Sep. 28: Season Finale 2023 – A day late and five short

After five nights of watching the wind hold its supreme sway over the valley, Jim Sims and I were able to head out for our eighth session of the 2023 owling season. It would be a successful affair as during the three-hour period we would band six new owls as well as recapturing two which we had first banded on September 20^th. The sixth and final owl of the night (pictured above and on the right) was a bit of a big deal for it marked our 63^rd individual banded of this season which breaks the previous regular season record of 62 set back in 2019! For those data enthusiasts out there this season we are averaging eight owls per night which is well above our long-term average (2012-22) of three. With three more nights left in September we are hopeful that we will be able to get out at least twice more to further build on what has turned out to be an outstanding breeding season for Northern Saw-whet Owls.

After such an exciting day yesterday, we awoke with hope of applying yet more bands to many beautiful songbirds. Alas, the weather had it in for us for we would battle bouts of drizzle and rain which hampered netting leaving us with only a handsome hatch-year male Varied Thrush, our fifth of the season, as a reward for our efforts.

Good things come to those who wait: Varied Thrush

As can often be the case with poor weather days lots of birds were on the move. Yellow-rumped Warblers enjoyed their highest count of the season with 630 detected over the four hours. Roughly 60% of these were of the Myrtle subspecies whilst Audubon’s comprised 20% with the final 20% comprised of butterbutts that we were unable to identify to subspecies. The other species out in force was Oregon Dark-eyed Juncos with a season high of 200. The highlight of the day came on two separate occasions with the first as I was crossing a rather silent south field on census. Two birds flushed ahead of me uttering “tew-tew-tew” calls followed by a metallic “rattle” announcing themselves as our third and fourth detection of the oft overlooked but beautiful species Lapland Longspur. Later on, as I entered data to the accompaniment of the pouring rain on our metal roof both Sachi’s ears perked up to yet another series of calls from the third Lapland Longspur of the morning and fifth detection of the season as it flew out over the north field.

Sachi and Gabe making the best of the miserable weather

To see our eBird checklist for today, please visit: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150947755

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Species	Band	Recap
Varied Thrush	1	0

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Daily		Season
Birds Banded	1	Total Banded	898
Species Banded	1	Standard Banded	881
Birds Recapped	0	Species Banded	53
Species Recapped	0	Total Recapped	165
Species on Census	30	Species Recapped	17
Species Recorded	37	Species Recorded	143

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2023 Season Summary

It is yet again my pleasure to relay to you a somewhat abbreviated overview of the TLBO’s 17^th season of migration monitoring. This is my second season at the reins and much to our collective joy Sachi (Sachiko) elected to join yours truly for a second season at the TLBO. Avery Bartels was again our program manager and thus the wizard behind the scenes.  Lastly, the TLBO continues to be successfully run by the TFSS which has secured the program’s success and survival into the future.

Banding

After a stellar first two weeks to the season our banding numbers began to drop and by the month’s end our total of 657 birds banded was the fourth lowest on record ahead of 2020 (588), 2017 (534), and 2022 (511). Much to our dismay September would not be an improvement as we would go on to break 2022’s record low of 374 with 224 new birds banded. This is significantly lower than the 16-season average of 753 birds banded over the course of the month. Numbers however can be misleading without context as during the month of September we would only achieve 56% of our netting effort compared to 83% in August. This is due to poor weather which came in the form of eight sub-zero starts, which delayed us in opening our nets, paired with a month full of unpredictable strong winds which forced us to close down our nets early on many occasions. Needless to say, it is a prerequisite to have your nets open in order to capture and band birds and in a valley that can already be marginal at the best of times with respect to weather this September was extra challenging. The season would end with 881 birds banded by standard means with a further 17 birds banded via our non-standard nets (Hawk nets, Pipit fence and extra passerine nets). This is the lowest total on record behind last season’s 885 birds banded if only by a thin margin.

Figure 1. Birds banded per day versus the 16 season average

Looking at species totals from our banding efforts paints a rather mixed picture. Swainson’s Thrush yet again dominated our banding chart, breaking the previous single season record of 253 (2018) with 255 banded. Lower elevation thrush species appeared to have done well overall, as we banded 25 American Robins which is over double their average of 12 and the third highest total. We never band Varied Thrush in numbers but our five banded this season tied the previous record set in 2017. Grassland breeders, namely Chipping and Vesper Sparrow set new single season records with 52 and 14 banded respectively, which is astronomically higher than their long-term average of four apiece. Four species had their second lowest seasons on record: American Redstart (29), Common Yellowthroat (39), Warbling Vireo (55), and Song Sparrow (62). Orange-crowned Warbler (15), Wilson’s Warbler (19), Yellow Warbler (23) and Lincoln’s Sparrow (31) set new all-time lows for numbers banded. Lincoln’s Sparrow and Common Yellowthroat share a preference for wet meadows and grassy and or shrubby areas for breeding and have seen a stark decline in our banding and daily estimated totals since 2020. Though these numbers may seem dire it is important to remember that this year the entire province of British Columbia has been experiencing a massive drought whilst last season there was a very prolonged cool wet spring and summer. It would appear that both of these weather regimes were not ideal conditions for many of the species with lower totals mentioned above. Further, all species do experience annual fluctuations which are the result of food availability and conditions in their preferred breeding habitat, so the best that we can do is wait and see what next season brings.

Figure 2. Banding Timeline by Season

Every season has banding highlights with the top being the TLBO’s first banding of our station’s emblem bird, a Clark’s Nutcracker! We would add a second species to the station’s banding list with our first banding record of a European Starling. Other highlights included two Steller’s Jays, two Belted Kingfishers, two American Pipits (including our first captured by standard means), a Brown-headed Cowbird, Wilson’s Snipe, Nashville Warbler and our first Lazuli Bunting since 2020.

A rare glimpse of the underwing of a Clark’s Nutcracker

Of the 165 birds that we recaptured this season some had some interesting stories to tell. Of these we had a Swainson’s Thrush, Song Sparrow and Yellow Warbler who were all first banded in 2019 and are each at least six years old. Next a Black-capped Chickadee (2018) and two Swainson’s Thrush (2018 and 2019) who are all seven years old at minimum. Finally, the oldest inter-annual bird that we recaptured was a Swainson’s Thrush who we first banded in 2017, which makes this bird at least eight years old!

The TLBO’s first banding of a European Starling

Observations and Estimated Totals

Now to shift gears to the side of our monitoring that doesn’t often receive as much attention as it should. A vastly reduced netting effort gave us more time to devote to observations as we would log a total of 17,205 detections of individual birds during the course of the month of September which is a significant increase on August’s total of 10,787 for a season total of 27,992! This is the second highest total both for the month of September and for the season, behind 2020 which ended with 28,196 detections. As is often the case this was helped by nearly record numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers with 6,453 which is second to, you guessed it, 2020’s total of 7,538. This season also has the distinguished pleasure of tying 2021 for the second highest species count at 143 behind 2019’s record 149.  

Table 1. Top 10 species detected in 2023 versus the 16 season average

Species	DET	Avg 06-22
Yellow-rumped Warbler	6453	3284
American Crow	3292	1199
American Pipit	1388	535
Oregon Junco	1161	416
American Robin	945	726
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	922	819
White-crowned Sparrow	901	243
Song Sparrow	726	807
Savannah Sparrow	716	490
Chipping Sparrow	698	355

As keen birders we arrive each August with the hope of adding new species to the station’s list. We would add three new species in 2023 all of which came as surprises albeit in different fashions. On the opening day I observed the TLBO’s first ever Trumpeter Swan in the lagoon. We later learned that this bird had arrived with a possible mate in the spring and never left as we would encounter the Swan on every day of the season. As to what happened to the possible mate, some things are best left a mystery. The next addition came on the 31^st of August while on census I was visited by the Cariboo’s second and the TLBO’s first record of a Pygmy Nuthatch! The third and final addition came on September 23^rd when three Black-billed Magpies were sighted in the north field as they were chased by a Merlin while foraging amidst a murder of American Crows.

Our dependable Trumpeter Swan

Other highlights included our second records of Baird’s Sandpiper, Say’s Phoebe, Black-headed Grosbeak and Prairie Falcon (detected thrice this season). We also would add to our record of Lesser Yellowlegs, as well as many species for which we have less than 20 records: namely, Northern Shrike, Eastern Kingbird, Blackpoll Warbler, Lapland Longspur, Magnolia Warbler, Red-necked Phalarope, Yellow-head Blackbird, and Black-backed Woodpecker.    

The TLBO’s second Say’s Phoebe

Other Projects and Collaborations

We are excited to again be collecting tail feather samples for the project led jointly by Birds Canada and the Canadian Wildlife Service which is investigating nutrients and contaminants of aerial insectivore and boreal breeding species.

A second project that we will be collecting samples for this season is led by Dr. Laura Grieneisen from UBCO which is investigating the microbiome of Northern Saw-whet Owls.  

Conclusion and Recognitions

That is the abbreviated version of the overview of the TLBO’s 17^th season of migration monitoring at our site in the majestic Tatlayoko Valley. A much more in depth and all-encompassing perspective in the form of the final report will be made available by early November under the “Migratory Bird Count” page of this site. Our owl banding season will continue to run until October 15^th, weather permitting, so stay tuned for periodic updates here as the season progresses.

The TLBO has the good fortune to be run by the Tatlayoko Field Station Society and operates on the property owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada and I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to both organizations. Avery Bartels continues to fill the role of the station manager and we would like acknowledge the countless hours that he spends behind the scenes to ensure that each season runs successfully.

The TLBO is funded by Canadian Wildlife Service, BC Gaming Grant, Otter Books, Avocet Tours, Jörg Fischer and Hannelore Ernst, Ruth and Charlie Travers, John Snively, and a variety of other private donors. We would like to extend our gratitude to everyone who has contributed this season. To find out more about how to donate to the TLBO, to arrange a visit to our owl banding session, or for any other questions please get in touch with us at tatlayokobirds@hotmail.com.

Being a small budget program, we are always open to accepting donations of all shapes and sizes and can guarantee that they will go to good use in the form of monitoring the populations of birds that move through the valley.

Thank you all for following along on our journey this season and we hope to meet you here again next August.

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Species	Band	Recap
Swainson’s Thrush	255	72
Song Sparrow	62	22
Warbling Vireo	55	4
Chipping Sparrow	52	2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	40	0
Northern Waterthrush	39	20
Common Yellowthroat	39	2
Lincoln’s Sparrow	31	5
Yellow-rumped Warbler	30	0
American Redstart	29	5
Savannah Sparrow	28	0
American Robin	25	6
Yellow Warbler	23	4
White-crowned Sparrow	22	0
Wilson’s Warbler	19	0
Cedar Waxwing	15	1
Orange-crowned Warbler	15	0
Dusky Flycatcher	14	5
Vesper Sparrow	14	1
MacGillivray’s Warbler	8	1
Golden-crowned Sparrow	7	0
Spotted Towhee	6	1
Sharp-shinned Hawk	5	0
Varied Thrush	5	0
Oregon Junco	5	0
Black-capped Chickadee	4	13
White-throated Sparrow	4	1
Willow Flycatcher	4	0
Red-eyed Vireo	4	0
Hermit Thrush	4	0
Alder Flycatcher	3	0
Hammond’s Flycatcher	3	0
Belted Kingfisher	2	0
Cassin’s Vireo	2	0
Steller’s Jay	2	0
Golden-crowned Kinglet	2	0
American Pipit	2	0
Townsend’s Warbler	2	0
Western Tanager	2	0
Northern Harrier	1	0
Wilson’s Snipe	1	0
Downy Woodpecker	1	0
Hairy Woodpecker	1	0
Pacific-slope Flycatcher	1	0
Least Flycatcher	1	0
Clark’s Nutcracker	1	0
Red-breasted Nuthatch	1	0
European Starling	1	0
Nashville Warbler	1	0
Fox Sparrow	1	0
Lazuli Bunting	1	0
Brown-headed Cowbird	1	0
Purple Finch	1	0
Traill’s Flycatcher	1	0

Season
Total Banded	898
Standard Banded	881
Species Banded	53
Total Recapped	165
Species Recapped	17
Species Recorded	143
Total Detections	27,992

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Sept. 27: Long Day’s Journey Into Calm Weather

This morning we woke up to something incredible: the sound of silence! For the first time in recent memory, there was no wind! – or as near as made no difference. Cautiously, we peered through the windows at the tips of the young aspens outside, searching for signs of movement; we poked our heads out of doors and marvelled. At the banding station, the leaves were being stirred by a modest north wind, but by mid-morning the air was as still and as calm as could be wished for. By the time we closed a few mist-nets were beginning to billow, but by then we had accrued a whole 71.5 net-hours, just half an hour shy of the maximum number possible. The last time we were able to have the nets open for as long was September 6^th: in between then and now, we have been unceasingly plagued by a combination of below-zero temperatures and gusting winds. With this being the second to last day of migration monitoring, now was our time to make hay while the sun shone! (Metaphorically speaking – the day was quite overcast.)

Two of the crowned heads of TLBO: Ruby-crowned Kinglet (left) & Orange-crowned Warbler (right)

Much to our delight, the birds obliged! Right from the get-go, Yellow-rumped Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were leaping into the nets left and right. With every round we made, we found more of them waiting patiently for us, watching with bright eyes as we extracted their compatriots. The numbers ebbed and flowed throughout the morning, with busy net runs often followed by slower ones, so that we were never overwhelmed and instead could enjoy a steady banding pace. Most of the birds banded were the usual late-fall suspects (Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and White-crowned Sparrows), but there were also more than a few surprises salted in among them. We banded our fourth Varied Thrush of the season and the 255^th (!) Swainson’s Thrush, plus a single Hermit Thrush. The warbler diversity was wonderful, and included a couple of species that we thought we had seen the last of. A Townsend’s Warbler was observed and three Orange-crowned Warblers were banded (including one belonging to the brightly-coloured Lutescens subspecies), along with a Wilson’s Warbler and a late-season MacGillivray’s Warbler, 11 days after the last one we had observed. And, after I was pleasantly surprised to spot one on census, we captured and banded a Warbling Vireo! 2023’s banding total for this species is greatly below the average, so it was nice to be able to add one more before the season’s end. Many of the birds we banded had good amounts of fat on them, a heartening sign that they were in prime condition to make the long migratory flights required of them.

Two late-season surprises: MacGillivray’s Warbler (left) & Warbling Vireo (right)

On census, the Warbling Vireo that I spotted amid the shrubbery on the outskirts of the south field was accompanied by good numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers of the Myrtle subspecies, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, who converged on the branches above me and took turns darting closer while they discussed the situation among themselves. As today would be my last census of the year, I was happy to be able to make my farewells to Donald the Trumpeter Swan, still presiding over the lagoon, which was crowded with a flock of over thirty American Wigeon. Along the road, Golden-crowned Sparrows outnumbered the White-crowned variety for the first time this fall.

With so much going on at the banding station there was little time available for trips to the oxbow or exploratory forays among the Firs. We greatly appreciated it when a group of twenty Mountain Bluebirds very thoughtfully perched on the fence just in front of the banding station so that we could count them properly! They soon fled ahead of the sharp-edged shape of a hunting Merlin, who shot past and then returned a minute later more slowly, carrying some unfortunate soul whose destiny it was to end up as lunch.

Two Yellow-rumped Warbler subspecies, showing off: Audubon’s (left) & Myrtle (right)

We ended the morning with a total of 49 birds banded of 12 species. The last time we banded over thirty birds was on August 20^th, when we banded 45. Our banding activity has been so reduced of late that we were convinced that 2023 would end up beating last year as the slowest season on record, but now our fate seems less certain – especially as the forecast for tomorrow, our last day of migration monitoring, seems to promise another calm day…

Gabe & Sachi, hard at work!

To see our eBird list for today, please visit: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150892946, and tune in tomorrow for Sachi’s summary of the 2023 migration monitoring season. This will be my last blog post of 2023, so I would like to thank you all for reading along, and for your wonderful comments and questions! I would also like to say a fond farewell… to my faithful hiking shoes which, after one trip around the net-loop too many, finally exploded. They will be missed!

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Species	Band	Recap
Yellow-rumped Warbler	16
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	15
Song Sparrow	4
White-crowned Sparrow	4
Orange-crowned Warbler	3
Warbling Vireo	1
Golden-crowned Kinglet	1
Hermit Thrush	1
Swainson’s Thrush	1
Varied Thrush	1
MacGillivray’s Warbler	1
Wilson’s Warbler	1
Black-capped Chickadee		2

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Daily		Season
Birds Banded	49	Total Banded	897
Species Banded	12	Standard Banded	880
Birds Recapped	2	Species Banded	53
Species Recapped	1	Total Recapped	166
Species on Census	24	Species Recapped	17
Species Recorded	43	Species Recorded	143

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Sep. 26: Southerly at night, Bander’s Delight. Southerly at morning, Bander’s Warning.

Looking west from the first viewpoint along the Northern Potato Mountain trail

With a shorter day yesterday Gabe and I decided to take a late season jaunt up Potato Mountain to do some birding and iNating. It was a delightful walk up to the top where there is a lovely little lake on which awaited two Hooded Mergansers and a Green-winged Teal. Birds were moving through in numbers as a continuous flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers (of both subspecies) accompanied by Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Dark-eyed Juncos worked their way westward along the southern treeline. Golden-crowned Kinglets and Mountain Chickadees were plentiful as they called out to us all along the trail. Despite taking pictures of various plants for iNaturalist I nearly forgot to take a photo for this post (see above).

The savage southerly that has kept our banding totals in check for a few days now blew through the night and was still wantonly throwing aspen leaves about when we set out for the station this morning. We would only be able to open a single net (net 15) which after two and a half hours we were forced to close without capturing a single bird.

One constant this season: The Trumpeter Swan in the lagoon

American Pipits were the species of the day as flock after flock would wheel, call and land in the north field before being spooked by something only they could sense, prompting them to fly off southwards over our heads and out of sight. Sometimes mere moments and at other times minutes later, another flock would arrive and perform a variation of the same spectacle. We would end the morning with a new station high count for this species, smashing the previous record of 158 (2018), with an estimated total of 280 individual pipits during the four hours that we operated!

