EXTRA, EXTRA, Read all about it!         Dateline Malvern, November 1, 2010

Rushton Farm bird banders set a record for Chester County when 15 Northern Saw-whet Owls, rare but yearly winter visitors, were banded by Lisa Kiziuk, Alice Sevareid, and Doris McGovern working with four mist nets from 7 PM- 2:30 AM.  The Rushton owl banding project is part of a nationwide network of Saw-whet Owl banding stations which gather data to learn the movements of this tiny owl.  As a “fledgling” owl banding station operating only three times in 2009, Rushton banders were encouraged to learn that on Nov.1 historic banding stations such as Hidden Valley, headed by top ornithologist Scott Weidensaul* trapped 16 owls using more nets in a more productive location.  [There’s no gloat factor here. OK,  maybe there might be a smidgen of glee, richly deserved, that on this night we were banding like the big boys.  Rushton-15  Hidden Valley-16,.  Double Digits. Wow.]

Aegolius acadicus is exclusive to North America and is among the smallest owls in the world.  That can of Coke in your fridge is larger than a female.  The male is even smaller.  In 2-3-4 year cycles the northern cone crop declines producing less oil-rich seeds.  Microta (mice-like species) which feed on these seeds become less numerous. Hungry owls which feed on microta, and finches which also need the cone seeds, wander south in search of food, an event we call an “Irruption Year.”

The winter of 2010 is an IrruptionYear not only for Saw-whets, but for Pine Siskin, Black-capped Chickadee, and Purple Finch which arrive at our feeders and in our woods as conditions worsen in the north.   Presaging Rushton’s record 15 owl catch, Lou Hahn and McGovern caught what is now called a “mere four owls” on 10/30.  While Hahn and McGovern worked the nets from 7pm to 3am  they heard the distinctive Saw-whet rasps, mews, and even the signature “toot” call coming from Rushton’s hedge rows.  These vocalizations were a sign that the owl irruption was in full swing and maybe a 10-Owl night was possible.  On 11/1 the moon rose around 3am with only a little breeze, a good sign.   Big owls eat smaller owls which are vulnerable in full moonlight. Sorry Guys, but Great Horned Owls eat Long-eared Owls who eat Screech Owls who eat Saw-whet Owls.  Protein is important for the chain of life.  It’s an owl-eat-owl world out there.

Banders continue to mist-net birds on Tues.and Weds .mornings as weather permits.  The number, but not the diversity of species was fine this week with American Woodcock, flushed from net 1 and a Norther Harrier overhead being notable new species.

* Scott Weidensaul has been our inspiration and advisor.  Netting one less bird than he did on Nov. 1 makes us feel like we’ve arrived.  In this irruption year, Rushton Farm Banding Station has measured up. On a good night Scott can catch over 100 owls.  Now we can  hope for a 20-owl night.

Hope you share our pride in the Trust.

See you in the woods.

Doris
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((     ))    Hoo-ha-hooo-hooo
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Friends of Rushton Banding,

What a fine week it was for our little banding station .  Tuesday 10/26 turned out to be a super day.  We caught 40 birds including our first Fox Sparrow of the season which received many oohs and aahs for its warm russet or foxlike coloring, larger and rounder body and the sweet expression on it’s face.  We try to avoid  “anthropomorphizing” our birds and their behaviors, but sometimes the cute factor is too strong to resist.   This is the 8th sparrow species on our station list.  We also have been catching Cedar Waxwings and Purple Finches in good numbers.
An impromptu session was held on Thursday to make up for a rainy Wed.   Just before dawn hundreds of Hermit Thrush could be heard overhead in the night sky making their “chuck” contact calls above the tree tops.  This hint that birds were moving in large numbers was confirmed as I set net 6 and disturbed bunches of thrush who were feeding on the ground.   Particularly after a rain, thrushes search the ground for bugs that have fallen onto a road or path where they are easy to see.  Only a third of the net was open before one thrush jumped right in.  Even with two capable helpers, Lou Hahn and Denis Brennan, I decided to decrease the number of nets used until my suspicions were disproved.  So, with only six nets we caught 52 birds of 13 species and as validation of the pre-dawn thrush flight, 12 of our birds were Hermit Thrush.  We might have caught a hundred or more, but by limiting the nets, processing was fast, smooth and easy on the birds.
The very fine audio-lure that Lou built for us is attracting Saw-whet Owls to Rushton Farm with it’s repetitive “toot” call which the owls can’t resist investigating.   While waiting to in the barn, we felt the wind rise and the temperature drop around 9:00 pm.  It had been falling gradually, but then the real change came.  At 9:50 we caught our first owl and by then it was “Where’s my jacket?” time.    Moon rise was 10:30 (not good, too easy to be seen and eaten by a larger owl) , but we caught another owl at 11:55 when the wind was roaring and the temp below 50.  On Friday night we banded with visitors present and caught two more owls, bringing the total for the season to six.  We’ll keep trying for owls until the migration ends in late Nov.  In the meantime, it’s owl in a night’s work to attract and catch these tiny creatures..

Doris

After a few blank nights, the wind and moon finally died down and we captured several Saw-whet owls this weekend.  Photos by Adrian Binn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over 400 people gathered at Rushton Farm at Rushton Woods Preserve for the third annual Harvest Celebration on October 23rd.  A Barn Owl and Screech Owl from Great Valley Nature Center added to the festivities.  Photos by Michael Wall.

Dear Banding Friends,

Last week a brief alert to Rushton banding buddies began, “Waxwings, Palm warblers, Purple finches, Oh My.
Flickers and Hairy, Lincoln’s sparrow, and Swainson’s Thrush too.”
We caught 87 birds from 19 species making 10/19/10 the best day in our first year of banding at Rushton Preserve.   We commenced banding on 10/16/09.

Lou, Blake, Sue and Denis did a super job handling birds and scribing after Alice and Lisa had to leave.  At one point the arms of the lopper could not hold all the bird bags.  We used the gathering cage to take some pressure off.   Having three people who could extract birds from the nets while I banded and Denis scribed was ideal. =D>  Our dedicated volunteers enable us to quickly collect and process birds which is great for the birds and good for the bander who has ultimate responsibility for their safety.

On Wednesday 10/20 only 29 birds were caught including our first White-crowned Sparrow, a young bird which hatched this year.  A bird which Hatched this calendar Year is an HY in bander speak.   A Hatching Year bird is a juvenile, but its plumage is called juvenal (not a spelling mistake!).  On January 1, 2011 at 12:01 am, bird banders will call the HY birds of 2010 After Hatching Year (AHY) since they are no longer in the calender year in which they hatched.  Seem confusing?  Come out and band with us and we’ll show you how it works.

We continue to retrap lots of  White-throated Sparrows (winter visitors) which were banded this year and resident birds (Chickadee, Titmouse) from the previous two seasons.  To date 65 birds trapped at Rushton have been caught a second or even a third time.  That’s quite normal and we may learn about their health and the health of the environment as we record the mass of the bird and compare it to earlier measures..

The week’s downward slide reached it’s nadir on Friday night when a crowd of expectant visitors gathered as we opened nets for Norther Saw-whet Owls.  The wind was howling and we understood that conditions were far less than ideal for owl banding, but we persevered until 11:30, but did not catch a bird.  Lou is hard at work building an ‘owl class’ audio lure for us which is no guarantee of future success, but at least will put us on an equal footing with other owl banding stations.

See you in the woods.

Doris