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It's Raining Warblers, Hallelujah!

September 21, 2018 By Blake Goll

Magnolia Warbler (After Hatch Year male) banded at Rushton this week. Photo by Blake Goll

Late September is a thrilling time of abundance in the natural world.  As more yellow leaves begin to hustle to the earth ahead of the equinox, the goldenrod finds its stride, and deep purple asters become more plentiful.  Butterflies seem to be more omnipresent now than ever, energized by the late season nectar, and their caterpillars can be found hiding under every leaf and bud.  Our catch mimics this floral and faunal flamboyance in species richness and numbers. 
Even though we were rained out again on Tuesday just like last week, we more than made up for it.   We had a great catch on Wednesday of 35 birds with the highlights including a radiant male Magnolia Warbler and a female Scarlet Tanager.  Although tanagers nest in Rushton Woods, they are a rare catch because they tend to dwell in the tree canopy high above our nets.  Tanagers dine largely on insects, but they also enjoy berries including blackberries, raspberries, huckleberries,  serviceberries, mulberries, and strawberries.  The only reason we caught this one is because we have a new net nestled in a grove of tall sumac shrubs; she was most likely feeding on the velveteen berries of the sumac.  She will continue south, across the Gulf of Mexico, to her wintering grounds in South America.

Scarlet Tanager (After Hatch Year female) banded at Rushton.  Photo by Blake Goll
The view from our new net in the “tropical sumac forest”. Photo by Blake Goll

Yesterday, our catch was even more sensational — 47 birds of a dazzling 19 species! A handful of American Redstarts, a bushel of Black-throated Blues, lots of Common Yellowthroats and Ovenbirds, a Black-and-white Warbler, a vivid Tennessee Warbler, and the prized Connecticut Warbler.  Wood Thrush migrants are now joined by their cousins, the Swainson’s Thrush and Gray-cheeked Thrush.  The Gray-cheeked is the most northern breeding of our thrushes, nesting in underbrush near the edge of the arctic tundra, and is an infrequently seen skulker like the shy Connecticut Warbler.

Gray-cheeked Thrush banded at Rushton this week. Photo by Celeste Sheehan
Connecticut Warbler banded at Rushton this week. Photo by Blake Goll
American Redstart (male) banded at Rushton this week. Photo by Blake Goll
Tennessee Warbler (Hatch Year) banded at Rushton this week. Photo by Celeste Sheehan
Black-and-white Warbler (male) banded yesterday at Rushton. Photo by Blake Goll

The other little surprise was a goofy young Yellow-bellied Flycatcher who kept his fuzzy eyelids tightly closed when in the bander’s grip in the hopes of tricking us into letting him go prematurely.  I could see him peeking out from under those sneaky little lids though…you can’t fool me, you sly fly!

Yellow-bellied flycatcher banded at Rushton this week. Photo by Celeste Sheehan

Last but not least, a couple of crazy cool cats made their debut — caterpillars, that is.  A Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar was curled up in its silk day bed it had spun for itself in a spicebush leaf.  We marveled at how incredible nature is for this caterpillar to so closely resemble a snake.  The false eyespots on its thorax, coupled with the rearing up action, is enough to deter any sane bird from turning it into a spicebush twinkie.

Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar at Rushton. Photo by Blake Goll
Poisonous Saddleback caterpillar at Rushton. Photo by Blake Goll

Tomorrow is our Open House from 6:30 am- 10 :30 am.  We’ll welcome close to 80 people including University of Pennsylvania students, Rushton Nature Keepers, and everyone else throughout the course of the mayhem, I mean morning.  We hope that all visitors leave feeling closer to nature.
There’s a lot going on in the woods,
Blake

Young male American Redstart just before release. Photo by Celeste Sheehan

Filed Under: Bird Banding, Bird ecology Tagged With: Bird banding, fall songbird migration, Gray-cheeked Thrush, magnolia warbler, migration, Scarlet Tanager, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Rushton Has Birdiest Summer in Five Years! + Making Sense of Migratory Connectivity

August 15, 2015 By Communications Team

Goldfinch on sunflower. Photo by James Weisgerber
American Goldfinch on sunflower. Photo by James Weisgerber
WAIT! If you’re a subscriber reading this in email format (ugh!), please click on the title of the post right above in order to view the blog in the glory it was meant to have on the actual blog website.

