Chatfield Banding Station, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies 5-22-26

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Meredith McBurney

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May 22, 2026, 9:11:26 PM (21 hours ago) May 22

to Colorado Birds

We had our busiest day of this banding season, with 51 new captures and 3 returns from previous years. Cool, cloudy and windless for most of the morning, it was perfect for banding.

We caught 7 Western Tanagers, more than we've ever caught in a season.

We caught 4 Warbling Vireos, our first this season. Like Chico (and all of our stations) we are taking specific bill measurements to see if we can determine if we are getting Eastern and/or Westerns of this species that was recently split. All 4 of these were measured by 2 banders, and fell within the Western measurements.

Here's the breakdown:

Western Wood-pewee 3
Dusky Flycatcher 2
Warbling Vireo, measured as Western 4
Black-capped Chickadee 1, banded 2025
Northern House Wren 2
Swainson's Thrush 1
Hermit Thrush 1
Gray Catbird 2 new, 1 banded 2019 (a pretty old bird!)
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 10
American Redstart 1, banded 2025
MacGillivray's Warbler 5
Common Yellowthroat 3
Wilson's Warbler 3
Western Tanager 7
Lincoln's Sparrow 3
White-crowned Sparrow, Mountain 1
American Goldfinch 3

We are banding Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays) through May 31, weather permitting. There are opportunities for the public to visit on weekends and early mornings most weekdays. Reservations are required and can be made through the Denver Audubon website. (Many/most sessions are already sold out, so sign up now if you are interested!)