Nice Carolina Wren recapture!

Monday September 30, 2013.  67 new of 16 species; 48 recaps.  Bird of the day was White-throated Sparrow with 23 banded.   We had expected showers but the 6-hour session was completely rain-free.

We’ve been hearing Carolina Wrens singing around the station most of the fall.  Ryan had banded an adult and a young one this past weekend at his backyard banding station in Vermont.  Today we recaptured a first-year Carolina Wren that had been banded in July this summer.

We took time to admire a Blue Jay banded today.

Elizabeth Admiring a Blue Jay

Andrea and Betsy began getting the station ready for the upcoming North American Banding Council Certification session this coming weekend.    Peggy got ready for a banding demonstration she’ll be giving at Cummings Nature Center on the weekend.

Betsy Brooks/Marian Klik

Migration slows again

Sunday, September 29, 2013.  46 new birds of 15 species; 25 recaps.  New species: Connecticut Warbler.  Bird of the day was Blackpoll Warbler with 9 banded.  White-throated Sparrow was close behind with 8 banded.   Even though warblers and sparrows ran the show today, the trifecta of wrens were a sight to see!!  Volunteers banded several Winter Wrens and House Wrens along with a Carolina Wren.  The last two BTC students left in the late morning after helping around the banding station for a few hours.  Colin helped all morning by returning clips, sharpening pencils, and capturing Hippoboscid flies.  Leanna Twohig

The BTC Runs the Station

Saturday September 28, 2013:  86 new birds of 17 species, 17 recaps.  Birds of the day were White-throated Sparrow with 45 banded, and Gray-cheeked Thrush with 7 banded.  The bander training class ran the station today, and they did a fabulous job!  Since there were six students, they each took a turn being the Bander-in-Charge for an hour.  In addition to the regular duties of net-picking and banding, they were also responsible for taking the weather, calculating the net-hours, and compiling the tally.  They were further challenged by a fantastic group of students from Hobart and William Smith, who were visiting for the morning.   The day went off without a hitch, so kudos to the class!  Since this was their last day, they took their final exam in the afternoon before we all said our goodbyes.

Golden-crowned Kinglets the majority yesterday … Ruby-crowned today.

Friday September 27, 2013.  135 new of 23 species; 37 recaps.  It was another good day, but the number of recaps told the story.  On our 242-bird day on Wednesday, there were just 4 recaps.  Today, there were 37, which meant more birds were staying around the area and fewer moving in.  Birds of the day were Ruby-crowned Kinglet with 29 banded and White-throated Sparrow with 21 banded,

We banded seven warbler species including a Northern Parula.

The Bander Training Class continued to work at the banding table.  They also learned how to remove bands safely and Sue Smith Pagano gave a workshop on how to bleed birds for research projects.

Betsy Brooks

Another Good Day

Thursday September 26, 2013:  204 birds of 27 species, 17 recaps.  Bird of the day was White-throated Sparrow with 77 banded.  Golden-crowned Kinglet was a distant second, with 25 new bands.  Thrushes and sparrows are starting to replace warblers as the most common birds, and kinglet numbers are starting to build as well.  Fall is upon us!

The class continued net-picking and processing birds.  They are holding up pretty well under the early mornings and long days, and are doing quite well with the material.  They took their mid-term exam today, and then we all gathered for lasagna at the BBBO house.

FINALLY! A Migration!

Wednesday September 25 2013.  242 new of 27 species; 4 retraps.  New species Yellow-shafted Flicker.  Bird of the day was White-throated Sparrow with 78 banded.  Runner-up was Golden-crowned Kinglet with 46 banded.

This was Ryan’s last day of his five-weeks at BBBO so he was rewarded with the best day of the fall (so far).

We had a great group of students visiting from Dr. Kristi Hannam’s Animal Behavior class at SUNY Geneseo.  They saw lots of birds banded and also heard short presentations on the orientation research being done by Mark Deutschlander and Jenna Holschuh and the research being done in the MARS trailer by Katie Little for Sara Morris.

Betsy Brooks

 

 

Finally, plenty of birds in the nets.

Tuesday September 24, 2013.  100 new birds of 22 species; 19 recaps.  Finally, our first 100 bird day of the season.  Birds of the day were Golden-crowned Kinglet (19) and White-throated Sparrow (18).  Gray Cheeked Thrushes were numerous as well, with 12 banded. Also banded were 8 species of warblers. We did not add any new species to the season total. It definitely felt like Fall, with the cool temperatures, brilliant sunshine and colorful foliage!

Cindy Marino

Five new species for the day including BBBO’s special bird – a Marsh Wren.

Monday September 23, 2013.  59 new of 27 species; 15 recaps.  New species Eastern Phoebe, Blue-headed Vireo, Marsh Wren, Orange-crowned Warbler and Eastern White-crowned Sparrow.  Radar look ‘hot’ Sunday evening and early Monday morning, but the big flight never materialized at BBBO.  Still, five new species for the fall and 27 species for the day was excellent.

Just when we thought would have no  more problems with the 90-aerial pulley, the rope got stuck in the land-side one.  Since we didn’t have the option of pulling the pole out of the ground, Marilyn Guenther and Peggy Keller very cleverly spliced a thicker rope to the thin one and managed to get it through the pulley and fixed.  It took over an hour to make this work, but it saved the net for us!

Jenna entered data for a good part of the morning.

Jenna – busy entering data!
Photo by Ryan Kayhart

The BTC student teams put up their nets for the usual challenge to see which team chose the best location and gets the most birds.  That spurred Mark, Andrea and Betsy to set up the alphabet nets which are usually especially good in the fall.

Betsy Brooks

Three new species and the start of the fall Bander Training Class!

Sunday September 22, 2013.   56 New, 20 Retraps, 22 Species;  new species Golden-Crowned Kinglet, Tufted Titmouse,and Western Palm Warbler.

Cute Young Tufted Titmouse
Photo by Ryan Kayhart

First Western Palm Warbler
Photo by Ryan Kayhart

First Golden-crowned Kinglet of Fall
Photo by Ryan Kayhart

 

 

It was a cloudy day with Northwest winds during the day.  It wasn’t super busy.   It was nice and steady  and nice enough to enjoy the birds.

Bird of the day Blackpoll Warbler with 14 banded.  Two late Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were a highlight, along with six White-throated Sparrow. ” They’re Coming” finally!

Today was the first day of the fall Bander Training Class.   There are six students taking the class.

Tomorrow is going to be a fantastic day with Northwest winds and clear skies!   So it should be a busy day!

 

“I am ready”

Ryan Kayhart

 

It’s raining again . . .

Saturday September 21, 2013.  15 new birds, 4 recaps.  Bird of the day was Blackpoll Warbler with 5 new bands.  Despite the rather ominous forecast, we decided to open at dawn and band as long as we could (which ended up being not very long).  We were closed by hour 1.5, opened a handful of nets for 30 minutes at hour 2.5, and then closed them for good at hour 3.  Despite the rather limited banding time, however, we nearly managed to top yesterday’s bird total!   Our trusty staff was joined by a Vertebrate Biology class of about 30 students from SUNY Geneseo.  They got to see three birds in the hand as well as a presentation on the challenges of migration before we declared the rest of the day a washout.

The big question is . . . what will tomorrow bring?  If you were checking the radar last night, you noticed that the midwest (behind the weather front) was absolutely lit up with birds.  We have six students beginning their Bander Training Class tomorrow . . . and it could be a really good day!