Bird Conservancy of the Rockies - Barr Lake Banding Station 9/16/25

[meredith]

In keeping with the somewhat strangeness of this season, we caught 31 birds today, 27 of them in the first 1 1/2 hours of our 5 hour session, 25 of them Wilson's Warblers.  We joked that the Tuesday Birders brought us good luck, since they were there for that early morning influx.  Here's the breakdown:

Northern House Wren 1

Orange-crowned Warbler 3

Wilson's Warbler 25

Lincoln's Sparrow 1

White-crowned Sparrow, Gambel's 1 (FOS, right on schedule)

I did a quick review of this year compared to last year at this time (the only 2 years at the current temporary banding location), and we have caught about half as many this year as last.  The biggest contributor to the decline is WIWAs (no surprise there; it is our most commonly caught species and it would be hard for us to be this far behind if WIWAs were at normal numbers).  But other relatively commonly caught species are also behind - House Wrens, Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Song Sparrows.

P.S.  I neglected to report on Sunday, 9/14 - We closed after about 90 minutes of intermittent drizzle and wind, after catching 2 Common Yellowthroats.

Come visit!  Our visitor hours: Weekends we are running 3 sessions, at 8, 9, and 10 a.m.  Most weekdays (Tues through Fri) there is a 7:30 to 8:30 session.   These are small group sessions (15 or fewer visitors), and a great way to learn more about the species that move through the front range in the fall.  There is a $7 fee and registration is required - click here to register.

Meredith McBurney

Bander - Barr Lake Banding Station

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies