Chico Basin Ranch- Bird Conservancy of the Rockies- 9/12/2025

[Chicobander]

A very interesting day played out. Light east winds and it appeared that some of the birds had backtracked to Chico after leaving a week ago. An Orange-crowned Warbler that was banded 9 days ago was recaptured today; and it had gained a couple grams since first being banded. That is phenomenal weight gain and it should be flying south if the northerly winds would present themselves. The other two recaptures Wilson's Warbler gained .8 g in 4 days and the Orange-crowned maintained its weight from Monday (3 days ago). 

The banding was remarkably better than the last couple days. Thirteen bird species for the day and a handsome Red-naped Sapsucker was first for the year. 

48 New Banded Birds

Wilson's Warbler- 12

Orange-crowned Warbler- 12

Townsend's Warbler- 1

Western Flycatcher- 1

Hammond's Flycatcher-1

House Finch- 5

American Goldfinch- 1

Lincoln's Sparrow- 7

Gambel's White-crowned Sparrow- 1

Green-tailed Towhee-3

Blue Grosbeak- 3

Yellow-breasted Chat- 1

Red-naped Sapsucker- 1

3 Recaptures

Wilson's Warbler- 1

Orange-crowned Warbler- 2

All the best for a good migration weekend for everyone. If wanting to bird or visit the ranch, please sign up on the Aiken Audubon website. www.aikenaudubon.com

Have a good weekend,

Julie Shieldcastle

Chico Basin Ranch Bird Bander

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies