by
Rocky Point Bird Observatory, (RPBO), is one of four currently active Canadian Migration Monitoring Network (CMMN) member stations in British Columbia. RPBO is unique in that it is the only bird observatory monitoring bird populations on the costal "Pacific Flyway", this makes RPBO's role a critical link in the monitoring network. Besides population trends RPBO also produces valuable basic data on many aspects of avian life history, such as productivity and timing of migration. Furthermore, during its ten year existence, it has added greatly to the knowledge of bird migration on the southern Vancouver Island and through its volunteer program and stewardship it offers opportunities for the members of the birding community to learn about birds, make important contributions to the science and foster greater a appreciation for our natural resources.
The RPBO study site is located on Department of National Defence (DND) lands within the property of the Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot (CFAD - Rocky Point) in the southernmost tip of Vancouver Island. Since landbirds are generally reluctant to cross large water bodies, the narrow shape of southern Vancouver Island works as a funnel and concentrates the migration to the very tip making RPBO a natural migrant trap. Often hundreds of migrants stop to rest here before crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca, especially if faced by unfavourable weather conditions. Certain species that typically forage fairly close to or on the ground, like many sparrows, thrushes, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Wilson's Warbler, Winter Wren, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet among others, are banded in large numbers while others that forage high up in the canopy or circle the skies, for example raptors, pigeons, swifts, swallows, American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and finches, are more effectively monitored by visual observations.
This report outlines the activities of the fall migration monitoring season in 2003, the tenth year of the station's operation. It summarizes results from both banding and visual observations, and makes some comparisons to the earlier years.
The field work was conducted over a 90 day period from July 21 to October 18. Only one day, Oct 9, was lost due to DND demolition training and only three days of banding, Oct 9, Oct 16, and Oct 17, were lost to poor weather. The combination of very few demolition days, good weather, and numerous active volunteers made the season coverage exceptionally good. The Estimated Totals (ETs) were produced on 89 days, the daily Coverage Code average was 4.6 on a scale 0-5, and the net coverage was 93% out of possible 7020 hours of operation as the standard nets were closed only for 483.5 hours.
The field station area has been divided in two sections. The first one, the primary observation area known as the count area, is the area from east of the immediate banding area to the DND fence in the west, and from the shoreline to the upper ponds in the north. The second section includes the eastern part of the point, including the seawatching sites at Cape Calvert and Edye Point, and is mostly used for seawatch after the seven hour period.
The standard seven hour day comprised of six hours of banding and one additional hour of observing. Two standardized methods were used for migration monitoring -mistnetting (banding) and a census. The net setting included 13 standard nets, 10 "original" ones and 3 back nets that were implemented in 2000. The nets were operated daily, weather permitting, for six hours starting half an hour before sunrise. They were checked once in every 15 to 20 minutes, or constantly when the bird activity so demanded. The birds were extracted and then transported in cloth bags to the banding site to be identified, banded, aged and sexed, measured, and finally released. The basic measurements taken were wing chord and weight, and fat score was visually estimated. The banding crew included the bander-in-charge, at least one volunteer qualified to extract, and often 1 to 3 additional volunteers. For a more detailed discussion of RPBO's methodology see Derbyshire (2000).
The census was conducted daily along a standard route. It started an hour after sunrise and lasted an hour and a half. A single observer walked slowly through the route and counted all the birds seen or heard along the route. The emphasis was on the land birds and even though a part of the census route closely followed the shoreline it was recommended that seabirding was limited to a couple of quick checks from Cape Calver and Edye Point.
In addition to the standardized methods everyone was encouraged to do as much field observing as possible. In practice that meant that areas within the count area that were not covered by the census, like the west meadow or along Derbyshire Creek, were checked at least once a day as well as in the front, the mudflats and rocks to the west were scanned through a scope and a visible migration watch, mostly hawkwatch and seawatch, of variable length was conducted.
The results from banding, census, and additional observations from within the seven hour period were combined in the ETs. In the ETs it was attempted to estimate how many individuals of each species were actually observed taking possible overlap into account. The new individuals observed after the seven hour period were added to form Daily Species Totals (DST).
The weather in late July was warm and dry. The season started on Jul 21 with a new opening day banding record of 57 birds including a number of most likely locally fledged young Song (10) and White-crowned Sparrows (12), and what was to remain as the season high 8 Red-winged Blackbirds. The next day, the first of four Northern Flickers for the season was banded. For the rest of the month, the number of birds banded was relatively low and never exceeded 40, but fortunately in the catch there were several interesting birds like 2 Violet-green Swallows on Jul 26, a juvenile Northern Harrier on Jul 29, a Downy Woodpecker, a Northern Rough-winged Swallow, a Western Tanager, and 3 Violet-green Swallows on Jul 30. The most interesting birding at that time was shorebirding and the active scanning of the mudflats was rewarded by finds of a Baird's Sandpiper on Jul 24, a Black-bellied Plover on Jul 25, and a Semipalmated Sandpiper on Jul 29. Jul 30 produced a Mourning Dove and a Red-breasted Sapsucker.
The favourable weather continued through August with only a few days with winds or slight drizzle. The month started with nice shorebird activity including 100 Black Turnstones and 100 Surfbirds on Aug 1, and a Wandering Tattler on Aug 2. Also on the 2nd, over 1100 Rhinoceros Auklets were tallied. Although the banding was quite slow number-wise, the nets produced a couple of interesting birds like an intergrade Flicker on Aug 1 and a Black-headed Grosbeak on Aug 2. On both Aug 6 and Aug 7, 16 Pacific-slope Flycatchers were banded and the total of 51 on the latter date was the second highest banding day for the season that far. The season's first Pectoral Sandpiper was observed on Aug 6 and the season's second Semipalmated Sandpiper was observed on Aug 7.A juvenile Ring-billed Gull was observed on several days early in the month. On Aug 8 the only two Cassin's Vireos for the season were banded. Aug 9 was quite a day, not at the nets but in the field, and the best birds included the first Yellow/Citrine Wagtail for RBPO, a Gadwall, and a Semipalmated Sandpiper. The next day the situation was reversed, although there were 100+ peeps in the bay, as most of the action took place at the nets and the banding numbers included 17 Pacific-slope Flycatchers, 10 Wilson's Warblers, and 5 Willow Flycatchers. Of interest was also a 4+ years old Wilson's Warbler recapture.
For the next several days banding was slow. Luckily in the field there was some action with over 30 Yellow, and over 10 Townsend's, Orange-crowned, and Wilson's Warblers together with 8 Cassin's Vireos counted on Aug 12, and 45 Pacific-slope Flycatchers and the same number of Yellow Warblers, 11 Warbling Vireos, and a Wandering Tattler the next day. Three Harlequin Ducks on Aug 14 and a Sora the next day were both new for the season. Aug 16 was the second 51 bird banding day of the season. The catch included 19 Pacific-slope Flycatchers, 8 Orange-crowned Warblers and, most notably, the first two Belted Kingfishers ever banded at RPBO caught together in net #3. On the same day, over 2000 California Gulls were observed (the season high) and a Thayer's Gull was observed for the first time this season. Had it not been for a male and a female Red Crossbill, caught together in net #13 and the first ever banded at RPBO, there would have been nothing to mention about Aug 17. On Aug 19 a Virginia Rail was found keeping company for the Sora in the marsh while on Aug 20 a Rock Pigeon and the first Red-necked Grebe of the season were seen.
On Aug 22, we exceeded1000 birds for the season. Two season firsts, a Hutton's Vireo and a Hammond's Flycatcher, were among the birds banded and also a season first Parasitic Jaeger was seen during a seawatch. Aug 23 was a good day with 49 birds banded, including a Red-breasted Nuthatch, and 3 Soras, 3 Ring-billed Gulls, 4 Black-legged Kittiwakes, 2 Sanderlings, and a Brewer's Blackbird observed. Aug 25 was a bizarre day as banding produced only 12 new birds but a Wilson's Warbler recaptured that day was at least 6 years and 2 months old. Also, the first Ruffed Grouse for several years was seen near Edye Point first thing in the morning. On Aug 27 the only Black-throated Gray Warbler of the season was banded and a good warbler movement was noticed including ETs of 58 Yellow and 22 Orange-crowned Warblers. The next day Lincoln's Sparrows really moved in and 10 were banded alongside the station's sixth Pileated Woodpecker, which got tangled in net #5. The next three days were productive; the stations first ever Least Flycatcher and 84 Vaux's Swift were observed on Aug 30, and the season's first Sooty Shearwater was observed on Aug 31.
Most of September was still very nice and warm but there were some weather fronts passing through usually in the evening or at night, and a few windy mornings. In early September, capture rates were relatively low, but birding was very good. On Sep 1, the evening seawatch produced the station's second Arctic Tern and the fourth Franklin's Gull. The next day a Dusky Flycatcher and a flock of 11 Evening Grosbeaks were seen along the upper road whereas the highlight of Sep 3 was a Bank Swallow. Fourteen Sharp-shinned Hawks on that day and 300 Band-tailed Pigeons on the next were good counts of common migrants. The bird of the season appeared in the evening of Sep 5 when the second Crested Auklet for Canada was spotted from Cape Calver during an evening seawatch. The bird then disappeared, but was relocated on Sep 18 and seen by many until Oct 3. A different record was set on Sep 7 when the season low 4 birds were banded. A fly-by Whimbrel that day was the only one for the season. Finally on Sep 8, more birds were banded than on the opening day. The total of 73 included, among others, 14 Fox Sparrows, 12 Swainson's Thrushes, and the first standard banding Barred Owl for RPBO. Two season firsts were seen, a Sandhill Crane and a Western Grebe. The season first Red-throated Loon was seen on Sep 9, and the season first Ancient Murrelets were seen on Sep 10. The highlight of the latter day was the first Green Heron for RPBO in six years.
Sep 12 was the first day of the season with over 100 birds banded and started a ten-day period during which a phenomenal 934 birds were banded. Of the 107 birds banded that day, 17 were Yellow Warblers and 14 Fox Sparrows, and a White-throated Sparrow was the season first. Two Parasitic Jaegers were seen in the evening. The next day saw the first large concentration of Turkey Vultures (100 plus) and the season first four adult Broad-winged Hawks soaring within the flocks of vultures. Also a Yellow-shafted Flicker and a late Western Wood-Pewee were noticed. The first large number of Ruby-crowned Kinglets (18) was banded on Sep 15. The next two days were busy: 128 birds, including 16 Savannah Sparrows and 12 Hermit Thrushes, were banded on Sep 16, and 148, including 15 Golden-crowned Sparrows and 15 Winter Wrens, were banded the next day. The rarities included the stations second Gray Catbird in the morning of Sep 16, and the stations first American Golden Plover and 27 Sooty Shearwaters on Sep 17.
After a couple of slower and less exciting days, bird activity increased greatly during Sep 20 and Sep 21. On Sep 20, the all time one day fall banding record for RPBO was set with 187 birds banded. Of these, 43 were Fox Sparrows, 19 Winter Wrens, 16 Golden-crowned Sparrows, 17 Orange-crowned and 14 Yellow Warblers, and 14 Hermit Thrushes. The field observations included a juvenile Swainson's Hawk and 4 Broad-winged Hawks including a rare dark-morph. Banding was still quite good the next day but it was the field observations that produced 520 Turkey Vultures, 225 Band-tailed Pigeons, 140 Vaux's swifts, 84 Yellow-rumped Warblers, and the first Red-throated Pipit for RPBO. A flock of 5 Snow Geese and 80 Savannah Sparrows were seen on Sep 23. There was lots of movement on Sep 24, although, unfortunately, not many birds found the nets. Some of the high ETs included 690 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 350 American Robins, 200 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 80 American Pipits, and 35 Varied Thrushes, while the goodies included 2 juvenile Greater White-fronted Geese in the marsh and a Mourning Dove. On Sep 25, the station's fourth Pacific Golden Plover stopped briefly in the lagoon. Bird activity picked up again on Sep 27 but it was Sep 28 when one didn't know which way to look next. The high ETs included 250 Band-tailed Pigeons, 380 American Robins, 350 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 20 Northern Flickers, 103 Red-winged and 11 Brewer's Blackbirds while the rarer birds seen that day ranged from a Red-throated Pipit to an Anna's hummingbird to 3 Western Meadowlarks. On Sep 29 the station's third Marbled Godwit showed itself briefly on the mudflats and on Sep 30 a very late Olive-sided Flycatcher and the season's only Northern Goshawk were seen. Also, after several slow days, banding was good with 75 birds banded.
Not surprisingly the temperatures went down in October but it never got really cold as there was just one frosty morning, and the weather also turned less settled. It rained at least a little on many days and Oct 9, 16, and 17 the rain prevented banding. The banding highlight of Oct 1 was a flock of 6 Cedar Waxwings while the best of field observations were raptors including at least one Swainson's Hawk and the continuing dark-morph Broad-winged Hawk. Oct 2 saw the 3000th bird banded for the season and the day's catch of 76 birds included 21 Ruby-crowned Kinglets and 20 Winter Wrens. The most interesting non-banded birds were again raptors and included an adult rufous-morph Swainson's Hawk and a juvenile dark-morph Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk, very rare on the coast. The next couple of days were quite slow but the season first Horned Grebes were spotted on Oct 3 and a rare RPBO species, a Wood Duck, was found at the upper ponds on Oct 4. On Oct 5 there was a fair bit of visible migration and counts included, for example, 58 Pacific Loons and the season high of 50 Red-tailed Hawks while the Belted Kingfisher banded was the third for the station and the season. Oct 6 was a remarkable day in the sense that it marked a new all time season banding total for RPBO.
After a few slow days there was action again on Oct 10 when there were quite a few birds moving at the sea. The most exciting birds were the first 4 Northern Fulmars for the season but good counts of over 800 ducks, 67 Pacific and 21 Common Loons weren't far behind. The stations second Anna's Hummingbird was briefly seen at the front as well. A Swamp Sparrow, a Western Meadowlark, a few more Fulmars, and 34 banded Ruby-crowned Kinglets were the top birds of Oct 11. The seawatching in rain and wind in the evening of Oct 12 produced at least 18 Fulmars, a Black-legged Kittiwake, 30 Snow Geese, and 33 Greater and 16 Lesser Scaups. Oct 13 was a very good day. 135 birds, including 28 Hermit Thrushes, 18 Fox Sparrows, 12 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 3 Purple Finches, a Gambell's White-crowned Sparrow, and a Nashville Warbler, were banded while during seawatching a very rare Leach's Storm-Petrel, 3 Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels, and 42 Northern Fulmars were seen. Oct 14 was just about as eventful with 123 birds, including 14 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 11 Fox Sparrows, 10 Spotted Towhees, a Swamp Sparrow, a White-throated Sparrow, and 2 Slate-colored Juncos, banded and a Golden Eagle, a late Broad-winged Hawk, a Townsend's Solitaire, a record late Willow Flycatcher, and 2 to 3 more Swamp Sparrows seen. A Palm Warbler found during census in heavy rain on Oct 16 stayed at least until the end of the season and 26 Marbled Murrelets were seen on Oct 17. The season ended on Oct 18 with 34 birds banded, and observations of a flock of four Trumpeter Swans, a Ring-necked Pheasant, and a Northern Shrike. However, the highlight of the last day was a Northern Saw-whet Owl napping in one of the apple trees.
In total, 3716 birds of 61 species were banded this season and the banding total was 30% above the average. Such a high banding total was a combination of excellent coverage, having 13 nets for the second full season, and high capture rate as the 0.56 birds/net hour was the second highest in the station's history. Different nets caught different amounts of birds, and different species. Nets #13 and #4 were the most productive nets catching 452 and 449 birds, respectively. For the total capture and birds per net hour see Table 4 and for the top species per each net see Table 5. For how the captures of a particular species were divided between the nets, see the detailed species accounts below.
Both figures, birds and species banded, mark a new record for their respective categories. The banding total was 577 birds higher than the previous year and the species total was 3 species higher than the previous record from 1995. When one compares only the "original" ten nets, this season's banding total was still the highest and 339 birds higher than the next best year 2002 (Table 6). Other banding records this season were a total of six different days with over a hundred birds captured per day, the busiest ever ten day period (from September 12 to September 21) with a phenomenal 934 birds banded, and, finally, the new fall season one-day record of 187 birds banded on September 20. A complete list of birds banded during the standard banding can be found in Table 1.
Three new species, Barred Owl, Belted Kingfisher, and Red Crossbill, were banded this season and an amazing 18 species set a new banding record in a single season: Northern Flicker, Willow Flycatcher, Hammond's Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Swainson's Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrow. The most remarkable of these was the high number of Fox Sparrows, which was over twice the old record. The new records compared to the old records and season averages can be found in Table 2. Numbers of Violet-green Swallows were similar to previous records and a further eight species recorded their second highest season totals in the station's history: House Wren, Marsh Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, Varied Thrush (tie), Common Yellowthroat, Song Sparrow, and Golden-crowned Sparrow. Not all species fared that well and the following species were banded in well below average numbers: Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Bushtit, Bewick's Wren, Black-throated Gray Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler, Pine Siskin, and American Goldfinch. More detailed treatment of these and all the other species can be found in the species accounts below.
The banding highlights this season included, in chronological order, a Northern Harrier on Jul 30 (the 3rd banding record), two Belted Kingfishers on Aug 16 (the 1st banding record), two Red Crossbills on Aug 17 (the 1st banding record), a Pileated Woodpecker on Aug 28, a Barred Owl on Sep 8 (the 1st standard banding record), another Belted Kingfisher on Oct 5, a Nashville Warbler on Oct 13, and a Swamp Sparrow and two Slate-colored Juncos on Oct 14.
All the birds were aged and sexed if possible and, as expected after breeding season, the majority of the birds were hatch-years. Besides Barn Swallows, of which just one individual, an adult, was banded, the highest percentage of adults was recorded on Pine Siskin (66.7%), Purple Finch (54.5%), Yellow Warbler (38.4%) and American Goldfinch (35.7%). The ages of passerines can be found in Table 3. Table 7 gives an overview of the banding this season as well as the timing of migration of selected species by showing the number of banded individuals in ten day periods.
In this chapter every species recorded, whether banded or not, during the season has been dealt with some detail. The species appear in the latest taxonomic order also followed in the latest Rocky Point Bird Observatory Checklist of Birds (Allinson 2003). Immediately under each species name are one to four different figures and always in the same order. First is the Banded figure, which is the number of individuals banded this season. If that number is in brackets, it means that those birds were banded as non-standards. The next figure is ET number, simply all the daily ETs of the season summed up and thus it also includes all the banded birds. This kind of a total of daily counts without an attempt to subtract possible overlap of individuals staying from one day to another is called a number of bird days. This ET figure was introduced here as a simple way of comparing the results from different years of, especially, species that fall outside the banding coverage. The next figure, NS, stands for Non Standard, this is the difference between the season sum of DST and ET, and indicates how many new birds were added after the seven hour standard period. For some species, especially seabirds, this number was so significant that in the species account it was chosen to use DST over ET for the analysis. The final figure is the number of days when the species was recorded during the season i.e. the maximum value here is 90. This is simply an attempt to quantify how common a particular species was, possibly, and hopefully another useful index for comparing the differences between years and extracting trends from the data.
The nets have been divided between front, middle and back nets, nets #1-5, #6-10, and #11-13, respectively. Because some birds were aged as second-year (SY) or after second-year (ASY) instead of just after hatch-year (AHY) we used the term "adult" to avoid confusion and include all older than hatch-year birds under one term. Finally, the percentage of aged and sexed birds refers only to the ones assigned to an age or sex and it does not take into account the portion of unaged or unsexed birds.
The following observer abbreviations were used in the text: David Allinson (DEA), Jeremy Gatten (JG), Pierre Geoffrey (PHG), Jukka Jantunen (JJ), Todd Kohler (TK), Marilyn Lambert (MAL), Susanne Maidment (MSM), Guy Monty (GLM), Jessica Murray (JJM), Jason Osterhold (JO), Amelie Rousseau (AR), Rick Schortinghuis (RJS), Rick Toochin (RT), and Bruce Whittington (BW).
Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons
ET 35, 4 days
Just four records of small flocks spanning from Sep 24 to Oct 12. The two largest flocks were 17 on Sep 27 and 14 on Oct 12.
Snow Goose Chen caerulescens
ET 7, NS 31, 4 days
Four sightings of which the two last ones during NS: 5 on Sep 23, 2 on Oct 10, 30 on Oct 12, and 1 on Oct 13.
Canada Goose Branta canadensis
ET 547, NS 20, 56 days
Practically no real migration was noticed at all. Most of the records, especially early in the season, were of the same local geese sitting at the mudflats or flying around. Some geese seen in late September and in October may have been genuine migrants but that is difficult to assess since these too were mostly grounded instead of heading south in nice flocks. The highest counts for the early season included 35 on Jul 29, 28 on Aug 2, and 30 on Aug 5. The best of the late season ETs were 19 on Sep 28 and 40 on Oct 14.
Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator
ET 4, 1 day
The only sighting was of a flock of 4 on Oct 18.
Wood Duck Aix sponsa
ET 1
The only one for the season was seen at the upper ponds on Oct 4 (RJS).
Gadwall Anas strepera
ET 1
The only one, a near rarity at RPBO, was seen on Aug 9 (DEA).
American Wigeon Anas americana
ET 89, 12 days
The first record for the season was a flock of 3 on Sep 10 followed by 2 on Sep 16. The two highest ETs were 52 on Oct 10 and 9 on Oct 13. On Oct 10, 531 unidentified ducks were counted in migration flight and a large portion of those were thought to have been American Wigeons.
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
ET 766, NS 3, 86 days
Was seen in very small numbers in the beginning of the season and in a little higher numbers after the first week of August till the end of the season without any noticeable peak periods. 18 on Aug 14 was the high count. 17 were seen on four times, all in September.
Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
ET 4, 3 days
Only three sightings of four birds: 2 on Oct 1 and singles on Oct 10 and Oct 18.
Northern Pintail Anas acuta
ET 93, NS 3, 15 days
The first ones (2) for the season were seen on Aug 3 and 7 on Aug 11 was the only other early season record. Pintails were seen irregularly through the rest of the season with high counts of 26 on Sep 16, 21 on Oct 10, and 18 on Oct 11.
Green-winged Teal Anas crecca
ET 75, NS 4, 29 days
The first 3 for the season were seen as NS on Aug 23 while the first 2 ET birds were noticed on Aug 28. There were no clear peak periods and the three highest ETs were 11 on Sep 10, 6 on Sep 23, and 5 on Sep 30.
Greater Scaup Aythya marila
NS 33, 1 day
The only record was of two flocks totalling 33 birds during afternoon seawatch on Oct 12.
Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis
NS 16, 1 day
The only record was a flock of 16 during afternoon seawatch on Oct 12.
Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus
ET 92, NS 19, 28 days
The first three for the season were on Aug 14. There were two more sightings in August and four during the first three weeks of September before the sightings became almost daily in late September and October. The two highest ETs were 14 on Oct 5 and 10 on Oct 14.
Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata
ET 586, NS 147, 55 days
Very small numbers of probably summering non-breeders were seen from the beginning of the season till October when some migrants moved in and the biggest DSTs were counted. The highs for the early season were 20 on Jul 29 and 21 on Aug 23. The highest counts for the season were 179 on Oct 10, 97 on Oct 13, and 63 on Oct 18.
White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca
ET 105, NS 45, 16 days
The first ones for the season were seen on Sep 3. The highest numbers were seen in October with DSTs of 33 on Oct 10, 28 on Oct 13, and 27 on Oct 14.
Black Scoter Melanitta nigra
ET 4, 1 day
The only record was a flock of 4 accompanied by some Surf Scoters on Oct 13 (DEA).
Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis
ET 1, NS 2, 2 days
Just two records: The first one, NS, was of two birds on Oct 13 and the second one, a single bird, on Oct 18.
Bufflehead Bucephala albeola
ET 1
The only one for the season was seen on Oct 18.
Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus
ET 7, 5 days
The first for the season was seen on Sep 30. The same two, a pair in the upper ponds, on Oct 15 and Oct 16, was the only multiple bird sighting.
Common Merganser Mergus merganser
ET 236, NS 8, 25 days
The first three for the season were seen on Jul 24 and the next one was seen on Aug 4 but sightings didn't become regular until after Sep 20. The top counts followed in October with 22 on Oct 5, 21 on Oct 6, 30 on Oct 8, and 31 on Oct 17.
Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator
ET 19, NS 3, 9 days
The first one was seen on Sep 20 and a high count of 7 was seen twice: on Sep 28 and on Oct 11.
Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchius
ET 1
One record of a single bird on Oct 18.
Ruffed Grouse Bonasa umbellus
ET 1
One on the road near Edye Point in the first light of Aug 25 was the first record at RPBO for many years (MAL).
California Quail Callipepla californica
ET 1101, NS 48, 87 days
Small and large coveys were seen throughout the season and all around the area. The over 30 ETs were 34 on Aug 2, 48 on Aug 16, 32 on Sep 2, and 35 on Oct 1. Several were also captured, mostly from net #5, and released unbanded.
Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata
ET 3, NS 3, 5 days
The first one was seen on Sep 9, and 2 on Oct 18 was the high count.
Pacific Loon Gavia pacifica
ET 263, NS 58. 32 days.
There were two records for July and three for August but the first counts indicating the start of migration weren't until Sep 11 and Sep 12 when five were seen on both days. The peak counts, DSTs, were a month later: 58 on Oct 5, 79 on Oct 10, 35 on Oct 11, and 50 on Oct 13.
Common Loon Gavia immer
ET 96, NS 7, 42 days
A very uneventful occurrence. The first one was seen on Jul 29 followed by the next one on Aug 9. The numbers stayed low pretty much through the season but the sightings became more regular in early September. The highest day counts of the season were 7 on Sep 1, 7 on Sep 28, and 21 on Oct 10.
Horned Grebe Podiceps auritus
ET 2, NS 4, 3 days
Only three records : 1 on Oct 3, NS, and singles on Oct 10 and 12.
Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena
ET 60, NS 36, 35 days
The first for the season was on Aug 20 and the next one on Aug 27, both NS. No high numbers were seen at all but in general the numbers grew and the sightings became more regular towards the end of the season. The highest DSTs were 10 on Sep 4, 9 on Sep 26, 8 on Oct 10, and 9 on Oct 13.
Western Grebe Aechmophorus occidentalis
ET 77, NS 18, 21 days
The first for the season was on Sep 8 and the highest DSTs were 10 on Oct 5, 18 on Oct 10, and 15 on Oct 11.
Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis
ET 7, NS 64, 6 days
A very concentrated occurrence. The first ones (3) were seen on Oct 10 and the last ones (2) on Oct 15. The peak numbers, 18 on Oct 12 and 42 on Oct 13 were counted during evening seawatches during and after a windstorm.
Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus
ET 6, NS 34, 9 days
Was seen irregularly from Aug 31 till the end of the season. The highest DSTs were 27 on Sep 17 and 4 on Oct 13.
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma furcata
NS 3, 1 day
On Oct 13, after a windstorm in the previous day, at least three were seen during afternoon and evening seawatches from Edye Point and Cape Calver (DEA, JG, JJ, JJM, AR).
Leach's Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma leucorrhoa
ET 1
The one that flew by the few lucky seawatchers on Oct 13 was one of very few sightings of this species from land in the Victoria Checklist area (DEA, JG, JJ, JJM, AR).
Brandt's Cormorant Phalacrocorax penicillatus
ET 908, NS 291, 57 days
The first two for the season were seen on Aug 4. After that Brandt's were seen on most days but the numbers remained small until a clear increase in October. The highest DSTs were 137 on Oct 10, 125 on Oct 11, 140 on Oct 12, and 270 on Oct 13.
Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus
ET 2386, NS 159, 74 days
There were very small numbers of double-cresteds around from the beginning of the season but the migration didn't start until much later in the fall and the biggest numbers were seen in the very end of the season. The first double-digit count was 10 on Aug 30, and the first triple-digit count 126 on Oct 6. The high counts, DSTs, were 130 on Oct 12, 160 on Oct 13, and 170 on Oct 15.
Pelagic Cormorant Phalacrocorax pelagicus
ET 266, NS 341, 74 days
Was seen in small numbers from the beginning of the season. The numbers built up a little towards the end with high DSTs of 37 on Sep 29 and 17 on Oct 10.
Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
ET 315, NS 10, 90 days
Present through the season in small and very stable numbers. What ever migration did take place in the fall none of that is evident from the data. For the future, perhaps more attention could be paid to the movements of herons. The highest ET was 8 on Sep 7.
Green Heron Butorides virescens
ET 1
A juvenile/first-winter seen on Sep 10 was the first for RPBO for six years (PHG, GLM, m.obs.).
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
ET 6327, NS 128, 87 days
Some were seen from the beginning of the season but counts didn't exceed 20 until on Sep 12 when 72 were tallied. The next day with 105 was the first triple-digit count and the peak numbers were counted from Sep 20 to Oct 2 with such high counts as 460 on Sep 20, 520 on Sep 21, 375 on Sep 24, 425 on Sep 25, 330 on Sep 27, 500 on Oct 1, and 330 on Oct 2. In early October the counts continued to reach 200 and 180 on Oct 10 was the last triple-digit count of the season. Due to the nature of the behaviour of soaring raptors at RPBO, it is impossible to say how many individuals were involved.
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
ET 31, 28 days
A few Ospreys were seen from the beginning of the season but most records came from the second half of September. Two were seen on three dates, Aug 29, Sep 19, and Sep 21. The last one for the season was seen on Oct 4.
Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
ET 146, NS 9, 76 days
Was seen in small numbers throughout the season without any obvious peaks or concentrations. A few more were seen early in the season and again in October than in the mid-season. Five, on both Jul 23 and Jul 27, was the highest ET.
Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
Banded 1, ET 48, NS 5, 43 days
Banding: The hatch-year female, caught in net #2 and banded on Jul 29, was only the third banding record of the species for RPBO. The previous two were in 1996.
ETs: Somewhat surprisingly there were harriers around through the whole season. At first it was mostly juveniles, possibly fledged somewhere nearby, cruising around but later majority of the sightings were of real migrants. Harriers were most frequently seen during the second half of September and early October. The season high ET of 3 was seen twice: on Jul 21 and Sep 22. Two were seen on six dates three of which were in early October.
Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus
Banded 4, ET 336, NS 1, 63 days
Banding: An average season. The four hatch-years, 3 males and one female, were banded on Sep 10, Sep 13, Sep 30, and Oct 18, and they came from nets #4, 7, and two from 12.
ETs: The odd one was seen early in the season but 6 on Aug 29 was the first sign that the migration was underway and in September double-digit counts were made on eight days with small peaks around Sep 4, Sep 15, and most notably, Sep 25 when the season high 20 were seen. Ten on Oct 1 was the last double-digit count for the season. Eight were seen on both Oct 10 and Oct 14. The median date was Sep 20.
Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperii
ET 136, 49 days
The first for the season was on Aug 5 and the next one on Aug 14. The numbers stayed low until mid-September after which there was a clear peak in the migration, and in October the numbers dwindled down again. The highest ETs of the season were 9 on Sep 16, 8 on Sep 22, and 6 on each Sep 24, 25, and 27. The median date was Sep 21.
Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis
ET 2, 2 days
Two sightings of presumably same individual on Sep 30 and Oct 1.
Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platypterus
ET 26, 14 days
The first four for the season were spotted on Sep 13 and the last one on Oct 14. ET 26 translates to approximately 14 different broad-wings of which approximately eight were adults, two second calendar-year, including a rare dark-morph, and four juveniles. All the early ones were adults whereas the late ones were juveniles. Four on both Sep 13 and Sep 20 was the season high.
Swainson's Hawk Buteo swainsoni
ET 4, 4 days
A light-morph juvenile was seen on Sep 20 (DEA) and probably the same bird again on Sep 27 (m.obs.). A rufous-morph adult was seen on Oct 1 and Oct 2 (m.obs.). These were the 8th and 9th record for RPBO.
Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
ET 297, NS 38, 66 days
A few local red-tails were seen almost daily through July and August. The migration started in September and the first double-digit count, 10, was made on Sep 13. The highest DSTs were counted on scattered dates in October and included 18 on Oct 1, the season high 50 on Oct 5, and 23 on Oct 14. The median date was Sep 29. A dark juvenile Harlan's Red-tail was seen on Oct 2 (JJ).
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos
ET 1
A juvenile, the only one for the season, was seen on Oct 14 (JG, JJ).
American Kestrel Falco sparverius
ET 33, NS 1, 22 days
The first for the season was spotted on Aug 29 and there was a small peak within the next few days as indicated by the highest day counts: 3 on Aug 30, 3 on Sep 2, 4 on Sep 3, and 3 on Sep 5. A second, even smaller, peak was observed from Sep 27 to 29 when five kestrels were seen. The median date for kestrel migration was Sep 12.
Merlin Falco columbarius
ET 25, 22 days
The first for the season was on Aug 3 and the next one on Aug 9. Merlins were most common in late September when two birds were seen on Sep 25, 27, and 28, the only multiple bird days of the season. The median date was Sep 23.
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
ET 60, NS 4, 50 days
The first for the season was on Aug 4 and most were seen in late September and early October with five as the high count on Sep 29. NS included two were seen on ten different days, once in August, five times in September and four times in October.
Virginia Rail Rallus limicola
ET 37, 31 days
The first one was seen on Aug 19 and the last one on Oct 14. Two were seen on four dates, three times in August and once in September. The high count was 3 on Sep 3.
Sora Porzana carolina
ET 29, 19 days
The first one was seen on Aug 15 and the last one on Oct 4. Was most commonly sighted from Aug 20 to Aug 28 and the high count was 4 on Aug 24.
Sandhill Crane Grus canadensis
ET 10, 5 days
Five records. The first two were seen on Sep 8, 4 on Sep 19 was the high count, and the last one was seen on Oct 1.
Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
ET 14, NS 1, 6 days
The first one for the season was seen on Jul 25. Other singles were noticed twice in August and once in both September and October, NS. The last sighting of the season was a flock of 10 on Oct 10.
