Update from Teslin Lake - August 31

TLBO continued to be busy this past week. The season banding total (as of August 29th) is 2,650 birds of 47 species. A juvenile Song Sparrow banded on the 28th may turn out to be the bird of the season ! This species turns up rarely in the Southern Yukon and is the first individual ever banded at TLBO (Albert Creek banded one during the fall of 2005).

TLBO also had one of its busiest days ever on the 26th with 261 birds banded. The bulk of the birds banded on this day were Yellow, Orange-crowned, Myrtle and Wilson's Warbler with decent numbers of Alder FLycatchers as well.

The top 10 species banded as of the 29th are as follows;

1 - Myrtle Warbler (588)
2 - Alder Flycatcher (551)
3 - Yellow Warbler (389)
4 - Blackpoll Warbler (185)
5 - Orange-crowned Warbler (181)
6 - Wilson's Warbler (117)
7 - Dark-eyed Junco (108)
8 - White-winged Crossbill (80)
9 - Northern Waterthrush (47)
10 - Swainson's Thrush (41)

For some photos from this past week, please visit our Flickr page - http://www.flickr.com/photos/yukonbirds/

Update from TLBO - August 24

TLBO has been extremely busy in the last 10 days. With the exception of rained out days, the station has banded between 85 and 180 birds daily. Although we have not captured any exceptional rarities, we have banded a diversity of species with the season total already at 45 species. Some season firsts have included; Northern Flicker (15 Aug), Western Wood-Pewee (20 Aug), Say's Phoebe (22 Aug) and Gray-cheeked Thrush (23 Aug). An exception passage of Alder Flycatchers has been going on for the past few days with 78 individuals banded on the 22nd. On the 24th, nearly 200 birds were banded and numerous (3000+) Greater White-fronted Geese were observed flying south.

TLBO Fall 2010 Banding Totals as of August 24th

Sharp-shinned Hawk 8
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Belted Kingfisher 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Western Wood Pewee 1
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 9
Alder Flycatcher 405
Least Flycatcher 3
Hammond's Flycatcher 15
Dusky Flycatcher 2
Say's Phoebe 1
Warbling Vireo 17
Common Raven 1
Black-capped Chickadee 20
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 17
Gray-cheeked Thrush 1
Swainson's Thrush 34
American Robin 7
Varied Thrush 1
Cedar Waxwing 2
Tennessee Warbler 35
Orange-crowned Warbler 118
Yellow Warbler 250
Myrtle Warbler 480
Townsend's Warbler 10
Blackpoll Warbler 170
American Redstart 29
Northern Waterthrush 47
MacGillivray's Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 30
Wilson's Warbler 83
Chipping Sparrow 18
Savannah Sparrow 11
Fox Sparrow 3
Lincoln's Sparrow 7
Swamp Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow 16
Dark-eyed Junco 76
Purple Finch 10
White-winged Crossbill 79
Pine Siskin 12
Rusty Blackbird 1

TOTAL 2042

Update from Teslin Lake - August 12

A total of 265 birds have been banded since the 6th (there was no banding on the 8th due to poor weather). Two MacGIllvray's Warbler were banded this week; this species is perhaps the rarest warbler in the Yukon where it is at the extreme northern extent of its range. A Dusky Flycatcher banded on the 11th was also notable. Also banded were 2 more of each Least and Yellow-bellied flycatchers. We also had some new species for the season....Fox Sparrow and Downy Woodpecker.

For photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/yukonbirds/

Update From Albert Creek - 12 August

The last week has been slow but steady at Albert Creek. Notable captures were included a single juvenile Cape May Warbler banded on August 6th and a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher banded on the 10th. The top 5 species thus far include; Tennessee Warbler (155), Northern Waterthrush (119), Common Yellowthroat (82), American Redstart (50) and Lincoln's Sparrow (45).

For photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/yukonbirds/

Teslin Lake - August 5

Update from Teslin Lake...51 birds banded today including a small push of Wilson's Warbler with 9 banded. Also another 10 White-winged Crossbills, 4 Warbling Vireos and 10 Yellow Warblers also banded.

Observatory Updates - August 3

Update from Teslin Lake.....46 birds banded today including some higher numbers of flycatchers; 6 Alder FLycatchers and 5 Hammond's FLycatcher banded. Alders are a very common passage migrant at the site, with 500+ typically banded in a single season. Their numbers typically built throughout August and peak at the en...d of the month. There was also a noticeable flight of Myrtle Warblers today, with numerous small flocks flying overhead in the early morning. White-winged Crossbills continue to be ever present....another 7 were banded today and interestingly, no juveniles have yet been banded. We may be in for some extraordinary numbers of this species this fall !

Update from Albert Creek.....a wide variety of warblers continue to be banded. Tennessee Warblers continue to be banded in high numbers....we have already surpassed 150 individuals banded. This outnumbers the previous season record of 135 set in 2009; the 2003 to 2009 average for this species is 36.

Also of note, water levels in the marsh at Albert Creek are likely the lowest we have seen since the observatory began in 2001. This is likely a result of the hot dry weather in the southern Yukon this summer.

Update from Albert Creek - 2 August

Update from Albert Creek....as of July 28, 425 birds of 29 species had been banded. The numbers of Tennessee Warblers have been very high, 127 banded thus far. Other southeast Yukon specialties such as Swamp Sparrow, Western Tanager, Magnolia Warbler and White-throated Sparrow have also been banded. The bird of the year thus far has definitely been a hatch year Bay-breasted Warbler banded on the 28th. This is the fourth individual of this species ever banded at the observatory and is notable as this species is at the extreme northwest of its range in the southeast Yukon.

Albert Creek was forced to close from July 29 to August 1 due to personnel issues. The observatory will now be open daily until the end of the season.

Photos below include Magnolia Warbler (left) and Bay-breasted Warbler (right).

For more photos, visit our flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/yukonbirds/

TLBO - August 1st

Another relatively slow day at TLBO, after heavy rain overnight, we banded 34 birds under sunny skies today. The bird of the day was a young male Sharp-shinned Hawk but an American Redstart and Townsend's Warbler were also notable.

A migrating Northern Harrier was the first migrating raptor seen this fall.....a sign of things to come in the next few months !

Our flickr page for more photos.... http://yukonbirdobservatories.blogspot.com