An inpromtu Quiz: Can you identify this bird?

Yellow-rumped Warblers, mainly the Myrtle subspecies, were again on the move as we would log 267 butterbutts for a current season total of 5,582 detections! With two more days to go we have already secured the second highest season total for this species behind 2020’s record of 7,538. That year on the 25^th of September we set a new single day record with 2,187 butterbutts in four and a half hours of observation! The beautiful resident Golden-crowned Kinglets were out in force for the first time this season with 29 individuals detected as they would announce themselves with their high-pitched and gently pleasing calls from the shrubbery whilst foraging for micromoths alongside their migratory cousins the Ruby-crowned Kinglets. While on census I stopped to comb through one such flock and was pleasantly surprised to find the bright yellows of a Townsend’s Warbler amidst the otherwise tarnished golden hues of the court.

A stealthy Townsend’s Warbler amidst the cackling court

With only two more days left in our songbird monitoring season we hope that the forecast for an overall calming of the winds overnight is indeed correct. Stay tuned for Sachi’s final blog post of 2023 tomorrow which will be followed by a much more in-depth and information-rich “Season Finale” post by yours truly on the 28^th. With any luck we will be able to squeeze some more owling nights between now and then.

Tatlayoko Lake in its feral state

To see our eBird list for the day, please visit: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150819070

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(There was no bird banding today due to high winds)

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Daily		Season
Birds Banded	0	Total Banded	848
Species Banded	0	Standard Banded	834
Birds Recapped	0	Species Banded	53
Species Recapped	0	Total Recapped	164
Species on Census	21	Species Recapped	17
Species Recorded	34	Species Recorded	143

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Sept. 25: Duck, Duck, Swan

The warm temperatures this morning came as a pleasant surprise after yesterday’s frigid start, and for a change there was only a moderate wind blowing. With many sparrows, American Robins and Varied Thrushes foraging along the net loop, and low-flying Yellow-rumped Warblers chipping at us from the shrubbery, we were hopeful that we would be able to capture some birds – and indeed we did! A young male Sharp-shinned Hawk chased a Yellow Warbler into a net, where both were extracted, banded, and released in good condition. Another mist-net scooped up examples of all three of the Yellow-rumped Warbler subspecies that we get at TLBO: Audubon’s, Myrtle, and then an Unidentified Yellow-rumped Warbler that showed no clear identifying characteristics either way.

Our Unidentified Yellow-rumped Warbler, showing some unusual ‘frosted’ plumage colouration

The net run just before census was our most productive, but alas! Even as we were still busy banding the birds we had captured, the previously moderate north wind switched to a gusting southerly, which had been foretold by the audibly crashing waves out on the lake. As I proceeded down the portion of the net loop that overlaps with the census trail, I passed by the furled mist-nets that Sachi and Gabe had been obliged to close. While it was unfortunate that we couldn’t get more net-hours in, it was far from unexpected: between below-zero starts and strong winds, the last time that any of our nets were open for a full 6 hrs was on September 20th.

Yellow Warbler

The busy flocks of birds that had welcomed us on opening had mostly moved on, but there were still small numbers of White- and Golden-crowned Sparrows moving about in the undergrowth. Ruby- and Golden-crowned Kinglets called here and there from the willows, making this a very regal day! In the south field, a Northern Harrier was out searching for a meal as a Red-tailed Hawk flew by in the distance and disappeared into the conifers before I could see if it was one of the dark morphs that we had seen the other day. It was a nice change of pace to see several species of ducks in the lagoon, though perhaps owing to the high winds they seemed to find it hard to settle: a large flock of American Wigeon accompanied by a single Green-winged Teal rose and circled the lagoon and the back ponds several times, and were still testing out places to rest when I walked by again at the end of census. A similarily indecisive Ring-necked Duck began to fly out over the lake while I was standing on the beach, but then changed its mind and turned around to fly north again. And as I was watching the American Wigeons, a group of four ducks splashed down right in front of them, flashing the blue scapular feathers from which they get their name of Blue-winged Teal. It was a delight to watch them paddling about under the Trumpeter Swan’s watchful gaze, though they too rose and circled a couple of times before ultimately settling.

An autumnal view of the banding station

As is usual, on my way back to the banding station I radioed Sachi to ask how the nets were doing, and got back the response: ‘What nets?’ While I was gone, the south wind increased in strength to the point where Sachi and Gabe had just closed the final, most sheltered one. With no nets to check we walked the net loop, searched the oxbow, and ambled through the Firs without finding much more than a handful of White-crowned and Savannah Sparrows and a single Mountain Chickadee, before deciding to make an early day of it and return home.

Current volunteer Gabe with today’s Sharp-shinned Hawk!

To see our eBird list for the day, please visit: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150753007.

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Species	Band	Recap
Yellow-rumped Warbler	4
Golden-crowned Sparrow	2
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1
Yellow Warbler	1
Savannah Sparrow	1
Oregon Junco	1
White-crowned Sparrow	1
Black-capped Chickadee		1

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Daily		Season
Birds Banded	11	Total Banded	848
Species Banded	7	Standard Banded	834
Birds Recapped	1	Species Banded	53
Species Recapped	1	Total Recapped	164
Species on Census	24	Species Recapped	17
Species Recorded	39	Species Recorded	143

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Sep. 24: A Continued Windy Streak

This morning was our eighth sub-zero start of the season which prompted me to wonder if this is more than usual? After digging through 16 season’s worth of weather data, and some associated regret at my mid-afternoon impulse, I had what I needed. Interestingly, the first three seasons (2006, 2007, and 2008) were the coldest with 18, nine, and nine mornings that started in the negatives respectively. Since then (2009-2022) we have averaged 2.4 days a season where the temperature at opening was below zero with a high of six days in 2012 and two seasons (2011 and 2019) where not a single day dipped below the zero mark. There are a few variables to consider, one of which is late starts due to weather which could skew these data while the other is the construction of the banding lab structure. The lack of a proper structure and instead a table under a tarp or awning (which is how the TLBO began) could account for so many frigid starting temps in the first three seasons. Anyhow, I admit that I digress for if you omit the first three season’s temperature data, 2023 is indeed the top season for freezing start times!

The beautiful banding lab in the afternoon sun

With that ignoble title under our belt the beginning of banding was once again delayed due to the frigid temperature and after only an hour and a half with most of our nets open the ferocious southerly that has been hounding us for the better part of the past 10 days arrived, forcing us to close all but our most sheltered nets. Those would fall one by one as the sun moved in the sky marking the passing time. Though brief we did have our best day in the past four as we captured and banded five new birds along with three recaptures. Almost all of these birds came on a single net round with a lonely Common Yellowthroat the only exception. Amidst our catch was some variety with two Ruby-crowned Kinglets who have now tied American Robin for the 10^th spot on this season’s banding chart with 25 apiece. The others included, our 58^th Song Sparrow (2^nd place), 31^st Lincoln’s Sparrow (7^th place), and third Hermit Thrush (29^th place) of 2023.

The lonely hatch year Common Yellowthroat recapture.

The other two recaptures were both adult Black-capped Chickadees one of which we first banded this season whilst the other was from last season with its only other recapture 10 days after its initial banding on September 2^nd, 2022.

The decrease in net hours made way for more emphasis on the observational front as we would identify 50 species throughout the morning which was comprised of 758 individual birds! Census was a brisk affair so for once I was grateful for the bright sun as it shone down on me bringing some warmth back into my limbs whilst simultaneously leaving me momentarily blind. A Fox Sparrow greeted me with its distinctive “smacky” chip call as I walked eastwards into the rising sun. Detections of this big chunky high elevation breeder have been scarce this season with six, matching 2022’s total which is a good 11 less than our 16-season average of 17. I flushed a skulking White-throated Sparrow along with a covey of Ruffed Grouse as I left the thick alder tunnel and entered the open expanse of the south field. Out of habit I turned to check the tree tops back the way I had come and noted a light shape atop one of the two old growth pines where I had seen the Pygmy Nuthatch earlier this season. A closer inspection showed that it was a nice crisp adult Northern Shrike, our 142^nd species of 2023 and our 11^th of this species overall! After taking a few distant pictures I continued onwards.

The TLBO’s 11th detection of a Northern Shrike

After census was finished, I took a quick scan of the lagoon and found two ducks that weren’t there when I had passed by only 10 minutes earlier. The first was a Green-winged Teal while the second was our second detection of a Common Goldeneye this season. There are two species of Goldeneye, Barrow’s and Common, and females as well as young of the year are very hard to differentiate in the fall. In general bill morphology and forehead structure are the two aspects that you have to assess. Barrow’s Goldeneye have a steeper forehead with a larger nail (hard small bump at the end of a duck’s bill) and a more concave culmen which gives the impression of it being shorter overall. After spending some time watching this bird from various angles as it fed, I was satisfied that the nail was quite reduced with the bill appearing long with a straight culmen while the forehead was anything but steep. For a fun treatise on the subject click HERE. This is an exciting sighting as Common Goldeneye is far less common in our study area than Barrow’s with 57 detections overall which occurred only in six seasons (2007, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2022). Barrow’s on the other hand are more frequent with a detection in every season save 2010 with a total of 140 detections.

 

Near the end of the day I was visited by a quartet of Ruffed Grouse who unaware of my presence danced around in front of the banding lab looking for late elevenses. Once they became aware of my presence, they proceeded to show me how delightfully descriptive their name really is.

Certainly Ruffed Grouse

As I write the strong southerly has begun to calm with only the leaves of the aspens fluttering between dissipating moderate strength gusts which bodes well for our chances to get out owling after a two-night hiatus.

To see our eBird list for today, please visit: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150683586

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Species	Band	Recap
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	2
Hermit Thrush	1
Song Sparrow	1
Lincoln’s Sparrow	1
Black-capped Chickadee		2
Common Yellowthroat		1

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Daily		Season
Birds Banded	5	Total Banded	837
Species Banded	4	Standard Banded	823
Birds Recapped	3	Species Banded	53
Species Recapped	2	Total Recapped	163
Species on Census	36	Species Recapped	17
Species Recorded	50	Species Recorded	142

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Sept. 23: Wild Windy West Chilcotin

The wind was still blowing this morning, this time as a strong southerly that kept us warm and kept most of the mist-nets closed. Only two were able to be opened on our first net round and one of those had to be closed when the wind intensified a couple of hours later, leaving us to pin all of our hopes on net 15! After five and a half hours it too had to be closed, having captured two birds for us. The first was a very handsome male Varied Thrush: if you examine the photo below, you can see that his wing feathers are noticeably more brown than his blue-grey body feathers, an indication that this is a young bird, hatched this year, who hasn’t grown in his adult flight feathers. The second was an Oregon Junco, one of the dozens that were counted in and around the banding area this morning.

TLBO’s third Varied Thrush banded this season, a hatch-year male

The strong wind appeared to appeal more to some bird species than to others. A flock of fifty American Pipits spent the morning periodically circling the north field, apparently enjoying practising some synchronized flying, but the Northern Goshawk that flew by was visibly working hard as it tried to find some calm air somewhere so that it could fly south towards the lake. Two Red-tailed Hawks were out riding the wind as well, and could be distinguished from each other by their different colour morphs. The first one, seen on census, was almost entirely dark except for its white wings and tail, which had fine stripes and thick dark edging: the characteristics of a Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk, a distinctive northwestern subspecies. The second was a Western Red-tail that was also dark but not so dark as to obscure its heavy breast-band, and had the eponymous red tail. Red-tailed Hawks come in more subspecies than just these two, and as each subspecies comes in both a light and a dark morph, there’s a wonderful variety of Red-tails out there for birders to spot!

A dark Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk

With only one mist-net to keep an eye on, there was little need to stay at the banding station in between net rounds. I was out on a walk, counting Yellow-rumped Warblers and White-crowned Sparrows in the Firs when Sachi radioed to let me know that the American Crows in the north field had some unexpected company – three Black-billed Magpies! Even from a distance, I could see the flashing white of their wings as they followed their corvid cousins. This was the first time that Black-billed Magpies have been observed by the TLBO, and we were not the only people in the valley to see them: we returned home to a message from a friend and neighbour that one of the magpies had stopped by their yard as well this morning! Black-billed Magpies have been reported in the valley only once before, and Alexis Creek seems to be the westernmost point along Highway 20 where they are seen frequently.

