Chatfield Banding Station - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies 5/10/25

[meredith]

We were back into single digits today - banded 7 and caught 2 more that were banded in prior years by us:

Northern House Wren 2 new, 1 banded last year

Gray Catbird 2 new, 1 banded last year

Yellow Warbler 2

American Redstart 1 (only new species for season today)

(I probably should add that we also caught 8 birds that were banded earlier this season, all of which are likely to spend the summer at Chatfield, not migrate further.)

I'm enjoying the discussion about what is happening with birds.  I think about the long term, comprehensive studies and I also think about the annual snapshot provided by the banding station at which I'm working, what is continuing to happen and what is not, which of the many problems confronting birds seem to be better or worse in any particular year in the place I'm functioning.  

This year so far, we have watched species arriving on schedule (which is very good and a change from recent years), but not in "normal" numbers (which, of course, is not good).     

We are banding Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays) through May 31, weather permitting.  There are opportunities for the public to visit on weekends and occasional weekdays through the Denver Audubon website.  (Some days are already sold out, so sign up now if you are interested!)

Meredith McBurney

Bander

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies