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Archived Postings

July 17, 2008 – July 23, 2008

It was business as usual through the third week of July at the LSLBO as we continued with both migration monitoring and MAPS banding. I am a little skittish this time of year because we can become easily overwhelmed by the number of birds captured in the nets. All it takes is a couple of good sized flocks to hit a net. I become more concerned on those days that both migration and MAPS are operating simultaneously. Essentially we have double the normal number of nets opened and only two banders operating those nets. When those flocks hit at that time things become very hectic. But that didn’t happen this week, much to my relief and somewhat to my disappointment. I have been secretly waiting for that super busy banding day all year. The second week of migration monitoring banding was steady, but not overly busy. Daily banding totals averaged 34 birds. Our busiest day was 56 birds. When the big flocks begin to hit the nets that 56 bird day can easily be doubled. We have been catching a lot of American redstarts, yellow warblers, ovenbirds, Swainson’s thrush, and Tennessee warblers. These five species made up over half of all the birds we captured. I noticed that there seems to be theme species for each day. For instance, one day we would catch a pile of ovenbirds, hardly a moment goes by without one dangling from a net somewhere. The next day it’s the American redstart’s turn and there won’t be an ovenbird to be seen. One of the more eventful birds we banded during the week was a blue jay. Blue jays are quit strong and put up a really good fight. They are also quiet vocal about the whole banding ordeal. Despite all the fuss that the jays make, it is a great chance to see their beautiful plumage up close. One of the most exciting days of the year occurred at one of the MAPS banding stations. We banded a three-toed woodpecker. This was an amazing bird to capture for a couple reasons. It was the first three-toed woodpecker to be banded by the LSLBO. It also represents the 99th bird species to be banded here during monitoring activities. The coolest thing about three-toed woodpeckers is that they live up to their name, they only have three toes. Most other perching birds have four toes. Three-toed woodpeckers are year round residents of the boreal forest, primarily found in mature coniferous forests. They are found in low abundances and their distribution is dependant on insect outbreaks. Because three-toed woodpeckers are found in the north they are a sought out species by many birders. We have had a number of people inquiring about where to find one, including some high profile people in the banding community. It was amazing to be able to band my first three-toed woodpecker. But now the challenge is to catch the LSLBO’s 100th species this year without breaking any monitoring rules. I have a plan….

2010