The height of summer is upon us.  Amidst the heavy haze the happy green hum of life reverberates throughout the fields, meadows and forest.  Wildflowers, at their peak under the solar spotlight, are tended by busy bumblebees, honeybees, tiger swallowtails, spangled fritillaries and red admirals.  Hummingbirds join the dance as they flit about like garden sprites.  Cicadas lend an appropriately incessant voice to the heat; they are the chorus of summer’s daytime song.   The lazy, undulating “per-chik-oree” call of the sweet goldfinches and the begging calls of their young signal the close of the avian nesting season.  
That’s right! Acorns are dropping, blackbirds are flocking and fall songbird migration is just around the corner.  In fact, beginning in September the Rushton bird banding station will be open Tuesday and Thursday mornings for public visitation between the hours of sunrise and 11am.  Fall migration extends through the first week of November.

Carolina Wren singing. Photo by Mike Rosengarten
Carolina Wren singing in summer. Photo by Mike Rosengarten

The Rushton banding crew just packed it in for the summer MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) season.  The final week in July marked the last of the eight summer banding sessions required  each year for this banding project, the aim of which is to understand the breeding birds of Rushton and how their population changes from year to year.  This year was our fifth MAPS year and it turned out to be the best!  We processed 249 birds —7 more birds than our 2011 record of 242.  In each of the three years in between, we didn’t make it to 200 birds.
We couldn’t have been more thrilled with this season’s catch.  All summer long the forest rang with  abundant, ethereal songs of Wood Thrush and Veery, and baby birds abounded!  Breeding species included Ovenbird, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Tufted Titmouse, Wood Thrush, Carolina Wren, Downy Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Veery and Common Yellowthroat to name a few.  Below are some mug shots:
Tufted Titmouse. Photo by Blake Goll
Tufted Titmouse. Photo by Blake Goll

Common Yellowthroat banded at Rushton this May during MAPS. Photo by Blake Goll
Common Yellowthroat banded at Rushton this May during MAPS. Photo by Blake Goll

Young Downy Woodpecker, hatched this June at Rushton.
Baby Downy Woodpecker, hatched this June at Rushton!

White-breasted Nuthatch banded this July at Rushton during MAPS
White-breasted Nuthatch banded this July at Rushton during MAPS

The Gray Catbird—named for it’s mewing call— always makes up the bulk of our catch, so we call it our “bread and butter” bird.  Without it, sometimes we feel we’d be “out of business”!
A Philadelphia student gazes at a Gray Catbird before release at Rushton this spring.
A Philadelphia student gazes at a Gray Catbird before release at Rushton this spring.

It’s easy to take this common backyard bird for granted, but it is actually quite a fascinating little bird.  Catbirds are a widespread species nesting in 46 of the lower 48 states as well as southern Canada.  Some winter in the Gulf Coast and Florida with others traveling farther south to Mexico, the Carribean and Central America where they share the forest with jaguars, toucans and pit viper snakes!  The Catbird is one of the few well-traveled birds that will nest in a shrub in your yard rather than requiring a remote woodland like many other neotropical migrants that just pass through.
Gray Catbird preparing for a bath. Photo by Dustin Welch.
Gray Catbird preparing for a backyard bath. Photo by Dustin Welch.

Catbirds are also one of the few species that can learn to recognize and eject speckled brown cowbird eggs from their nest of beautiful turquoise eggs.  The Brown-headed Cowbird is a parasitic species that lays its eggs in other birds’ nests, thus avoiding all parental care!  It can be a real problem for the nesting success of some already threatened species like Wood Thrush (65% population decline since 1968) that don’t recognize and eject cowbird eggs.  Cowbird babies often out-compete the thrush chicks.  This is one of the reasons why unfragmented expanses of forest are so important; deep woods give Wood Thrush a bigger buffer zone against shady cowbirds that prefer edge habitat.
Wood Thrush on nest in Rushton Woods. Photo by Adrian Binns
Wood Thrush on nest in Rushton Woods. Photo by Adrian Binns

Studies have shown about a 60 percent annual survival rate for catbirds, but if they do survive the winter and migration, chances are the same wily catbird will return to your yard. (Many songbirds exhibit this site fidelity).  The oldest catbird was almost 18 years old, banded as a chick in Maryland and recaptured that many years later by bird banders in New Jersey!
During MAPS this summer we were surprised to recapture one of our banded Gray Catbirds that was originally banded by us in 2010 as an after-hatching-year bird, meaning it was at least in its second year back then.  That means this bird is at least 7 years old now!  It’s marvelous to think that this migrant has been so successful and made it back to Rushton Woods every summer.  This is especially significant to us because most of Rushton’s Gray Catbirds are young and inexperienced.  Hopefully, he’s teaching ’em a thing or two!
If you recall, this spring was very cold and long.  All of the trees and flowers were running a couple weeks late, and allergy season lasted longer as well.  This weird weather did not make for an exceptional spring migration.  We banded 344 birds of 49 species (compared to 449 birds the previous spring).
American Robin in spring. Photo by Santosh Shanmuga
American Robin in spring. Photo by Santosh Shanmuga

Interestingly, we actually still had migrants, like a Gray-cheeked Thrush, roaming the woods of Rushton during the first week of MAPS banding at the end of May when Rushton’s breeders were kicking off their nesting season.  The Gray-cheeked Thrush is a reclusive bird that nests in dense stands of spruce and balsalm fir in cool boreal forests of Canada (the nursery of an estimated 3 billion North American songbirds of over 300 species).  As one of the most northern nesting species that visits Rushton during migration, we shook our heads in awe thinking about the many miles the thrush had yet to go.  Click here to learn more about the importance of and threats facing our boreal songbird nursery.
Gray-cheeked Thrush at Rushton
Gray-cheeked Thrush at Rushton

Anyway, not all of our birds were gray this spring.  Even though overall numbers were slightly down, the species diversity was satisfying and some species had increased.   Orioles, including Baltimore and Orchard, were more abundant this year than ever before—a tribute to the flourishing farm edge habitat that orioles love.   Such enticing border trees may not have been spared on a typical large-scale, conventional farm.
Baltimore Oriole banded at Rushton this May. Photo by Blake Goll
Male Baltimore Oriole banded at Rushton this May. Photo by Blake Goll

Adult male Orchard Oriole banded at Rushton this May. Photo by Blake Goll
Adult male Orchard Oriole banded at Rushton this May. Photo by Blake Goll

An American Woodcock—also grateful for the respect of our sustainable farm on the surrounding thicket habitat— graced our nets this spring with its alien eyes, prehensile bill and giant shorebird feet!
American Woodcock at Rushton this spring. Photo by Blake Goll
American Woodcock at Rushton this spring. Photo by Blake Goll

Some other favorites of this spring’s catch included a pair of no-neck, aerodynamic, bug-gulping Barn Swallows and a handful of spectacularly handsome Blue-winged Warblers, a species that we haven’t caught since 2010.  In fact, we think we might have had some Blue-winged Warblers nesting at Rushton this year because we heard their “bee-buzz” song well into June.  A bird of old fields and shrublands, it should find a happy home in Rushton.  Another bird with similar nesting habitat requirements, the Prairie Warbler, was also heard singing off and on from the fields this spring and summer, possibly indicating nest activity.  These could be two new breeding species for Rushton;  it’s a good neighborhood and the word is getting out!
Adult male Blue-winged Warbler banded at Rushton this April.
Adult male Blue-winged Warbler banded at Rushton this April.

Blue-winged Warbler wing
Blue-winged Warbler wing

Barn Swallows banded at Rushton this May.
Barn Swallows banded at Rushton this May.

