And the winds bring birds...

It was another beautiful morning at River Point.  Cool morning temperatures and clear skies brought a swath of birds to the property. We enjoyed banding a suite of sparrows including Lincoln's (2), Swamp (6), White-throated (6), and Song (8 plus 2 already banded). One highlight was a Brown Thrasher, only our 8th at the station but our second of the season.

We also shared our work with students of the Chebeague Island School. What a flock of interested and capable young people. It was a true pleasure to meet the students, teachers, and chaperones. Thanks to Beverly Johnson for coordinating this visit. The nets did not produce a kinglet but they did produce a timely male Sharp-shinned Hawk, our third of the season but the first male.

Brown Thrasher, 9/25/2015, Photo by Dana Palm

More tomorrow, I guess.  Oh and here is the tally of the 84 birds in the nets for the day thanks to Stella Walsh:

2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets

1 Magnolia Warbler

1 Blackpoll Warbler

5 Common Yellowthroats

2 American Goldfinch

17 Black-capped Chickadees (many already banded)

1 Dark-eyed junco

6 Swamp Sparrows

2 Lincoln's Sparrows

6 White-throated Sparrow

10 Song Sparrows

2 Red-eyed Vireos

11 Swainson's Thrushes

1 Veery

13 Gray Catbirds

1Brown Thrasher

1 Sharp-Shinned Hawk

1 White-breasted Nuthatch

2 Downy Woodpeckers

We were all third graders once

Tomorrow we look forward to hosting a group of elementary students from Chebeague Island, Maine at River Point Bird Observatory. As a banding crew we always find a great deal of enjoyment in sharing our activities and observations with guests even if things can get a bit hectic at the banding station. Among our favorite guests are third graders. Third graders generate some amazing questions about the birds that we are examining at the station. They also possess a growing competence and raw curiosity that serves as a great reminder of what it is to be a human.

With a cold front passing through this evening we hope for a good diversity of birds to share with students so they can form these questions, experience new birds, and develop a passion for the natural world. Tonight we'll brush up to be ready for the tough questions and reflect on our own third grade experiences. If all goes well perhaps we can show them the kinglet of the birds.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 

Three Flickers, Two Days, One Migration

Three Flickers, Two Days, One Migration

This past Tuesday and Wednesday (9/22 and 9/23) were busy banding days at River Point as Fall migration continues to bring many wonderful birds our way. White-throated Sparrow, Swainson's Thrush, Red-eyed Vireo, and many varieties of warblers were among the species we are now beginning to see at River Point. To our surprise, it was the northern flicker, which attempted to steal the spotlight from the fall arrivals. In two days, three Yellow-shafted Flickers managed to find their way into our nets. Having banded 15 individuals in the last 5 years at River Point, seeing three in two days is representative of the big push that many species are making this time of year. We look forward to seeing what is in the nets tomorrow!

                                                     

Note the black "mustache" or "malar streak" indicating that this flicker is a male!

Photographs and post by Drew Fortin, 2015 BRI Banding and Education Intern.

Tree Swallow Nest Monitoring (22 May 2015)

River Point Conservation Area

Southern Maine Nest Box Trail

22 May 2015

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Well, we are well into a new season of nest box surveys. Tree Swallows were first seen at River Point during the first week of April. It has taken several weeks for the birds to settle in to their nesting phase. On May 9^th we provided the birds feathers by tossing them into the air in the open field.  This activity was a shared demonstration during our celebration of International Migratory Bird Day and indicated that the birds were preparing their nests. So we scheduled our first nest box check of the season for May 13. 

Wednesday, 5/13

This is our first nest box check of the season. Tree swallows and house wrens were both actively building nests, but neither had begun to lay eggs. However, one nest box contained an eastern bluebird nest with 4 eggs and a female bluebird on the nest.

Monday, 5/18

We found increased activity in our nest boxes compared to just a few days ago. In all, 18 nest boxes had at least some nesting activity (most of them empty or incomplete nests)but  6 nests contained at least 1 egg, including 4 tree swallow nests with 1 egg each, 1 house wren nest with 3 eggs, and the bluebird nest with 4 eggs (for a total of 11 eggs so far). We also had the opportunity to show a student group from Chebeague Island one of the fields with nest boxes and explain our nest box monitoring project. We set up a spotting scope so that students could observe the many tree swallows on the boxes and flying in the area.

Many thanks to River Point interns Stefanie Farrington, Erin Wright-Little, and Drew Fortin for there enthusiasm toward this project and all the work at River Point.

Biology stops for no man! Writing it all down would be impossible.