We are a couple weeks into fall migration monitoring and only one round away from completing our MAPS banding program for the year. If you do not recall from previous articles, MAPS is our summer banding program that is less intensive than the migration monitoring and focuses on locally breeding birds. We have four sites… Read more »
Weekly Reports
July 12 – 18, 2018
Last week I wrote about how the juvenile birds embark on their fall migration before their parents. This week I want to write a little bit about what delays the parents from leaving at the same time as the chicks. If you recall from last week, the juvenile birds are cared for tirelessly by their… Read more »
July 5 – July 11, 2018
I can’t believe it is already fall! We inevitably get that every year when we tell people we are firing up fall migration monitoring on July 12. It may seem unreasonably early to be watching for south-bound birds but it isn’t. True, many migratory birds will stick around all the way until September, but a… Read more »
June 27 – July 04, 2018
It hasn’t been a very eventful week this past week. We finished the third round of MAPS banding during the only couple days it wasn’t raining, we did all our net repair and we got caught up on some office work. Out at MAPS we have just started seeing juvenile birds fledging. We have seen… Read more »
June 21 – 27, 2018
After that big storm, a lot of people may be wondering if, and how birds were affected. It is still a little early to tell, but it is likely that many in the area lost their nests. Aside from the obvious source of failed nesting – blow-down, the persistence of the rain was another source…. Read more »
June 7 – 20, 2018
As you may have noticed I wasn’t able to find the time last week to write an article. With the huge wind and rain storm we were scrambling to figure out where we stood in regards to our summer projects and come article day I found myself working a twelve hour day instead of writing…. Read more »
May 31 – June 6, 2018
The weather continued to be variable this week which was nice for us. Lots of very cool mornings, a smattering of clouds and showers and even some calm conditions. Most migration is over and the only birds we see passing overhead are the occasional cedar waxwing and American goldfinch. Just because birds are no longer… Read more »
May 24 – 30, 2018
We’ve finally had some rain this week and although it is getting quite late in the spring migration season, we did see some better migration as a result. It is too bad that this change in weather came after the peak period for most species including some of our top-banded species like ovenbird and Swainson’s… Read more »
May 17 – 23, 2018
After another hot week we are wishing for rain as much as the wildfire fighters and officers. Bird activity has been pretty low given the heat, but every day this week new species have arrived. Now, with the exception of a couple warbler and flycatcher species, all the bird species we expect in the area… Read more »
May 10 – 16, 2018
It has been another week of clear, cool nights, and sunny, hot days, with a wind that seems to appear out of nowhere every day at nine a.m. This is perfect weather for migrating songbirds. They can travel vast distances at night when it is cool and then sit out the windy period of the… Read more »