Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Chico Basin Ranch Banding Update 9/9/2021

[Nancy Ransom]

We had a lot of birders try to stop by the station this morning in search of the Black-billed Cuckoo, but to no avail. 533+ birds were predicted to have migrated last night, so it may have moved on. Birdcast is predicting that these next few nights as a part of peak migration, so we should see more interesting birds trickling in. A Philidelphia Vireo was spotted both at the house and at Headquarters today! We caught one new species for the season: a Green-tailed Towhee! I had 54 captures today and can only expect my numbers to increase from here. Hope to see more of you tomorrow. 

Chico captures for 9/9: 

Wilson's Warbler 22 

Orange-crowned Warbler 14 

Western Wood-pewee 1

Chipping Sparrow 3

House Wren 1

Indigo Bunting 1 

Lincoln's Sparrow 7

Green-tailed Towhee 2

Yellow-breasted Chat 1

Brown Thrasher 1 

Cordilleran Flycatcher 1 

Also a little fun fact about bird migration: Day length changes are the primary reason that birds begin to migrate they can navigate using celestial cues from the sun and stars, the earth's magnetic field, and mental maps (how cool!) 

We are open 6 days a week at Chico Basin Ranch (closed Sunday), usually returning from the first net run around 7am and staying open until about 11:30am, weather permitting. Thank you for your continued support!

Nancy Ransom

Bander, Chico Basin Ranch

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies