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Archived Postings

May 22, 2008 – May 28, 2008

The third week of May quickly became a great week for bird watching and banding. The reason for this is that a major movement of wood-warblers occurred. Up to this point the diversity and number of warblers encountered was rather disappointing. That changed on the 23rd. We arrived at the banding lab and songs of Tennessee warblers filled the forest and American redstarts were seen darting between trees. We also encountered Wilson’s warblers, common yellowthroat, mourning warblers, magnolia warblers, ovenbirds, and blackpoll warblers. With all the warblers in the area, banding suddenly improved as well. Daily banding totals ranged from 30 to nearly 60 birds a day. With all the new warblers around, it wasn’t surprising that species diversity in the nets also improved. It’s a good day of banding when 10 of the 16 species banded during the day are warblers. The final warbler that we saw over the week is not only a very spectacular looking bird, but has a research program conducted by the LSLBO dedicated to it. The first Canada warbler of the season was banded on the 24th. With the arrival of the Canada warblers, we will start to gear up for the Canada warbler project, which is a study focusing on the breeding ecology of this species. One of the easiest ways to excite a bird watcher is to show them a rare or unusual bird. I am defining an unusual bird as a bird found either outside its normal habitat or outside its expected range. Sightings of this nature can occur during migration if a bird loses its migrational bearings. A few unusual species are encountered at the LSLBO each year, which is a thrill to the banding staff and adds excitement to our daily birding routine. This past week we had two encounters. The first occurred on the 22nd when a western meadowlark was spotted near the banding lab. According to range maps, the LSLBO is within the western meadowlarks normal breeding range, but is situated in the wrong habitat. Their breeding habitat includes grasslands, pastures and fields, not heavily forested areas. Western meadowlarks have been seen at the banding lab before, but it has been several years since the last sighting. The second unusual bird sighting might be the highlight bird of the spring. A lark sparrow was seen on the 26th. There was no questioning the identification of this bird, it provided and excellent viewing opportunity when it landed a few meters in front of the banders and spent a few minutes foraging in the grass. According to available records, this was the first confirmed sighting of a lark sparrow at the LSLBO. Their breeding range includes most of the western United States and extends into portions of southern Alberta. This bird flew too far north. Although rare, situations like this have occurred at the LSLBO in the past. A Lazuli bunting was banded in 2004 and a rock wren was spotted in 2005, both these species have similar ranges to the lark sparrow. It was unfortunate that we were unable to photograph it or catch it to place a band on its leg.

2010