Prairie Warbler
Prairie Warbler. Photo by Mike Rosengarten

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were omnipresent this spring, and quite a few of the little things ended up in our nets.  At only 5-7 grams, they can construct their nests with delicate materials that hummingbirds use, like spiderwebs and lichen.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Rushton this spring.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Rushton this spring. Photo by Blake Goll.

A little disconcerting was the absence of a wood warbler that is usually one of Rushton’s most common warblers during migration: the Black -throated Blue Warbler.  We normally band 10 of these each season, but only one checked into the station this spring.  Could this indicate a problem like habitat loss or a weather event on the wintering grounds in the Carribean?
Female Black-throated Blue Warbler banded at Rushton this May.
Female Black-throated Blue Warbler banded at Rushton this May.

We couldn’t have known what a productive summer this would be by simply looking at the results of this year’s sub-par spring banding season.  We might have had a better idea if we’d known about habitat conditions for our birds where they overwintered.  Studies of migratory connectivity are now illuminating the importance of the wintering or nonbreeding grounds in determining the success and behavior of a bird on its breeding grounds.
For example, if a female bird overwinters in poor habitat, she may be underweight and have to delay migration.  Delayed migration means getting to the breeding grounds after all the best males are taken (with the best territories). Now left with the dregs, she may have a low- success breeding season or be forced to seek extra-mate copulations with higher quality males to make up for her losses.
Migratory connectivity is the annual movement of birds between summer and winter locations, including stopover sites—those habitats of plentiful food and shelter that are critical for resting and refueling.   Knowing what’s going on in the entire year in the life of a bird is fundamental to being able to understand and protect it in the long-run. For this reason many scientists are now combining traditional banding with modern tracking technology like satellite transmitters and light-level geolocators in order to better understand avian movements.
Magnolia Warbler banded at Rushton. This is a common warbler that breeds in fir and spruce forests of the north and winters in the tropics.
Magnolia Warbler using Rushton as a stopover site. This is a common warbler that breeds in fir and spruce forests of the north and winters in mangrove forests in the tropics.

This combined approach has recently revealed that our backyard catbirds— the mid-Atlantic and New England breeders—are Catbirds of the Carribean!  They also may overwinter in Florida, whereas the Midwest population overwinters in Central America.
The strength of migratory connectivity varies from species to species, which has important conservation implications.  For example, a species exhibiting strong migratory connectivity means most of the population may overwinter in one small area rather than spreading out though a larger range.  These species may be more susceptible to climate change or habitat loss.
Take a virtual walk in the woods with an ornithologist in New Hampshire to learn about the migratory connectivity of a small songbird that also breeds in the woods of Rushton; click here to watch the 3- minute video by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center of the recapture of an Ovenbird with a GPS tag!   GPS tags have only recently become lightweight enough to be used on small songbirds.  They have more accuracy than geolocators because they collect data from satellites rather than measuring light levels to estimate location.
Ovenbird banded at Rushton this June during MAPS banding.
Ovenbird banded at Rushton this June during MAPS banding.

Radio transmitter tags are also emerging on the cutting edge of wildlife tracking because they are lightweight and relatively inexpensive compared to GPS.  The animal does not have to be recaptured to retrieve the location data; it just needs to pass by a receiving tower.    This spring 36 Gray-cheeked Thrushes were tagged with radio transmitters in Colombia, many of which were soon detected by towers in North America!  One awe-inspiring individual flew 2,019 miles from Colombia to Indiana in 3.3 days, which means it flew 3 days straight with only an hour or two of rest!   Click here to see the map of this astounding feat.
Wing of long distance flier, the Gray-cheeked Thrush.
Wing of long distance flier, the Gray-cheeked Thrush.

Technology, bird banding and passionate field scientists are unraveling the mysteries of migratory connectivity, thus making conservation of our declining feathered Earthlings that much more tangible.  Could such technology be coming to a banding station near you in the future?
If you can’t wait to get out to Rushton to see the bird banding, watch this video to get up-close looks at beautiful songbirds at a banding station similar to Rushton, on the coast of Texas.  You will be moved by their take on migratory connectivity and the faces of the local school children getting to release these inter-continental creatures.
Westtown first graders releasing a warbler together after banding at Rushton this May. Photo by Kelsey Lingle.
Westtown first graders releasing a warbler together after banding at Rushton this May. Photo by Kelsey Lingle.