One of the TLBO’s first Black-billed Magpies, showing off its beautiful iridescence

The morning ended amid a flurry of raptors, as the Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk from census perched briefly on the Kestrel Snag and a Merlin took some time out from harassing the Black-billed Magpies to chase a pair of American Kestrels around in the Firs. Sachi took the bal-chatri trap, baited with a mouse from the field house, to try and capture the latter, but the Merlin took up too much of their attention and neither of the kestrels was tempted to take the bait. Bal-chatri traps originated in India and the name is derived from a Hindi term that can be translated as ‘hair umbrella’, referring to the umbrella-like shape of the original traps, which had horsehair snares tied onto them to capture raptors with. TLBO’s bal-chatri is a simple wire box topped with fishing line snares, but the principle is still the same as it has been for hundreds of years: live bait, usually a small rodent or a small bird, is placed inside of the trap, and when a raptor swoops in to try and capture it, its feet become tangled in the snares, giving the falconer or bander time to come running in and grab it. Using a bal-chatri trap can be a very thrilling experience, but as it requires the right raptor, the right mouse, and exactly the right circumstances, its success rate is not terribly high!

Golden-crowned Sparrow

To see our eBird list for today, please visit: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150594178.

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Species	Band	Recap
Varied Thrush	1
Oregon Junco	1

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Daily		Season
Birds Banded	2	Total Banded	832
Species Banded	2	Standard Banded	818
Birds Recapped	0	Species Banded	53
Species Recapped	0	Total Recapped	160
Species on Census	19	Species Recapped	17
Species Recorded	38	Species Recorded	141

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Sep. 22: Frozen Bluster

With another calm, cold and clear night Sachi and Gabe embarked on another night of owling. They would be rewarded for their efforts with some local visitors of two kinds. These would be some members of the Emke family along with five new Northern Saw-whet Owls which they banded and one recapture! The few times that we have recaptured a Saw-whet it has been one that we banded the night or two before and this was another such case. Amongst the five newly banded owls four were hatch-year birds whilst the fifth was a fourth year! Since owls undergo a partial moult in which they only replace some flight feathers each year we can age them based on how many generations of feathers are present as long as the oldest generation is juvenal (moulted out when they were a hatch-year). This can get quite challenging and there are times when we throw up our hands in defeat and take the conservative approach and age them as an after-second-year. These five new additions brings our season total to 57 owls banded in just seven sessions which is our third highest total for the regular season behind 2017 (59 in 12 nights) and 2019 (62 in 11 nights).

A couple of last night’s visitors: Northern Saw-whet Owls

The sun rose on a frosty world as the thermometer read -3°C with a stiff north wind which doubled the chill. Alone I patrolled the net lanes looking for signs of avian life I enjoyed the hues which painted the Niuts as they shifted with each step from cranberry to pink and then to golden before paling altogether with the slow rise of the sun.

At the oxbow I stealthy crept up to the fence line hoping that our friend the Sora was still present but instead I found two Wilson’s Snipe in plain view foraging in the mud. The White-crowned Sparrows along the edges suddenly dove for cover as an immature Sharp-shinned Hawk darted through, departing empty-handed. The two Snipes instead of scattering elected to sink lower into the frozen mud all the while keeping one watchful eye on me with the other trained in the direction that the predator had gone.

Two versions of one predator evasion strategy of Wilson’s Snipe

Census was a chilly affair with a few seasonally exciting birds. The first was our latest record of an American Redstart as it called emphatically at me making it impossible to miss as I neared the entrance to the south field. In the south field a dark smaller Contopus flycatcher who also seemed a bit worried that I might miss it as well, called out its trademark descending “brrreeerrrr” from atop a willow making this also our latest record of a Western Wood-Pewee by two days (previously September 20^th in both 2008 and 2010). Along the road the musical trills of a Bohemian Waxwing stopped me in my tracks. Our total of 73 total detections in the past 16 seasons infers that this species is rather common at the TLBO however this is not the case as it has only been detected in eight of the 17 seasons that we have been in operation.

Aptly named: Golden-crowned Sparrow (genus Zonotrichia) with lovely golden hues

Yellow-rumped Warblers were again on the move today as we would enjoy our second highest count of the season with 330 over the course of the morning. The Myrtle subspecies again comprised the lion’s share of the individuals that we were able to identify.

Another Zonotrichia: White-throated Sparrow with its own more subtle golden hues

Net hours today were fraught as we were first hampered by frigid temperatures and then later on by the ferocious south wind which still batters our windows as I write. Despite these challenges we would still band four new birds of four species. These came in the form of our 57^th Song Sparrow, fifth Golden-crowned Sparrow, fourth White-throated Sparrow and first “Unidentified” Yellow-rumped Warbler of the season. With this meagre haul we now sit at 816 birds banded by standard means which is 28 birds less than where we were at on this day last season.

A well-worn Compton Toirtoiseshell

To see our eBird list for the day, please visit: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150504920

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Species	Band	Recap
Yellow-rumped Warbler	1
Song Sparrow	1
Golden-crowned Sparrow	1
White-throated Sparrow	1

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Daily		Season
Birds Banded	4	Total Banded	830
Species Banded	4	Standard Banded	816
Birds Recapped	0	Species Banded	53
Species Recapped	0	Total Recapped	160
Species on Census	27	Species Recapped	17
Species Recorded	47	Species Recorded	140

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Sept. 21: Return of the Saw-whets

One of last night’s Northern Saw-whet Owls.

After a long period of less than ideal weather, last night Sachi and Gabe were finally able to go owling for the first time in nearly a week. It was well worth the wait, as there were plenty of Northern Saw-whet Owls around who were impatient to be banded. Thirteen were captured in total, including a few more with signs of juvenile plumage. All of them were young hatch-year birds and, for once, they were all reasonably patient and well-tempered, and refrained from injuring TLBO’s bird banders too much!