American Golden Plover Pluvialis dominica
ET 1
The first record for RPBO, a juvenile, landed briefly in the lagoon on Sep 17 (JJ, GLM, RJS).
Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva
The fourth for RPBO, a juvenile, was seen on Sep 25 (JJ, RJS, BW).
Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
ET 332, NS 11, 85 days
Was seen on the mudflats through the season but slightly more frequently early in the season. The highest ET was 10 on Aug 14 and 8 were tallied on six different days.
Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus
ET 50, NS 2, 31 days
The migration was already underway before the season started and the season high 4 was seen on the first day, Jul 21. Three were seen on six days, three times in July, twice in August, and once in September. The last for the season was on Sep 9. The median day was Aug 6.
Black Oystercatcher Haematopus bachmani
ET 350, NS 21, 81 days
Present through the season in small numbers. All the double-digit ETs: 11 on Aug 23, 14 on Sep 4, 11 on Sep 6, 11 on Oct 10, and 19 on Oct 12.
Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
ET 72, NS 1, 51 days
Was seen in small numbers through the season but was more common early in the season. The highest counts were 4 on Aug 2, 4 on Sep 1, and 6 on Sep 9.
Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
ET 7, NS 1, 8 days
Only singles were seen. There were three records for July and three for August. The last two records for the season were on Sep 2 and Oct 18.
Wandering Tattler Heteroscelus incanus
ET 2, 2 days
Two sightings of one bird: on Aug 2 and Aug 13.
Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularia
ET 15, NS 5, 18 days
DST of 2 was recorded only twice: on Jul 23 and Jul 27. The last two records for the season were on Sep 10 and Sep 21.
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
ET 1
The only record was a single bird on Sep 7.
Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa
ET 1
The third for RPBO was seen on Sep 29 (RT, JO, TK).
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpress
ET 1
An adult was seen on Jul 27 (AR).
Black Turnstone Arenaria melanocephala
ET 746, NS 3, 52 days
The highest numbers were seen within the first two weeks of the season and after Aug 15 no counts of over 15 turnstones were made. The highest counts of the season were 45 on Jul 24, 40 on Jul 26, 40 on Jul 31, 100 on Aug 1, and 36 on Aug 3.
Surfbird Aphriza virgata
ET 348, 26 days
Most were seen very early in the season and all the over 20 bird counts were made within the first two weeks after which Surfbirds were only irregularly seen. The high counts were 45 on Jul 25, 25 on Jul 26, 100 on Aug 1, and 27 on Aug 4. The last 2 for the season were seen on Sep 6.
Sanderling Calidris alba
ET 5, 2 days
Two records. Two on Aug 23 and three on Sep 8.
Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla
ET 4, 4 days
Four records of singles: on Jul 29, Aug 7, Aug 9, and Sep 12.
Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri
ET 674, NS 10, 56 days
The migration of adults was well underway when the season started and the peak numbers of adults included 42 on Jul 22, 40 on Jul 24, and 35 on Aug 2. There was no clear peak in the migration of juveniles but decent numbers were seen every now and then through August and the highest ones of those were 81 on Aug 10, 32 on Aug 19, 36 on Aug 20, 32 on Aug 22, and 29 on Aug 27, which was also the last double-digit count for the season. The last Western Sandpiper was seen on Oct 1.
Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla
ET 606, NS 7, 55 days
The migration of adults was already underway before the season started. The high counts of the adult's migration period were 30 on Jul 24, 34 on Jul 29, and 28 on Aug 2. The first juvenile was seen on Jul 29 and their numbers peaked before mid-month. 50 were counted on Aug 9 and 80 on Aug 10. 20 were seen on Aug 20 and 16 on Sep 10 was the last double-digit count. The last two records were of singles on Oct 1 and Oct 11.
Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii
ET 1
The only one, an adult, was seen on Jul 24 (AR).
Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos
ET 6, NS 1, 7 days
Probably three different birds: the first, NS, on Aug 6, the second on Aug 27, and the last one from Oct 3 to Oct 7.
Dunlin Calidris alpina
ET 2
Just two records of single birds: on Sep 26 and Oct 13.
Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus
ET 33, NS 2, 20 days
Was seen in small numbers from Jul 24 to Sep 28 with a high count of 5 on Aug 31.
Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus
ET 59, 18 days
The first for the season was seen on Jul 29 followed by the next one almost a month later on Aug 24. The peak numbers were seen from late September to early October but many of these were of the same flock that took residence in the marsh. 8 were seen on Sep 29 and 6 on three dates within the next week.
Wilson's Snipe Gallinago delicata
ET 34, NS 1, 25 days
The first for the season was on Aug 16. Most snipes were singles, either flushed up from the upper ponds or seen probing the mud in the lower marsh. 3 on Sep 8, 3 on Sep 17, and 4 on Sep 23 were the high counts.
Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus
ET 240, NS 394, 21 days
The first record for the season was a flock of 6 on Aug 9, and the next two records were already the highest counts for the month, 24 on Aug 19 and 34 on Aug 20. For the most part of the season the sightings were irregular and at least partly depending of the seawatching activity. The two highest DSTs for the season were 116 on Sep 10 and 260 on Sep 12. 40 on Sep 17 was the last good count. 5 on Sep 27 and 3 on Oct 15 were the last records for the season.
Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus
ET 2, NS 2, 3 days
Just three records of adults and none of juveniles: 1 on Aug 22, 2 , NS, on Sep 12, and 1 on Sep 14. One unidentified Jaeger was seen on Sep 12 as well.
Franklin's Gull Larus pipixcan
NS 1
The fourth for RPBO, a first-winter, was seen from Cape Calver in the evening of Sep 1 (JJ, AR).
Bonaparte's Gull Larus philadelphia
ET 4416, NS 1874, 68 days
There was almost no pattern in the occurrence of Bonaparte's Gull but in general the species was more common early in the season than later, and the numbers seemed moderate at best. Also, the occurrence was quite erratic. One day they were practically absent and the next they were all over the place. There were three more pronounced concentrations of days when DSTs rose to a few hundreds: in late July, in mid-September, and in early to mid-October. The high counts were 267 on Jul 26, 270 on Jul 29, 450 on Jul 31, 290 on Sep 12, 265 on Sep 13, 270 on Sep 14, 255 on Oct 10, and 380 on Oct 13.
Heermann's Gull Larus heermanni
ET 6602, NS 2221, 88 days
Something of a southern Vancouver Island specialty in the Canadian waters and very common around RPBO. Not very numerous first thing in the season but numbers started build up early August. DSTs of a hundred or more became regular after the first week of the month and remained relatively stable till the end of the season. Three small peak periods were detectable from the data: in late August, mid-September, and mid-October, but it is difficult to say whether these reflect more the changes in numbers or observation activity. The DSTs of 250 or more Heermann's were 280 on Aug 22, 290 on Aug 28, 280 on Sep 12, 320 on Sep 16, 350 on Oct 10, and 250 on Oct 11.
Mew Gull Larus canus
ET 2142, NS 84, 88 days
A very even occurrence without any high numbers or even concentrations of decent numbers. The highest DSTs were well scattered through the season: 64 on Aug 14, 60 on Sep 24, and 70 on Oct 7.
Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis
ET 44, NS 6, 31 days
The first one was seen on Aug 4 and after that ring-bills were seen almost daily till Sep 13 including 4 on Aug 14 and 3 on Sep 4. Singles on Oct 4 and Oct 18 were the last two sightings.
California Gull Larus californicus
ET 14 020, NS 1476, 89 days
California Gull was one of the ever present species this season, especially loafing around at the west rocks but often also flock after flock flying overhead and heading southwest. They were especially numerous in early and mid-August when the highest numbers were seen but a few good counts were made in September and October too. Some of the high DSTs included 605 on Aug 4, 880 on Aug 9, 2000 on Aug 16, 650 on Aug 17, 500 on Aug 26, 420 on Sep 6, 300 on Sep 14, 370 on Sep 29, and 300 on Oct 13.
Herring Gull Larus argentatus
ET 1
Surprisingly just one was identified from the land, on Oct 14, even though there were several sightings from boats off shore around the same time.
Thayer's Gull Larus thayeri
ET 26, NS 13, 12 days
Were seen irregularly and in small numbers. The first one was on Aug 16 and next 2 on Sep 7. The highest DSTs were 6 on Oct 10 and 12 on Oct 18.
Western Gull Larus occidentalis
ET 6, 4 days
All four records: 2 on Sep 16 and Sep 29, and 1 on Oct 10 and Oct 11.
Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens
Banded (2), ET 9746, NS 1085, 90 days
Banding: Two were banded at Edye Point as the only catch of a non-standard gull banding project.
ETs: Perhaps the most ever present of all the species. Although, undoubtedly, some migratory movements occurred during the season, none were detectable from the data. The three highest day counts were 509 on Aug 3, 500 on Aug 5, and 400 on Oct 18.
Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla
ET 5, NS 1
Three records: 4 on Aug 23 (DEA), 1 on Oct 8, and 1 on Oct 12, NS.
Caspian Tern Sterna caspia
ET 2, NS 2, 2 days
Just two records of two birds each: on Aug 4 and Aug 12, NS.
Common Tern Sterna hirundo
ET 61, NS 23, 12 days
A very poor year for Common Tern. The first one was seen on Aug 31 and the last one Sep 23. The only double-digit DSTs were 10 on Sep 8, 50 on Sep 12 (a single flock), and 10 on Sep 13.
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea
NS 1
The second for RPBO, a juvenile, was identified during a seawatch from Cape Calver in the evening of Sep 1 (JJ, AR).
Common Murre Uria aalge
ET 5085, NS 4228, 86 days
Common Murre was one of the most common species on the sea. The DSTs fluctuated a lot from day to day but most of that may be more related to seawatching activity than actual changes in the murre numbers. In late September and October, however, the seawatching activity was fairly high but the murre numbers were lower than earlier in the season. Here are all the DSTs of over 400 murres: 590 on Aug 15, 460 on Sep 7, 600 on Sep 12, 450 on Sep 14, and 700 on Sep 17.
Pigeon Guillemot Cepphus columba
ET 247, NS 181, 64 days
Clearly more numerous early in the season when adults were conspicuous when carrying food to the nest sites. The season high DSTs were 26 on Jul 24, 27 on Jul 25, and 21 on Jul 27. 15 on Aug 22 was the second last double-digit DST before near the end of the season when there was a little more activity again and 12 were tallied on Sep 27.
Marbled Murrelet Brachyramphus marmoratus
ET 105, NS 97, 47 days
Was seen through the season mostly in very small numbers and with only three double-digit DSTs: 20 on Jul 21, 16 on Sep 26, and 26 on Oct 17.
Ancient Murrelet Synthliboramphus antiquus
ET 6, NS 6, 7 days
The first one of the seven records this season was 2 on Sep 10 and the highest count was 4 during afternoon seawatch, DST, on Sep 27.
Crested Auklet Aethia cristatella
ET 1, 7 days
Without a question the highlight of the season. This second for Canada and BC, and the first for RPBO, was first seen from Cape Calver on Sep 5 and last on Oct 3 (JJ, AR, m.obs.).
Rhinoceros Auklet Cerorhinca monocerata
ET 11 665, NS 4988, 88 days
The most numerous species out on the sea. The highest numbers were seen in August when high DSTs of 1136 on Aug 2, 700 on Aug 14, and 1060 on Aug 15 were counted. A few good counts were still made in September like 450 on Sep 12 and 500 on Sep 17, but after that numbers dropped towards the end of the season. 230 on Oct 13 was the high count for that month.
Rock Pigeon Columba livia
ET 11, 10 days
Ten sightings spanning from Jul 27 to Sep 27. All but one, 2 on Sep 12, were of one bird.
Band-tailed Pigeon Columba fasciata
ET 5554, NS 52, 77 days
The season started with just a few pigeons around. The first day with double-digit ET was Aug 19 and the first day with triple-digit ET was Sep 4. The whole month of September was one long peak period and in October the numbers went down quickly. The peak counts were 300 on Sep 4, 270 on Sep 6, 250 on Sep 8, 250 on Sep 13, 277 on Sep 16, and 250 on Sep 28. Oct 5 was the last over a hundred day.
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
ET 4, NS 1, 5 days
Five records of a single bird: on Jul 30, Aug 2, Sep 6, Sep 24, and Sep 26. One to three different birds were involved.
Barn Owl Tyto alba
One was found predated early in the season.
Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus
ET 36, NS 4, 33 days
Present through the season but never more than two were seen on any day. An adult and a young were seen at the back nets on several occasions and they were responsible of two casualties. On a couple of mornings the first staff member to arrive was greeted by a Great Horned sitting on the roof of building 100.
Barred Owl Strix varia
Banded 1, ET 23, 19 days
Banding: A hatch-year was caught in net#5 on Sep 8. This was the first Barred Owl banded at RPBO during the standard banding.
ETs: Barred Owls weren't as prominent around the net lines as previous fall but they were seen from time to time through the season except for the very beginning. The only multiple bird ETs were 3 on Aug 30 and 2 each on Aug 31 and Sep 1.
Northern Saw-whet Owl Aegolius acadius
ET 3, 3 days
Three singles were sighted, on Sep 20, Sep 23, and Oct 18. The first two of them in the first light and the last one several times during the morning.
Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor
ET 26, NS 1, 20 days
Nighthawks were most often noticed first thing in the morning when opening the nets and they were most frequently observed in August. The first one was seen on Jul 23, the last one on Sep 25, and the high count for the season was 3 on Aug 9.
Black Swift Cypseloides niger
ET 19, 7 days
The first one of the seven records was on Aug 9 and the last two swifts were seen on Oct 10. The two highest counts were 6 on Sep 6 and 5 on Sep 19.
Vaux's Swift Chaetura vauxi
ET 795, NS 100, 32 days
The first record for the season was 14 on Aug 24. 84 on Aug 31 was the high count for the month and 52 on Sep 4 was the high count for early September. The peak movement was late in September and the counts included 62 on Sep 20, 140 on Sep 21, and 50 on Sep 22. 35 on Sep 28 was the last double-digit count and the last record for the season was 7 on Oct 10.
Anna's Hummingbird Calypte anna
ET 2, 2 days
The first one was spotted near Edye Point during the census on Sep 28 (JJ, JO, TK) and the second one was briefly in the front on Oct 10 (AN). These were the second and the third records for RPBO checklist area and first two for the Rocky Point proper.
Rufous Hummingbird Selasphorus rufus
Banded (43), ET 160, NS 7, 37 days
Banding: The hummingbirds were banded with non RPBO bands as a separate project. The best banding day totals were 7 on Jul 30, 9 on Aug 2, and 5 on Aug 5. The last one banded was on Aug 27.
ETs: Hummingbirds were most numerous early in the season with 10 seen on four dates in July and 16 on Aug 2. After that fewer and fewer hummingbirds were seen and after mid-August only very few were seen. The last one for the season was seen on Sep 13.
Belted Kingfisher Ceryle alcyon
Banded 3, ET 278, NS 12, 89 days
Banding: A new banding species for RPBO. Two, an adult male and a hatch-year male, were caught together in net #3 on Aug 16 and an adult male was caught in net #5 on Oct 5.
ETs: Was seen through the entire season in amazingly stable numbers. 7, DST, was the highest count on Sep 28. At least three times a Peregrine Falcon was seen catching a kingfisher.
Red-breasted Sapsucker Sphyrapicus ruber
ET 12, NS 1, 12 days
The first one was seen on Jul 29 and the last one on Oct 11. Sep 27 with two was the only multiple bird day.
Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens
Banded 1, ET 300, NS 2, 86 days
Banding: The only one for the season, and the eighth banding of the species for RPBO, was a hatch-year male caught in net#3 on Jul 30.
ETs: Present throughout the entire season. The highest ETs were 8 on Aug 15 and on Sep 30, and 7 on Aug 29.
Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus
ET 151, NS 1, 75 days
Present through the season in small numbers but slightly more common later in the season. The season high ET of four was recorded five times, three of which were in October and two in September.
Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
Banded 4, ET 686, NS 30, 89 days
Banding: A record season with one over 3 from 2000. Two were identified as Red-shafted Flickers, a hatch-year female on Jul 22 and a hatch-year male on Sep 29, and two, a hatch-year female on Aug 1 and a second-year female on Sep 18, showed intermediate characters between Yellow-shafted and Red-shafted and were called Flicker intergrades. The flickers came from nets #3, 9, 11, and 12.
ETs: Local flickers were present in fairly good numbers from the beginning of the season and the early season high counts included 15 on Jul 28 and 12 on Aug 3. Generally, the numbers were very low in August but started to climb again in September. The highest numbers were seen in late September and early October with good numbers till the end of the season. The highest counts were 17 on Sep 23, 20 on Sep 28, 19 on Sep 29, 18 on Oct 3, and 16 on Oct 14.
Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus
Banded 1, ET 100, NS 3, 74 days
Banding: A hatch-year male was caught in net #5 and banded on Aug 28. It was only the sixth ever banded at RPBO.
ETs: Was seen in ones and twos, occasionally in threes, through the season.
Olive-sided Flycatcher Contopus cooperi
ET 84, NS 1, 26 days
The monotonous pip-pip-pip call of Olive-sided Flycatcher was one of the most characteristic sounds of the early season when the species was common and such counts as 9 on Jul 30 and 7, NS, on Aug 5 were made. Most of them cleared out by mid-August and the last two records were on Aug 21 and on Sep 30. The median date was Aug 2.
Western Wood-Pewee Contopus sordidulus
ET 4, 4 days
Only four records of lone birds: on Jul 26, Aug 4, Aug 7, and Sep 13.
Willow Flycatcher Empidonax traillii
Banded 56, ET 141, NS 2, 42 days
Banding : A record season topping the old record of 47 from 2002. Only one was banded before the migration started in the end of the first week of August. Most came through around the mid month but the species remained as a common catch till the end of the month. The best banding days were 5 on Aug 10 and 8 on Aug 15, and three were banded on five different days. The last one banded was on Sep 17. In all, 1 (1.8%) was banded in July, 48 (85.7%) in August, and 7 (12.5%) in September. The median date was Aug 15. 7 (12.5%) were aged as adults (2 AHY, 2 ASY, 3 SY) and 49 (87.5%) as hatch-years. Four of the adults were sexed as females based on breeding condition and the non sexed ones were surely males as their wing lengths were consistently longer (68-69mm) than the females wing lengths. 27 (48.2%) were caught in the front nets, 19 (33.9%) in the middle nets, and 10 (17.6%) in the back nets. The best net, #4, caught 16 (28.6%) Willow Flycatchers.
ETs: A few were present from the beginning of the season but the most were seen from Aug 10 to Aug 27. The high counts for that period, and for the season, were 10 on Aug 14, 11 on Aug 15, and 8 on Aug 21. The last records for the season were 2 on Sep 17 and 1 exceptionally late one on Oct 14.
Least Flycatcher Empidonax minimus
ET 1
The first for RPBO was along the upper road on Aug 30 (DEA).
Hammond's Flycatcher Empidonax hammondii
Banded 35, ET 118, NS 1, 49 days
Banding: A record year beating the old record of 30 from 2000. The first was banded on Jul 25 and the next one on Jul 30 but the next one after that wasn't until Aug 22. On most days just none to two were banded but there was a clear peak around mid-September with the season best banding days of 5 on Sep 16 and 3 on Sep 18. The last one banded was on Oct 7. In all, 2 (5.7%) were banded in July, 10 (28.6%) in August, 19 (54.3%) in September, and 4 (11.4%) in October. The median date was Sep 14. 3 (10%) were aged as adults, 27 (90%) as hatch-years, and 5 were left unaged. None were sexed. 5 (14.3%) were caught in the front, 14 (40%) in the middle, and 16 (45.7%) in the back nets. Nets #11 with 7 (20%) and #9 with 6 (17.1%) were the best single nets.
ETs: The first one for the season was the banded bird on Jul 25 but the first field observed ones were 2 on Aug 2. The numbers remained in two to three per day until the end of the month when 6 were tallied on Aug 30 and 5 on Aug 31. After a couple of weeks of low numbers, with the exception of 5 on Sep 11, there was a clear peak around mid September when the season high counts of 10 on Sep 17 and 9 on Sep 18 were made. 5 on Oct 1 was the last good count and the last one for the season was seen on Oct 10.
Dusky Flycatcher Empidonax oberholseri
ET 1
The tenth for RPBO was seen and heard along the upper road on Sep 2 (GLM, m.obs.).
Pacific-slope Flycatcher Empidonax difficilis
Banded 315, ET 891, NS 3, 66 days
Banding: A new record beating the old one 271 from 2002. Relatively small numbers were banded through July and the main movement came through already in early to mid August. 129 were banded from Aug 4 to Aug 19 including such good days as 16 on both Aug 6 and Aug 7, 17 on Aug 10, 15 on Aug 13, and the season high 19 on Aug 19. Further 14 were banded on Aug 24. After a slower period numbers picked up a little closer to mid September for the second and the last peak of the season. The highs for that period included 8 on Sep 8, 8 on Sep 16, and 10 on Sep 17. The last one for the season was banded on Sep 30. In all, 26 (8.3%) were banded in July, 214 (67.9%) in August, and 75 (23.8%) in September. The median date for all was Aug 16 but for adults it was Aug 4 and for hatch-years Aug 18. 24 (7.6%) were aged as adults (4 AHY, 10 ASY, 10 SY), 290 (92.4%) as hatch-years, and one was left unaged. After determining the precise age of an adult by plumage, the skull was checked on 4 ASYs (2x4, 2x3) and 7 SYs (6x2, 1x3). 13 adults were sexed as females based on the breeding condition. All the unsexed adults, the ones showing no signs of breeding condition, were probably males as their wing lengths were longer than the female's with very little overlap. 25 (8%) were caught in the front nets, 138 (43.9%) in the middle nets, and 151 (48.1%) in the back nets, and one was not assigned to a net. Nets #13 and #12 were best nets with 64 (20.4%) and 62 (19.7%) captures, respectively. Further two were caught in net #14 and were banded as non-standard birds.
ETs: Fairly good numbers were present right from the beginning of the season and the migration may have already been underway before the season started. Some of the high counts for early season included 20 on Jul 24, 25 on Jul 27, and 21 on Jul 29. The main peak, just like with banding, took place early to mid August with high count of 45 on three days, Aug 4, Aug 10, and Aug 13, and 42 on Aug 16. After that numbers got gradually smaller and 17 on Sep 17 was the last double-digit count. The last field observed one was on Sep 24 and the last one for the season was the banded one on Sep 30.
Northern Shrike Lanius excubitor
ET 1
The only one for the season was seen at the upper ponds on Oct 18 (DEA, JG).
Cassin's Vireo Vireo cassinii
Banded 2, ET 64, 30 days
Banding : The only two for the season were captured together in net #3 on Aug 8 and they were both aged as hatch-years.
ETs: Cassin's Vireos, presumably mostly local breeders, were present from the beginning of the season. Migration probably started fairly early as well since it peaked already around mid-August when the season high counts of 8 on Aug 12, 6 on Aug 13, and 7 on Aug 19 were made. In September only four were noticed, last of which was on Sep 22.
Hutton's Vireo Vireo huttoni
Banded 4, ET 137, NS 3, 71 days
Banding: An average year. The four were banded on Aug 22, Aug 23, Sep 4, and Sep 22. One was aged as an adult and three as hatch-years. They all came from different nets, one each from #10 to #13.
ETs: Hutton's Vireos were mostly heard through the season, slightly more often earlier than later in the season. The two highest ETs were 7 on Jul 29 and 5 on Sep 2.
Warbling Vireo Vireo gilvus
Banded 14, ET 103, NS 5, 40 days
Banding : An average season. The first one was banded on Aug 7 and most between Aug 19 and Aug 31. Two were banded on Aug 19, Aug 27, and Aug 31, and the last one on Sep 23. The August total was 11 (78.6%) and September total 3 (21.4%). Aug 27 was the median date. One was aged as an adult and 13 as hatch-years. Seven (50%) were caught in the front nets, 2 (14.3%) in the middle nets and 5 (35.7%), all in #13, in the back nets.
ETs: A few were noticed in July but most were seen in August without any clear concentrations. The high counts, 11 on Aug 13, 11 on Aug 21, and 10, NS, on Aug 27, were scattered through the month. Only a few were seen in September and the last one was on Sep 24.
Steller's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri
Banded 7, ET 462, NS 2, 55 days
Banding: Five were banded in September and two in October but never more than one a day. One was aged as an adult and six as hatch-years. Five came from the back nets (3 from #12) and two from net #5.
ETs: The first records for the season were of singles on Jul 28, Aug 7, and Aug 21, after which the sightings became regular and the first double-digit count was 15 on Sep 3. The highest numbers were tallied in late September and early October with 25 on Sep 24, 22 on Sep 29, and 20 on Oct 3. Jays were commonly seen till the end of the season.
Northwestern Crow Corvus caurinus
ET 712, NS 14, 78 days
Present through the season with irregularly fluctuating numbers. If there was any migratory movement, it was not detectable from the numbers. The highest ETs were 40 on Aug 10, 30 on Aug 15, 35 on Sep 11, and 35 on Sep 26.
Common Raven Corvus corax
ET 275, NS 3, 82 days
Ravens were around for the whole season, often playing on the sky or just flying around seemingly without anywhere special to go. The highest ETs were 15 on Sep 13 and 9 on Sep 14. Eight were tallied on three different days.
Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris
ET 6, 5 days
Five records, all of singles between Sep 18 and 28 except the first one which was of two birds.
Purple Martin Progne subis
ET 22, 9 days
The first record was 2 on Aug 3 and the last 3 on Aug 31. The high count was 8 on Aug 26.
Tree Swallow Tachycineta tricolor
ET 4, 3 days
Just three records: 1 on Aug 3, 2 on Aug 7, and 1 on Sep 16.
Violet-green Swallow Tachycineta thalassina
Banded 5, ET 874, NS 118, 55 days
Banding: Ties the record with the opening year 1994. Two were banded on Jul 26 and 3 on Jul 30. They all were hatch-years and they came from nets #1 (1), 2 (2) and 4 (2).
ETs: An early season species with the highest counts already within the first week of the season and very few were seen after mid August. The high counts were 100 on Jul 22, 60 on Jul 23, and 90 on Jul 27. The highest counts for August were 47 on Aug 3 and 48 on Aug 10. Surprisingly the last record, on Sep 30, was of a flock of 30 violet-greens. The early migration is also indicated by the early median date of Jul 30.
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis
Banded 1, ET 270, NS 23, 41 days
Banding: The only one for the season, a hatch-year, was banded on Jul 30.
ETs: An early season species with highest counts already in July and early August, including 17 on Jul 22, 18 on Jul 24, 17 on Aug 10, and 16 on Aug 11. 11 on Aug 17 was the last double-digit count and the last one was seen on Sep 5. The median date was Aug 6.
Bank Swallow Riparia riparia
ET 1
The eighth for RPBO was seen on Sep 3 (GLM).
Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
ET 22, NS 2, 12 days
Very few Cliff Swallows were seen. The two highest counts were 4 on Jul 21 and 6 on Aug 7. The last one for the season was on Aug 23.
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Banded 1, ET 591, NS 63, 66 days
Banding: The only one for the season, an adult female, was banded on Aug 5.
ETs: Was seen in fairly small but stable numbers till the end of August. The numbers got gradually smaller through September so that the last two for the season were seen on Sep 30. Two small peaks were noticed, in early and late August. The highest ETs were 30 on Jul 22, 27 on Aug 4, 28 on Aug 6, 25 on Aug 26, and 29 on Sep 3. 11 on Sep 12 was the last double-digit ET.
Chestnut-backed Chickadee Poecile rufescens
Banded 59, ET 4519, NS 10, 89 days
Banding: An average year. Most of the chickadees were banded early in the season with 23 (39%) in July, 22 (37.3%) in August, 11 (18.6%) in September and only 3 (5.1%) in October. 6 on both Jul 22 and Jul 31 were the top banding totals. No chickadees were sexed. 58 (98.3%) of the chickadees were aged as hatch-years and only one was aged as an adult (1.7%). The very small number of adults can, at least partly, be explained by the effective banding effort at RPBO which means that most of the locally breeding adults have already been banded on site in the previous years. This is also supported by the fact that the recaptures included 11 individuals from the previous years. 8 (13.6%) of the chickadees came from the front nets, 32 (54.2%) middle nets, and 19 (32.2%) from the back nets. The best single nets were #7 with 13 (22%) and #11 with 12 (20.3%) chickadees.
ETs: Chickadees were present in fairly good numbers through the whole season. The triple-digit counts were as follows: 120 on Aug 6, 110 on Aug 13, 105 on Aug 19, 120 on Sep 11, 105 on Sep 23, and 110 on Sep 24.
Bushtit Psaltriparus minimus
Banded 26, ET 351, NS 25, 48 days
Banding: A well below average year. Peculiarly, 19 (73.1%) of the Bushtits were banded in August and the remaining 7 (26.9%) in October but none in July or September. The best day totals were 5 on both Aug 26 and 29. 21 (95.4%) were aged as hatch-years, just one (4.6%) as an adult, and 4 were left unaged. 5 (25%) were sexed as males, 15 (75%) as females, and 6 were left unsexed. 10 (38.5%) Bushtits were caught in the front nets, 15 (57.7%) in the middle nets, and just one (3.8%) in the back nets. Net #7 with 12 (46.2%) Bushtits was easily the best net.
ETs: Although Bushtits, when present, are easy to notice, on many days this season they were mysteriously missed. They were most reliably observed in the second half of August when a flock of 15 to 20 birds roamed around the banding area.
Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis
Banded 7, ET 1735, NS 58, 88 days
Banding: A record season. Four were banded in July, two in August, and one in September. One was aged as an adult, five as hatch-years, and one was left unaged. Four were sexed as males and one as a female. Two were caught in both net #11 and #13. An additional one was caught in net #14 and banded as a non-standard bird.
ETs: Fairly numerous early in the season with the highest numbers after mid August and the slowly dropping towards the end of the season. The highest ETs were 40 on Jul 27, 47 on Jul 30, 40 on Aug 13, 37 on Aug 18, 47 on Aug 19, and 38 on Sep 23.
Brown Creeper Certhia americana
Banded 20, ET 890, NS 9, 89 days
Banding: A new season record. Most were banded early in the season with 8 (40%) in July, 7 (35%) in August, 3 (15%) in September, and 2 (10%) in October. Jul 31 with 3 creepers was the top banding day. The median date was Aug 3. Of the creepers 1 (5%) was aged as an adult, 16 (95%) as hatch-years, and 3 were left unaged. The one adult was sexed as a female based on the breeding condition. 12 (60%) creepers were caught in the front nets, 3 (15%) in the middle nets, and 5 (25%) in the back nets. The top single nets for catching creepers were #5 with 8 (40%) and #4 with 4 (20%).
ETs: There were Brown Creepers in the woods at RPBO through the entire season. From the data it is very difficult say if there was any real migration-like movement but they certainly were more numerous on some days than the others, and there were clearly less creepers present during the last three weeks of the season. Unfortunately, the good days didn't seem to cluster together at all but instead were widely scattered throughout the season. Some of the high counts were 27 on Jul 29, 26 on Aug 12, 42 on Aug 13, 38 on Aug 19, 36 on Sep 2, 25 on Sep 10, and 28 on Sep 23. The last day with double-digit ET was Sep 25.
Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Banded 31, ET 636, NS 4, 89+1 days
Banding: Slightly below average year compared to the previous five years. Typically for a local breeder with little other movements than post-breeding dispersal most birds were banded early in the season with 15 (48.4%) in July, 13 (41.9%) in August, 1 (3.2%) in September, and 2 (6.5%) in October. The median date was Aug 6. The bulk of the capture was hatch-years (29, 93.5%) and only 2 (6.5%) were aged as adults, one of which was sexed as a male based on the breeding condition. The Bewick's Wren captures were quite evenly divided between different net groups as the front caught 12 (38.7%), middle 10 (32.3%), and the back 9 (29%). The best single net was #7 with 7 (22.8%) wrens.
ETs: Bewick's Wrens were present throughout the season. There was quite a bit of fluctuation in the daily numbers but that was mostly due to differences in coverage and bird activity rather than actual changes in numbers. Only near the end of the season it was apparent that there were fewer Bewick's Wrens around. The highest ETs were widely scattered around the season: 19 on Jul 21, 26 on Jul 29, 17 on Aug 19, 24 on Sep 2, and 21 on Sep 3.
House Wren Troglodytes aedon
Banded 14, ET 224, NS 1, 62 days
Banding : The second highest total and only topped by 20 on 2001. All were banded early in the season and most from Aug 7 to Aug 15. Aug 13 with two was the only multiple bird day and the last one was already on Aug 21. 4 (28.6%) were banded in July and 10 (71.4%) in August. The median day was Aug 7. 2 (14.3%) were aged as adults and 12 (85.7%) as hatch-years. Both adults were sexed as females based on breeding condition. 2 (14.3%) came from the front nets, and 6 (42.9%) from both middle and back nets. Net #10, #11, and #13 caught 3 House Wrens each.
ETs: Was most common early in the season as indicated by the over ten bird ETs: 11 on Jul 22, 13 on Jul 26, and 11 on Aug 13. 8 on Aug 25 and 5 on Aug 29 were the highest counts of the "late" season, and the last one was observed on a late date of Oct 7. The median date was Aug 12.
Winter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes
Banded 281, ET 1597, NS 9, 89 days
Banding: A record year beating the old record of 260 from 2000. A late season species with 9 (3.2%) banded in July, 42 (14.9%) in August, 135 (48%) in September, and 95 (33.8%) in October. A few wrens, mostly local juveniles, were banded in July and early August, and Aug 23 with 7 was the best day for the first half of the season. More wrens were moving in September and the first peak was after the mid month with such banding highs as 15 on Sep 17, 19 on Sep 20, and 13 on Sep 22. Early October was busy banding time too, including the season high 20 on Oct 2 and 12 on Oct 5, and the last busy day was Oct 14 with 13 wrens. The median date was Sep 20, except for adults it was Sep 30. 16 (6.7%) were aged as adults, 238 (93.3%) as hatch-years, and 27 were left unaged. None were sexed. 29 (10.3%) were caught in the front nets, 141 (50.2%) in the middle nets, and 111 (39.5%) in the back nets. The best individual nets were #13 with 44 (15.7%), and #11 and #7 with 43 (15.3%) wrens.
