Sightings and News Postings for 2004

Date submitted: Tuesday, November 16 at 01:42 PM
Name: David Allinson
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Dear RPBO friend,

October 18th was the final day of the 2004 season (our 11th) at the Rocky Point Bird Observatory, marked by many single-season records being set:

1. Total captures at 4051 new birds banded (eclipsing the record set in 2003 by more than 300 birds)[note this is an unofficial total as data is still being proofed];
2. 19 species set new banding highs for a season [Cooper,s Hawk, Downy Woodpecker, Cassin,s Vireo, Hutton,s Vireo, Steller,s Jay, Red-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Swainson,s Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Varied Thrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Fox Sparrow, Lincoln,s Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, and Purple Finch with Yellow Warbler and Golden-crowned Sparrow the biggest "winners vs. their long-term averages];
3. On September 19, a new single day banding high with 203 birds banded was truly amazing (or 210 with canopy net captures).

All this is made more significant in recognizing that our daily effort has not changed compared to the previous five seasons, and we also lost more days/net-hours to rain this year compared to 2003. Our average capture/day rate picked up dramatically after a slow start in July and August, and represents about 46 new birds banded/day. And if we include the MAPS banding numbers, non-standard banding numbers, hummingbird banding (28), and the owl banding (411), we banded almost 5000 birds in 2004! That is quite an accomplishment!! Furthermore, six days in September were marked by 100 or more birds banded (these days alone represent 20% of total captures for season!). There is little doubt that for most species 2004 was a good breeding year (the question remains: are most of our, birds from Vancouver Island/south-western BC, or they also from interior sites in province, and we also know some are from even further north to Yukon and Alaska?). By far, one of the main banding highlights remains the Rose-breasted Grosbeak banded on July 18th during a volunteer banding workshop just before start of season -- this is only Victoria's fifth record and RPBO's first, and the bird remained in the area to at least August 4th. Three new birds were also banded this year: Rose-breasted Grosbeak (July 18), Red-breasted Sapsucker (September 19), and Anna,s Hummingbird (October 18). 95 species in total have ended up in our nets since 1994.

Our nocturnal owl banding project began its third season September 24th, and by November 10 ended up banding 403 Northern Saw-whet Owls and 8 Barred Owl (new records for both species). And, with assistance from Cam Finlay, our hummingbird banding project continued for its second season 27 Rufous Hummingbirds were banded at RPBO, which is well behind last year's capture rate, but on the final day of the season (October 18) we banded Rocky Point,s fourth Anna,s Hummingbird! (note separate banding data set for both of these projects).

However, this good news is tempered by low banding numbers this year for American Goldfinch (our lowest ever), Chipping Sparrow (interestingly, we set a high for them in 2003), Savannah Sparrow (lowest since 1998), and Wilson,s Warbler (lowest since 1998). Long-term declines are also now quite evident for Savannah Sparrow. Furthermore, we did not band any swallows during this season (first time since 1997).

In addition, index cards for 408 birds of 39 species among own re-traps were processed (including 37 birds from previous years). Among these 37 "old birds, two birds represent 5+ year-old birds (a Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow and an Oregon Dark-eyed Junco). However, two other retrap records stand out in particular. First, on September 9 we recovered a Chestnut-backed Chickadee that had originally been banded on June 4 at our Royal Roads University MAPS site! Who says that Chestnut-backed Chickadees do not "migrate or at least disperse over a large area, as this is a distance of approximately 13 kilometres?! Needless to say, the re-trap highlight of the year (decade?!) was the recapture on September 18 of a Chestnut-backed Chickadee (CBCH) originally banded as an After-Hatch Year (AHY) at RPBO on August 2, 1997 by the late Beverley Glover (band number 2120-06883). This record establishes a new NORTH AMERICAN longevity record for this species at 8 years, 3 months! We checked our records and the files at the Bird Banding Lab (BBL) at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland (the main repository for all of North American banding data). As well, this bird has now been re-trapped a total of 7 times, but interestingly not since 2001. If one does the math, this CBCH is now the oldest on file (note the BBL arbitrarily uses June 1st as all birds, "birthday as we cannot know for certain its exact birthday of course in other words, it was at least 1 year, 2 months old when originally caught). The previous record on file at BBL was 7 years, 9 months. For those interested, visit the Bird Banding Lab,s longevity pages: http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/homepage/longvlst.htm. It is fitting that Bev,s contributions to RPBO live on

Among the rarities recorded: a Tufted Puffin was spotted during seawatch on July 22, and individual Brown Pelicans were recorded at Pedder Bay on July 24 and July 30 and again on September 5th west of Bentinck Island. By far, the rarest bird of the season was the Manx Shearwater found in the afternoon by boat about 5 km east of Race Rocks on August 8th (and photographed). The Manx Shearwater is Victoria,s first and only the third (fourth?) record for British Columbia (but the first to be documented by photograph). On August 9th, RPBO,s 8th record of Bank Swallow was seen, and later that same day an immature, dark-phase Pomarine Jaeger was seen by boat just east of Pedder Bay. An Upland Sandpiper seen and heard on August 26th is just RPBO,s third record (and first in seven years). On August 29th, RPBO,s first Bar-tailed Godwit was seen (although it was also likely heard-only on August 28th), and this is only the sixth record for the Victoria checklist area. On August 30th, RPBO,s second record of American Golden-Plover was observed, as was another Bank Swallow (our ninth record). On September 3rd, a Northern Waterthrush was seen and heard during census near Cape Calver, and a waterthrush was banded on September 6th (same bird?) for the 15th site record (this bird remained until at least September 10th). A Franklin,s Gull on September 10th and another on September 29th are just the 5th and 6th records for Rocky Point. On September 15th, Rocky Point,s third record of Tennessee Warbler was recorded. Unusual in such numbers on Vancouver Island, an impressive 1200+ Snow Goose were tallied on September 28th. Our third and fourth records of Anna,s Hummingbird were recorded on October 1 and 18th. A great find was a White-winged Dove seen by two observers on October 7 this is a Rocky Point first and only the second for Victoria. Individual Nashville Warblers were banded on October 3 and 18th, and a "Western Palm Warbler was observed on October 13th. On the final day of the season was the only sighting this year for Northern Goshawk. And a good variety of shorebirds were recorded this year as well, including Wandering Tattler, Baird,s Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Solitary Sandpiper, and Semipalmated Sandpiper.

Five new birds were added to the Rocky Point checklist in 2004: Cackling Goose (thanks to a taxonomic split by the AOU and an "old record from October 2000!), Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Manx Shearwater, Bar-tailed Godwit, and White-winged Dove the RPBO checklist now stands at an impressive 293 species [look for a bar-graph to finally be published by end of 2004]. For perspective, this total represents almost 80% of the entire Victoria/Southern Vancouver Island checklist total!! It now seems highly probable that Rocky Point will pass the magic 300 species mark within the next 2-4 years.

My special hats off, congratulations, and personal thanks to: Jukka Jantunen (Bander-in-Charge), Ann Nightingale, Pierre Geoffray, Susanne Maidment, Mary-Ann Cain, Al Woodhouse, Brent Beach, Mike McGrenere, Rob Gowan, Ed Pellizzon, Chris Saunders, Laurie Savard, and Guy Monty, among a total of 40+ volunteers who helped run the station, as well as the entire RPBO board of directors (David Kelly President, Paul Levesque Vice-President, Tom Gillespie Treasurer, Denise Gubersky Secretary, Michael Porter, Rod Mitchell, Rick Schortinghuis, Marilyn Lambert, Suzanne Beauchesne, Jessica Murray, and Katie Christie). In particular, Rick Schortinghuis worked very hard to not only schedule volunteers, but also personally covered many empty, time slots over the course of this season.

Finally, the site year-list stands at 202 species (and we will likely fall just short of the high set in 2003 at 212 species).

Here is a listing of birds banded from July 21 to October 18 (unofficial totals):

Cooper,s Hawk 2 (only third and fourth banding records for RPBO)
Sharp-shinned Hawk 8
Barred Owl 1 (just our second banding record during daytime operations)
Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 (new station banding record)
Downy Woodpecker 3 (only 13 have ever been banded at RPBO)
Northern Flicker 2 (only 14 have ever been banded at RPBO)
Pileated Woodpecker 1 (only 7th banding record for RPBO)
Willow Flycatcher 53
Hammond's Flycatcher 27
2. Pacific-slope Flycatcher 298
Cassin's Vireo 5 (only 20 have ever been banded at RPBO)
Hutton,s Vireo 13 (new season high)
Warbling Vireo 22
Steller,s Jay 39 (new season high)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 68
Bushtit 41
Red-breasted Nuthatch 18 (new season high)
Brown Creeper 15
Bewick's Wren 39
House Wren 28 (new season high)
Winter Wren 168
Marsh Wren 6
1. Ruby-crowned Kinglet 489 (new season high)
Golden-crowned Kinglet 91
Swainson's Thrush 148 (new season high)
Hermit Thrush 141 (new season high)
American Robin 11
Varied Thrush 11 (new season high)
Cedar Waxwing 6
Orange-crowned Warbler 270 (new season high)
Nashville Warbler 2 (our 5th and 6th banding records)
Yellow Warbler 261 (new season high)
Yellow-rumped Warbler 57
Black-throated Gray Warbler 5
Townsend's Warbler 12
Northern Waterthrush 1 (remarkably our 12th banding record, but first since 2000)
MacGillivray's Warbler 47
Common Yellowthroat 94
Wilson's Warbler 166 (lowest since 1998)
Spotted Towhee 195 (new season high)
Chipping Sparrow 5 (very low second lowest ever; 1997)
Savannah Sparrow 70 (low vs. average)
Fox Sparrow 254 (new season high)
Song Sparrow 133
Lincoln,s Sparrow 195 (new season high)
Swamp Sparrow 2 (our 8th and 9th banding records)
White-throated Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 115 (new season high)
3. Golden-crowned Sparrow 280 (new season high long-term average was previously 52/year!)
Dark-eyed Junco 61
Black-headed Grosbeak 2 (only our 12th and 13th banded)
Red-winged Blackbird 9
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
Purple Finch 14 (new season high)
Pine Siskin 1 (low vs. average)
American Goldfinch 38 (lowest ever)
House Sparrow 1 (only the second ever banded at RPBO; first since 1994!)

Date submitted: Tuesday, October 05 at 08:16 PM
Name: David Allinson, Past-President Rpbo
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Dear RPBO friend,

July 21st marked the start of our eleventh season of fall migration monitoring at the Rocky Point Bird Observatory.

After 72 days of banding from July 21 to September 30, we have banded 3345 birds of 54 species. Our average capture/day rate has picked up dramatically in September and represents about 46 new birds banded/day. In September alone, we had six 100+ banding days! On September 18th, we set a new one day high for our fall banding op,s with a phenomenal 203 birds banded (plus 7 more in the non-standard canopy net)! As a result of the steady banding, our capture rate has also gone from well behind last year,s to now sit 439 above last year,s pace to date! However, note also that we have lost ~2.5 days to rain this year, whereas we lost none last year for this same period. Already 12 species have each established new season highs Cooper,s Hawk, Cassin,s Vireo, Hutton,s Vireo, Red-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Swainson,s Thrush, Varied Thrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Spotted Towhee, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow (and three more are anticipated to do the same over the next couple of weeks: Steller,s Jay, Fox Sparrow and Lincoln,s Sparrow). However, Chipping Sparrows remain dramatically down with only 5 banded (this is more surprising by fact that we set a season high for them last year), and Wilson,s Warbler, Savannah Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and American Goldfinch captures are also down compared to our last 10 seasons. Of interest, we have not banded a single swallow this season and we normally band at least 4 to 5 of usually 2 species (last time we missed out on swallows was 1997). By far, the main banding highlight remains the Rose-breasted Grosbeak banded on July 18th during a volunteer banding workshop just before start of season -- this is only Victoria's fifth record and RPBO's first, and the bird remained in the area to at least August 4th. In addition, two Black-headed Grosbeak were banded together on July 27th (a second year male and a hatch year bird). A Pileated Woodpecker banded August 28th is only the seventh ever-banded at RPBO. During the big day on September 18th, we captured a Red-breasted Sapsucker for our first banding record for that species. And just our third and fourth banding record of Cooper,s Hawk were big highlights on September 7th and September 28th.

Our nocturnal owl banding project began its third season in late September, but has already banded 164 Northern Saw-whet Owls and 1 Barred Owl (#,,s up to October 2)! And, with assistance from Cam Finlay, our hummingbird banding project has wound down for its second season 27 Rufous Hummingbirds were banded at RPBO, which is well behind last year's capture rate (and note separate banding data set).

Among the rarities recorded so far: a Tufted Puffin was spotted during seawatch on July 22, and individual Brown Pelicans were recorded at Pedder Bay on July 24 and July 30 and again on September 5th west of Bentinck Island. By far, the rarest bird of the season was the Manx Shearwater found in the afternoon by boat about 5 km east of Race Rocks on August 8th (and photographed). The Manx Shearwater is Victoria,s first and only the third (fourth?) record for British Columbia (but the first to be documented by photograph). On August 9th, RPBO,s 8th record of Bank Swallow was seen, and later that same day an immature, dark-phase Pomarine Jaeger was seen by boat just east of Pedder Bay. An Upland Sandpiper seen and heard on August 26th is just RPBO,s third record (and first in seven years). On August 29th, RPBO,s first Bar-tailed Godwit was seen (although it was also likely heard-only on August 28th), and this is only the sixth record for the Victoria checklist area. On August 30th, RPBO,s second record of American Golden-Plover was observed, as was another Bank Swallow (our ninth record). On September 3rd, a Northern Waterthrush was seen and heard during census near Cape Calver, and a waterthrush was banded on September 6th (same bird?) for the 15th site record (this bird remained until at least September 10th). A Franklin,s Gull on September 10th and another on September 29th are just the 5th and 6th records for Rocky Point. On September 15th, Rocky Point,s third record of Tennessee Warbler was recorded. Unusual in such numbers on Vancouver Island, an impressive 1200+ Snow Goose were tallied on September 28th. And a good variety of shorebirds have also been tallied so far, including Wandering Tattler, Baird,s Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Solitary Sandpiper, and Semipalmated Sandpiper.

The site year list now stands at 188 species (last year, we tallied 212 by December 31st!).

Here is a listing of birds banded from July 21 to September 30 (unofficial totals):

Cooper,s Hawk 2 (only third and fourth banding records for RPBO)

Sharp-shinned Hawk 7

Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 (new station banding record)

Downy Woodpecker 2 (only 12 have ever been banded at RPBO)

Northern Flicker 1 (only 13 have ever been banded at RPBO)

Pileated Woodpecker 1 (only 7th banding record for RPBO)

Willow Flycatcher 53

Hammond's Flycatcher 26

1. Pacific-slope Flycatcher 297

Cassin's Vireo 5 (only 20 have ever been banded at RPBO)

Hutton,s Vireo 10 (new season high)

Warbling Vireo 22

Steller,s Jay 30

Chestnut-backed Chickadee 61

Bushtit 41

Red-breasted Nuthatch 18 (new season high)

Brown Creeper 15

Bewick's Wren 35

House Wren 28 (new season high)

Winter Wren 104

Marsh Wren 5

3. Ruby-crowned Kinglet 261

Golden-crowned Kinglet 35

Swainson's Thrush 144 (new season high)

Hermit Thrush 98

American Robin 10

Varied Thrush 6 (new season high)

Cedar Waxwing 6

2. Orange-crowned Warbler 263 (new season high)

Yellow Warbler 255 (new season high)

Yellow-rumped Warbler 52

Black-throated Gray Warbler 5

Townsend's Warbler 12

Northern Waterthrush 1 (remarkably our 12th banding record, but first since 2000)

MacGillivray's Warbler 47

Common Yellowthroat 94

Wilson's Warbler 166 (lowest since 1998)

Spotted Towhee 136 (new season high)

Chipping Sparrow 5 (very low second lowest ever; 1997)

Savannah Sparrow 54 (low vs. average)

Fox Sparrow 205 (on pace to easily set new high)

Song Sparrow 114

Lincoln,s Sparrow 170 (on pace to easily set new high)

White-throated Sparrow 1

White-crowned Sparrow 109 (new season high)

Golden-crowned Sparrow 246 (new season high)

Dark-eyed Junco 49 (low vs. average)

Black-headed Grosbeak 2 (only our 12th and 13th banded)

Red-winged Blackbird 8

Brown-headed Cowbird 6

Purple Finch 10

Pine Siskin 1 (low vs. average)

American Goldfinch 35 (low vs. average)

House Sparrow 1 (only the second ever banded at RPBO; first since 1994!)

My next summary will be after end of season October 18th.

Date submitted: Friday, September 03 at 05:00 PM
Name: David Allinson
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Dear RPBO friend,

July 21st marked the start of our eleventh season of fall migration monitoring at the Rocky Point Bird Observatory.

After 42 days of banding from July 21 to August 31, we have banded 1173 birds of 45 species. Our average capture/day rate remains slightly lower than the norm for this period with 29 new birds banded/day, and this is behind the pace set last year for the same period (1319birds/50 species). However, note also that we did lose two days to rain during this period. While it is still early to draw conclusions, already House Wren has established a new season high at 28, as have Red-breasted Nuthatch at 14, and Hutton,s Vireo, Brown Creeper along with Willow Flycatchers currently each have their second highest season totals. Yellow Warblers also appear on pace for a record year. However, Chipping Sparrows remain dramatically down with only 5 banded (this is more surprising by fact that we set a season high last year). By far, the main banding highlight remains the Rose-breasted Grosbeak banded on July 18th during a volunteer banding workshop just before start of season -- this is only Victoria's fifth record and RPBO's first, and the bird remained in the area to at least August 4th. In addition, two Black-headed Grosbeak were banded together on July 27th (a second year male and a hatch year bird). A Pileated Woodpecker banded August 28th is only the seventh ever-banded at RPBO. With assistance from Cam Finlay, our hummingbird banding project continues so far, 27 Rufous Hummingbirds have been banded, which is also behind last year's capture rate (separate banding data set).

Among the rarities recorded so far: individual Brown Pelicans were recorded at Pedder Bay on July 24 and July 30, a Tufted Puffin was spotted during seawatch on July 22, and a number of good shorebirds have been tallied, including Wandering Tattler, Baird,s Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Solitary Sandpiper, and Semipalmated Sandpiper. By far, the rarest bird of the season was the Manx Shearwater found in the afternoon by boat about 5 km east of Race Rocks on August 8th (and photographed). The Manx Shearwater is Victoria,s first and only the third (fourth?) record for British Columbia (but the first to be documented by photograph). On August 9th, RPBO,s 8th record of Bank Swallow was seen, and later that same day an immature, dark-phase Pomarine Jaeger was seen by boat just east of Pedder Bay. An Upland Sandpiper seen and heard on August 26th is just RPBO,s third record (and first in seven years). On August 29th, RPBO,s first Bar-tailed Godwit was seen (although it was heard-only on August 28th) and this is only the sixth record for the Victoria checklist area. Finally, on August 30th, RPBO,s second record of American Golden-Plover was observed, as was another Bank Swallow (our ninth record).

The site year list now stands at 172 species (last year, we tallied 212 by December 31st!).

Here then is a listing of birds banded from July 21 to August 31 (unofficial totals):

Downy Woodpecker 2 (only 12 have ever been banded at RPBO)

Pileated Woodpecker 1 (only 7th banding record for RPBO)

Willow Flycatcher 48 (our second highest)

Hammond's Flycatcher 8 (low?)

1. Pacific-slope Flycatcher 168

Cassin's Vireo 2 (only 17 have ever been banded at RPBO)

Hutton,s Vireo 6 (our second highest)

Warbling Vireo 14 (tied for our third highest)

Steller,s Jay 2

Chestnut-backed Chickadee 53

Bushtit 34

Red-breasted Nuthatch 14 (new season high)

Brown Creeper 11 (tied for our second highest)

Bewick's Wren 33

House Wren 28 (new season high)

Winter Wren 11

Marsh Wren 3

Golden-crowned Kinglet 3

Swainson's Thrush 37

Hermit Thrush 1

American Robin 5

Cedar Waxwing 6

Orange-crowned Warbler 91

3. Yellow Warbler 103

Black-throated Gray Warbler 3

Townsend's Warbler 9 (our third highest ever)

MacGillivray's Warbler 33

Common Yellowthroat 53

2. Wilson's Warbler 142 (low?)

Spotted Towhee 5

Chipping Sparrow 5 (very low second lowest ever; 1997)

Savannah Sparrow 11

Fox Sparrow 9

Song Sparrow 51

Lincoln,s Sparrow 40

White-crowned Sparrow 64

Golden-crowned Sparrow 1

Dark-eyed Junco 11

Black-headed Grosbeak 2 (only our 12th and 13th banded)

Red-winged Blackbird 6

Brown-headed Cowbird 5

Purple Finch 7

Pine Siskin 1

American Goldfinch 32 (low?)

House Sparrow 1 (only the second ever banded at RPBO; first since 1994!)

My next summary will be after September 15th.

Date submitted: Saturday, August 28 at 10:22 PM
Name: Rod Mitchell
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Ann Nightingale has submitted four new photos, good ones. Have a look at our Photo Albums page. You can link there from the home page.

Date submitted: Thursday, August 19 at 10:27 PM
Name: David Allinson
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Just doing some number crunching and thought I would share it here...

I thought some of you would find this overview of the last seven year,s opening week,s banding data of interest. I do not intend to do this for every bi-weekly period, but will do another one at end of this season for a full season comparison.

Captures July 21-August 15:
1998: 480 newly banded birds of 38 species; avg. 18.5/day; 26 days banding; 0.32 birds/net-hour (1513 net-hours total, 10 nets)
1999: 614 newly banded birds of 37 species; avg. 25.6/day; 24 days banding; 0.46 birds/net-hour (1335.5 net-hours total, 10 nets)
2000: 598 newly banded birds of 43 species; avg. 24.8/day; 24 days banding; 0.38 birds/net-hour (1575.3 net-hours total, 10/13 nets)
2001: 966 newly banded birds of 39 species; avg. 40.2/day; 24 days banding; 0.64 birds/net-hour (1514.7 net-hours total, 10/13 nets)
2002: 737 newly banded birds of 40 species; avg. 28.3/day; 26 days banding; 0.38 birds/net-hour (1928.5 net-hours total, 13 nets)
2003: 797 newly banded birds of 45 species; avg. 30.6/day; 26 days banding; 0.40 birds/net-hour (1988.8 net-hours total, 13 nets)
2004: 688 newly banded birds of 39 species; avg. 27.5/day; 25 days banding; 0.36 birds/net-hour (1896.5 net-hours total, 13 nets).
(high totals in red)

1998-2004: 4880 birds banded over 175 days total, avg. of 25 days/period, avg. of 697 new birds banded for period, avg. 40 species banded for period, avg. 28 new birds banded/day, birds/net-hour avg. 0.42 for period total, and total net-hours of 11752 with an average of 1679 net-hours/season for period in question. Note: total net-hours are affected by rain, wind, presence of avian predators, BIC schedule/volunteer coverage (esp. 1998-2000), and DND demolition exercises. For interest, if all thirteen nets were open everyday, all day, the total net-hours for this period would be 2028 hours (and just showcases how good our coverage was in 2003 @ 98%!).

Data for 1994-1997 are not included at this time as net-hour data is not readily available and coverage also significantly increased starting in 1998 (full-time BIC).

The most important comparative figure is the birds/net-hour number and indicates just how significant 2001 really was; how 1998 may have indicated a poor breeding season(s) (e.g. 1997 was an El Nino year); and how the 2002 and 2003 seasons were more or less establishing pattern averages (?). It is also interesting to note that total net hours have significantly increased (this is not just due to addition of three new nets, but also weather patterns during last three summers) for example, in 2003 net coverage increased by about 10 net-hours/day, or 50 minutes/net/day over average figures, but interestingly without significant increases in birds/net-hour or even captures/day. However, in spite of setting our third highest total net hours, this year we had our second lowest birds/net-hour figure and only fourth highest total captures during this period.

Date submitted: Monday, August 16 at 04:29 PM
Name: David Allinson
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Dear RPBO friend,

July 21st marked the start of our eleventh season of fall migration monitoring at the Rocky Point Bird Observatory.

After 25 days of banding in July to August 15, we have banded 688 birds of 39 species, and our average capture/day rate was slightly lower than the norm for this period with 27.5 new birds banded/day, and this is behind the pace set last year for the same period (737birds/45 species). Note also that we did lose one day to rain during this period. In spite of setting our second highest total net hours for this period, our captures were only fourth highest and the birds/net-hour figure is the second lowest at only 0.36 new birds/net-hour. While it is still early to draw conclusions, already House Wren has established a new season high at 24, Red-breasted Nuthatch has tied the high set last year, and already 5 Hutton,s Vireo have been banded for their second highest season total. Orange-crowned Warblers numbers were behind in July, but they seem to have picked up dramatically over last week. However, Chipping Sparrows are dramatically down with only 5 banded (this is more surprising by fact that we set a season high last year), and as they are an early migrant, their migration is mostly done so few more are likely to be caught. By far, the main banding highlight remains the Rose-breasted Grosbeak banded on July 18th during a volunteer banding workshop just before start of season -- this is only Victoria's fifth record and RPBO's first and the bird remained in the area to at least August 4th. In addition, two Black-headed Grosbeak were banded together (a second year male and a hatch year). Pacific-slope Flycatchers have just passed Wilson,s Warbler for the banding lead. With assistance from Cam Finlay, our hummingbird banding project continues so far, 24 Rufous Hummingbirds were banded, which is also behind last year's capture rate (separate banding data set).

Among the rarities recorded so far: individual Brown Pelicans were recorded at Pedder Bay on July 24 and July 30, a Tufted Puffin was spotted during seawatch on July 22, and a number of good shorebirds have been tallied, including Wandering Tattler, Baird,s Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Solitary Sandpiper, and Semipalmated Sandpiper. By far, the rarest bird of the season was the Manx Shearwater found in the afternoon by boat about 5 km east of Race Rocks on August 8th (and photographed). The Manx Shearwater is Victoria,s first and only the third (fourth?) record for British Columbia (but the first to be documented by photograph). On August 9th, RPBO,s 8th record of Bank Swallow was seen, and later that same day an immature, dark-phase Pomarine Jaeger was seen by boat just east of Pedder Bay. The site year list now stands at 145 species (last year, we tallied 212 by December 31st!).

Here then is a listing of birds banded from July 21 to August 15 (unofficial totals):

Downy Woodpecker 1

Willow Flycatcher 21

Hammond's Flycatcher 5

1. Pacific-slope Flycatcher 105

Cassin's Vireo 2

Warbling Vireo 11

3. Chestnut-backed Chickadee 49

Bushtit 21

Red-breasted Nuthatch 8 (ties season high set last year)

Brown Creeper 10

Bewick's Wren 26

House Wren 24 (new season high)

Winter Wren 6

Marsh Wren 2

Swainson's Thrush 8

American Robin 4

Cedar Waxwing 1

Orange-crowned Warbler 46

Yellow Warbler 35

Black-throated Gray Warbler 1

Townsend's Warbler 6

MacGillivray's Warbler 14

Common Yellowthroat 14

2. Wilson's Warbler 102

Spotted Towhee 5

Chipping Sparrow 5 (very low)

Savannah Sparrow 4

Song Sparrow 35

Lincoln,s Sparrow 2

White-crowned Sparrow 37

Dark-eyed Junco 6

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1 (the bird was still present to at least August 1)

Black-headed Grosbeak 2

Red-winged Blackbird 6

Brown-headed Cowbird 4

Purple Finch 3

Pine Siskin 1

American Goldfinch 14

House Sparrow 1 (only the second ever banded at RPBO; first since 1994!)

My next summary will be after August 15th.

David Allinson
Past-President, Rocky Point Bird Observatory

Date submitted: Monday, August 02 at 09:19 PM
Name: David Allinson
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Dear RPBO friend,
July 21st marked the start of our eleventh season of fall migration monitoring at the Rocky Point Bird Observatory.

We are all very pleased to once again have the very experienced Jukka Jantunen as our Bander-in-Charge this year. After 11 days of banding in July, we have banded 335 birds of 35 species, and our average capture/day rate was higher than the norm for this period (30.5 new birds banded/day vs. long term average of 24), but this is slightly behind the pace set last year for the same period. While it is still early to draw conclusions, already Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren, House Wren, MacGillivray's Warbler, and Wilson's Warbler each appear on their way to high years. Of potential concern, are the low numbers of Orange-crowned Warblers banded so far (in general, few also seem present around the station). By far, the main banding highlight remains the Rose-breasted Grosbeak banded on July 18th during a volunteer banding workshop just before start of season -- this is only Victoria's fifth record and RPBO's first. In addition, two Black-headed Grosbeak were banded together (a second year male and a hatch year). With assistance from Cam Finlay, our hummingbird banding project continues -- in July, only 7 Rufous Hummingbirds were banded, which is well behind last year's capture rate (separate banding data set).

Among the rarities recorded so far: individual Brown Pelicans were recorded at Pedder Bay on July 24 and July 30, a Tufted Puffin was spotted during seawatch on July 22, and a number of good shorebirds have been tallied, including Ruddy Turnstone, Solitary Sandpiper, and Semipalmated Sandpiper. The site year list now stands at 133 species (last year, we tallied 212 by December 31st!).

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

Downy Woodpecker 1
Willow Flycatcher 2
Hammond's Flycatcher 1
Pacific-slope Flycatcher 39
Cassin's Vireo 1
Warbling Vireo 5
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 39
Bushtit 12
Red-breasted Nuthatch 5
Brown Creeper 6
Bewick's Wren 18
House Wren 11
Winter Wren 4
Marsh Wren 1
Swainson's Thrush 6
American Robin 3
Cedar Waxwing 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 5
Yellow Warbler 2
Townsend's Warbler 1
MacGillivray's Warbler 14
Common Yellowthroat 14
Wilson's Warbler 59 (no surprise: #1 banded bird in July!)
Spotted Towhee 3
Chipping Sparrow 5
Savannah Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 22
White-crowned Sparrow 24
Dark-eyed Junco 3
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1 (the bird was still present to at least August 1)
Black-headed Grosbeak 2
Red-winged Blackbird 3
Brown-headed Cowbird 4
Purple Finch 1
Pine Siskin 1
American Goldfinch 14

My next summary will be after August 15th.

Date submitted: Monday, July 26 at 02:41 PM
Name: David Allinson
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Just a few first week highlights:
July 18 -- during a volunteer banding workshop, Ann Nightingale and Jessica Murray banded Rocky Point's first Rose-breasted Grosbeak (only fifth record for Victoria checklist as well). It remained to at least July 23. See our photos section for a great shot!
July 22 - a Tufted Puffin was seen by BIC Jukka Jantunen offshore during seawatch.
July 24 - during census, yours truly recorded an immature Brown Pelican at Pedder Bay-William Head.
July 25 - a Solitary Sandpiper and a Ruddy Turnstone were recorded.

With the grosbeak and the recent split by the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) of Cackling Goose from Canada Goose (I photographed a pair of Cackling's in fall of 2001 near Building 100), the latest RPBO Checklist stands at a whopping 289 species!

As in previous years, I will also begin posting bi-monthly banding totals and sightings details after July 31st.

Here's to another great season at the point!

Date submitted: Sunday, June 13 at 04:16 PM
Name: Ann Nightingale
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The 2004 MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) program is underway, and the first two sessions at both Royal Roads University and Rocky Point have been awesome!

Here is a numerical summary

RRU Day 1: 34 New 6 Retraps 8 "Unbanded" (includes hummingbirds banded using Cam Finlay's bands)
RRU Day 2: 27 New 4 Retraps 2 Unbanded

RPBO Day 1: 24 New 14 Retraps 3 Unbanded
RPBO Day 2: 29 New 3 Retraps 5 Unbanded

Highlights included an Orange-Crowned Warbler at RPBO on our first day of banding there. It was originally banded in August 1999, making it at least 6 years old. On our second day of banding at RPBO, swallows were the order of the day with 4 different species in one net (along with a Downy Woodpecker) on the first net round. 5 Cliff Swallows, 2 Barn Swallows, 1 Northern Rough-Winged and 1 Violet-Green were caught on June 13.

At RRU, Bushtits have been keeping the extractors busy with a flock of 7 in one net on the first day and a different flock of 11 on the second day.

22 species banded so far this season are:
OCWA
CBCH
COYE
ORJU
RBNU
HOWR
NRWS
BARS
WIWR
BUSH
WIWA
GCKI
BEWR
SPTO
SWTH
SOSP
DOWO
WCSP
RWBL (17! compared to 1 new RWBL banded all season last year)
AMRO
CLSW
VGSW

Plus RUHU (with Cam's bands)
Plus PSFL (retrap only)

114 new birds banded this season to date!

Thanks to Paul Levesque for starting this project in 2003, and to this year's setup and banding crew: Rick Schortinghuis, Ed Pellizzon, Katie Christie, Donna Ross, Mary Searchfield, Paul Levesque, Laurie Savard, Anne Kranenburg, and Chris Saunders

Submitted by Ann Nightingale, June 13, 2004

Date submitted: Sunday, April 04 at 10:25 PM
Name: Rod Mitchell Per Paul Levesque And David Kelly
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Thanks to the hard work of several RPBO people the 2004 banding workshop was a resounding success!

Here is a write up by Paul Levesque, the one from whose brain sprung the seed, followed by a note from RPBO's President, David Kelly.

Paul's write up:
Hi everyone. I thought I would send out a note about the 2004 RPBO Bird Banding Workshop.
Well, it looks like we put on the best one yet! On Friday, I gave a talk on banding ethics, bird safety and a few other topics that were not covered last year. In the evening, Jukka gave his now famous talk on age classes and moult. On Saturday morning, we opened four mist nets and banded eleven birds with two retraps (mostly Juncos, some Chickadees and at least one Bushtit.) The weather was touch and go with short drizzly periods, but we made do. After lunch we were in the classroom working with the frozen birds. This year I asked Ann to set up a hummingbird banding "station" and the workshop participants learned how we make hummingbird bands; each student used the shaping tool and then put a band on a frozen Rufus Hummingbird. The humming bird banding was very popular. Tracy Anderson from Wild Arc (the Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre in Metchosin) was taking the workshop. In the late afternoon, she approached me and said that Wild Arc had a Merlin that was ready to be released which could be delivered if we were interested in banding it. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity and the workshop participants were treated to a Merlin getting banded and released. Thanks Tracy.
The pub at Royal Roads was closed Saturday night, so the social session was cancelled. I am very sorry if anyone missed the e-mail I sent about this Friday night and ended up at the pub.
On Sunday morning, we opened the nets at 7:00 am and started banding. From the get go we were getting good numbers, Song Sparrows, Juncos, Robins, and Chickadees. Participants were getting a fair bit of handling in and I was relieved because we hadn't banded that many birds on Saturday. (One of the biggest complaints last year was that people had hoped to do more bird handling.) So things were going well.

Back in mid January, Ed and I set up a large seed feeder and a suet feeder in one of the net lanes. We kept the feeders topped up and about two weeks ago I added an extra suet feeder. This bait seemed to pay off because we ended up getting slammed with birds. All of the participants were able to band a bird and have a crack at extraction! We also banded a Ruby Crowned Kinglet and to top it off we then caught a male and a female Hairy Woodpeckers! We ended up banding 23 birds, had 3 retraps and released about ten birds unbanded. Good times.
After the banding session we went back to the classroom for Ann's demonstration on the two hummingbird traps and Jukka demonstrated his walk in trap and his bow trap; we then stopped for lunch. After the break, we worked on aging the frozen birds and around 3:30 p.m. called the workshop to a close.
How did we manage to pull this all off? Well, RPBOers came together as a team:
Laurie spent a lot of time answering e-mail and telephone enquires from people interested in the workshop and prepared a worksheet for participants on aging for the Friday night session.
Denise made up receipts and mailed out all of the banding manuals to the workshop participants as their cheques arrived at my place.
Marilyn picked up the coffee, tea, milk, juice, fruit, cups etc. and lent us her 30 cup coffee maker. Marilyn your tupper ware and coffee maker is at my place.
David A. also picked up food, lent equipment and was able to spend time on Friday, Saturday and Sunday helping out.
Ann Nightigale, where to start? Ann once again was our liaison person with Royal Roads and managed to get classrooms booked and dorm rooms made availible. Ann picked up participants from the ferry on Friday, help set up the Cedar room and the Nixon room, arrived first thing in the morning to open the Cedar room and put the coffee on. She put together a power point presentation on age classes for Jukka. Ann also taught all of the humming bird banding. Ann also did a number of other important tasks and her contributions can't be over stated.
Rick, Ed and Katie. Both Rick and Ed were busy this past weekend. They set up all the nets, topped up the feeders, moved the freezer from my place to Royal Roads, set up a tarp and table for the banding shack, helped to teach and extracted birds. Rick, Ed and Katie took down all of the nets and packed up the banding station. Katie also lent us equipment including her banding kit so that we would have extra tools during the lab sessions.
Jessica Murray, (our newest board member) spent Saturday and Sunday teaching. On Saturday, she ran the "band the frozen bird" station and patiently taught 18 people one after another how to band the same Swainson's Thrush.
Tom and Dave K also stopped in over the weekend to help out and to see how things were going.
I would like to thank all of you for your help and to let you know that you all did a fantastic job at making this the best workshop yet. I am very pleased.
Paul Levesque.

A word from RPBO's President:

You will all have seen Paul's note on the banding workshop last weekend. I want to express my personal appreciation to all of you who assisted in making the weekend such a success. I particularly want to thank Paul for his tireless effort in organizing and leading the workshop. The workshop demonstrates that RPBO is a capable and professional organization; it enhances our reputation; and it produces volunteers. It is a first class effort, and Paul deserves credit for initiating and leading the event. Thanks Paul, and thanks again to all who assisted. Good work.

Date submitted: Sunday, April 04 at 10:20 PM
Name: Rod Mitchell
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Thanks to all for your interest in the banding position, it has been filled. We really appreciate the interest of so many very qualified people and wish we could spend time with all of you! Maybe in the future.........

Date submitted: Sunday, February 22 at 11:42 PM
Name: Paul Levesque
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ROCKY POINT BIRD OBSERVATORY (RPBO) is accepting applications for BANDER IN CHARGE for the Fall 2004 banding season. RPBO is situated on a head land on the southern most point of Vancouver Island, and has a variety of habitats including fresh water marshes, mature fields, conifer forests, a riparian corridor and tidal flats. If you enjoy avian diversity, watching orcas and listening to sea lions, RPBO is the place to be. For more information on RPBO, visit: www.islandnet.com/~rpbo/. Primary duties of the Bander In Charge position involves overseeing the daily banding operations, working with and training volunteers, and some data entry. The duration of the position is from the 18 July to the 18 Oct., with eight paid days off. Rustic but comfortable on site accommodation is provided and a vehicle is available. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in field ornithology, experience with high volume banding operations, and extensive experience aging and sexing passerines. Compensation is 125$ Cnd./day, for the 90 day contract. Please send a brief cover letter (one page) detailing your banding experience, and your CV that includes three references (include e-mail addresses and phone numbers) that are familiar with your banding abilities, in the body of an e-mail sent to: rpbo@islandnet.com. Applicant review will begin 1 March 2004 and will continue until suitable applicant is found.

Date submitted: Friday, February 06 at 05:27 PM
Name: David Allinson
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Wednesday, February 25

Victoria Natural History Society's Birders' Night - "Night Eyes and Mist Nets":
Paul Levesque of Victoria will present a slide-illustrated talk about his program of monitoring and banding nocturnal owls at the Rocky Point Bird Observatory. His emphasis will be on the Northern Saw- Whet Owl. Prior to Paul's presentation, Tasha Smith will bring us up to date on the Coastal Waterbird and Beached Bird surveys, which she directs for Bird Studies Canada. A full evening of education and entertainment, and your chance to get involved in research. Everyone is welcome. Bring a novice birder and your coffee cup, 7:30 p.m. Murray and Ann Fraser 159, UVic.

Date submitted: Monday, January 19 at 10:10 PM
Name: Paul Levesque
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RPBO 2004 Bird Banding Workshop.

The Rocky Point Bird Observatory is offering an introductory level bird banding workshop at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC, on the 26, 27 and 28 of March 2004. The 2.5 day workshop will focus on bird safety, banding ethics, bird handling, capture and banding methods, collecting morphometric data, feather molt and it,s application to aging. The program has been developed for people with little or no bird handling or banding experience and is an excellent opportunity for undergrads, graduate students, wildlife biologists and naturalists to gain a firm foundation in bird banding.

Schedule:

Friday at 1:00 pm-4:00 pm, class room session- introduction to banding, bird safety,
permits, and trapping methods. 6:00 pm-9:00 pm classroom session- age classifications, molt.

Saturday 8:00 am-11:30 am field session- setting up mist nets, bird extraction, handling
and banding. 1:00 pm-4:30 pm lab session- working with the frozen bird collection, bird identification, taking measurements, banding.

Sunday 8:00 am -11:30 am, field session, mist netting, humming bird trapping, 1:00 pm-
4:00 pm lab session- ageing frozen birds and workshop wrap up.

The cost is 300$ Cdn, per participant, there is a 50$ student discount. There are a limited number of dorm room accommodations available at Royal Roads for approximately 25$ Cdn./night and will be made available to those first to enroll. Enrollment is limited to 18.
Note, last years workshop filled quickly, we recommend early registration.

To enroll, please send full workshop fees in the form of a cheque made out to: Rocky Point Bird Observatory Society, to:

Rocky Point Bird Observatory Banding Workshop
2526 Florence Lake Road
Victoria, BC
V9B 4H1

Please include your contact information, mailing address, e-mail address and phone number. Upon receiving deposit, students will receive a receipt, pre-course reading material and course information.

For more information contact:
Paul Levesque at: tuff-puffin@shaw.ca or (250) 995-1404

Date submitted: Thursday, January 08 at 09:18 PM
Name: Rod Mitchell Per David Allinson
News Article:
Hi gang,
Thought you would all find these two recoveries of "our" birds of interest:

1581-62275 BHCO
ahy female banded 481-1232 August 3, 2001 recovered 482-1233 May 25, 2002 found dead (band removed)
[By coordinates, this is just north and west of RPBO in Metchosin!]

1152-42137 SPTO
ahy male banded 481-1232 September 27, 2001 recovered ~Conway, WA (south of Mount Vernon) 482-1222 April 2002 killed by cat (band on bird)

Cheers,
David

Date submitted: Tuesday, January 06 at 12:16 AM
Name: Rod Mitchell
News Article:
David Allinson is returning to school full time and after 4 years as President of RPBO (10 years of heavy and founding involvment) he has found it difficult but imperative to resign as President. He will still be on the Board in a consultant role as Past President. David Kelly is taking over as President and will be assisted by Paul Levesque as Vice President until the AGM later this year. We are all very grateful to David for his intense and unrelenting work on behalf of RPBO. As David Kelly says he has been the heart of the organization. We all wish him unmitigated success in his new endeavours. We look forward to his continued connection with us and, while we are sad to see him leave the wheelhouse, we are happy he is charting a course that holds promise for the future.