A frosted Prickly Rose bush

A thick hoar frost lined the grasses and leaves this morning, making the fields and paths look pale and ghostly. At minus 5 degrees Celsius this was the coldest morning we’ve had so far in 2023, and there was no question of opening the mist-nets until after the sun had crested Potato Range. Instead I tucked a handwarmer into my pocket and headed out to make the rounds, walking the net loop and heading down to the oxbow to see what birds were out braving the cold. It was so calm that it was no challenge to pick out the distant chip calls of the Yellow-rumped Warblers flying overhead, or the chatter of the Black-capped Chickadees foraging in the fir trees northeast of the banding station. Down at the oxbow, the Sora was tucked in among the reeds preening itself as it waited for the sun to rise. On days like today it’s hard not to worry that the birds are as cold as we are, especially when they’re spending the whole day standing around bare-footed in the wet mud! Fortunately birds have several adaptations to prevent them from feeling frigid. The skinniness of their legs and feet is due to the fact that the muscles that contract their toes are concentrated at the tops of their legs close to their centre of mass. The lower legs and feet are instead moved by tendons, which require very little blood flow. The veins and arteries that do run through the legs are placed very close together, giving the opportunity for passive heat exchange: as blood that has been warmed inside the body moves from the heart down into the exposed feet, the heat that it carries diffuses into the cold venous blood moving in the opposite direction. In this way heat is kept inside the body, which is insulated by feathers, instead of being lost to the cold air.

Our local Sora, braving the cold.

The sun had only just reached the field in front of the banding station when it was time for census. The bright sun made it difficult to see but nevertheless its warmth was exceedingly welcome, especially as it seemed to stimulate the American Robins and Varied Thrushes, as well as a handful of woodpecker species (Northern Flicker along with Pileated, Hairy and Downy Woodpecker) into calling to one another across the valley. In the south field, the sun had melted the frost everywhere except for within the shadows that lay at the feet of the bushes and trees. Small groups of White- and Golden-crowned Sparrows foraged along the sides of the road in the company of a few Oregon Juncos, while in the lagoon Donald the Trumpeter Swan presided over a small group of ducks: American Wigeon, a miscellaneous Goldeneye (Common and Barrow’s Goldeneye are both possible here, but it’s difficult to get a close enough view to distinguish between them with confidence), and a flock of Ring-necked Ducks. At the end of the hour-long census period I felt quite pleased with all of the birds that I had been able to see – and yet there had been even more bird activity back at the banding station! Sachi had counted over three hundred Yellow-rumped Warblers moving along the Homathko River, along with a variety of sparrow species, a Warbling Vireo, and a single Yellow Warbler, a species that we haven’t seen since September 14th. A Rusty Blackbird and a pair of Brewer’s Blackbirds also stopped by, giving us an unprecedented diversity of blackbird species. And for once the weather was cooperating, with barely a breath of wind to stir the mist-nets. We were all hopeful that it would be a busy banding day – but in the end, last night’s owl banding was far more productive!

Mountain Bluebird – in spite of actually perching on the Pipit Fence, none were captured!

In total, four birds were captured of three species. We recaptured a Black-capped Chickadee that was banded in 2022 and a Song Sparrow from August 20th of this year, and banded a hatch-year Black-capped Chickadee along with what was unquestionably the most exciting capture of the day, an American Pipit! While this was the second American Pipit banded this season, it is the first one to ever be captured by TLBO in one of the standard mist-nets. (The Pipit Fence that has captured every previous American Pipit is non-standard and as such is not required for full coverage.) Unsurprisingly, it was captured in net 14, which has been by far our most productive net and had previously captured such season’s highlights as the Clark’s Nutcracker that we banded on August 15th. It was a very unexpected pleasure to find this svelte and beautiful bird waiting for us on our last net-round of the day! Like many birds that live on the tundra or grasslands, American Pipits have very long tertial feathers (the wing feathers closest to the body) that completely cover the rest of the flight feathers when their wing is folded, to protect them from sun damage:

American Pipit, with a close-up showing the extra-long tertial feathers.

To see our eBird list for the day, please visit: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150434556.

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Species	Band	Recap
Black-capped Chickadee	1	1
American Pipit	1
Song Sparrow		1

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Daily		Season
Birds Banded	2	Total Banded	826
Species Banded	2	Standard Banded	812
Birds Recapped	2	Species Banded	53
Species Recapped	2	Total Recapped	160
Species on Census	26	Species Recapped	17
Species Recorded	43	Species Recorded	140

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Sep. 20: A day late for #TUVUTuesday…

A heavy rain paired with gusting wind thwarted any hopes that we had harboured of going out owling last night. We can only hope that tonight the wind will calm down by nightfall and thus allow us to go out and try and coax a handful or more of owls into our nets.

Though present the wind was much more cooperative this morning as we were able to have nearly all of our nets open for the first few hours before the severity of the gusts increased, forcing our less sheltered ones to succumb and be closed prematurely. Though today was a huge improvement over yesterday, numbers of captures were still low with a total of 11 new birds banded and two recaptures. Amongst these new birds were some highlights the first of which was this season’s first Downy Woodpecker! One of the three Hermit Thrush that I heard calling from the shrubbery as I was opening nets eventually took the plunge marking our second banding record of this species and 800^th bird banded of the season!

Hermit Thrush: a fitting bird for our 800th of the season

Midway through the session we banded the Hermit’s more plentiful cousin, Swainson’s Thrush which turned out to be a rather momentous bird as it was our 254^th individual of this species banded this season! Since the 14^th of September we have been waiting with baited breath for this tie-breaking bird as the previous single season banding record for this species was 253 set back in 2018. Five Song Sparrows made the difference as they finally leapfrogged Warbling Vireos to take sole possession of the second spot on this season’s banding chart with 56. Both a recaptured and a new Black-capped Chickadee provided our current volunteer Gabe with an exciting introduction into banding and handling passerines.

A Golden-crowned Sparrow keeping an eye out along the road

For me the soundtrack of the final week of the season at the TLBO is always characterized by the scolding, cackling calls of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and the low, flat “chip” calls of Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warblers as their numbers swell whilst those of their locally breeding counterparts Audubon’s diminish. The storm last night hastened migration as right out of the gates I had my work cut out for me as I endeavoured to kept track of flyover Yellow-rumped Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets (season high of 92) chattering as they moved through the shrubbery. At the entrance to the south field there was a mixed flock comprised of the aforementioned species and as I scanned through the throng a flash of bright yellow caught my eye. A petite warbler quietly foraged amidst the clamorous court of kinglets. It had a grey hood with a white eyering and wingbars to match. A yellow throat continued down to its breast and belly to wrap around to its rump with faint streaks marking its flanks and olive back. It was our first Magnolia Warbler of the season and our 17^th record overall! Detections of this tastefully-patterned warbler are scarce at the TLBO with six seasons (2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017) having none and two (2007 and 2021) having three for an average of 1 per season. White-crowned Sparrows were also out in numbers (season high of 70) as flocks foraged amidst the wolf willows along the south field. Two Fox Sparrows stopped for moment to call out to me but without the proper response quickly lost interest as they continued on their way.  

A Merlin taking a short break atop the vacant “Kestrel Snag”

Down at the lagoon the Trumpeter Swan was joined by five species of ducks (Mallard, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal and Pied-billed Grebe) with an Osprey presiding as well as our second Rusty Blackbird of the season as it flew over the contentedly-feeding raft announcing itself with its characteristic low and harsh “chek” calls. As the day wore on raptors were abundant with seven species over the course of the day. A new TLBO high count of four Turkey Vultures (alpha code: TUVU) were seen languidly circling on thermals east of the station and seemingly unconcerned that they were a day late for “TUVU Tuesday”. Two Merlin’s chased each other around the north field as an adult and an immature Sharp-shinned Hawk attempted to play a similar game with the small murder of crows along the fence line. Two Northern Harriers silently glided overhead fiercely intent on their quest for rodents. On our way back from closing up the few nets that we had left at the end of the monitoring period Sachi spotted a large long-winged pale falcon soaring south of net 14. We all stopped to admire the raptor which was pale brown above and light below with faint streaking and dark wing lining that gave it the appearance of having dark “armpits”. To our delight this was a Prairie Falcon, our second of the season and only our third record in 17 seasons of monitoring in the Tatlayoko Valley.

An immature Sharp-shinned Hawk fighting the urge to look concerned

The day would end with 54 species detected comprised of 855 individual birds!

To see our eBird list for the day, please visit: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150365121

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Species	Band	Recap
Song Sparrow	5	1
Black-capped Chickadee	1	1
Downy Woodpecker	1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1
Hermit Thrush	1
Swainson’s Thrush	1
White-crowned Sparrow	1

_

Daily		Season
Birds Banded	11	Total Banded	824
Species Banded	7	Standard Banded	810
Birds Recapped	2	Species Banded	53
Species Recapped	2	Total Recapped	158
Species on Census	42	Species Recapped	17
Species Recorded	54	Species Recorded	140

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Sept. 19: New Snow on the Niuts

A fresh dusting of snow on both the Niuts and the Potato Range provided plenty of opportunities for taking photos as we walked the net loop this morning. We happened to pull into the banding station at what turned out to be a rare moment of calm, though we could hear the lake roaring in the distance, a sign of the strong south winds to come. A flock of American Pipits were drifting about over the north field, Ruby-crowned Kinglets scolded us from the treetops, and Yellow-rumped Warblers were chasing each other back and forth above the banding station as a single late-season Cedar Waxwing passed overhead, trilling its distinctive call. With so many birds around, we were hopeful that it might be a busy banding day…

The wind, however, had other plans! There were only five mist-nets that could be opened to start with, and with each successive net run more had to be closed. The wind seemed to change direction constantly, coming first from the north, then the west, and sometimes the east, until the beginning of census when it was blowing hard from the south. I left Sachi and our new volunteer Gabe to watch over the mist-nets while I headed out to see what could be seen on the census trail.

The heavy clouds that had filled the sky began to thin, lending some welcome warmth since the morning grew chillier as the wind grew stronger. The Ruby- and Golden-crowned Kinglets stayed low in the trees, calling to each other as they moved cautiously from branch to branch. As I was entering the south field, I heard a rustling noise behind me and looked back to find a red fox dodging in and out of the undergrowth along the edge of the field. It paused briefly when it saw me, then doubled back and disappeared into the brush. By coincidence, while I was on census Sachi and Gabe had their own close encounter with another red fox when one stepped out onto the trail ahead of them, carrying half a snowshoe hare. It was so pleased with itself that it took a moment to register that it wasn’t alone, and then had some further thinking to do before it took off to enjoy its lunch.

Caught red-handed! A red fox with a mid-morning meal.

White- and Golden-crowned Sparrows were active along the road as I made my way down to the lagoon, where Donald the Trumpeter Swan gave me a bit of a scare: he wasn’t in his usual spot and for a moment I thought that he might have left us, but as it turned out he was just around the corner in a more hidden spot, feeding contentedly while surrounded by a small group of American Wigeon. He seemed quite happy in their company, and I wondered if maybe we have been maligning him when we blame him for the lack of ducks in the lagoon – or maybe he finds American Wigeon, like the Pied-billed Grebe, to be uniquely congenial companions.

The sun was out by the time I reached the lake, and the water was a beautiful blue-green, the colour of sea glass. As I scanned the leeward section of the shore, where we sometimes see Spotted Sandpipers, I was surprised to instead find a pair of Ruffed Grouse foraging along the beach! Either they had wandered a long way east from the foot of the Niuts, following the line of trees, or they had come down across the road and flown over the Homathko to spend the morning by the lake – an unusual choice either way.

The south wind grew stronger as I was walking back to the banding station, and by the time I returned Sachi and Gabe had closed the few mist-nets that had managed to stay open. We stayed long enough to make some more observations and take another walk out to the oxbow, where we flushed a Wilson’s Snipe and got to see a couple of Song Sparrows out scratching in the mud, then returned across the field to shut up the banding station and head for home.

Lincoln’s Sparrow – one of three birds banded today.

To see our eBird list for the day, please visit: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150286957.

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Species	Band	Recap
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1
Song Sparrow	1
Lincoln’s Sparrow	1

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Daily		Season
Birds Banded	3	Total Banded	813
Species Banded	3	Standard Banded	799
Birds Recapped	0	Species Banded	52
Species Recapped	0	Total Recapped	156
Species on Census	18	Species Recapped	17
Species Recorded	37	Species Recorded	139

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