Probably the best bird of the day was a handsome White-throated Sparrow.
Wing Island is quite exposed to the elements so with high winds and some rain we weren't able to band again until the 22nd. While it was another slow day, we did have a nice variety including a male Ruby-crowned Kinglet,
a female Eastern Towhee,
and Savannah Sparrow.
On the 29th we captured an Orange-crowned Warbler, our first ever for spring!
We sexed him as a male due to the large orange patch on his crown.
It was around this time that we began to see numerous foxes on the island and as you can imagine foxes and bird banding don't mix. I was forced to keep many nets closed and monitor those we had open constantly so I decided the best thing to do was to shut the station down sadly after 16 years. I see this as a temporary measure as populations ebb and flow. But I did notice a direct correlation between the banning of dogs on Wing Island for most of the year and an increase of foxes.We used to see minks and weasels, now they are nowhere to be found and it appears the foxes have eaten all the skunks too! Sometimes the good intentions by man can have unforeseen consequences...
On a happier note, I decided to reopen our field station in the Punkhorn Parklands that we used as a MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) program but was closed down in 2009. This is on town-owned land in Brewster only a few miles from Wing Island and actually connects through waterways. The area is comprised of approximately 896 acres of fresh water swamps, overgrown cranberry bogs and upland forest. This is actually a better spring site than Wing Island because it isn't as exposed to the harsh coastal winds. We will miss our Prairie Warblers and Sharp-tailed Sparrows but will see plenty of Ovenbirds and Black-and-white Warblers; Scarlet Tanagers breed there also. For many years Northern Parulas bred at our site but I haven't heard or seen one yet this year in the banding area.
It was a lot of work clearing net lanes and establishing new ones so we missed many days for set up. Our first banding day in Punkhorn was 10 May and we were pleased to capture 2 Black-and White Warblers, both females, the first being an ASY (after second year)
and a SY (second year) bird.
She was much duller with a molt limit seen at the alula covert (A1). The arrow is pointing to A2 and you can see the white at the tip is broken. On an ASY bird this white would travel around the feather forming a "V".
Other birds banded today were chickadees, Common Yellowthroats, towhees, cardinals, catbirds, Ovenbird (below)
and a handsome ASY male Red-winged Blackbird.
Here is a comparison of a SY male that we caught in June.
Our best day for the spring was on 17 May. We captured 74 birds of 13 species for a capture rate of 131 birds/100 net-hours. That number far exceeds our spring capture rate at Wing for a 15 year average on our best day of 45.2 birds/100 net-hours. Some of the birds captured this day include an ASY female Black-throated Green Warbler,
one of the many Great-crested Flycatchers that have been serenading us,
a Lincoln's Sparrow,
and both a female and male Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
While we didn't have as many birds on the 19th, it was still a super day. It was the first day I started hearing Black-billed Cuckoos (shown below) and we were fortunate enough to capture one in the net. I've been hearing at least 3 in different directions most days I go out and also had a Yellow-billed one morning. There are plenty of caterpillars around for sure! We couldn't discern any molt pattern in this bird so we opted to age it as an AHY (after hatch year) since molt patterns can be tricky in this species.
While the cuckoo was exciting, perhaps the best bird of the day was an Alder Flycatcher! He was vocalizing very close to one of our nets and as I approached the net he flew right in. We've been hearing him every day at the time of this writing so I hope he attracts a mate, it would be a great breeding record for the cape.
He had a very green back and the crown spots on his head were quite large.
We also captured a common bird we don't often get in the net, a White-breasted Nuthatch. I love the way their bill points upward.
The black head and nape is distinctive for a male, the female's head is gray and blends in with the back.
Their very long hind claw and sharply curved front claws are adapted to help them go down tree trunks headfirst!
The 23rd was a very windy day and I normally wouldn't have banded had we been at Wing Island. Many of our nets are situated in gullies in Punkhorn and so are sheltered . We didn't have many birds but did capture a nice Blackpoll Warbler. The wind was blowing at a good clip around the banding table.
This was an interesting Common Yellowthroat we captured with yellow lores.
And this guy below has the potential to be the oldest Common Yellowthroat on record according to the BBL (Bird Banding Lab) as right now they have the oldest as 10 years 11 months. He was first banded in 2004 during a MAPS banding day as a HY on 3 July. In June he would be 11 years old (but aged as 12Y because he is in his 12th year). All birds are considered to be born in June. So if we capture him again this year the BBL will have to update their age for yellowthroats! He had many yellow feathers above his black mask which was interesting too.
We also recaptured an old Black-and-white Warbler, that we aged A9Y (after 9th year) since he was aged as ASY at first capture in 2008. We recaptured him a few times this spring. The BBL has the oldest Black-and-white Warbler as 11 years old.
We added a male towhee to our list too.
On the 25th we added a female Blackpoll Warbler. She looks very different from the male we captured a couple of days before. He will look more like her in the fall after molting into basic plumage.
A SY Tufted Titmouse we banded had a nice example of a molt limit in the greater coverts. The gray replaced inner coverts contrast with the browner outer greater and primary coverts.
We've heard a Baltimore Oriole singing near the banding table since setting up and we captured the female on the 30th. She had a brood patch and was not far from his spot so maybe she is his mate.
She was aged as a SY due to a molt limit in her greater coverts (blue arrow) and replaced tertials (red arrow).
WARNING! Skip over the Carolina Wren if you are grossed out by cloacal flukes! (this one is for you David Clapp, who tells me I like to post gross pictures on my blog!) This poor bird had the worst case I have ever seen in all my years of banding.
They covered the whole cloaca and traveled up to the uropygial gland.
The uropygial gland is located on the bird's back near the base of the tail. They rub their bill over the gland, which produces oil. It is thought birds use this oil to keep their feathers in good condition and I imagine it helps to repel water too.
We weren't hearing Cedar Waxwings at Punkhorn until the 25th and finally captured a nice older adult female (ASY). She was sexed as female due to the minimal amount of black under her throat
and aged as an ASY due to the many waxy tips she sported.
Two Gray Catbirds we recaptured on the 30th proved to be birds we first banded on Wing Island; one aged as a TY (third year) bird first banded on 25 May 2014 as a SY bird and the other aged as an A4Y (after 4th year) first banded on Wing Island as an AHY on 22 August 2012. The bird below is a photo of one of the catbirds we caught on Wing Island early in the season.
Our last spring banding day was 12 June. We captured 23 birds but that is still a good number for mid June! And we had our first baby of the season, a male Eastern Towhee, so cute! We aged him L for local as his feathers were still emerging and he probably just fledged that morning. A local bird is one who cannot sustain flight. We ran him right back and his parents were so happy to have him return.
Even though we had a late start at Punkhorn we still ended up capturing 343 birds, pretty decent considering we missed many good days. I was sad that we never did hear, see, or capture Northern Parulas that I was able to document as breeding from 2002-2009. Also missing was Eastern Wood Peewee. But I was happy that another cool species we've captured in the past was still around, Ruffed Grouse. We flushed one up numerous times this May.
As far as our site on Wing Island goes, I will monitor the number of foxes sighted there and if nothing changes we will continue our summer (once/week) and fall banding in the Punkhorn. In the future I will use Punkhorn as a spring site and hopefully flip over to Wing Island in the fall. Kudos go to all those who helped out with spring banding. We were sorry to lose Jo-Anna Ghadban due to her work schedule, but she'll be back at some point! Many thanks to (in order of hours donated): Doug McNair, Ronald Kielb, Donna Kucia, Jo-Anna Ghadban, Gretchen Putonen, Corey Accardo, Claire Revekant, Louise Vivona-Miller, Robert Finer, and others who helped out for a day.
The following is a list of birds seen, heard, or banded during spring migration (Punkhorn only):
Total birds netted: 343 Total species: 62
Total species netted birds: 28 Birds/100 net-hours: 60
| Common Loon Great Blue Heron Mute Swan Canada Goose Mallard Turkey Vulture Osprey Cooper's Hawk Broad-winged Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Ruffed Grouse Laughing Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Mourning Dove Black-billed Cuckoo - 2 Yellow-billed Cuckoo Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 3 Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Yellow-shafted Flicker Alder Flycatcher - 1 Eastern Phoebe Great Crested Flycatcher - 7 Eastern Kingbird Tree Swallow Blue Jay - 1 American Crow Fish Crow Black-capped Chickadee - 54 Tufted Titmouse - 6 Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch - 1 Carolina Wren -1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Eastern Bluebird Hermit Thrush American Robin - 2 Gray Catbird - 87 Cedar Waxwing - 1 Red-eyed Vireo Yellow Warbler - 2 Black-throated Green Warbler - 1 Pine Warbler Blackpoll Warbler - 2 Black-and-white Warbler - 10 American Redstart Ovenbird -11 Northern Waterthrush - 1 Common Yellowthroat - 120 Scarlet Tanager Northern Cardinal - 6 Eastern Towhee - 6 Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow -5 Lincoln's Sparrow - 1 Swamp Sparrow - 1 Red-winged Blackbird - 7 Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird - 2 Baltimore Oriole - 1 American Goldfinch - 2 |
