Barr Banding Station Update, 9/20/15

[meredith]

A slow banding day, with only 27 new birds. It appears the big waves of Wilson's Warblers have passed through (we've banded approximately 550 in a little over 3 weeks - the highest number since 2006); it is not yet clear whether there will be a lot of Yellow-rumpeds (our numbers range from about 2 to 75 in any year); sparrow species started early but are still relatively low in numbers.  A bigger issue today may have been the presence of hawks hanging around looking for breakfast - a Red-tailed was spotted early in the morning and then a Cooper's. The hawks, unfortunately, managed to avoid getting caught in the nets while searching for a meal.  Here's a breakdown of the 27 new birds:

Eurasian Collared-dove 1

Black-capped Chickadee 1

Cassin's Vireo 1

House Wren 4

Hermit Thrush 1

Gray Catbird 1

Orange-crowned Warbler 1

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Audubon's 2

Common Yellowthroat 1

Wilson's Warbler 7

White-crowned Sparrow, Gambel's 3

Green-tailed Towhee 3

Dark-eyed Junco, Pink-sided 1

We are open 6 days per week, weather permitting, through Sunday, October 11. This week we will be closed Wednesday (9/23). We are opening nets at 6:30, and will run until noon or whenever it gets too hot or too windy or too whatever. School groups arrive about 9:30 a.m. most weekdays.

Meredith McBurney
Biologist/Bander
Barr Lake Banding Station
Bird Conservancy of the Rockies