Saturday May 7, 2022: We were closed for the day due to high winds which made it dangerous for both birds and humans. This video shows the tree tops swaying in the breeze.
We were disappointed, as we had a class from Canisius College scheduled to come, and we expected several other visitors as well. This spring has not been terribly cooperative so far!
Thanks to Kurt, Maggie and Ryan for coming in anyway and getting some extra work done. Kurt shoveled rocks for a couple hours, helping to raise the level of our trails out of the mud. Our boots will thank him!
Monday May 2, 2022: 116 new birds of 22 species, 34 recaps. New species: House Wren, Wood Thrush, Chipping Sparrow, Eastern White-crowned Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Ovenbird, Blue-winged Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Nashville Warbler, and Black-throated Blue Warbler. Bird of the day was White-throated Sparrow with 36 new bands, followed by Ruby-crowned Kinglet with 29.
This morning started with a lucky sighting of an American Woodcock lurking near net five and the flutelike calls of Wood Thrush echoing through the trees. Spring peepers called, and White-throated Sparrows sang for old Sam Peabody. Flocks of Blue Jays milled about overhead and in the trees, occasionally imitating Red-tailed Hawks. The weather was a little sketchy, with sprinkles popping up for the first couple of hours, but as the weather was warm, we worked through the occasional drips and drops by shortening our net runs from 30 minutes to just 15.
After-second year male Blue-winged Warbler
“Feast your eyes!” was a common refrain in the banding lab, as one new species after another made an appearance. Since it still early in warbler migration, most of the new warblers were older males . . . which means they were about as bright and colorful as could be. A stunning Blue-winged Warbler looked sternly through his bandit mask. A Black-and-white Warbler had us smiling at his lacy underpants. Six tiny Nashville Warblers brightened the room with their vivid yellow bellies. The warblers were joined by three Wood Thrushes who filled the lab with their scolding pit-pit-pit calls, and by some sassy Gray Catbirds who always seem to have something to say.
One extra-special moment came when new volunteer Amaya got to band a Black-throated Blue Warbler. Amaya hails from California (which suffers from a dearth of warbler species!), and she’ll be studying this particular species this summer up in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. BBBO actually contributed a little to the research there, when we collected blood samples from several individuals to try and develop a better paternity test. You can read the paper here (but it’s not for the faint of heart!),
Many thanks to the Monday crew – Ryan, Lydia, Amaya, Pat, Marilyn, Janet, and Debi.
Sunday May 1, 2022: 23 new birds of 9 species, 10 recaps. New species: Least Flycatcher and Northern Waterthrush. Bird of the day was Ruby-crowned Kinglet with 7 new bands, followed by White-throated Sparrow with 4 new bands.
Okay okay . . . enough already with the crummy weather pattern that has stalled migration in our area! We have been waiting patiently (more or less) for weeks, and we’re still seeing no more than a trickle of birds. We know they’ll come, but we’d rather have a steady stream than alternate between drought and deluge.
Brown Thrasher. Photo by Allen Grove.
Despite the low numbers of birds, we did have a lovely day. The weather was fine with sun and just a hint of breeze for most of the morning, and the birds we did catch were interesting. We were surprised by our first Least Flycatcher of the season. While Leasts are the first of the Empidonax flycatchers to hit our area each spring, we certainly weren’t expecting one today as out of the 2000+ we’ve banded in the spring, only 12 have been this early. By contrast, our first Northern Waterthrush was a little overdue so it was almost a relief to catch one today.
Two other birds of interest popped by for a visit – both were recaptures. The first was a Downy Woodpecker we originally banded as a second-year bird in May of 2020. What made this bird extra-cool was a molt limit in his primary coverts. Typically a bird of his advcanced years would have replaced all of his primary coverts late last summer, but this bird held on to one on each wing. It’s just a little bit paler and more worn than the ones surrounding it.
The second nifty recapture was a Northern Cardinal originally banded as a hatch-year bird in the fall of 2016. Now in its 7th year of life, he is one of our longest-lived cardinals, although he doesn’t hold a candle to the longevity record in North America which is more than 15 years old.
So what did we do between birds? We drew, we played Go Pish, and we enjoyed the sunshine!
Thanks to everyone on our fabulous Sunday crew – Erin, Ryan, Barb, Allen, Faye, Nate, Maisie and Jenn.
Friday April 29, 2022: 20 new birds of 5 species, 13 recaps. No new species. Bird of the day was Ruby-crowned Kinglet with 14 new bands, followed by White-throated Sparrow with 3 new bands.
The boss was away in Minneapolis today, watching her daughter perform in a musical (which, by the way, was AWESOME and if you ever have a chance to see a performance of Bright Star, you should grab it!). While she was gone, our head bluebird bander rounded up a crew to put up a nestbox in our field (predator guard coming soon!). Apparently the Tree Swallows think it is awesome, because within hours they were checking it out, perching on top, and flying in and out of the entrance. They may not have been our target species, but we’re thrilled to have them and we hope a pair will stake a claim. Eventually we hope to add another box or two to our little trail, and one day perhaps even a Purple Martin colony and a special roosting box for Chimney Swifts.
The banding day was relatively routine, with just one Yellow Warbler to break up the string of mostly-kinglets-and-sparrows. The day started cold, but at least it was calm and clear, and we enjoyed the company even if birds were scarce.
Thanks to John,Ryan, Peggy, Erika and Alice for holding down the fort!
Thursday April 28, 2022: 12 new birds of 3 species, 3 recaps. No new species. Bird of the day was Ruby-crowned Kinglet with 8 new bands, followed by Golden-crowned Kinglet with 3 new bands. Our only other bird was a Yellow-rumped Warbler.
It was another dicey weather day, and we called off banding for most of the crew. Ryan, Gayle, Megan and Jane opened a handful of nets for four hours, and caught barely a double handful of birds. It’s always hard to be open when the prospects for catching birds are low, but our protocol depends on being open whenever we can, and so we appreciate this stalwart crew for sticking it out.
Yellow-rumped Warbler (photo is not of today’s bird).
Tuesday April 26, 2022: 37 new birds of 9 species, 14 recaps. New species: Blue Jay, Gray Catbird, and Red-winged Blackbird. Bird of the day was Ruby-crowned Kinglet with 16 new bands, followed by Western Palm Warbler with 9 new bands.
It was another fairly ordinary day, with overcast skies and relatively low capture rates. The suite of birds seems to be much the same as in past days, although the addition of the Gray Catbird promises that spring really is here even if it doesn’t always seem like it.
Blue Jay (photo is not of today’s bird). Photo by Ryan Kayhart
Today also saw our first Blue Jay. While we’ve seen and heard them most days this spring, they don’t always come low enough to encounter our nets. Blue Jays are a “red alert” species for us this spring, as a jay in Nova Scotia has tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). While many passerines carry avian influenza (AI), it typically is of a low pathogenicity (which really just means it doesn’t kill poultry). Rarely, a passerine can contract a more deadly form, probably by scavenging an infected bird. The chance of any particular Blue Jay being infected is very low, and so is the chance that a human contract the disease from a wild bird. Nevertheless, we take extra precautions to protect both the birds and our banders.
There are precautions you can take as well. Some wildlife officials are recommending taking down feeders, and if your feeders attract waterfowl, that may be a wise idea. It may not be necessary if you only attract passerines, but you should be alert to updates from officials in your area. If you go walking in areas where there may be waterfowl droppings, take care to clean your shoes or boots before tracking it to a new location. Should you find a dead bird, it may be safest for you to leave it where it is. If you wish to dispose of it, wear gloves and a mask, and wash well afterwards.
The good news is that HPAI flares up and dies down, and so things should improve as the days warm up.
Thanks much to our great Tuesday crew – Ryan, Gayle, Sue, Nancy, Megan, Jeremy, Gabby, and Carolyn.
Monday April 25, 2022: 43 new birds of 11 species, 12 recaps. New species: Downy Woodpecker, White-eyed Vireo, and Carolina Wren. We also captured our first Western Palm Warbler, which adds to our sub-species total. Bird of the day was Ruby-crowned Kinglet with 17 new bands, followed by White-throated Sparrow with 8 new bands.
BBBO’s mascot is the Marsh Wren, but in some ways it really should be the White-eyed Vireo. We caught one of these diminutive songsters today, delighting us all.
White-eyed Vireo. Photo by Amaya Bechler.
Starting in the 1960’s, people banded birds in the area where Braddock Bay Bird Observatory now stands, but by the 1980’s, much of the activity had moved to a nearby pear orchard. The present K-MB site was owned by a local man, Bill Kaiser, and he let Clay Taylor – a hawk bander – set up nets on the driveway to catch House Sparrows. When Bill accidentally caught a White-eyed Vireo, he told local birder Kevin Griffith about it and interest in the site as a passerine station revived. Clay encouraged Betsy Brooks to start banding at the site in 1985, and with the assistance of others, she re-established banding operations in the Manitou Beach area. So, whenever we catch one of these unusual-for-our-area birds, it’s a reminder of our genesis. You can read more about our history on our website. If you have stories to add, we’d love to hear them!
The rest of the day was fairly routine, although we were thrilled to welcome a new bander who will be working with us for three weeks. Amaya hails from California, and is a first-year student at Cornell University. She received top-notch training at Humboldt Bay Bird Observatory, and she’s a fantastic addition to our crew.
Thanks also to our regular crew – Ryan, Lydia, Pat, and Janet.
Sunday April 24, 2022: 78 birds of 11 species, 18 recaps. New species: Hermit Thrush, Purple Finch, and Yellow Warbler. Bird of the day was Ruby-crowned Kinglet with 46 new bands, followed by Golden-crowned Kinglet with 11 new bands.
The dam has broken! Our week-long stretch of slow days finally came to an end this morning, as waves of kinglets paraded along the lakeshore. Signalling that we are still early in the Ruby-crown Kinglet migration, almost all of the 46 RCKI’s were male, with only one or two females sprinkled in. By contrast, the Golden-crowned Kinglets were nearly all younger females, signalling that they are nearly done passing through our area. A jaunty Purple Finch was a bit of a surprise, and we were thrilled to see our first Yellow Warbler of the spring.
An after-second year male Yellow Warbler
As much as it was a day for birds, it was also a day for people. We welcomed back Erin Karnatz as our bander-in-charge on Sundays. It’s been a few years, and it was great to catch up – especially about our kids. Erin’s have gone from stroller to high school and beyond since she first started with the station!
Maisie prepares to pass a White-throated Sparrow. Photo by Maisie’s mom.
We were also thrilled to welcome a new young volunteer. Maisie just turned nine years old, and she is hooked on birds. Luckily, she has a mom who is all about nurturing kids’ passion for the outdoors, and so the two of them will be joining us on either Saturday or Sunday for the rest of the season. We had a great time learning how to properly hold birds, and while her hands are small, she was confident and careful. We’re looking forward to watching this budding ornithologist grow through the coming years.
Maisie wasn’t the only person learning how to properly handle birds today – we also had a group of nine students from SUNY ESF who came for a half-day workshop. They perfected their banders’ grip and learned how to safely pass birds to another person, saw how we extract birds from nets, and banded and measured a bird. This brief exposure shows them a little bit about what is involved in this kind of field work, and it sets a solid foundation for them to build on.
Many thanks today to our “old” crew – Barb, Allen, Ryan, Faye and Nate – for holding down the fort while I was teaching the workshop.
Saturday April 23, 2022: 17 new birds of 6 species; 12 recaps. New species: Field Sparrow. Bird of the day was a tie between Brown Creeper and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, each with 5 new bands.
It was another dismally slow day, and with nine volunteers on site today, we had to really search for things to do! The fab four – Jenna, Maggie, Erin and Danielle – held down the banding fort. Kurt scribed and I can’t even remember how I stayed busy . . . but the real stars of the day were Satya and Kiran along with their dad Eric. These two boys (elementary – middle school age) helped move load after load of crushed gravel out to our muddy trails. You might think it would just sink into the ground and be lost forever, but it has actually made an enormous difference! Places where before we would be ankle deep in muck now have a firm bed of crushed rock. While we may still wade through puddles, our feet are on a solid foundation. We still have more rock to move, but every stone helps.
The birds today were the typical mix of early spring birds – mostly kinglets and creepers, with a dapper Eastern Phoebe tossed in for flavor. The image below (from April 2012) illustrates one way we can tell the age of our phoebes. Notice the difference in the feathers indicated by the two arrows. The one on top is shorter and has a light buffy edge, while the one on the bottom is longer and has a silvery edge. The top feather is a juvenal feather that grew in the nest, while the bottom feather is a formative (i.e. first fall) feather that grew shortly after fledging. This contrast tells us that the bird hatched last summer, and is now a second-year bird. An older (after second-year) bird would have replaced all its feathers at the end of the last breeding season, so we wouldn’t see this contrast.
Many thanks to everyone who helped make the day fly by!
Braddock Bay Bird Observatory 
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