banded this week: 367, recaptures: 18, species banded: 28.
Total birds banded this season: 2536, recaptures: 274, species banded: 58.
-- Emily
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