Bird Conservancy of the Rockies - Chatfield Banding Station, 5/22/21

[Meredith McBurney]

I'm pleased to report that yesterday's "sort of normal day for spring banding" was not a fluke - it continued for at least one more day!  We caught 43 new birds (busiest day of the season) with about 3/4ths being Catbirds and Yellow Warblers, both summer residents/breeders.  (The YEWAs are very late, the GRCAs only slightly so.)

We also enjoyed the capture of an adult male Cooper's Hawk, who moved in briefly to terrorize our songbirds and instead got a band.

Here's the breakdown of today's birds:

Cooper's Hawk 1

House Wren 2

Swainson's Thrush 2

Gray Catbird 13

Yellow Warbler 16 new, 1 banded 2018, 1 banded 2019

Wilson's Warbler 1

Yellow-breasted Chat 2

Lincoln's Sparrow 1

Bullock's Oriole 1

American Goldfinch 2

We are open six days per week (closed Tuesdays) through May 30, weather permitting.  While some COVID related restrictions remain in place there are opportunities most mornings for the public to visit, but reservations are required. Visit https://denveraudubon.org/events/ for more information and to sign-up.  Because each hour-long session is limited to 10 people, we anticipate selling out most mornings, so register soon if you are interested.

Meredith McBurney

Bander, Chatfield Station
Bird Conservancy of the Rockies