Bird Banding at SpruceHaven, St. Agatha, ON Episode No. 3

20 May 2018

     The weather has not been kind to us this weekend and our banding activity has been fairly dismal. Yesterday, without checking the weather, I went outside a little after 05h:30 only to find it raining, so I went back into the house.

     This morning I was a little later getting going having spent a wonderful evening with Francine and Jim and Franc and Carol and getting to bed later than normal. At least it was not raining.

     When I arrived at SpruceHaven Kevin, Heather and Daina were already there, having completed the first round of the nets in fact. My friend Khurram Janjua was also there with his young son Zacariya who is passionate about birds; their first visit to SpruceHaven and their first experience at a banding operation.

     It was wet underfoot, with cloudy conditions and a little cool, but we had high hopes for a series of migrant species. And we were not disappointed in the variety of species, but the numbers were low.

     We were excited to capture a Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata), a species only trapped previously in the fall. 

     It is a constant source of amazement to me that so many birds are black-and-white yet they are all distinctive in so many ways, and this species is handsome indeed, and its autumn migration is the stuff of legend.

     Flycatchers are moving north to their breeding territories and we were very pleased to capture this Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus).

     Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) and Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum) are indistinguishable in the field unless they are singing. In fact they were formerly considered to be one species, Traill's Flycatcher. Even in the hand, other than for a very narrow range where the wing length differentiates one species from the other, it is well nigh impossible for a bander to establish the species with confidence. Thus, most birds are still recorded as Traill's Flycatcher - and this is the procedure we followed for this bird.

     Most warblers have now migrated north, but as evidence that a few are still moving through here we captured this female Blackburnian Warbler (Setphaga fusca). 

     We hope that she will find a mate and produce a fine clutch of healthy youngsters to journey to their home in South America.

     Judy Wyatt came out to help and Daina brought her boyfriend, Rob, a splendid young man, and very agreeable company. Daina also has a friend visiting from Copenhagen and she and her significant other also paid us a visit. It was a highly sociable morning and as always it was good to share our banding experience with others.

     I will leave you with this picture of Heather, our dedicated volunteer, who contributes so much to our success, and who delights me every time I see her.

     I had intended to take a picture of Daina too, our other biologist par excellence, but I neglected to do so, so here is a picture from my files.

     I cannot emphasize too much what these young women have meant to us, and how much they have contributed to the success of SpruceHaven banding and Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) monitoring. 

     And they are truly delightful to be around. I must confess that as I get older I am ever more aware that we need to pass the torch onto younger generations. In Daina and Heather we are handing off to the very finest. It is a happy experience in every way for me to be associated with them.

     Thank you Heather and Daina!

All species banded 20 May:  Traill's Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher, Grey Catbird, Common Yellowthroat, American Yellow Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird, White-crowned Sparrow.  Total: 9 species, 9 birds.