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Archived Postings

May 22, 2006 – May 28, 2006

May 22 to May 28, 2006 The weather this week was far from spectacular. Heavy overcast skies brought cool temperatures and some rain (in the form of either drizzle or major downpour). The cooler temperatures did bring an increase of bird activity to the area. There were definitely more birds around; the forest was filled with songs and flittering of all sorts of songbirds. But captured rates remained low as the birds still refused to flitter into our nets. Roughly 20 birds were banded each day this week. Even though capture rates were low, the diversity of birds being captured is impressive. Species diversity increased when the first alder flycatcher, warbling vireo, magnolia warbler, mourning warbler, common yellowthroat, and Canada warbler of 2006 were banded this week. There are now very few of the expected species to still arrive to the banding lab. We came very close to catching a juvenile Gray Jay, which would have been only the third one banded by the LSLBO. Gray Jays are winter residents and are able to breed early in the season. However, despite being a new bird to this world, this particular youngster had enough instinct to be able to escape from the mistnet unscathed and unbanded. The Baillie Bird-a-thon was held on the 28th. Baillie is a fundraising event with the goal of finding as many bird species as possible within a 24 hour period. Staff and friends of the BCBC (consisting of staff from the Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory, Alberta Parks and Protected Areas, and members of the Junior Bird Club) took part in the event. The nasty side of the birding world reared its ugly head when two teams were formed that were in direct competition with each other. Which team would find the most species? The hunt for species took both teams to the banding lab, to the lake, along many roadsides, and to the diversity rich ponds and marshes around Slave Lake. After the lists were tallied, one team had seen 95 species and the other had 101. The competitive edge was quickly erased after a cinnamon teal was spotted at a pond near Nine Mile Point. Slave Lake is a fair distance out of the cinnamon teal’s normal range, but they are occasionally spotted in the region. A phone call was made to the other team so that everyone would have a chance to see this duck. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if the duck made both lists, it’s all about being able to appreciate the birds, both the rare ones and the common ones. The Boreal Center for Bird Conservation (BCBC) is almost ready to open to the public. It is scheduled to open for the 2006 Songbird Festival (June 3rd and 4th, remember to mark it on your calendars). The Songbird Festival activities will be held at the BCBC, including tours of the new building and pancakes. Banding demonstrations will still be held, but all tours heading to the banding station will start at the BCBC. The banders request that one or two pancakes be run out to them during the day. The pancakes just so tasty, but so far away. It will be a great event, and we are looking forward to seeing everyone there.

2010