Chatfield Banding Station - BIrd Conservancy of the Rockies 5/23/25

[meredith]

Well, this is shaping up to be an unusual year.  The first 2+ weeks may have been our lowest start ever.  This week has been good, and today we had our biggest day since before Covid (and our wildly big year of 2019), with 57 new birds, 3 returns, and 12 recaps.  As of today, we have caught more Gray Catbirds than in any previous season - 94, beating the previous high of 93 in 2017. It still appears that our numbers of birds that are migrating through may be below average, but our summer residents may be doing okay.  One week and a day to go!

Here's today's breakdown of the 60 caught for the first time this year:

Willow Flycatcher 1

Dusky Flycatcher 1

Red-eyed Vireo 1 (FOS - these guys have been singing for a week or more, and we finally caught 1; hoping for more, including those we banded last year)

Black-capped Chickadee 1

Northern House Wren 3

Swainson's Thrush 4

Gray Catbird 16 new,  2 returns (1 banded 2021, 1 in 2023)

Yellow Warbler 9

American Redstart 2

Common Yellowthroat 4

Wilson's Warbler 2

Yellow-breasted Chat 4 new, 1 return (banded 2024)

Spotted Towhee 1

Brewer's Sparrow 1

Song Sparrow 2

Lincoln's Sparrow 2

White-crowned Sparrow, Mountain 2

Lesser Goldfinch 1

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

Chatfield Bander

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies