RPBO Mirror - Postings for 2003

Note that after September 19, 2003 all sightings and news were posted to this page. There are a few sightings from the early part of the season on the Sightings Board page, which can be accessed from the link above.

Date submitted: Wednesday, December 10 at 08:44 PM
Name: David Allinson
News Article:
Recovery News:
An "unidentified" female Yellow-rumped Warbler which we recovered on September 28, 2003 was originally banded at Coyote Creek Field Station near Alviso, California on February 16, 2003 (they are part of San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory). Coyote Creek is located on south side of San Francisco Bay, just north of San Jose. Interestingly, this is at least the fourth recovery for RPBO and Alviso stations (in other years, they recovered two of "our" Golden-crowned Sparrows, and we also recapped one of "their" Pacific-slope Flycatchers).

Date submitted: Thursday, November 06 at 09:13 PM
Name: David Allinson
News Article:
Dear RPBO friend,
In our TENTH season of operations, we ended up banding 3716 birdsof 61 species (this banding total is 30% above 5-year averageand our highest ever). More importantly, the season's birds banded/nethour figure was also above average at 0.57 (compare to 0.48 in2002, 0.60 in 2001, 0.53 in 2000, and 0.48 in 1999). Out of apossible 7020 total net hours of coverage, our nets were onlyclosed for 483.5 hours all season due to weather, so our net coveragewas exceptional at 93% (and a season average of 4.6 for dailyCoverage Code using scale 0-5)! No doubt we also benefited thisyear from a lack of Department of National Defence demolitiontraining days, with only October 9th lost due to a demolitionexercise (and rain as well early that morning). Remarkably clear,warm weather in July, August, and early September kept the bandingoperations relatively quiet for the first half of season. However,migration finally kicked into high gear in mid-September -- over10 days from September 12 to September 21, a phenomenal 934 birdswere banded (or about 1/4 of total banding number for entire season)!We also established a new RPBO fall daily banding total recordwhen 187 birds were banded on September 20! Over the whole season,a record total of 6 days saw 100 or more birds banded.

A remarkable 18 species set new banding highs for us in a singleseason: Northern Flicker, Willow Flycatcher, Hammond's Flycatcher,Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper,Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Swainson's Thrush, HermitThrush, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler,Spotted Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Fox Sparrow (huge numbers!),Lincoln's Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrow. In addition, the61 species banded this fall also marks a new record for RPBO (ouraverage was 55 species/year). However, banding numbers for NorthernRough-winged Swallow, Bushtit, Bewick's Wren, Black-throated GrayWarbler, MacGillivray's Warbler, Pine Siskin, and American Goldfinchare low compared to other years (perhaps more so, consideringour coverage this season?).

The following were the banding highlights: a hatch-year male NashvilleWarbler on October 13 (only our fourth banded), a Swamp Sparrowon October 14, a Barred Owl on September 8th, a Northern Harrieron July 30 (our first since 1996), a Pileated Woodpecker on August28, and our first banding records for both Belted Kingfisher onAugust 16 (2 birds), and Red Crossbill on August 17 (2 birds).A third kingfisher was banded on October 5th. The Willow Flycatcherbanded on October 14th is undoubtedly Vancouver Island's (andperhaps also province's?) latest fall record! Among the 353 recapturecards this season, more than 50 were for birds originally bandedin previous years. However, our most significant recapture wasa male Wilson's Warbler which we first banded as an adult on August2, 1998 which was re-trapped on August 25 this year -- as thisbird is at least 6 years, 2 months old, it is only eight monthsshy of oldest known Wilson's Warbler on file at the Bird BandingLab (and as it was originally captured as an adult it could evenbe older)! Interestingly, this bird has also been re-trapped byus a total of six times since its original capture (in 2000, 2001,2002, and 2003) which is remarkable for a neotropical migrant.A great example of site tenacity! See the following link for moreinteresting info on longevity records and how maximum age is determined:http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/homepage/longvrec.htm.

Pilot Banding Projects (separate data sets):
1. We began a pilot hummingbird banding project with assistancefrom Cam Finlay and as a result 42 Rufous Hummingbirds were bandedthis year. It appears that 2003 may have been a relatively lowyear for Rufous Hummingbirds, but we intend to continue this projectin future years and hopefully obtain re-trap data.
2. Our bander Jukka Jantunen initiated his own gull banding projectduring a few afternoons at Edye Point using a simple, yet specializedtrap and fish bait. In the end, Jukka managed to only band 2 adultGlaucous-winged Gulls (and no Heermann's as he had hoped for inparticular!).
3. Paul Levesque initiated a pilot canopy net project, which hasjust been set up not far from the banding shack (it started operationson August 31). This net was positioned ~10 metres above groundusing a pulley/guy wire system. To keep our banding statisticsconsistent, birds caught in this net were recorded as "non-standard"banding. Unfortunately, the final tally from 'Net 14' remainedlow with only 14 birds of 6 species banded, but the project wasstill of interest.
4. Nocturnal Owl Migration Monitoring -- our second year for thisproject began on September 5th and will continue into November.After 23 nights (up to November 2nd), some 300 Northern Saw-whetOwls had been banded along with 2 Barred Owl. Our two-year totalis now 514 owls! Recently, banders in upperstate Washington begantheir own nocturnal owl banding projects, so we can hope for somemutual recoveries in the future.

UPDATE: A Northern Saw-whet originally banded October26, 2002 at Rocky Point was recaptured at Bainbridge Island, Washingtonon October 25, 2003!

Rare Birds:
On August 9th, Jukka Jantunen's worldly-experienced ears and eyeswere able to identify a brief, fly-by 'yellow-type' wagtail (i.e.Yellow or Citrine Wagtail) -- a remarkable record indeed! Yourstruly then found one of our most "overdue" raritieswith a Least Flycatcher, seen and heard on August 30. Seawatchon September 1st produced a Franklin's Gull and an Arctic Tern.A Dusky Flycatcher was observed on September 2nd, and a Bank Swallowwas seen on September 3rd. However, no doubt the bird of the season(decade?!) was the Crested Auklet found first by Amelie Rousseauand subsequently confirmed and photographed by Jukka on the eveningof September 5th at Pedder Bay (from Cape Calver)!! This is onlythe second record for the province and also Canada (and firstin 110 years!). [The auklet made a brief re-appearance on September18, but was then seen well by many observers mostly by boat fromSeptember 20-25, and again from 28th until at least October 3].A Green Heron observed and photographed on September 11 was thefirst for Rocky Point in six years. Now somewhat regular in fallfor us, Broad-winged Hawks first appeared on September 13 (fouradults together), and a rare dark-morph remained from the 20thto 29th. On September 16, Rocky Point's second-ever Gray Catbirdwas seen and heard by a number of observers (almost four yearsto day from our first record)! Then, on September 17, Jukka andRick Schortinghuis found our first American Golden-Plover forthe area. On September 20, our eighth record of Swainson's Hawkwas spotted, and a another individual was tallied on October 2nd.On September 21, a Red-throated Pipit was heard and seen nearthe "Teal" ponds during the daily census, and it wasrelocated as it flew over Building 100 on September 28th (presumablysame bird?!). Our fourth record of Pacific Golden-Plover was anice find on September 24th. On September 28th, two Lapland Longspurswere heard overhead, along with RPBO's second Anna's Hummingbirdat Edye Point, and an adult Long-tailed Jaeger was seen from aboat off Pedder Bay as it flew towards Race Rocks. On the 29th,a Marbled Godwit was tallied during census and an immature NorthernGoshawk was over the banding area on the 30th. On October 10th,the sighting of two late Black Swifts were significant, and yetanother Anna's Hummingbird was seen at Glover Pond. A Swamp Sparrowwas heard and briefly seen near the Teal Ponds during census onOctober 11th and three more were tallied on October 14th. Strongwinds during the Thanksgiving weekend were likely responsiblefor the variety of birds in the area -- an impressive 18 NorthernFulmars were tallied from shore on October 12th along with 30Snow Geese and good numbers of locally uncommon Greater and LesserScaup. We banded just our fourth-ever Nashville Warbler on October13th, and later that day we were blessed by a near-shore fly-byof a Leach's Storm-Petrel off Edye Point as well as Fork-tailedStorm-Petrels, Northern Fulmars, and Sooty Shearwaters furtherout. A remarkable 42 Northern Fulmars were tallied by Jukka duringseawatch on October 13th. A Townsend's Solitaire first heard callingon the 11th and again on 13th was "confirmed" on the14th while Jukka was scoping a Golden Eagle and the solitaireflew through his field of view. While conducting census in therain on October 16th, Jukka found Rocky Point's ninth Palm Warbler,and it remained until at least the 18th. Finally, a Northern Shrike,Trumpeter Swan, and Ring-necked Pheasant were all nice finds onthe final day of season.

Of interest, the site year list now stands at 208 species (newhigh for us) -- goal was 200 (in 2002, we made it to 194!).

List of Uncommon/Rare birds this season:

Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Trumpeter Swan
Gadwall
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Black Scoter
Ring-necked Pheasant
Green Heron
Northern Fulmar
Sooty Shearwater
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel
Leach's Storm-Petrel - first record in over 10 years
Northern Goshawk
Broad-winged Hawk - 10-14 individuals in total
Swainson's Hawk - at least two birds: our eighth and ninth records
Golden Eagle
American Golden-Plover - newfor RPBO!
Pacific Golden-Plover - only our fourth record
Whimbrel
Marbled Godwit - only our third record
Wandering Tattler
Ruddy Turnstone
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Red-necked Phalarope
Sandhill Crane
Parasitic Jaeger
Long-tailed Jaeger - only second sighting in last 10 years
Franklin's Gull - only fourth record for checklist
Ring-billed Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Arctic Tern - only second record for checklist
Ancient Murrelet
Crested Auklet - WOW!
Barn Owl - unfortunately found predated; our sixth record
Rock Pigeon (formerly 'Rock Dove') - uncommon for location!
Mourning Dove
Black Swift
Anna's Hummingbird - only second and third records for checklist
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Least Flycatcher - new birdfor RPBO checklist
Dusky Flycatcher - remarkably, this is the tenth record for site!
Northern Shrike
Horned Lark
Bank Swallow - our seventh record
Townsend's Solitaire
Gray Catbird - second record for our checklist
'Yellow-type' Wagtail sp.- new bird for RPBO checklist
Red-throated Pipit- new bird for RPBO checklist!
Nashville Warbler - our eighth record
Palm Warbler - our ninth record
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird

List of Birds Banded -- in taxonomic order for July 21 to October18:

Northern Harrier 1(only third ever banded at station)
Sharp-shinned Hawk 4
Barred Owl 1 (first bandingrecord for daytime operations)
Belted Kingfisher 3 (new speciesbanded for RPBO!)
Downy Woodpecker 1 (only 8thbanded at RPBO)
Northern Flicker 4 (new stationrecord, but only 12 have been banded at RPBO)
Pileated Woodpecker 1 (onlyour 6th banded, and first since 1997)
Willow Flycatcher 56 (newstation record)
Hammond's Flycatcher 36 (newstation record)
#2. Pacific-slope Flycatcher 315(new station record)
Cassin's Vireo 2
Hutton's Vireo 4
Warbling Vireo 14
Steller's Jay 7
Violet-green Swallow 5 (ties high set in 1994)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1 (low)
Barn Swallow 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 59
Bushtit 27 (low - average is 44)
Red-breasted Nuthatch 7 (newstation record)
Brown Creeper 19 (new stationrecord)
Bewick's Wren 31 (low)
House Wren 14 (second highest ever; 2001)
#3. Winter Wren 282 (new stationrecord)
Marsh Wren 15 (second highest ever; 2000)
#1. Ruby-crowned Kinglet 440 (second highest ever; 2002)
Golden-crowned Kinglet 156(new station record)
Swainson's Thrush 90 (newstation record)
Hermit Thrush 131 (new stationrecord)
American Robin 38 (second highest ever; 1995)
Varied Thrush 3 (these are our first banding records in four years)
Cedar Waxwing 18 (new stationrecord)
Orange-crowned Warbler 159
Nashville Warbler 1 (eighthrecord for station; first one banded since 1997)
Yellow Warbler 146 (new stationrecord)
Yellow-rumped Warbler 64 (newstation record)
Black-throated Gray Warbler 1 (low)
Townsend's Warbler 5
MacGillivray's Warbler 39 (low)
Common Yellowthroat 101 (second highest ever; 1998)
#5. Wilson's Warbler 227
Western Tanager 1 (only 8thbanded at RPBO)
Spotted Towhee 124 (new stationrecord)
Chipping Sparrow 25 (new stationrecord)
Savannah Sparrow 99
#4. Fox Sparrow 231 (new stationrecord; more than double previous high!)
Song Sparrow 141 (second highest ever; 2002)
Lincoln's Sparrow 194 (newstation record)
Swamp Sparrow 1 (only our sixth banded)
White-throated Sparrow 5
White-crowned Sparrow 105 (newstation record)
Golden-crowned Sparrow 84 (second highest ever; 1997)
Dark-eyed Junco 76
Black-headed Grosbeak 1 (only 11th banded at station)
Red-winged Blackbird 18
Brown-headed Cowbird 7
Red Crossbill 2 (first bandingrecord for RPBO)
Purple Finch 11
House Finch 1
Pine Siskin 6 (low - average is 19)
American Goldfinch 56 (low - averageis 97)

Non-standard banding/separate banding sets:
Canopy net: 14 birds of 6 species
2 Glaucous-winged Gull
42 Rufous Hummingbird
Owl banding: 302 (and counting!)
= 4076 birds banded of 64 species (note: final 2003 figures subjectto proofing)
More than 23,300 birds of 89 species have now been banded at RPBOsince 1994.

My special thanks in particular to Jukka Jantunen for his skill,knowledge, patience, and sense of humour which helped make thissuch a great year. My gratitude also extends to the board of directorsof RPBO for all their hard work. I would like to thank the morethan 40 volunteers who helped us this year with our programs (atotal of more than 2200 volunteer hours!). The RPBO Society wouldalso like to acknowledge the Department of National Defence, theEnvironmental Science Advisory Committee, and the Corps of Commissionairesfor their on-going assistance and support for our migration monitoringresearch. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my wife,Marcy McKay, for tolerating my long hours sitting at a computerand for being away from home most weekends!

David Allinson
President, Rocky Point Bird Observatory
287 species and counting!

Report bird bands or neck collars to:
1-800-327-BAND; or visit BirdBanding Lab's website
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/homepage/mailrecv.htm

"There are no short cuts to any place worth going."- Source Unknown

Date submitted: Thursday, October 02 at 09:44 PM
Name: David Allinson
News Article:
Dear RPBO friend,
After 72 days of banding, we have banded 2907 birds of 59 species at a rate of ~40 birds banded/day (this banding total is 33% above 5-year average for same period!). However, remarkably clear weather in July, August, and early September kept the banding operations relatively quiet as nocturnal migrants had little reason to stop over. Furthermore, our nets have still only been closed for less than twenty minutes all season due to rain, so our coverage has been exceptional (our 72 days of continuous coverage is remarkable as our 5-year average is 65 days for this same period). No doubt we have also benefited this year from a lack of Department of National Defence demolition training days (but first of season is scheduled October 9th). Migration finally kicked into high gear mid-month -- over 10 days from September 12 to September 21, a phenomenal 934 birds were banded (or almost a third of our total captures)! Our most significant capture days occurred on September 12 with 107 birds banded, September 16 saw 128 banded, and on September 17 another 145 were banded. However, we established a new RPBO fall daily banding total record when 187 birds were banded on September 20!

So far, 13 species have established new banding highs in a single season: Northern Flicker, Willow Flycatcher, Hammond's Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Swainson's Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Fox Sparrow (huge numbers!), Lincoln's Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrow. However, banding numbers for Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, Bewick's Wren, Dark-eyed Junco, Pine Siskin, and American Goldfinch are low compared to other years. The following are the banding highlights: an immature female Northern Harrier banded on July 30 (only the third ever banded at RPBO, and first since 1996), a hatch-year Pileated Woodpecker on August 28, and our first banding records for both Belted Kingfisher (2 birds!) on August 16, and Red Crossbill on August 17 (also 2 birds!). A Barred Owl banded on September 8th was also of interest, and a Varied Thrush captured on September 25th was our first since 1999. Finally, the 59 species banded this fall also marks a new record for RPBO (our average is usually 55 species/year).

Pilot Banding Projects (separate data sets):
1. We have undertaken a pilot hummingbird banding project with assistance from Cam Finlay - to date, 36 Rufous Hummingbirds have been banded. While it appears that 2003 may have been a relatively low year for Rufous Hummingbirds, we plan on continuing this project in future years and obtain re-trap data.
2. Our bander Jukka Jantunen initiated his own gull banding project (he has a master permit) in the afternoons at Edye Point using a simple, yet specialized trap and fish bait, and so far has banded 2 adult Glaucous-winged Gulls.
3. Paul Levesque helped us begin a pilot canopy net project, which has just been set up not far from the banding shack (it started operations on August 31 part way through morning and it promptly captured a juvenile Red Crossbill!). This net is positioned ~9-11 metres above ground using a pulley/guy wire system. It will be interesting to note what species and numbers of birds that are banded in this net. It is hoped that species which tend to forage higher in forest canopy and not normally captured in our standard nets may be caught (e.g. woodpeckers, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Red Crossbill, Cedar Waxwing, warblers, etc.). For the time being, to keep our banding statistics consistent, birds caught in this net will be included in a "non-standard" banding set. Overall, the capture rate from this net has been quite low, but it may still yield some interesting data.
4. Owl Migration Monitoring -- our second year for this project began on evening of September 13, and 4 Northern Saw-whet Owls were banded (a great start!). To date, some 47 Northern Saw-whet Owls have now been banded. What is your guess for our final saw-whet numbers this fall (210 were banded last year)?!

Rare Birds:
On August 9th, Jukka Jantunen's worldly-experienced ears and eyes were able to identify a brief, fly-by 'yellow-type' wagtail (i.e. Yellow or Citrine Wagtail) -- a remarkable record indeed! Yours truly then found one of our most "overdue" rarities with a Least Flycatcher, seen and heard on August 30. Seawatch during the evening of September 1st produced a Franklin's Gull and an Arctic Tern. A Dusky Flycatcher was observed on September 2nd, and a Bank Swallow was seen on September 3rd. However, no doubt the bird of the season (decade?!) was the Crested Auklet found first by Amelie Rousseau and subsequently confirmed and photographed by Jukka on the evening of September 5th at Pedder Bay (seen from Cape Calver)!! This is only the second record for the province and also Canada (and first in 110 years!). [The auklet made a brief re-appearance on September 18, but was then seen well by many observers mostly by boat from September 20-25, and again from 28th until at least yesterday]. A Green Heron spotted on September 11 was the first for Rocky Point in six years. Now somewhat regular in fall for us, Broad-winged Hawks first appeared on September 13 (four adults together), and a rare dark-morph remained from the 20th and 29th. On September 16, Rocky Point's second-ever Gray Catbird was seen and heard by a number of observers (almost four years to day from our first record)! Then, on September 17, Jukka and Rick Schortinghuis found our first American Golden-Plover for the area. On September 20, our eighth record of Swainson's Hawk was spotted (and likely the same bird was seen September 27th; an immature 'intermediate' rufous morph). On September 21, a Red-throated Pipit was heard and seen near the "Teal" ponds during the daily census, and it was relocated as it flew over Building 100 on September 28th (presumably same bird?!). Five Snow Geese made an appearance on September 23, and our fourth record of Pacific Golden-Plover was a nice find on September 24th. On September 28th two Lapland Longspurs were heard overhead, along with RPBO's second Anna's Hummingbird at Edye Point, and an adult Long-tailed Jaeger was seen from a boat off Pedder Bay as it flew towards Race Rocks. Finally, on the 29th, just Rocky Point's third Marbled Godwit was tallied during census and an immature Northern Goshawk was over the banding area on the 30th.

Of interest, the site year list now stands at 196 species (new high for us) -- goal was 200 (in 2002, we made it to 194!).

List of Uncommon/Rare birds this season:
Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Gadwall - rare for location
Green Heron
Sooty Shearwater
Northern Goshawk
Broad-winged Hawk - incl. a dark-phase individual (a rare morph for this species)
Swainson's Hawk - two birds: our eighth and ninth records
Golden Eagle
American Golden-Plover - new for RPBO!
Pacific Golden-Plover - only our fourth record
Whimbrel
Marbled Godwit - only our third record
Wandering Tattler
Ruddy Turnstone
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Red-necked Phalarope
Sandhill Crane
Parasitic Jaeger
Long-tailed Jaeger
Franklin's Gull - only fourth record for checklist
Ring-billed Gull
Arctic Tern - only second record for checklist
Ancient Murrelet
Crested Auklet - WOW!
Rock Pigeon (formerly 'Rock Dove') - uncommon for location
Mourning Dove
Black Swift
Anna's Hummingbird - only second record for checklist
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Least Flycatcher - new bird for checklist
Dusky Flycatcher - remarkably, this is the tenth record for site!
Horned Lark
Bank Swallow - our seventh record
Gray Catbird - second record for our checklist
Red-throated Pipit - new bird for checklist! #287 on Rocky Point checklist
'Yellow-type' Wagtail sp. - new bird for checklist
White-throated Sparrow
Lapland Longspur

List of Birds Banded -- in taxonomic order for July 21 to September 30 (bold indicates high number):

Northern Harrier 1 (only third ever-banded at station)
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3
Barred Owl 1 (first banding record for daytime operations)
Belted Kingfisher 2 (new species banded for RPBO!)
Downy Woodpecker 1 (only 8th banded at RPBO)
Northern Flicker 4 (only 12 have been banded at RPBO)
Pileated Woodpecker 1 (only our 6th banded, and first since 1997)
Willow Flycatcher 54 (new station record)
Hammond's Flycatcher 31 (new station record)
#1. Pacific-slope Flycatcher 315 (new station record)
Cassin's Vireo 2
Hutton's Vireo 4 (second highest since 2000)
Warbling Vireo 14
Steller's Jay 5
Violet-green Swallow 5 (ties high set in 1994)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 56 (low)
Bushtit 19 (low)
Red-breasted Nuthatch 7 (new station high)
Brown Creeper 18 (new station record)
Bewick's Wren 29 (low)
House Wren 14 (second highest since 2001)
Winter Wren 185
Marsh Wren 13 (second highest since 2000)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 174
Golden-crowned Kinglet 87
Swainson's Thrush 85 (new station record)
Hermit Thrush 62 (highest in six years)
American Robin 15
Varied Thrush 1 (only 12 have been banded at RPBO, and the first in four years)
Cedar Waxwing 12 (new station high)
Orange-crowned Warbler 158
Yellow Warbler 143 (new station record)
Yellow-rumped Warbler 39
Black-throated Gray Warbler 1
Townsend's Warbler 5
MacGillivray's Warbler 40
Common Yellowthroat 97 (second highest total since 1998)
#2. Wilson's Warbler 229
Western Tanager 1 (only 8th banded at RPBO)
Spotted Towhee 78 (second highest total since 2000)
Chipping Sparrow 25 (new station record)
Savannah Sparrow 91
Fox Sparrow 178 (new station record -- almost double last year's record!)
Song Sparrow 112
#3. Lincoln's Sparrow 186 (new station record)
White-throated Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow 97 (new station record)
Golden-crowned Sparrow 71 (second highest total since 1997)
Dark-eyed Junco 41 (low)
Black-headed Grosbeak 1 (only 11th banded at station)
Red-winged Blackbird 17
Brown-headed Cowbird 7
Red Crossbill 2 (first banding record for RPBO)
Purple Finch 5
House Finch 1
Pine Siskin 5 (low)
American Goldfinch 51 (low)

My final summary will be after October 18th (end of season).

Date submitted: Sunday, September 14 at 09:19 PM
Name: David Allinson
News Article:
Dear RPBO friend,
After 56 days of banding, we have now banded 1809 birds of 58 species at a rate of 32 birds banded/day (this banding total is about 10% above 5-year average for same period and second only to pace set during 2001 season). However, remarkably clear weather in July, August, and early September has kept the banding operations relatively quiet as nocturnal migrants have had little reason to stop over. During this entire period, our nets have only been closed for less than twenty minutes (!) due to rain, so our coverage has been exceptional. As a result, our birds/net hour number appears to be down this season (for second year in a row). Interestingly, Willow Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Cedar Waxwing, and Chipping Sparrow have each established new station highs in a single season. The following are the banding highlights: an immature female Northern Harrier banded on July 30 (only the third ever banded at RPBO, and first since 1996), a hatch-year Pileated Woodpecker on August 28, and our first banding records for both Belted Kingfisher (2 birds!) on August 16, and Red Crossbill on August 17 (also 2 birds!). The crossbills represented the 90th species banded/mist-netted at our station! A Barred Owl banded on September 8th was also of interest. So far our most significant capture day occurred on September 12 when 107 birds were banded! Finally, the 58 species banded this fall marks a new season high (and one more species will establish a new year high, set in both 1994 and 1995 which also included spring banding).

Pilot Banding Projects (separate data sets):
1. We have undertaken a pilot hummingbird banding project with assistance from Cam Finlay - to date, more than 40 Rufous Hummingbirds have been banded. It appears that 2003 has been a relatively low year for Rufous Hummingbirds, but we plan on continuing this project in future years and obtain re-trap data.
2. Our bander Jukka Jantunen initiated his own gull banding project (he has a master permit) in the afternoons at Edye Point using a simple, yet specialized trap with fish bait, and so far has banded 2 adult Glaucous-winged Gulls. He had hoped to band Heermann's Gulls, but he may still have luck with this species.
3. Paul Levesque helped us begin a pilot canopy net project, which has just been set up not far from the banding shack (it started operations on August 31 part way through morning and it promptly captured a juvenile Red Crossbill!). This net is positioned ~9-11 metres above ground using a pulley/guy wire system. It will be interesting to note what species and numbers of birds that are banded in this net. It is hoped that species which tend to forage higher in forest canopy and not normally captured in our standard nets may be caught (e.g. woodpeckers, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Red Crossbill, Cedar Waxwing, warblers, etc.). For the time being, to keep our banding statistics consistent, birds caught in this net will be included in a "non-standard" banding set.
4. Owl Migration Monitoring -- our second year for this project began on evening of September 13 and 4 Northern Saw-whet Owls were banded (a great start!). What is your guess for our final saw-whet numbers this fall (210 were banded last year)?!

Rare/Uncommon Birds:
On August 9th, Jukka Jantunen's worldly-experienced ears and eyes were able to identify a brief, fly-by 'yellow-type' wagtail (i.e. Yellow or Citrine Wagtail) -- a remarkable record indeed! Yours truly then found one of our most "overdue" rarities with a Least Flycatcher, seen and heard on August 30. Seawatch during the evening of September 1st produced a Franklin's Gull and an Arctic Tern. A Dusky Flycatcher was observed on September 2nd, and a Bank Swallow was seen on September 3rd. However, no doubt the bird of the season (decade?!) was the Crested Auklet found first by Amelie Rousseau and subsequently confirmed and photographed by Jukka on the evening of September 5th at Pedder Bay (seen from Cape Calver)!! This is only the second record for the province (and first in 110 years!). A Green Heron spotted on September 11 was the first for Rocky Point in six years. Finally, four adult Broad-winged Hawks put on a show on September 13; while this species is now somewhat regular for our location every fall, these birds are still considered rare for province.

Of interest, the site year list now stands at 181 species -- goal is 200 (in 2002, we made it to 194!).

List of Uncommon/Rare birds this season:
Gadwall - rare for location only
Green Heron
Sooty Shearwater
Broad-winged Hawk
Whimbrel
Wandering Tattler
Ruddy Turnstone
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Red-necked Phalarope
Sandhill Crane
Parasitic Jaeger
Franklin's Gull - only fourth record for checklist
Ring-billed Gull
Arctic Tern - only second record for checklist
Crested Auklet - WOW! #285 on Rocky Point checklist
Rock Pigeon (formerly 'Rock Dove') - uncommon for location only
Mourning Dove
Black Swift
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Least Flycatcher - new bird for checklist
Dusky Flycatcher - remarkably, this is the tenth record for site!
Bank Swallow - our seventh record
'Yellow-type' Wagtail sp. - new bird for checklist
White-throated Sparrow

List of Birds Banded -- in taxonomic order for July 21 to September 14:

Northern Harrier 1 (only third ever-banded at station)
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Barred Owl 1 (first banding record for daytime operations)
Belted Kingfisher 2 (new species banded for RPBO!)
Downy Woodpecker 1 (only 8th banded at RPBO)
Northern Flicker 2 (only 9-10th banded at RPBO)
Pileated Woodpecker 1 (only our 6th banded, and first since 1997)
Willow Flycatcher 54 (new station record)
Hammond's Flycatcher 18
#1. Pacific-slope Flycatcher 279 (new station high)
Cassin's Vireo 2
Hutton's Vireo 4
Warbling Vireo 12
Steller's Jay 1
Violet-green Swallow 5 (ties high set in 1994)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 52
Bushtit 19 (low)
Red-breasted Nuthatch 6 (new station high)
Brown Creeper 16 (new station record)
Bewick's Wren 29
House Wren 14 (second highest since 2000)
Winter Wren 89
Marsh Wren 10 (second highest since 2000)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 28
Golden-crowned Kinglet 20
Swainson's Thrush 48
Hermit Thrush 15
American Robin 13
Cedar Waxwing 12 (new station high)
Orange-crowned Warbler 102
Yellow Warbler 92
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Black-throated Gray Warbler 1
Townsend's Warbler 5
MacGillivray's Warbler 39 (low)
Common Yellowthroat 81
#2. Wilson's Warbler 221
Western Tanager 1 (only 8th banded at RPBO)
Spotted Towhee 13
Chipping Sparrow 24 (new station record)
Savannah Sparrow 29 (low)
Fox Sparrow 61
Song Sparrow 78
#3. Lincoln's Sparrow 114
White-throated Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 76
Golden-crowned Sparrow 7
Dark-eyed Junco 21 (low)
Black-headed Grosbeak 1 (only 11th banded at station)
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Brown-headed Cowbird 7
Red Crossbill 2 (first banding record for RPBO)
Purple Finch 3
House Finch 1
Pine Siskin 5 (low)
American Goldfinch 50 (low compared to last two seasons)

My next summary will be after September 30th.

Date submitted: Monday, September 01 at 05:35 AM
Name: David Allinson
News Article:
Dear RPBO friend,
July 21st marked the start of our tenth season of fall migration monitoring at the Rocky Point Bird Observatory.

After 42 days of banding, we have now banded 1319 birds of 50 species (at a rate of ~31 banded/day; this is about 10% above 5-year average for same period). Already, Willow Flycatcher, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Cedar Waxwing, and Chipping Sparrow have established new station highs in a single season, and others appear on their way to new highs as well (e.g. keep an eye on the Pacific-slope Flycatcher #'s)! The banding highlights are: an immature female Northern Harrier banded on July 30 (only the third ever banded at RPBO, and first since 1996), a Pileated Woodpecker on August 28, and our first banding records for both Belted Kingfisher (2 birds!) on August 16 and Red Crossbill on August 17 (also 2 birds!). The crossbills represented the 90th species banded/mist-netted at our station!

Pilot Banding Projects (separate data sets):
1. We have undertaken a pilot hummingbird banding project with assistance from Cam Finlay - to date over 40 Rufous Hummingbirds have been banded. It appears that 2003 has been a relatively low year for Rufous Hummingbirds, but we plan on continuing this project in future years and obtain re-trap data.
2. Jukka initiated his own gull banding project (he has a master permit) in the afternoons at Edye Point using a simple, yet specialized trap with fish bait, and so far has banded 2 adult Glaucous-winged Gulls.
3. Paul Levesque helped initiate a pilot canopy net project, which has just been set up not far from the banding shack (it began operations on August 31 part way through morning and it promptly captured an immature Red Crossbill). This net is positioned ~10-12 metres above ground using a pulley/guy wire system. It will be interesting to note what species and numbers of birds that are banded in this net. It is hoped that species which tend to forage higher in forest canopy and not normally captured in our standard nets may be caught (e.g. woodpeckers, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Red Crossbill, Cedar Waxwing, warblers, etc.).

On August 9th, Jukka's worldly-experienced ears and eyes were able to identify a brief, fly-by 'yellow-type' wagtail (aka Yellow or Citrine Wagtail) -- a remarkable record indeed! Yours truly found one of our most "overdue" rarities with a Least Flycatcher, seen and heard on August 30 (#284 on our checklist). Of interest, the site year list now stands at 170 species -- goal is 200 (in 2002, we made it to 194!).

Rare/Uncommon Birds so far seen this season:
Gadwall
Wandering Tattler
Ruddy Turnstone
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Parasitic Jaeger
Ring-billed Gull
Black Swift
Least Flycatcher - new bird for checklist
'Yellow-type' Wagtail sp. - new bird for checklist

Here is a taxonomic listing of birds banded from July 21 to August 31 (bold indicates high number for this stage of season):

Northern Harrier 1 (only third ever-banded at station)
Belted Kingfisher 2 (new species banded for RPBO!)
Downy Woodpecker 1 (only 8th banded at RPBO)
Northern Flicker 2 (only 8-9th banded at RPBO)
Pileated Woodpecker 1 (only our 6th banded, and first since 1997)
Willow Flycatcher 49 (new station high)
Hammond's Flycatcher 12
#1. Pacific-slope Flycatcher 240 (already our second highest total)
Cassin's Vireo 2
Hutton's Vireo 2
Warbling Vireo 11
Violet-green Swallow 5 (ties high set in 1994)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 45
Bushtit 19
Red-breasted Nuthatch 6 (new station high)
Brown Creeper 15 (new station high)
Bewick's Wren 28
House Wren 14
Winter Wren 50
Marsh Wren 7
Golden-crowned Kinglet 3
Swainson's Thrush 23
American Robin 12
Cedar Waxwing 10 (new station high)
#3. Orange-crowned Warbler 72
Yellow Warbler 67
Black-throated Gray Warbler 1
Townsend's Warbler 3
MacGillivray's Warbler 37
Common Yellowthroat 60
#2. Wilson's Warbler 188
Western Tanager 1 (only 8th banded at RPBO)
Spotted Towhee 6
Chipping Sparrow 23 (new station record)
Savannah Sparrow 19
Fox Sparrow 11
Song Sparrow 65
Lincoln's Sparrow 50
White-crowned Sparrow 58
Dark-eyed Junco 14
Black-headed Grosbeak 1 (only 11th banded at station)
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Brown-headed Cowbird 7
Red Crossbill 2 (first banding record for RPBO)
Purple Finch 3
House Finch 1
Pine Siskin 5
American Goldfinch 47

My next summary will be after September 15th.

Date submitted: Sunday, August 17 at 09:56 PM
Name: David Allinson
News Article:
Banding Summary:

Dear RPBO friends,
July 21st marked the start of our tenth season of fall migration monitoring at the Rocky Point Bird Observatory.
After 27 days of banding, we have now banded 854 birds of 45 species (at a rate of 31.6 banded/day; about 8% above 5-year average for same period). Already, Brown Creeper and Chipping Sparrow have established new station highs in a single season, and five or more appear on their way to new highs as well! By far, the banding highlights were the immature female Northern Harrier banded on July 30 (only the third ever banded at RPBO, and first since 1996) and on August 16 our first banding record of Belted Kingfisher (2 birds!). In addition, we have also undertaken a pilot hummingbird banding project with assistance from Cam Finlay - to date almost 40 Rufous Hummingbirds have been banded (separate banding data set).

On August 9th, Jukka's wordly-experienced ears and eyes were able to identify a brief, fly-by 'yellow-type' wagtail (aka Yellow or Citrine Wagtail) -- a remarkable record indeed (and obviously new for station checklist)! The site year list now stands at 162 species (goal is 200!).

Rare/Uncommon Birds so far seen this season:
Gadwall
Wandering Tattler
Ruddy Turnstone
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Black Swift
'Yellow-type' Wagtail sp.

Here is a taxonomic listing of birds banded from July 21 to August 16 (bold indicates high number for this stage of season):

Northern Harrier 1 (only third ever-banded at station)
Belted Kingfisher 2 (our first banding record; species #90 in net/banded!)
Downy Woodpecker 1 (only 8th banded at RPBO)
Northern Flicker 2 (only 8-9th banded at RPBO)
Willow Flycatcher 31
Hammond's Flycatcher 2
#1. Pacific-slope Flycatcher 164
Cassin's Vireo 2
Warbling Vireo 1
Violet-green Swallow 5 (ties high set in 1994)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 35
Bushtit 5
Red-breasted Nuthatch 4
Brown Creeper 14 (new station high)
Bewick's Wren 23
House Wren 12
Winter Wren 23
Marsh Wren 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Swainson's Thrush 9
American Robin 11
Cedar Waxwing 7 (ties high set in 2002)
Orange-crowned Warbler 36
Yellow Warbler 32
Townsend's Warbler 3
MacGillivray's Warbler 30
Common Yellowthroat 33
#2. Wilson's Warbler 127
Western Tanager 1 (only 8th banded at RPBO)
Spotted Towhee 6
Chipping Sparrow 23 (new station record)
Savannah Sparrow 6
#3. Song Sparrow 52
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 51
Dark-eyed Junco 8
Black-headed Grosbeak 1 (only 11th banded at station)
Red-winged Blackbird 14
Brown-headed Cowbird 7
Purple Finch 2
House Finch 1
Pine Siskin 3
American Goldfinch 43

My next summary will be after August 31st.

Date submitted: Tuesday, August 05 at 10:09 AM
Name: David Allinson
News Article:
Greetings RPBO friends!

July 21st marked the start of our tenth season of fall migration monitoring at the Rocky Point Bird Observatory. We are all very pleased to have the very experienced Jukka Jantunen as our Bander-in-Charge this year. After 11 days of banding in July, we banded 358 birds of 36 species, and our average capture/day rate was much higher than the norm (32.5 birds banded/day vs. long term average of 24; for comparison, in 2002 our July average was 28). While it is still early to draw conclusions, already Violet-green Swallow, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren, Cedar Waxwing, MacGillivray's Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, and Song Sparrow each appear well on their way to high or even record high years. By far, the banding highlight was an immature female Northern Harrier on July 30 (only the third ever banded at RPBO, and first since 1996). In addition, we have also undertaken a pilot hummingbird banding project with assistance from Cam Finlay - to date over 25 Rufous Hummingbirds have been banded (separate banding data set).

Shorebirds led the way among the few uncommon birds seen in July at station: Ruddy Turnstone, Baird's Sandpiper, and Semipalmated Sandpiper. The site year list now stands at 156 species (goal is 200!). My next summary will be after August 15th.

Here then is a listing of birds banded from July 21 to July 31.

Northern Harrier 1 (only third ever-banded at station)
Downy Woodpecker 1 (only 8th banded at RPBO)
Northern Flicker 1 (only 8th banded at RPBO)
Willow Flycatcher 1
Hammond's Flycatcher 2
Pacific-slope Flycatcher 26
Violet-green Swallow 5 (ties high set in 1994)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 23
Red-breasted Nuthatch 4
Brown Creeper 8
Bewick's Wren 15
House Wren 4
Winter Wren 8
Marsh Wren 4
Swainson's Thrush 8
American Robin 5
Cedar Waxwing 5
Orange-crowned Warbler 18
Yellow Warbler 4
Townsend's Warbler 2
MacGillivray's Warbler 13
Common Yellowthroat 14
Wilson's Warbler 53 (no surprise: #1 banded bird in July!)
Western Tanager 1 (only 8th banded at RPBO)
Spotted Towhee 4
Chipping Sparrow 21
Savannah Sparrow 5
Song Sparrow 35
White-crowned Sparrow 31
Dark-eyed Junco 4
Red-winged Blackbird 11
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
House Finch 1
Pine Siskin 3
American Goldfinch 15

Date submitted: Saturday, July 12 at 04:14 PM
Name: Rod Mitchell
News Article:
START OF SEASON WORKPARTY

Today eight of us met at the camp at 0900 and did most of the chores still needed to start our 2003 season. Present were Ann, David, Denise, Ed, Marilyn, Michael, Rick, and Rod. We scrubbed down the two trailers inside and out and hooked up the solar panel and batteries as well as the propane. We trimmed the grass in the camp area and all the trails and net lanes. We also did some trimming of trees and shrubs, being careful not to take out too much. The weather was warm with filtered sun for most of the time. Later the overcast built up and it started to rain just when we were finishing off. Except for a couple of little maintenance issues we are now ready to start another great year of banding at Rocky Point Bird Observatory. Stay tuned for further developments.

Date submitted: Tuesday, April 15 at 11:36 PM
Name: Rod Mitchell
News Article:

WEST NILE VIRUS: WHAT ORNITHOLOGISTS AND BIRD BANDERS SHOULD KNOW

We have added a link to this excellent Birdnet page which outlines what one needs to know without the usual hype. There is good info too on the use and effectiveness of DEET. Use the following url or link to it via our links page which you get to via our homepage:

http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/WNV.html

Date submitted: Tuesday, April 15 at 12:39 AM
Name: Rod Mitchell
News Article:
2002 Final Report Published

The RPBO Bander in Charge Final Report for 2002 can be viewed by going to our homepage and clicking on the link called "Bander in Charge Final Reports". Send any feedback to rpbo@islandnet.com.

ALSO, both the RPBO Mirror and the Sightings Board have had their 2002 postings archived for reference. They can be viewed by going to the respective pages from the top of this page.

Date submitted: Monday, February 17 at 07:45 PM
Name: David Allinson
News Article:
RPBO'ers,
I would share to share with you all a band recovery certificate I just received in mail today...on December 8, 2002 yours truly recorded the neck band number and colour for an "Aleutian" Canada Goose I spied at Rocky Point (in field near entrance gate and sewage treatment pond). In short, the bird was originally banded by Thomas Rothe for Alaska Fish and Game on July 11, 1998 near Middleton Island, Alaska (just south-east of Seward in Gulf of Alaska). The bird was identified as a male and was determined to have "hatched in 1997 or earlier" making this bird at least 5 years old.

Thought you would find this of interest...

Remember, anyone can report found bands or neck collar numbers to 1-800-327-BAND, or via their website at http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/homepage/mailrecv.htm