Braddock Bay Bird Observatory Banding

Spring 2003 Banding Summary

The number of each species captured at the Kaiser-Manitou Beach banding station during each week of the spring migration season may be found on the Banding Table. Weekly summaries of the banding action are below...

Week of April 13
Week of April 20
Week of April 27
Week of May 4
Week of May 11
Week of May 18
Week of May 25
Week of June1

"Bird of the Season"
MacGillivray's Warbler, banded June 4, 2003. Photo by Laurie Zagmester.

Rain, cold, mud, and some amazing birds...

The eighteenth consecutive year of spring migration monitoring at the Kaiser-Manitou Beach banding station was carried out for 54 days beginning 13 April and continuing until 8 June 2003. There were 3,392 birds banded of 89 forms (see Banding Table). An additional 46 female and 34 male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were captured and released unbanded.

Banding was conducted by licensed banders David Bonter, Elizabeth Brooks, Jon Dombrowski, Mark Deutschlander, Erin Karnatz, Cindy Marino, Robert McKinney, David Semple, Sue Smith, and John Waud. Chief banding assistants were Jessie Barry, Anna Batchelder, Kelly Dockery, Luke Donius, Pat Lovallo, Anna Ludi, Brian McGrath, Doug Smith, and Charley Eiseman. Our special student assistant was Ryan Kayhart.

A total of 10,255 net hours of banding resulted in a capture rate of 33.08 birds/100 net-hours. The most active day was 7 May when 301 birds of 32 species were banded. The only other 200+ days were 1 May with 223 banded and 20 May with 231 banded. The greatest species diversity occurred on 22 May when 38 species were banded.

The ten most commonly banded species in spring 2003 are shown below, along with comparison numbers from 10 previous years.

The total number of birds banded (3,392) during spring 2003 was nearly identical to the average number of birds banded during spring migration monitoring at Braddock Bay (3,399). MacGillivray’s Warbler was a new species for the spring cumulative list which now stands at 136 forms.

Flycatchers … but no flickers

Birds banded in record high numbers were Least Flycatcher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Gray-cheeked/Bicknell’s Thrush, and Brown Thrasher. Missing species included Northern Flicker and Eastern Towhee (banded in 12 of the past 13years), Downy Woodpecker (10 of the past 13 years), and Red-breasted Nuthatch (nine of the past 13 years).

Local Recaptures

There were 637 recaptures of birds banded at the station. These birds were all measured and weighed again as part of ongoing studies in stopover ecology. There were 58 birds that returned from a previous season. One of the most interesting was a Tree Swallow (#2210-50388) banded at K-MB on 19 May 2000. Cindy Marino was banding adults and nestlings and discovered this female incubating young Tree Swallows on 10 June in a nest box being monitored by Chris Gates at Berger Park, off Hogan Point Road, in the town of Greece. Cindy had been present and had possibly banded this individual three years earlier. Other notable returns included a Northern Cardinal in its tenth year, Yellow Warblers in their seventh, eighth, and ninth years, and six-year-old Cardinals and Song Sparrows (two each).

Foreign Recoveries

A Common Yellowthroat (#2280-15646) banded at K-MB on 1 June 2002 was found dead in Savannah, NY on 6 June 2003. Savannah is approximately 56 miles ESE of Manitou Beach.

Education

Sandra Brennan, Virginia Duffy, Paul Fehringer, Coby Klein, Rodney Olsen, Mike Turisk, and Laurie Zagmester completed our Bander Training Course.

Informal banding demonstrations were conducted for several hundred visitors, and on 18 May we hosted an Open House for Genesee Land Trust. Students from the Diversified Occupations program at Hannaford Career Center in Middlebury, VT visited on May 6-7.

Highlights

The cold, wet weather made banding difficult and the net lanes a challenge for the second consecutive spring banding season! But there were many memorable moments which more than made up for the conditions. They included Cindy Marino’s banding of the beautiful male MacGillivray’s Warbler, only the second New York State record; the amazingly efficient 12 April set-up crew; the Fish Crow and the flock of five Sandhill Cranes; the Bobolink nets; international day with visiting Belgian ringers Lauren Leclercq and Vincent Bulteau and British ringers Jerry and John Willshe from the Rye Bay Ringing Group; our new kiosk panels from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Andy Farnsworth recording warbler vocalizations; Mark Deutschlander viewing birds in UV light; Mike Lanzone taking hundreds of digitals for a new book on ageing birds; Tali Greener filming the banding operation for a documentary series; Ryan Kayhart and his male Scarlet Tanager; the expert net-mending of Linda Boutwell; watching the waves with Delaney; visits from Sharon Dehn, Pat Bogan and Brian Swart; lunch and Bayberry bushes from Carol Southby; Ann Adams’ enthusiasm for hummingbirds; Coby’s Rough-winged Swallow; and the Memorial Garden ceremony.

Appreciation

Thanks to Ann Adams, Liz Barry, Linda Boutwell, Virginia Duffy, Judy Engerman, Tracy Ford, Marilyn Guenther, Judy Gurley, Meena Haribal, Donna Hilborn, John Lehr, Pat Lovallo, Janice Marsden, Chita McKinney, Shirley Meston, Bill Michalek, Loretta Morrell, Carolyn Marrocco, Pete Mulroy, Patti O’Kane, Debbie Reed, Sandy Shifley, Jeanne Skelly, Ruth Stork, Kathy Taddeo, and Barb Wagner. Special appreciation to Dick and Mary Beth O’Hara, Bob and Charlene Reed, David Frosini, and Doug Smith for providing housing to visiting banders, interns, and students. And, thanks to Bill Kaiser and the Board of the Genesee Land Trust for permission to work on their land.