Bird Banding Training, Spring 2009.

Greetings. March is close at hand on this chilly, gray February day. And March brings the opening of the 5th season of spring, passerine banding at First Landing State Park by CVWO.org and the re-awakening of this blog. Do not be misled! It will be chilly and gray on more than a few March days at the station. But spring will be in the air and birds will find the nets again.

Indeed, some winter passerine banding has been undertaken this year in the Park. A handful of new Brown-headed Nuthatches have been marked and a number of previously marked BHNU have been re-spotted in familiar settings. [More about that in an upcoming, first-annual project report.]

Fifteen swamp sparrows which are wintering in the Park have been target netted on territory using a two-panel net and a MP3 player. Of great interest are two recaptures of previously marked SWSP on November 26 and Decamber 9, 2008. The individuals were banded last spring at FLSP on March 31 and April 16, 2008, respectively, and not recaptured thereafter during the spring. As SWSP do not breed in FLSP, another returning winter resident can tentatively be added to the list.

This spring a basic bird banding training session will be held at FLSP for the first time. Participation in the training session is limited to ten participants. A preference will be given to current college students and recent graduates demonstrating an interest in bird research. A notice of the session may be found here: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhcd63wk_2f5bwsjd9

Finally, this season the station will open on March 1, rather than March 15, and close on May 31. Between March 1 and March 14 the station will open on seven days only. After March 15th the station will be open daily, weather permitting, 30 minutes before sunrise for six to eight hours each day. It is thought that the March 1 to March 14 opening on selected fair weather days will allow allow us to capture greater numbers of wintering passerines, such as American Robin, Eastern Towhee, Fox Sparrow, Hermit Thrush and Yellow-rumped Warblers, before they depart from the Park on their north-bound migration.

Spring Migration is Winding Down; Summer is Here.

The push is over. Chickadees and Pine Warblers and Brown-headed Nuthatches have fledged their young. The Blackpoll Warblers have passed through on their journey to the boreal forest. And a lone Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow, as photographed by Brian Taber last Sunday, sang in a sea of salt marsh south of the station. Renee, John, Sheila, Terry and I enjoyed the fair weather of the Memorial Day weekend, but banded fewer than twenty birds over the three days. 2008 has been a fine season. Here is the tally with one week remaining: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pFpBjD7qHqD3d1D5fM3ZIdg

Three Sparrows and the Lynnhaven Estuary.

As the 2008 spring season begins to wind down, one thing has become apparent. Three, rare and declining sparrows rely on the Lynnhaven estuary as a migratory stopover haven. On April 8th two new nets were established in the small, protected salt marsh along the tidal creek leading to White Lake upstream of the footbridge. On May 2d two more nets were set in the marsh along the opposite side of the tidal creek. These nets were placed in the marsh as far as possible away from the shrubs and trees of the uplands.

The nets immediately began to capture a number of migrating Marsh Wrens, 23 to date. Thereafter, Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow and (pictured above) Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow have been banded, 16 in total so far. Five Nelson's found the nets in the last week and they were each very fresh and bright having just completed their unusual spring molt. Today the marsh was quiet, but more will likely arrive before the season is over. This spring's captures, together with salt marsh sparrow observations of last fall, have led me to believe that the Lynnhaven estuary is an important link in the migratory route of the these three sparrows along the Atlantic coast.

Outside of First Landing State Park the coastal wetlands of the Lynnhaven estuary are widely disturbed and fragmented. And there are many pending applications and plans to alter and fill more wetlands within the estuary. Many find a need to alter the estuary's landscape to fit their requirements.

The Nelson's and other wetland birds are also facing another insidious threat to their existence-methyl mercury contamination. To read about this issue, go to: http://www.briloon.org/science-and-conservation/centers/mercury-toxin.php

An Intergrade and a Variant.

This season the nets have provided two unusual, perhaps rare for southeastern Virginia, examples of two bird species. In March the intergrade Northern Flicker pictured above was captured. The Red-shafted Northern Flicker of the west and the Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker of the east interbreed broadly over the central regions of North America. Outside of that area individuals showing mixed traits are known as intergrades. To read more about this example of wandering genes, look at: http://http//www.umd.umich.edu/dept/rouge_river/nofl.pdf

Last weekend an after-second-year Scarlet Tanager variant was netted. The individual displayed a wing bar of red median coverts. It was the third Scarlet Tanager of 2008 and only the fourth since the station opened in 2005.

Another Big Week.

Rain, wind and extreme high water kept the station closed for two full days last week. Nevertheless, the species list has reached 82 for the season. Further, the numbers of new birds banded in 2008 exceede one thousand. Check out the week of May 10 to 16 at: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pFpBjD7qHqD3d1D5fM3ZIdg

Special thanks to the volunteers who have assisted at the station in recent weeks, including Kathy, Jenny, Terry, Sheila, Renee and John. Finally, the many adults and children who have visited the station and enjoyed the migrants as they pass through the park have made this spring most enjoyable.

Are you able to identify the birds above? The bottom bird is impossible as you cannot hear its song nor measure it. It is an Alder Flycatcher.

Views of the Station.

Several readers have asked what the banding station at FLSP looks like. Here is an assortment of images, including one showing this morning's high water. The banding takes place under the blue tarp. One may also get a bird's eye perspective of the station by entering its latitude and longitude into Google Earth. The lat/long may be found in the heading at the top of the blog.

Week Summary: May 3rd to 9th.

Last week was a good week. Catbirds and Common Yellowthroats were abundant and new species for the year continued to arrive. Including a Bicknell's Thrush on May 10, the species count stands at 75 for the season. The near-term weather pattern does not look favorable (today was a blow-out and the water heights in the Lynnhaven estuary this morning are very high. But such is not unusual for a mid-Atlantic spring. Click here to see the summary: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pFpBjD7qHqD3d1D5fM3ZIdg