Communications Team

Rushton Migration Minutes: An Unexpected Second Wave of Warblers Preceded the Sparrow Surge Last Week… and One of Our Banded Owls Appeared In Quebec!

October 13, 2011 By Communications Team

“Bird Migration is the world’s only true unifying natural phenomenon, stitching the continents together in a way that even the great weather systems fail to do.”
~Scott Weidensaul, Author & Naturalist

red tailed hawk_dalton portella — Red-tailed Hawk by Dalton Portella

Migration is such an exciting time of year because you never know what to expect! Here at the Rushton Wood Preserve banding station, every day is different and brings new surprises. As difficult as it is to wake up before the sun rises on banding days, it is much easier when I imagine the endless possibilities of woodland gems we could encounter in one of our 11 webs.

Last week (the first week of October) was the first week I really felt the fall chill in the air, but our nets were hot! On Tuesday (Oct. 4) we banded 60 birds and to our surprise, a bunch of them were warblers. As I said in my last blog post, we were observing a drastic decline in the volume of warblers and therefore expected that they were almost finished passing through. Not so! The second wave of warblers last week must have been the birds who were held back by all the rain of previous weeks. Whatever the reason for this fallout, we were thankful because we had species that Rushton has never seen before, including a Tennessee warbler. This dainty warbler of the Canadian boreal forest is becoming increasingly uncommon throughout its range, so having one at Rushton was spectacular. The Tennessee warbler specializes in eating the spruce budworm, so its population may be closely tied to budworm fluctuations up north.

TennesseeWarblerLRR — Tennessee Warbler by Robert Royse (taken from Google Images)

Another amazing warbler we banded was the Blackpoll warbler. Lisa and I had never before seen one, let alone held one in our hand, so we were a bit skeptical at first. First we thought Pine Warbler, but ruled that out by the black centers in our bird’s feathers. Next, our guide indicated that in the fall Blackpoll warblers are often confused with Bay-breasted Warblers, but we finally ruled out the Bay-breasted by the bright yellow soles of our bird’s feet! The Bay-breasted has more grayish feet. Gotta love “confusing fall warblers”.

We had 2 Blackpoll warblers that day. One was skinny and the other had lots of fat stored in its wishbone area (or furcular hollow), which is what we love to see on long-distant migratory birds. It is especially important for Blackpolls to have lots of fuel because they have one of the longest, most strenuous journeys of all our wood warblers. Their journey begins on their breeding grounds of the northern boreal forest of Canada. They double their mass and fly all the way to South America, which is impressive in itself. Even more incredible is that many of the Blackpolls opt for the oceanic flight; they fly from northeastern U.S. out over the western Atlantic nonstop for 1,864 miles to Puerto Rico or S. America. The flocks of Blackpolls have shown up as diffuse blobs of glowing green on radar scopes over the West Indies at altitudes of 23,000 ft! These tiny warblers land in S. America about 88 hours after leaving the New England coast. Ornithologists have compared this dumbfounding journey to a human running 4 minute miles for 3.5 days, without rest, refueling, or water. Absolutely mind-boggling!

Other warblers in last week’s catch included Magnolia, Black and White, Common Yellowthroat, and Black-throated Blue.

Female Black throated Blue warbler — Female Black-throated Blue warbler at Rushton Woods Preserve by Blake Goll

Male Black & White warbler at Rushton by Blake Goll

On Thursday of last week, the sparrows replaced the warblers. White-throated Sparrows were the catch of the day, and a Lincoln’s Sparrow was the most photographed sparrow of the day. This very handsome sparrow likes boggy areas and is only seen in our area during migration on his way to the southern U.S. and Central America.

It is safe to say that last week was an all out fallout for Rushton Woods Preserve. The migratory birds came in on the cold front overnight and touched down in our enticing habitat by dawn. Depending on each bird’s individual physical condition, they will stay for a day to several days or even over a week in a stopover habitat such as ours. Then they will continue their migration, refueled. We could tell the birds last week had traveled very far overnight because many were showing signs of exhaustion, even those that we “popped” out of the net in seconds. We quickly processed these tired migrants first and released them immediately, so they could get back to refueling on insects and berries in the rich hedgerows and farm fields.

I spoke with our farmer, Fred, and he and the other growers who had been working the fields last week noticed the “fallout” of birds as well. As they were walking through the fields harvesting, they were often startled by birds, including warblers, flying right our from under their feet. The birds would fly only a short distance away from them and land in the grasses or vegetable plants a few feet away, as if too exhausted to go farther. Fred suspects the warblers glean insects from the crops; for example, the tomatoes are being left on the vine to rot in preparation for winter because the fermented fruit preserves the seeds for next year. This rotting fruit attracts a lot of insect activity, which the birds immediately discover. Fred also notices migrant birds following the farmers as they walk through the fields because the birds know that such human movement kicks up the insects from the undergrowth. Fascinating stuff! And to think, many birders never dreamed that farms could be beneficial to birds. A prize will go to any photographer who helps us document this revelation by getting a picture of a warbler on a tomato plant at Rushton! 🙂

This week we have been rained out from banding everyday so far except for Tuesday when we got 81 birds! The first of the Yellow-rumped Warblers came through; these warblers are the last to migrate because they winter farther north than other warblers, due in large part to their ability to digest berry fruits. We banded a few other warblers this week including Common Yellowthroat, Black-throated Blue, and Magnolia, but the catch was largely sparrows: Lincoln’s, Swamp, Chipping, Song and Field. We banded some nice thrushes including Hermit and Wood Thrush in addition to towhees and resident birds like Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, and woodpeckers. The Ruby-crowned Kinglets are moving through in greater numbers now, and there are officially no more Gray Catbirds in Rushton until next spring.

Ruby Crowned Kinglet at Rushton. Blake Goll

Perhaps the most exciting birds we caught on Tuesday were a Winter Wren and a Brown Creeper, both very brown but uniquely exquisite. The Winter Wrens have one of the most elaborate songs of all; their voice echoes the heart of the forest. The Brown Creepers sing of “Trees, trees, beautiful trees!” in a sweet tinkling

voice, and their secretive habit makes them very exciting to spot creeping along a tree trunk. They sing of trees, crawl up and down trees, place their nests behind flaps of loose bark on trees, and even look like they are cut from the same cloth of tree bark. Their long , gnarly toes even remind be of tiny tree branches, and their marvelously curved bill is perfectly suited to “tickling the tree trunks” for insects. What a wonderful little bird.

Speaking of wonderful little birds, the Northern Saw-whet Owls are on their way to Rushton! Please read the following notification from the Rushton Banding crew:

___________________________________________________________________

2011 NSWO Update!

You’re invited to the Rushton Woods Banding Station this fall for a rendez vous under the stars to observe first-hand the techniques and uses of bird banding and to learn about the biology of Northern Saw-whet Owls. We will open to the public from October 20 until November 23 with Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings available, but we can accept visitors on a RESERVATION BASIS ONLY. Many people wish to visit our station with the hope of seeing these owls up-close, but our space is extremely limited.

The monitoring of Northern Saw-whet Owls (NSWO) is a nocturnal activity whereby this small owl species is caught using a system of loudspeakers (playing their calls) surrounded by mist nets in which the owls become entangled. The information collected from this process gives scientists information about the cyclical nature of the migratory cycles of these species and their reproductive success.

Please reserve an evening by e-mailing Lisa Kiziuk at lkr@wctrust.org as soon as possible and note that banding is weather dependent as rain or high winds will cause the station to close.

The station is located in the farm shed at Rushton Woods and Farm Preserve and the GPS address to use is 1050 Delchester Road, Malvern, PA 19355. Please note that parking is at a premium and you may be asked to park in the field lot. DRESS WARMLY.

Important NSWO Update!

Yesterday we received news that one of our “Rushton NSWOs” was caught at the Observatoire d’Oseaux de Tadoussac in Quebec. Here is the link to the observatory where she was caught on October 3 2011: http://www.explos-nature.qc.ca/oot/. NSWO number 0494-81906, or “Frenchy” as we call her, was caught at the Rushton Woods Banding Station last year on November 6 and weighed in at 99.3g. She was a “hatch year” owl, which means she was born in the summer of the year we caught her. This year on October 3, she weighed in at 103.3g, a sizable increase, possibly in preparation for migration, and she is now aged as a “second year” owl. We hope to see her again at Rushton this Fall!

New This Year:

In order to help support our long-term monitoring of the population dynamics of Northern Saw-whet Owls, and to improve our understanding of these mysterious night visitors, the Rushton Banding Crew is seeking donations to the program through our newly created “Owl Donation Box.” Your contributions will help financially sustain our continued collection of valuable information about these nocturnal birds, which are discreet and difficult to monitor. Your contributions also help fund our songbird banding efforts.

See you under the stars!

The Rushton Woods Banding Crew

_____________________________________________________________________

Ok Folks, that’s all for now. Phew! I had a lot to tell you! There is just so much happening in the natural world this time of year, and birds make these seasonal transitions so much more evident and exciting. Remember, you are welcome to share in the excitement Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the Rushton Woods Preserve banding station through the first week or so of November.

Make sure you go see “The Big Year” this weekend…I can’t wait!

~Blake

Something Birdy to Do this Weekend

October 5, 2011 By Communications Team

I don’t like to crowd your inbox with more than one post per week, but I just found out about an interesting talk being held at Hawk Mountain this weekend. If you were planning on getting up there at some point this Fall, this weekend might be a good one, especially if you are interested in vultures. We certainly are, as Hawk Mt. banded our vulture babies this summer as part of their Turkey Vulture migration study:

“Join Research Biologist David Barber on Saturday, October 8 at 5 pm for a free discussion on Turkey Vulture migration at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary’s Visitor’s Center. These raptors are one of the most abundant vultures, yet their mysterious migration leads researchers to study them using high-tech (and not-so-high tech) methods. Barber will talk about his ongoing research at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, how and where vultures migrate, and the research experiences he has had.

The talk is part of the free Autumn Lecture Series at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. For more information on lectures, events, or activities at Hawk Mountain, call 610-756-6961, or visit http://www.hawkmountain.org/.”

Last Week of September Brings a Major Migratory Shift

October 4, 2011 By Communications Team

Even with the warm, muggy weather of last week, we still noticed a major shift in Rushton’s migratory visitors. The catbirds are of course still congregating, but the wonderful warblers are waning, the first of the thrushes are traveling through, and even a solitary White-throated Sparrow was spotted. Could that mean the jolly Dark-eyed Junco will soon join the jamboree?

Young Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak at Rushton

Last week marked several firsts for our banding station for this Fall season. We banded the first White-throated Sparrow and the first couple of Gray-cheeked Thrushes of this fall. More of them are sure to follow according to our records from last fall. We also banded our very first ever Rose-breasted Grosbeak! He was a young male born this year as evidenced by his brown plumage and traces of red on his breast and underarms. The adult males are glossy black with white and a brilliant red patch on their breasts that looks to me like they just spilled red wine on their good suits. Along with the thrushes, this grosbeak is merely passing through on his way to Central or South America. The White-throated Sparrow could very well be with us for the remainder of the winter, or he may travel a bit further south in the U.S. All three of these species are potentially coming from distant and remote forests of Canada, even as far north as the edge of the tundra in the Gray-cheeked Thrush’s case. Wouldn’t you just love to see the wild landscapes that he has seen and hear his ethereal summer voice spiraling through the north woods?

Gray-cheeked thrush — Gray-cheeked Thrush at Rushton

On Thursday, the PA Young Birders (PAYB) got to meet our fabulous fall migrants up close and personal! With 50 kids total, there were actually more kids present than birds that day; the children came from PAYB, Upper Mainline Y, and other nearby areas and ranged in age from 8-18 years. The bird catch consisted of several chickadees, lots and lots of Gray Catbirds (our bread and butter bird as Doris says), a couple of handsome Eastern Towhees, and only a Common Yellowthroat and two Black-and-whites representing the warblers. The “compost net” caught our last excitement of the day, which was an attractive Eastern Phoebe with a lot of yellow on his belly and flanks. Perhaps this is an indication of his youth.

Eastern Phoebe at Rushton. Did you know that the Eastern Phoebe was the first species of bird to be banded in North America? The first phoebes were "banded" with string by John James Audubon in 1804, marking the first banding project in the U.S.

On that day, the PA Young Birders also spotted one of our very own Turkey Vulture babies banded by Hawk Mountain this summer. Not such a baby anymore, the TUVU was soaring over his Rushton home sporting his very visible blue wing tag.

One of our Turkey Vulture babies in June 2011. — One of our Turkey Vulture babies banded by Hawk Mt. biologists in June 2011.

Our next PA Young Birder meeting, “Owls and their Night World”, will be held at Rushton Woods Preserve as usual, from 7-9PM on Saturday October 29. Young Birders (and their parents!) are invited to explore the enchanting night world of Rushton Woods. The exciting evening will include Northern saw-whet owl banding and a walk in the dark (no flashlights allowed, only red lights!) as we seek to understand the world from an owl’s point of view. We will gain an appreciation of the night and the creatures that own it… This month’s snack features S’mores around a campfire! Pumpkin carving is also a possibility, depending on the crop. Please RSVP to Lisa Kiziuk (lkr@wctrust.org).

Speaking of owls, has anyone heard an increase in Great Horned Owl conversations at night? I certainly have! I had the enchanting opportunity to eavesdrop on a pair of these lovely owls performing a duet in my neighborhood. Great Horned Owls are one of the few bird species of which both the male and female sings (Northern Cardinals are another example). Even though he is smaller than she, the male Great Horned Owl’s voice is much lower pitched than the female’s, and this was very audible as I stood outside in the dark listening to them. Even as all the other birds are finished with territories and breeding, October signals the beginning of the ordeal for Great Horned Owls. Males are setting up territories now, and females will choose a mate by December. They breed in late January or early February to ensure that their young fledge in the spring with the flush of rodent babies.

Great Horned Owl (Picture from Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

And for your entertainment purposes, here is a nostalgic video Lou Hahn sent me of the dramatic sequence of events in the life of a Robin parent. It’s very cute…be sure to watch until the end when the babies leave the nest unbeknownst to the father!

In addition, I hope you all are getting geared up for the movie, “The Big Year” , starring Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Owen Wilson! Audubon served as the technical advisor for this travel adventure comedy, which comes out in theatres next Friday October 14th. It’s hard to tell from the previews that the movie is about birding, but it is indeed based off of the 2004 book by Mark Obmascik, “The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession”.

Stay tuned for this week’s banding update coming to a theater near you very soon… The cold weather of this week seems to have brought a huge fallout of long distance migrating birds (including an unexpected second wave of warblers!). I’ll just give you some hints as to just how exciting this week is panning out to be: Today we caught multiple birds of 3 different species of warbler, each with ‘black’ in its name, and another special warbler was named after a state (not Connecticut-that’s old news).

No one visited us at the banding station today, but the 60 birds certainly made up for the lack of people visitors! I would come to the banding station on Thursday morning if I were you…there’s a very good chance it could be another Big Day for Rushton.

There’s a lot going on in the woods,

~Blake

Screech Owl Steals the Stage and Compost Pile Attracts a Pile of Birds!

September 23, 2011 By Communications Team

Black throated Blue warbler — Young male Black-throated Blue Warbler. Notice the greenish hue to his back. This indicates he was born this summer.

Hello Everyone,

Here is our banding update for the past 2 weeks of Fall Migration Banding thus far. Sorry for the delay, but we have been up to our ears in rain and getting ready for the Run-a-Muck, which is still on for tomorrow rain or shine, from 2- 6 PM ish. Check out our website for more information about this delightful countryside bash!

Blake with Eastern Screech Owl — Me (Blake) with the Eastern Screech Owl at Rushton Woods Preserve.

The following is our official banding update written by our magnificent Master bander, Doris McGovern:

Friends of Rushton Banding,

We began our 2011 fall season weeks later than 2010. August’s never-ending rain filled our net lanes with standing water and made it unsafe for birds and impossible for banders to work. That’s why you haven’t heard from us until now.

However, when we finally got underway we caught the cutest gray phase Eastern Screech Owl I’ve ever seen. Its plumage was an intricate bark-like camouflage pattern with subtle gray shadings, streaks and contrasts. This young bird was so cooperative; there were more than a few visitors who would have been happy to have it as a pet. We don’t anthropomorphize (attribute human personality to things not human) very often, but this little guy or gal came very close to being adopted. This is our second Screech Owl. The first, an adult red-phase, was caught late at night during Saw-whet Owl banding in 2010. Only Lou Hahn and I saw that bird, but this little owl was seen by lots of visitors. Children were wide-eyed. These owls are quite common even in suburbia. If you haven’t seen or heard one, check out http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Megascops&species=asio

Last fall we caught six Connecticut Warblers, an amazing feat since these illusive warblers, skulkers in fields and low vegetation, are rarely seen by even the most avid bird watchers. Last week on the 16th we caught our first Connecticut, an attractive male with a gray hood. A female followed this week (Tuesday the 20th) and we could get a few more of these warblers if it ever stops raining. Thirteen warbler species netted so far this season include Worm-eating, Wilson’s, Black-throated Blue, Prairie, and lots of American Redstart and Magnolias. Of course, we enjoy all the vireos, thrushes and woodpeckers that live in and stop over at Rushton Preserve as well.

This Northern Flicker is a resident of Rushton.

Our catch for the past 2 weeks has been very good with no total below 28 birds and one as high as 57. On Wednesday Godefroy, a post doc at Penn from Burgundy, suggested setting a net near the farm’s compost piles where we often see birds flitting about as we are leaving. The birds glean insects and seeds from the rows of vegetables and use the hedgerow for shelter. Lou and Godefroy set the net late in the day, but within half an hour, we caught 15 birds including Field and Chipping Sparrows, Indigo Buntings and wrens. While the sparrow migration is on, this could become our best net.

Young female Canada Warbler — This young female Canada Warbler was one of our first migrant warblers this season.

Members of ’PA Young Birders’ will attend a banding session scheduled just for them next Thursday, September 29th from 9-11 am. This program was very successful last fall when over 40 youngsters from 7-17 attended and were overwhelmingly excited by the experience. If you have a youngster or know a young person who would be interested in learning about birds, contact Lisa Kiziuk (lkr@wctrust.org) for a schedule of the fun birding and nature programs that she and Blake Goll (bhg@wctrust.org) have prepared.

See you in the woods,

Doris McGovern

Blogster Blake here again. I just want to emphasize how exciting it was to have all those 15 birds in the “compost net!” Lisa is the one who found them all in the net by herself as we were closing up. She quickly called for reinforcements, and Doris drove her car right up to the net from the banding station! After helping Lisa to extract all 15 birds, she drove the birds back to the banding table for speedy delivery, and Doris and I got to work banding birds double time!

Many of the Indigo Buntings, Field Sparrows, and Chipping Sparrows in the “compost net” were young of the year, which is great proof that they nest in or near Rushton Woods Preserve. In addition to contributing to nationwide bird conservation efforts, one of the main reasons we set up this banding station last year was to see which birds are using this special habitat. Baby birds are great proof of the quality of our habitat as a breeding ground. The baby Field Sparrow was especially important because they are declining throughout their range as a result of loss of grassland habitat. Plus, this sparrow was absolutely adorable with its tiny pink bill, its bright white eye-ring, fuzzy baby body feathers, and lopsided tail (the rectrices were all coming in at different rates). He was a cute little mess! Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture to show you because we were in the middle of processing the 15 birds.

Adult Field Sparrow — An adult field sparrow banded earlier this summer.

The other thing I wanted to share with you is this recent New York Times article about the sobering truth of glass buildings luring millions of birds nationwide to their death each year. Collisions with glass buildings in cities is the second leading cause of deaths to migrating birds, after habitat loss. I don’t like to end on such a sad note, but this is a real problem that Audubon and the American Bird Conservancy are working hard to publicize. Raising awareness is the key, as some architects are already coming up with innovative solutions that are being readily adopted by some cities.

And for the next addition to your personal library, I would recommend “The Birder’s Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds.” It is an essential companion to any identification field guide. I spotted Doris’s copy on the banding table the other day and immediately snatched it up to page through it. It is quite a treasure and a joy to read (for bird lovers). There are species accounts with the most detailed information, like what height in the tree you should look for that particular bird, interspersed with fascinating articles on avian natural history and ecology. I’ll be ordering my copy from Amazon very soon!

I hope to see you at the banding station next week, Tuesday and/or Thursday morning, if the rain has stopped! The Rushton fields of goldenrod are absolutely stunning, almost as stunning as our fall warblers…

Happy Fall,

~Blake

Portrait of our Eastern Screech Owl by Justin Thompson.

Fall Warblers are Back in Town

September 1, 2011 By Communications Team

…. “Those little nimble musicians of the air, that warble forth their curious ditties, with which nature hath furnished them to the shame of art.”
~Izaak Walton

Female Prairie Warbler banded April 2011 at Rushton Woods Preserve.

The little colorful warblers have indeed begun streaming down from the North to grace us with their fleeting presence this autumn. I think the hurricane may even have helped to stir them up a little. On the day of Irene’s visit, before it got really nasty, I spotted a visiting Black-and-white Warbler and a lovely pair of American Redstarts hunting insects in my yard, and Doris (our Master Bander) had a Canada Warbler in hers. Unfortunately, we won’t hear the warblers’ “curious ditties” much, if at all, because they are more cryptic during fall migration in both voice and plumage. This is why you hear the term “confusing fall warblers”; identification is extra challenging because they are not in their bright breeding plumage, differences between species are more subtle, young males born this year look an awful lot like adult females, and song is no longer a dead giveaway! But if you want to start studying your bird songs in preparation for next spring, here is a great resource: Nature Instruct.org.

Male Canada Warbler — Stunning male Canada Warbler banded May 2011 at Rushton Woods Preserve.

And of course, you are invited to drop by our banding station (no sign-up required) this fall to see, touch, and learn more about these beautiful migrants that visit Rushton Woods Preserve. We are in the process of clearing vegetation from the net lanes and finishing data entry from summer MAPS banding. We are eager to start the passerine banding season next week on Tuesday September 6 and will band every Tuesday and Thursday from sunrise to 11am (when it’s not raining) through Nov 1^st. Public Northern Saw-whet Owl banding (by reservation only) will begin the week of October, probably Friday October 7^th. More on that to come…

Check out these unbelievable pictures of an incredible early morning fallout of migrants, mostly warblers, this past spring on Machias Seal Island, Canada. Be sure to scroll through all 12 pictures! Those poor birds are so exhausted they are letting the photographer pick them up in his hand. We forget how amazing a feat these migrations are for such small creatures… It literally almost kills them. I wonder what these birds are saying to each other…Anyway, this is the type of fallout we are hoping for at Rushton this fall! Miracles happen, right?

Speaking of fallouts, did you hear about the exotic seabirds that Hurricane Irene blew in last week? Birders were going crazy along the Delaware River and Cape May checking off life birds they would normally have only been able to see by taking a trip out to the sea or the islands. These seabirds travel effortlessly in the relatively calm eye of the storm and then drop out into ‘new worlds’ when the storm begins to weaken. Sightings included 10 species of terns including a Bridled Tern and a Sandwich Tern (Who thinks of these names?), a Jaeger, and even a Whitetailed Tropic Bird, normally seen in Bermuda and the Caribbean. Very exciting.

Some South-bound Sanderlings and Ruddy Turnstones were also "beached" during Hurricane Irene. This is a Sanderling being banded this past spring for the Delaware Shorebird Project.

Although some birds can travel unscathed through the eye of a hurricane, I’m sure Irene forced the burgeoning Monarch butterfly migration to a screeching halt! All the rain in general last month seems to have slowed the butterflies down; we didn’t find many Monarchs or other butterflies during last week’s PA Young Birder meeting, “Monarch Madness.” We did find and observe one tiny Monarch larvae, one Spicebush swallowtail adult, and some praying mantises! The children had fun bug hunting and learning all about Monarch life cycles and migration while wearing their “thinking antennae!” Please read more about this community event and see the great pictures by photographer Amanda Mahnke in The Malvern Patch!

A PA Young Birder observes a Praying Mantis. Photo by Amanda Mahnke

This month’s PA Young Birder meeting will take place at Rushton Woods Preserve on Saturday September 24, 9-11 AM. The little birders will discover the fabulous fall migrants as they join us for songbird banding. They’ll see that around this time of year, Rushton becomes a hoppin’ Bed and Breakfast Inn for a multitude of different bird species, many of which we don’t see during any other time of the year. Each Jr. Birder will also get to spend a life changing personal moment with some of these special avian visitors before they continue on their way south for migration vacation! Interested Jr. Birders should RSVP to Lisa Kiziuk (lkr@wctrust.org).

Side note: Don’t forget to contact me (bhg@wctrust.org) if you are interested in volunteering to monitor our milkweed patch at Rushton for monarch larvae or to tag migrant adult monarchs this month. The data from these citizen science projects is crucial to Monarch butterfly conservation.

Monarch Larva feeding on Common Milkweed. Photo by Amanda Mahnke

There is yet another interesting migration event that I should let you in on…. Nighthawks. Most active during dawn and dusk, they say these strange birds are the missing evolutionary link between diurnal birds and owls. They sort of look like owls with their cryptic coloration, they fly like bats skillfully catching mosquitoes out of the air, and they have the word ‘hawk” in their name. So what is it? It is actually a member of the Nightjar family and related to the Whipoorwill. Right now, these strange little birds are migrating by the hundreds to South America, and you can view this fascinating phenomenon at the Haverford College Observatory from 6-8pm any evening from now until September 11. Observers saw 648 migrating nighthawks last night! Better than a fireworks show! Read more in the BCDC blog

Unfortunately, migration may be the only time most people see nighthawks in this area. Although their “peent” call used to be a familiar sound in cities and towns, they are now thought to be declining through most of their range as a result of changes in roofing. They prefer to nest on old fashioned, flat peastone gravel roofs and hunt for insects attracted to city lights. Project Nighthawk is an Audubon initiative encouraging people to create gravel nest patches on their roofs. This is a project we hope to become involved with in the near future as well! Go to the Project Nighthawk website for more info.

And last but not least, while we are sort of on the topic of hawks…here are two remarkable videos about hawks that are worth watching:

“Parahawking” over the skies in Nepal (watch in HD)

Goshawk in slo-mo (only works in full-screen mode)

Oh and don’t forget to plan a visit to Hawk Mountain this Fall! No Goshawks so far, but they’ve had 700 raptor migrants of 14 species in addition to many species of warblers. Click here to see the count. And since we like Monarchs too, I’ll tell you that their Monarch Celebration day is September 17^th.

Have fun, and I hope to see you at the Rushton banding station soon!

~Blake

Rushton Migration Minutes: An Unexpected Second Wave of Warblers Preceded the Sparrow Surge Last Week… and One of Our Banded Owls Appeared In Quebec!

Something Birdy to Do this Weekend

Last Week of September Brings a Major Migratory Shift

Screech Owl Steals the Stage and Compost Pile Attracts a Pile of Birds!

Fall Warblers are Back in Town

CONTACT

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST