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Archived Postings

May 28, 2009 – June 3, 2009

Over the final days of May and into early June we observed the last species we expect to see during spring migration at the LSLBO. Alder flycatchers, eastern kingbirds, red-eyed vireos, mourning warblers, and cedar waxwings are late migrants whose arrival signals the last stages of spring migration. These late migrants were joined by American redstarts, Canada warblers, and common yellowthroat, whose peak migration period occurs in early June. Overall there were fewer migrants passing over and daily banding totals began to slowly dwindle. The signs that spring migration was coming to an end was strengthened by the increasing number of male birds showing signs of breeding condition. We even had female hermit thrush with a brood patch, which means she had a nest and was incubating eggs. My personal favorite breeding season sign was the Tennessee warbler with a gob of crusty mud on top of his head. Tennessee warblers are ground nesters and this fellow must have been doing some intense scouting for a potential nest site. Even though the number of migrants began to decrease and we had some very slow banding periods, there was one surprise in the nets for us. We banded a veery. Veerys are a species of thrush which look very similar to a Swainson’s thrush, except red. Lesser Slave Lake is on the northern tip of their breeding range, so it is not impossible to encounter one, but they are uncommon. There are several spring banding records of veery at the LSLBO, but the last one occurred in 2003. This was the first one I’ve encountered while working at the banding station. I was excited because it was also the first one I have ever had the chance to band. Encountering a new species is the spice of the birding world, banding a new species is just as good in the bander world. Over the past few weeks the LSLBO hosted several field trips for grade one and seven classes. Students came to the banding lab and took part in activities which highlighted birds, migration, habitat, and ecosystem interactions. The education staff from the Boreal Centre engaged the students in mock bird banding, listening to bird songs, and learning about bird adaptations. Our role was to simply catch birds for banding demonstrations. The reaction of these kids taking their first glimpse of a warbler up close was amazing. They all get really excited. The messages that the educators were passing onto the students are important. We hope that showing them live birds will help deliver those messages in a tangible form. For myself, I find the kids excitement contagious. Listening to a group of grade ones cheer because they found out we just caught a bird makes me realize that everyone who works at the Boreal Centre and at the banding lab all have great jobs.

2010