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Archived Postings

August 14, 2006 – August 20, 2006

August 14 to August 20, 2006 This week we experienced some extreme fluctuations in terms of both banding and the visual passage of migrants. Daily banding totals ranged from 78 birds to 9 birds. 204 birds were banded during the week; bringing the fall banding total to 1896 birds. The wide range of banding totals matched the movement pattern of the birds. The week started with a bang….hundreds of wood-warblers were moving through, and we had a great banding day. The next day was extremely quiet; hardly any birds were seen moving in the trees or through the air, let alone being captured. The next day, the banding lab was hopping again. The next day was very quiet again. This pattern continued all week. With the exception of one rain day, the week had consistent local weather conditions; it was warm, calm, and sunny. There were no visible factors that limited the ability to catch or observe the birds. It seemed that the birds were migrating when they were ready to migrate. Two new species for the year were banded during the week. The first was a Wilson’s warbler. Wilson’s warblers are small yellow wood-warblers. Males have a distinct black cap that is present in both spring and fall plumages. The cap is absent from females, and they can often be misidentified as yellow warblers. The second new species banded for the year is actually one of the highlight captures of the fall banding season. Admittedly, I had no idea what this bird was. It was a little smaller than a robin, had a long slender bill, blue legs, a brownish back, strong white wing bars, and an orange belly. The one identification feature that confused me was the orange tinge to its tail feathers. I just could not place it. There were a number of visitors out that morning, and when it came time to band the bird everyone opened their bird books and started flipping. Finally, our friend Tyler Kilmury asked if it could be a Baltimore oriole. There was instant recognition as soon as he said it. And yes, we captured the first Baltimore oriole of the year. This is only the fifth Baltimore oriole banded by the LSLBO, and the first fall banding record of the species for the observatory. During my banding career, I have had the opportunity to try all types of methods for catching birds. I’ve used mist nets, J-traps, Potter traps, Bal-shatri traps, DuGaza nets, ground traps, hand nets, various nest box traps, drop-lid traps, hummingbird traps, Swedish goshawk traps, and even my own shirt. Some traps are designed to catch a wide variety of species while others focus on specific species. By using a combination of these trapping methods, you can catch almost every landbird species ranging from hummingbirds to eagles. Lately I’ve been doing some reading on some new capturing techniques. I took some personal time off this week and went down to the big lights of Edmonton to put these new techniques to use – to try my luck at catching birds of a different sort. I returned to Slave Lake empty handed, a little dejected, and with the realization that I should stick with what I know; it’s far easier to catch a songbird.

2010