ETs: Good numbers of local wrens were present from the beginning of the season and the best early season counts included 20 on Jul 21 and 22 on Aug 13. The numbers started to build up on the second week of September and there was a little bit of a peak on the second half of the month. The September highs included 38 on Sep 12, 40 on Sep 20, 48 on Sep 22, and 35 on Sep 23. October was the busiest month with 13 days of ETs of 30 or over, 45 on Oct 3 and 46 on Oct 14 being the highest ones.
Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris
Banded 14, ET 202, 85 days
Banding: The second best season after 19 in 2000. The Marsh Wrens were scattered widely apart through the whole season with the only exceptions of 2 banded on both Sep 7 and Sep 21. 3 (21.4%) were banded in both July and August, 6 (42.9%) in September, and 2 (14.3%) in October. The median date was Sep 5. They all were aged as hatch-years and none were sexed, and they all came from the front nets. Net #2 with 4 (28.6%) netted the most.
ETs: Marsh Wrens were seen through the season in the marsh and especially later in the season the upper ponds attracted presumed migrants. Unfortunately, however, based on the data it was impossible to track any movements as there was hardly any fluctuation in the numbers. The highest ETs were 8 on Jul 29 and 5 on Sep 24.
Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa
Banded 157, ET 3594, NS 34, 82 days
Banding: A record year beating the previous record 117 from 2002. The first for the season was banded on Aug 10 and the second on Aug 16 but it wasn't until after the first week of September before kinglets started to hit the nets on regular basis. There was a peak in banding numbers after mid month with 10 banded on Sep 17 and 9 on Sep 20, and another peak at the turn of the month with 13 banded on Sep 30 and 9 on Oct 4. The last over ten day was Oct 14 with 14 Golden-crowned Kinglets. In all, 3 (1.9%) were banded in August, 84 (53.5%) in September, and 70 (44.6%) in October. The median date was Sep 30. 5 (3.2%) were aged as adults, 150 (96.8%) as hatch-years, and 2 were left unaged. The sex ratio was almost even as 79 (51.3%) males and 75 (48.7%) females were sexed. Of the three that were left unsexed, two were in full juvenile plumage and the third one was a female-looking bird with some orange crown feathers. 17 (10.9%) were caught in the front nets, 66 (42%) in the middle nets, and 74 (47.1%) in the back nets with 30 (19.1%) in net #13 and 26 (16.6%) in #12. Further 8 were caught in net#14 and banded as non-standard banding bringing the grand total to 165.
ETs: The ETs show that there were kinglets around well before any were banded, but mostly in fairly small numbers. 11 on Jul 29 was the first double-digit count followed by 11 as well on Aug 4. 47 on Aug 13 was the highest count for that month. The first over a hundred day was 100 on Sep 10. In all, there were 11 triple-digit days, seven in September and four in October, most of which didn't correspond with the good banding days. The three highest ETs were 130 on Sep 23, 200 on Sep 24, and 129 on Oct 5.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
Banded 440, ET 1224, NS 6, 45 days
Banding: The second best season total after 466 on 2002. A late season species with 174 (39.5%) banded in September and 266 (60.5%) in October. The first one was banded on Sep 4 and the first peak was in mid-month with 18 on Sep 15, 24 on Sep 16, and 11 on Sep 17. After a slower period, the banding picked up again at the turn of the month with 21 banded on three different days: Sep 30, Oct 2, and Oct 6. The numbers stayed fairly high and the biggest push of the season was from Oct 11 to Oct 15 with the season high 34 on Oct 11, 33 on Both Oct 13 and Oct 14, and 32 on Oct 15. The median date for all was Oct 4 but for adults it was Oct 8 and for hatch-years Oct 3. 48 (10.9%) were aged as adults, 384 (89.1%) as hatch-years, and 8 were left unaged. 182 (41.4%) were sexed as males, 256 (58.6%) as females, and 2 were left unsexed. 54 (12.3%) were caught in the front nets, 232 (52.7%) in the middle nets, and 153 (34.8%) in the back nets. Net #13 and #7 with 89 (20.2%) and 88 (20%) captured, respectively, were the top nets. One was caught in net #14 and banded as a non-standard bird.
ETs: One was seen on Jul 22 but the next one wasn't until on Sep 1. Otherwise the pattern was very similar to the banding data with the first peak in mid September, then a few good days at the turn of the month, and finally the big push just before mid October. The peak days for these periods were 38 on Sep 15, 60 on Sep 16, and 80 on Sep 17 for the first peak; 40 on Sep 29, 43 on Oct 3, and 45 on Oct 6 for the turn of the month; and 100 on Oct 11, 50 on Oct 13, 80 on Oct 14, and 105 on Oct 15 for the main push.
Townsend's Solitaire Myadestes townsendi
ET 2, 2 days
The only one for the season was seen on Oct 14 and Oct 18, and it may have been present since Oct 11.
Swainson's Thrush Catharus ustulatus
Banded 91, ET 220, NS 18, 63 days
Banding: A new season record topping the old record of 69 from 1997. After a few local birds banded in July hardly any were banded before mid-August when the first migrants appeared. The peak of the migration took place in September when the season high 12 were banded on Sep 8, and a little later 7 were banded on both Sep 17 and Sep 20. After that the numbers went down quickly and the last one for the season was banded on Oct 7. In all, 8 (8.8%) were banded in July, 15 (16.5%) in August, 62 (68.1%) in September, and 6 (6.6%) in October. The median date was Sep 14. 11 (12.2%) were aged as adults, 79 (87.8%) as hatch-years, and one was left unaged. None were sexed. 17 (18.7%) were captured in the front nets, 41 (45.1%) in the middle nets, and 33 (36.2%) in the back nets. The most effective net was #10 with 14 (15.4%) and it was closely followed by #5 and #13 both of which caught 13 (14.3%) Swainson's Thrushes.
ETs: The very skulking habits obviously kept most Swainson's Thrushes away from ET data sheets as only very small numbers very tallied on most days through the season. The only exceptions were 30 on Sep 8, 18 on Sep 17, and 21 on Sep 20. The last 2 were noticed on Oct 7.
Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus
Banded 131, ET 202, NS 3, 31 days
Banding: A record year and much higher (2 to 4 times) total than in the previous several years. The old record, 113, was from as far back as 1996. The first for the season was banded on Sep 5. At first Hermit Thrushes came in peculiar pulses, several in one day and none in the next like 5 on Sep 8 and 8 on Sep 12 but none in between. The first peak was right after mid month when 12 were banded on Sep 16, 7 on Sep 17, and 14 on Sep 20. Not much happened for the rest of the month but in early October hermits were banded daily with 8 on Oct 5. The last and the strongest peak was a sharp one with 28 on Oct 13 and 11 on Oct 14 but none for a couple of days before and none thereafter! In all, 61 (46.6%) were banded in September and 70 (53.4%) in October. The median day was Oct 2. 14 (10.8%) were aged as adults, 116 (89.2%) as hatch-years, and one was left unaged. The median date for adults was Sep 20 and for hatch-years Oct 2. None were sexed. 19 (14.5%) were caught in the front nets, 63 (48.1%) in the middle nets, and 49 (37.4%) in the back nets. What was quite surprising was that, with the exception of net #12 which caught 22 (16.8%), all the nets from #5 to #13 caught very evenly 10 to 15 Hermit Thrushes.
ETs: The ETs follow quite closely the pattern of banding and there were only six days when Hermit Thrushes were observed but not banded indicating that the peculiar on/off pattern of banding was, for the most parts, real and on the zero days there really weren't very many Hermit Thrushes around. The first for the season was the banded one on Sep 5 and the first peak was after mid month with such high counts as 16 on Sep 16, 16 on Sep 17, and 19 on Sep 20. The next two weeks were quite slow. In October, the peak days were 14 on Oct 5, 10 on Oct 10, 35 on Oct 13, and 15 on Oct 14 after which only a handful was seen.
American Robin Turdus migratorius
Banded 38, ET 4729, NS 80, 85 days
Banding : The second best year after 71 in 1995. A handful of locally breeding adults and their offspring were banded in July and the first week of August. After that most of the local breeders apparently dispersed and the migrants didn't find the nets until in October. In all, 5 (13.2%) were banded in July, 7 (18.4%) in August, 3 (7.9%) in September, and 23 (60.5%) in October. 6 on Oct 13 and 5 on Oct 14 were highest day totals, and Oct 6 was the median date. Of the robins, 8 (21.1%) were aged as adults, 29 (76.3%) as hatch-years, and one was left unaged. 12 birds were sexed, 7 males and 5 females, mostly based on plumage criteria as just one female was sexed based on the breeding condition. The four front nets caught 60.5% (23), the middle nets 5.3% (2), and the back nets 34.2% (13) of the robins. #4 with 11 (28.9%) robins was the most productive net.
ETs: For the first two weeks of the season the ETs were in low double-digits but after that robins all but disappeared. The next time the numbers reached double-digits was on Sep 7 after which the numbers climbed steadily and peaked on the last week of September when 350 were tallied on Sep 24, 380 on Sep 28, and 300 on Oct 1. A slightly smaller second peak was experienced two weeks later with high counts of 380 on Oct 13, 240 on Oct 14, and 250 on Oct 15. The median date for ETs was Sep 30.
Varied Thrush Ixoreus naevius
Banded 3, ET 309, NS 5, 31 days
Banding : Hatch-year males were banded on Sep 25 and Oct 1, and an adult female was banded on Oct 13. They all were caught in the back nets but each one in a different net. These were the first Varied Thrushes banded at RPBO in four years.
ETs: The first one was seen on Jul 30 but the next one kept the observers waiting till Sep 14. The biggest numbers were moving in late September and again just before mid October. The highest counts included 35 on Sep 24, 35 on sep 28, 28 on Oct 10, 35 on Oct 11, and 30 on Oct 13.
Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis
ET 1
Only the second for RPBO was hiding in the bush right by net #5 in the first light of Sep 16 (GLM, MSM).
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
ET 1276, NS 3, 76 days
Present on most days in variable numbers. There was a small peak in numbers in Aug 25 -27 but the biggest numbers were seen late in September and early October with peak days of 120 on Sep 29, 92 on Oct 2, and 65 on Oct 8.
Yellow-type Wagtail Motacilla flava/citreola
ET 1
One of the rarest birds of the season made a brief fly-by on Aug 9 (JJ).
Red-throated Pipit Anthus cervinus
ET 2, 2 days
Two sightings of probably two different birds. The first on Sep 21 at the upper ponds (DEA) and the second on Sep 28 as a fly-over at the front (RT, JO, TK). These were the first records for RPBO.
American Pipit Anthus rubescens
ET 944, NS 34, 48 days
The first for the season was seen on Aug 4, well ahead of the next one on Aug 27 after which pipits were seen almost daily. 13 on Sep 1 was the first and 35 on Oct 2 the last count of over ten birds. There was a small peak around mid September but the strongest migration took place in the last week of the month (see Table ). The highest ETs were 80 on Sep 13, 80 on Sep 24, 69 on Sep 27, 150 on Sep 29, and 71 on Oct 1, and the median date was Sep 26.
Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum
Banded 18, ET 2225, NS 118, 85 days
Banding: A record year with more than twice as many waxwings as in the previous record year 2002. 5 (27.8%) of the waxwings were banded in July, another 5 (27.8%) in August, 2 (11.1%) in September, and all the October bandings comprised of a single flock of 6 (33.3%) on Oct 1. Interestingly, all 6 (33.3%) that were aged as adults were second-years while 2 of 12 (66.7%) hatch-years were called locals as they were caught by hand near the nest at net#11. Of the adults, 3 were sexed as males and 2 as females leaving one unsexed. Only 2 of the hatch-years were sexed, both of them as males bringing the total number of males to five. 11 (61.1%) were captured in net #4 and, not surprisingly, the next most productive net was #11 with 4 (22.2%) waxwings.
ETs: The most exciting thing about Cedar Waxwings this season was the two nests found -one right at the entrance to net #11 and the other in a bush between the trail and net #8! Both were also successful producing four and three young, respectively. Waxwings were most numerous during August when two 100 ETs were recorded, on the 16th and the 26th. In September the waxwings started to disappear and in October only one double-digit ET was recorded.
Orange-crowned Warbler Vermivora celata
Banded 160, ET 682, NS 6, 75 days
Banding : An average year. During the first week of the season several orange-crowneds, mostly presumably local breeding birds and their offsprings, were banded. Then, after a couple of weeks of slower banding, the migrants started to arrive after mid August. The good banding days included 8 on Aug 16 and 5 on three different days before the end of the month. Again, after a slower period, the main push came through during a two week period on each side of mid-September. The best days for that period were 9 on Sep 8, 10 on Sep 12, 8 on Sep 15, and 17 on Sep 20. Seven on Sep 23 was the last good day after which just ones and twos were banded till the end of the season. In all, 18 (11.3%) were banded in July, 54 (33.8%) in August, 86 (53.8%) in September, and 2 (1.3%) in October. The median date was Sep 8. There was a clear difference in the timing of migration between the age classes as the median date for adults was Sep 17 whereas for hatch-years it was Aug 28. 50 (31.6%) were aged as adults, 108 (68.4%) as hatch-years, and two were left unaged. Of the adults, 13 (27.7%) were sexed as males and 34 (72.3%) as females, and of the hatch-years, 36 (41.4%) were sexed as males and 51 (58.6%) as females. The total number of males was 49 (36.3%) and females 86 (63.7%), including one unaged female. 71 (44.4%) were caught in the front nets, 52 (32.5%) in the middle nets, and 37 (23.1%) in the back nets. With 29 (18.1%) captures #4 was the best net closely followed by #3 with 26 (16.3%) captures. Several individuals of the grey headed interior subspecies orestera were banded during the fall.
ETs: The general pattern extracted from ET data is similar to that of the banding data. Small numbers of Orange-crowned Warblers were present from the beginning of the season but the numbers started to grow just before mid-August and there was an other good period near the end of the month. High counts from these periods included 19 on Aug 16, 25 on Aug 19, 22 on Aug 27, and 21 on Aug 29. The peak of the migration took place around mid September. The highest counts at that time were 25 on Sep 12, 30 on Sep 13, 25 on Sep 17, 50 on Sep 20, and 35 on Sep 23. 14 on Sep 28 was the last double-digit count of the season.
Nashville Warbler Vermivora ruficapilla
Banded 1, ET 1
The eighth for RPBO, a hatch-year male, was banded on Oct 13 (DEA, JG, JJ, JJM, AR).
Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia
Banded 146, ET 661, NS 9, 71 days
Banding : A new season record topping the old record of 139 from 2000. Only very few, perhaps local birds, were banded before the first push of migrants arrived around mid August. Second, a slightly stronger push came through late in the month. The high for the first push was 7 on Aug 16 and for the second it was 12 on Aug 27. After a period of very few banded the main movement took place around mid September with such highs as 17 on Sep 12, 10 on Sep 17, and 14 on Sep 20. A few more were banded after that and the last one was on Oct 8. In all, 4 (2.7%) were banded in July, 63 (43.2%) in August, 77 (52.7%) in September, and 2 (1.4%) in October. The median date for all was Sep 11 but for adults it was Sep 16 and for hatch-years Aug 27 - a huge difference in the timing of migration. 56 (38.4%) were aged as adults and 90 (61.6%) as hatch-years. Of the adults, 19 were sexed as males, 33 as females, and 4 were left unsexed. 21 hatch-years were sexed as males and 69 were left unsexed, although, based on measurements at least some 50 of those were probably females. 71 (49.3%) were caught in the front nets, 48 (33.3%) in the middle nets, and 25 (17.4%) in the back nets. Net #4 with 40 (27.8%) was by far the best net. An additional one was caught in net #14 and was banded as a non-standard bird, and two were not assigned to a net.
ETs: Unlike most other species the peak periods of Yellow Warbler migration were well defined and easy to pick out from the data. After very slow first two weeks the first signs of migration were noticed on Aug 4 (9) and the first peak was on Aug 12 (30) and Aug 13 (45) with quite a few still on Aug 16 (17). The next wave of migrants came through two weeks later when 58 were counted on Aug 27, 34 on Aug 28, and 24 on Aug 29. Lot of Yellow Warblers were on the move on both sides of mid September, including 40 on Sep 12 and 28 on Sep 17, and especially on Sep 20 when the season high 110 were tallied. 19 on Sep 23 was the last double-digit count and 4 on Oct 14 were the last ones for the season.
Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata
Banded 64, ET 2702, NS 72, 68 days
Banding: A new record high season total. 9 (14.1% of all yellow-rumps and 23.1% of the identified ones) of the banded Yellow-rumped Warblers were identified as Audubon's, 30 (46.9% of all and 76.9% of the identified ones) as Myrtle, and 25 were left unidentified to subspecies, usually because they showed intermediate characters. The first for the season, an Audubon's, was banded on Sep 1 and the first Myrtle on Sep 15. The double-digit banding totals were 10 on Sep 23, 13 on Sep 24, and 12 on Oct 13. In the two September peak days 6 Audubon's and 7 Myrtles were identified whereas in the October peak day all 10 that were assigned to subspecies were Myrtles. The later occurrence of Myrtles also shows in the median dates, which were Sep 24 for Audubon's, Oct 10 for Myrtle, and Sep 24 for all Yellow-rumped Warblers. In all, 39 (60.9%) were banded in September and 24 (39.1%) in October. 14 (21.9%) were aged as adults and 50 (78.1%) as hatch-years. As yellow-rumps can be difficult to age reliably by plumage the age of 31 (48.4%) birds, 18 adults and 13 hatch-years, was either determined or confirmed by skulling. Of 33 (51.6%) birds sexed, 12 (33.3%) were considered as males and 21 (66.7%) as females. All but one yellow-rump were caught in the front nets. In the front the catch varied from none from net#1 to 26 (40.6%) from net #3.
ETs: Small numbers of probably mostly local breeding birds were seen right from the beginning of the season through August and the first half of September. The first sign of real migration was the first identified Myrtle on Sep 4 but it wasn't until Sep 13 when double-digits were first reached. A very clear peak was observed on the last week of September when such ETs as 690 on Sep 24, 402 on Sep 27, and 380 on Sep 28 were tallied. 190 on Oct 1 was the last over a hundred ET. In all, 202 Audubon's and 69 Myrtles were identified to subspecies, which makes the portion of subspecifically identified yellow-rumps as only 10% of all yellow-rumps. The median date for Audubon's was Sep 17, for Myrtle Sep 24, and for all yellow-rumps Sep 26. The early median date of Audubon's reflects not just the possibly earlier migration of this subspecies but also the fact that the local breeders are of this subspecies. The median dates for both subspecies are earlier than what they were in reality because most field observers stopped even attempting the subspecific identification after seeing how troublesome it was at times even in the hand.
Black-throated Gray Warbler Dendroica nigrescens
Banded 1, ET 59, NS 3, 23 days
Banding: The only one of a very poor season, a hatch-year male, was banded on Aug 27.
ETs: The first one for the season was on Aug 4 and the last one on Sep 24. Was mostly seen in very small numbers, most commonly on the second half of August and on the first half of September. The two highest ETs were 10 on Sep 11 and 6 on Sep 13.
Townsend's Warbler Dendroica townsendi
Banded 5, ET 165, NS 3, 43 days
Banding: An average season. Two were banded in July, 1 in August, and 2 in September. They all were aged as hatch-years, and 3 were sexed as males and 2 as females. Two were caught in net #9 and #11 and the remaining one came from #12.
ETs: Townsend's Warblers were common but not very numerous from the beginning of the season, including such counts as 9 on both Jul 21 and Aug 4. It is difficult to say when the migration really started but the biggest numbers were seen from mid August to early September. The highest counts were 12 on Aug 12, 20 on Aug 16, 9 on Aug 29, and 12 on Sep 11. The last two sightings were on Oct 7 and Oct 11.
Palm Warbler Dendroica palmarum
ET 3, 3 days
The ninth for RPBO spent at least three days, from Oct 16 to Oct 18, around the upper ponds (JJ, m.obs.).
MacGillivray's Warbler Oporornis tolmiei
Banded 39, ET 90, NS 1, 37 days
Banding: An average year, although, the poorest one of the last four. The first one was banded on Jul 23 and most were moving through the net lines in late July and early August. The top banding days were 4 on Jul 29, 6 on Aug 3 and 5 on Aug 4, and the last ones banded were on Sep 8 and Sep 24. The bandings were divided between the months as follows: July 12 (30.8%), August 24 (61.5%), and September 3 (7.7%). 2 (5.1%) were aged as adults (one male and one female) and 37 (94.9%) as hatch-years. Of the hatch-years, 9 were sexed as males and 12 of the unsexed ones had wing chord shorter (54mm or less) than any of the sexed males so most of them probably were females. It is also interesting to notice that the adults were the two last MacGillivray's Warblers of the season. 12 (31.6%) were caught in the front nets, 8 (21.1%) in the middle nets, 18 (47.4%) in the back nets, and one bird was not assigned to a net. Net #13 was the best net with 11 (28.9%) captures.
ETs: The ET data coincides well with the banding data. The first one was the banded one and the peak numbers were noticed in late August and early September with such high counts as 7 on Jul 27, 10 on Jul 29, 7 on Aug 3, and 9 on Aug 4. After that no more than 4 were seen on any day and the last one was seen on Sep 26.
Common Yellowthroat Geohtlypis trichas
Banded 101, ET 621, NS 3, 84 days
Banding: The second highest season total topped only by 105 in 1998. A remarkably uniform occurrence without any obvious peak periods. There were a few small clusters of higher numbers, most notably around Aug 20, the last three days of August, around Sep 12, and around Sep 20. Five yellowthroats were banded on three days: Aug 19, Aug 30, and Sep 20. In all, 14 (13.9%) were banded in July, 46 (45.5%) in August, 37 (36.6%) in September, and 4 (4%) in October. The median date was Aug 29 (Sep 16 for adults and Aug 24 for HYs). Of the yellowthroats, 8 (7.9%) were aged as adults and 93 (92.1%) as hatch-years. The adults were sexed as four males and four females while 52 hatch-years were sexed as males. Of the remaining 41 unsexed hatch-years 25 had a shorter wing (52mm or less) than the shortest winged HY male and were most likely females. Further 8 had a 53mm wing chord. 81 (80.2%) yellowthroats were captured in the front nets and 41 (40.6%) of those in net#2. Of the rest, 13 (12.9%) were caught in middle nets and 6 (5.9%) in the back nets. The best net of th