Northern Parula (Paruline à collier) at SpruceHaven

08 September 2018

     Fall seemed to have arrived overnight and it was cool when Ross, Heather, Judy and I assembled to band some migrant birds. There was a little wind but in the sheltered areas where we locate our nets it was calm, and when the sun came out, even though the temperature never got much above 17°, it was quite pleasant.

     The prize catch of the day was our very first Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) at SpruceHaven, and I mean ever observed let alone caught in the mist nets. 

     This truly beautiful little bird was a rare treat indeed. 

     It breeds in the northern boreal forest with extensive lichen for nest construction and winters primarily in the Caribbean. In fact we have seen this species on each of our three visits to Cuba, where it is common. Small numbers remain on the mainland as far south as Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

     We wish our bird safe passage to wherever it is headed.

     Magnolia Warblers (Setophaga magnolia) are also still moving through and we caught three of them. This is a familiar species but we all still marvel at the sheer beauty of this tiny bird flying all the way to Central America.

     All the neotropical warblers have distinctive undertail patterns and can be identified by that character alone. This is very helpful since the bird is often observed high in the treetops and the underparts are more visible than the upperparts.

     Zonotrichia sparrows are to be expected as we advance towards mid September and we caught our first White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) of the fall.

     House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) is a fairly common local species, but surprisingly it is captured infrequently. Today we trapped two of them in the same net.

     This bird is a specialist seed eater and has a large powerful bill.

     A momentary lapse of attention caused Heather a little pain as the bird grabbed onto the the skin between her fingers. All in a day's work I suppose!

     This note is primarily for Phil Slade - Judy brought delicious cinnamon buns she made the night before. I ate two!

     We had planned to band again this morning but it was a mere 9° at 06h:00 with strong, gusty winds - unsuitable conditions for banding. Keep your fingers crossed along with us for propitious weather next weekend and we'll have more to report.

All species banded 08 September: House Finch (2), American Goldfinch (11), Tennessee Warbler (1), Magnolia Warbler (3), Northern Parula (1), White-throated Sparrow (1). Total:  19 individuals of 6 species.

Retraps: Grey Catbird (1), American Goldfinch (1), Common Yellowthroat (1). Total: 3 individuals of 3 species.