Child holding a banded ovenbird briefly before release at Rushton this May.
Child holding a banded Ovenbird briefly before release at Rushton this May.

There’s a lot going on in the woods,
Blake
 

Filed Under: Bird Banding, Bird Conservation Tagged With: Bird banding, cowbirds, GPS tag, Gray Catbird, Gray-cheeked Thrush, MAPS banding, migratory connectivity, wildlife tracking technology

Three Connecticut Warblers, a Wilson’s Warbler, Gray-cheeked Thrush and More!

September 22, 2012 By Communications Team

NOTE: For those of you viewing this post by email, please remember to click on the title to read the post from the actual site for a better viewing experience.

Common Yellowthroat.  Photo by Gloria Ives.
Common Yellowthroat. Photo by Gloria Ives.

Ode to a Bander’s Autumnal World

by Blake Goll

 As the ardent air of autumn eclipses the weary haze of summer’s last breath,

The wind whispers to the wild wings that it is time.

Oh how the northern trees must weep as they somberly settle into winter solitude

And yearn for the intimate avian romance that enchants their days of green.

By most of mankind, the birds’ desperate southern voyage goes unseen.

 

But to the fortunate few, like you and me, this is the splendor we have feverishly awaited!

As if a million precious gems of a giant royal chest were catapulted south,

We scramble frantically to touch as many as we can before they continue spilling past,

Each jewel in hand more exquisite and exciting than the last.

 

Like secretive spiders faithfully tending their dewy webs by dawn’s dim light,

We raise our mist nets in hopes of gently snaring a few denizens of the sky;

A small silver ring upon the ankle, a reverent study of intricate feathers, then the rapturous release that leaves us breathless in awe,

Each lovely feathered captive feeds our hunger to understand

The storied lives of the heavenly birds with whom we share the land.

Blake Goll carefully ageing a White-eyed Vireo by its feathers.  Photo by Gloria Ives.
Blake Goll carefully ageing a White-eyed Vireo by its feathers. Photo by Gloria Ives.

The feathered gems are indeed, flying southward in all earnest now.  The wood warblers are still abundant, but the mid-fall migrants are beginning to show up, like the thrushes, kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers.  The endless procession of catbirds still has not diminished and White-throated Sparrows have yet to reach us.

Northern Parula female.  Photo by Blake Goll.
Northern Parula female. Photo by Blake Goll.

Nothern Parula female.  Photo by Mariana Pesthy.
Nothern Parula female. Photo by Mariana Pesthy.

Yesterday, we banded 43 birds of eleven species for ten environmental educators from all over the country. The most notable birds were a beautiful first year female Northern Parula (only our third since 2010), a young Red-eyed Vireo (our second ever during migration banding) whose eyes were more brown than red,  and the first Gray-cheeked Thrush of the season!  We caught several Swainson’s Thrushes as well, distinguised from the Gray-cheeked by yellow orangish spectacles and buffy rather than gray cheeks.  The Gray-cheeked Thrush is the most northen breeder of all America’s spotted thrushes and is infrequently seen; its gray pallor is a reflection of its austere tundra environment.

Gray-cheeked Thrush.  Photo by Blake Goll.
Gray-cheeked Thrush. Photo by Blake Goll.
Gray-cheeked Thrush (left) and Swainson's Thrush.  Photo by Mariana Pesthy.
Gray-cheeked Thrush (left) and Swainson’s Thrush. Photo by Mariana Pesthy.
Young Red eyed Vireo.  Photo by Blake Goll.
Young Red eyed Vireo. Photo by Blake Goll.

Heard and seen (but not netted) yesterday at the banding station were several small kettles of Broad-winged Hawk (nothing compared to the tens of thousands counted at DelCo and MontCo hawk watches), Red-breasted Nuthatch, and at least three Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.   Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks circled over the net lanes looking for easy pickings.

We hosted 21 members of the Birding Club of Delaware County on Saturday and the staff of PA Audubon on Monday.  Both of these days were relatively slow (around 35 birds each day), but the quality was stupendous! No one was mourning when a female Connecticut Warbler materialized and mesmerized with her quiet, rare beauty.  This is a bird that evades most big time birders’ life lists, as I mentioned before, and it was our third of the season!  Check out bird photographer Matt Levanowitz’s guest blog post on Nemesis Bird about his quest to find the mysterious Connecticut.  Can somebody tell him he just needs to visit Rushton!?

Connecticut Warbler (female).  Photo by Justin Thompson.
Connecticut Warbler (female). Photo by Justin Thompson.

Other birds banded earlier this week include Swainson’s Thrushes, Magnolia Warblers, Ovenbirds, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Cardinal, Yellow Shafted Flicker, Wood Thrush, Field Sparrow and one scruffy young male Eastern Towhee.

Eastern Towhee (hatch year male).  Photo by Bob Pierce.
Eastern Towhee (hatch year male). Photo by Bob Pierce.
Northern Cardinal (hatch year male).  Photo by Blake Goll.
Northern Cardinal (hatch year male). Photo by Blake Goll.
Ovenbird getting his picture taken before release.  Photo by Blake Goll.
Ovenbird getting his picture taken before release. Photo by Blake Goll.
Wing of Yellow-shafted Flicker.  Photo by Blake Goll.
Wing of Yellow-shafted Flicker. Photo by Blake Goll.
Child with Magnolia Warbler (hatch year female) before release.  Photo by Blake Goll
Child with Magnolia Warbler (hatch year female) before release. Photo by Blake Goll

Though our banding crew was not able to be out last Sunday the 16th, it would have been great banding because there was a BIG flight over Southeastern PA the Saturday night before.  I birded the woodlot behind my house in West Chester that morning from 9-10:30am, which is far too late by most birders’ standards.  However, I really lucked out and got awesome close views of 13 migrant species bustling about: Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black-and-White Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Northern Parula, Pine Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Wood Thrush, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Red-eyed Vireo, Wood Pewee and my very first breath-taking BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS!  Who says you have to set your alarm at the crack of dawn for birding? My warblers were feeding so low in the understory at one point that I could actually hear their bills snapping as they chased the insects out from the leaves and into the open air near me.  As close as they were though, it was still quite a task differentiating “confusing fall warbler” plumage.  It’s much easier in the hand than when they are darting through the canopy!

Male Chestnut-sided Warbler (Hatch year).  Photo by Blake Goll.
Male Chestnut-sided Warbler (Hatch year). Photo by Blake Goll.

Working my way backwards in news from Rushton banding station, last week we caught about 150 birds in 3 mornings.  Perhaps the most thrilling catch was an itty bitty WIWA or Wilson’s Warbler on 9/11, only the second ever for Rushton!  We measured the extensiveness of black on his head to determine he was an adult male.   These handsome little guys breed largely in Canada and the Pacific Northwest.

Wilson's Warbler ( an adult male).  Photo by Blake Goll.
Wilson’s Warbler ( an adult male). Photo by Blake Goll.

That same day we also banded a trio of refined Cedar Waxwings: an adult female and two “kids”.  Although we often hear and see Cedar Waxwing flocks feeding on berries and insects high in the hedgerow, this is the first time they have come down to our nets since fall of 2010.

Female Cedar Waxwing.  Photo by Blake Goll.
Female Cedar Waxwing. Photo by Blake Goll.
A hatch year female Cedar Waxwing.  Photo by Blake Goll.
A hatch year female Cedar Waxwing. Photo by Blake Goll.

On 9/11 we also banded three hatch year Song Sparrows, which we suspect are the ones born in the Tiger Stripe tomato plants this summer, a wonderful picture of the harmonious relationship between the sustainable farm and the birds.

Song Sparrow siblings.  Photo by Justin Thompson.
Song Sparrow siblings. Photo by Justin Thompson.
Asters and goldenrod at Rushton Farm.  Photo by Blake Goll.
Asters and goldenrod at Rushton Farm. Photo by Blake Goll.

At least two White-eyed Vireos were taunting us all last week, calling from the hedgerow, but never venturing into a net.  However, at the end of the week we did manage to catch one young White-eyed Vireo!  This is a fantastic bird with blue legs, an eery white, human-like eye and an uncanny resemblance to a miniature velociraptor, if you ask me.

White-eyed Vireo
White-eyed Vireo
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

Other birds banded last week include:

  • Another female Connecticut Warbler!
  • Black-and-White Warbler
  • Northern Waterthrush
  • Eastern Towhee
  • Yellow Shafted Flickers
  • Gray Catbird
  • Common Yellowthroat
  • House Wren
  • Carolina Wren
  • Ovenbird
  • Northern Cardinal
  • Magnolia Warbler
  • Swainson’s Thrush
  • Wood Thrush
  • Veery
  • Field Sparrow
  • American Robin
  • Young Indigo Buntings
Black-and-white Warbler (hatch year).  Photo by Justin Thompson.
Black-and-white Warbler (hatch year). Photo by Justin Thompson.
Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird in the net.
Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird in the net.
Young House Wren with bill deformity.  Photo by Blake Goll.
Young House Wren with bill deformity. This bird’s future success after mom stops feeding him is bleak. Photo by Blake Goll.

Birds noted but not banded last week include a dozen or so American Wood Cocks, which we flushed  at dawn’s first light from the fields, and a Common Nighthawk, which flew from its roost at the edge of the woods late one morning as we were closing the nets.

Songbird Banding Schedule

Rushton Banding Station is in operation and open to the public every Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 6am until 11am, unless it rains.  In addition, we will be open to visitors Wednesday morning September 26th, 6am-11am.

Songbird banding runs until mid to late October when we start banding for Northern Saw-whet Owls.  Stay tuned for more info about owl banding.

Young Gray Catbird.  Photo by Justin Thompson.
Young Gray Catbird. Photo by Justin Thompson.
The banding crew including Ellie, the staff pug and new banding mascot.
The banding crew including Ellie, the staff pug and new banding mascot. (Don’t worry-this pug has no interest in birds whatsoever).

Things To Do This Weekend:

Run-A-Muck is TOMORROW September 22!

Come out to support the Willistown Conservation Trust’s land preservation efforts and enjoy a challenging run or leisurely walk through the most scenic trails of rural Willistown, not normally open to the public.  Country supper, live music, wine, beer, movie under the stars, mechanical bull rides, prizes, raffle and more!  Click here to find out more.  Registration is only on a walk-in basis at this point, but you may still purchase raffle tickets online for a chance to win $5,000, even if you are not at the event!!

Hawk Mountain Art Show September 22-23

Check out the hawk watch and then enjoy the dozen talented wildlife artists who will have their artwork on display and for sale in the Visitor Center.  Click here to learn more about the artists.

By the way, on Monday 2,806 migrant monarch butterflies passed by the Hawk Mountain lookout, a one-day record that beats the average SEASON total over the last 21 years of 1,804 monarchs! WOW.

There’s a lot going on out there,

~Blake

Garter Snake waiting for the sun to warm her up.  Photo by Justin Thompson.
Garter Snake waiting for the morning sun to warm her up. Photo by Justin Thompson.

Filed Under: Bird Banding Tagged With: Bird banding, Connecticut Warbler, Gray-cheeked Thrush, White eyed Vireo, Wilson's warbler

Last Week of September Brings a Major Migratory Shift

October 4, 2011 By Communications Team

Young Male American Redstart

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
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
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).

PA Young Birder
A Young Birder experiences his first bird up close...always a life changing moment.

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)
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”.

The Big Year

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

Filed Under: Bird Banding, Bird Events, Owls Tagged With: Eastern Phoebe, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Great Horned Owl, Grosbeak, Hawk Mountain, PA Young Birders, Saw-whet Owls, The Big Year, Turkey Vulture, White-throated sparrow

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