Teslin Lake update - September 5

A flock of Rusty Blackbirds takes a break at the tip

From Sept 1st through Sept 5th (excluding the rain day Sept 1st) Teslin Lake averaged 46 birds/day and 0.394 birds/net-hour for a total of 184 birds banded. The banding highlights included the station and season 2nd Merlin, a juvenile female, on the 3rd and the single season record 6th Downy Woodpecker on the 2nd. The top six species banded during the period were Dark-eyed Junco (47), Boreal Chickadee (31), Alder Flycatcher (24), Yellow Warbler (12), Ruby-crowned Kinglet (9) and Wilson's Warbler (9). The current season top five species banded are Alder Flycatcher (621), Yellow Warbler (284), Dark-eyed Junco (167), Yellow-rumped "Myrtle" Warbler (99), and Boreal Chickadee (85).

The season first Parasitic Jaeger, a light-morph adult, was seen on the 2nd, the first Peregrine Falcon on the 3rd and the first Sabine's Gull, a juvenile, on the 4th. Another juvenile Sanderling stopped at the diminishing sand bars at the creek mouth on the 2nd. Sept 5th was a reasonably busy passerine migration day. The counts included 320 Varied Thrushes (all thrush 850+), 111 Bohemian Waxwings, and over 600 small passerines that were mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers.


The observatory's 2nd banded Merlin

Photos ©Jukka Jantunen

The complete list of bird banded at Teslin Lake Bird Observatory this season as of September 5th (the last 5 days in brackets).

Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Merlin - 2 (1)
Spotted Sandpiper - 2
Solitary Sandpiper - 3
Belted Kingfisher - 6
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 6 (1)
Northern Flicker - 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher - 1
Western Wood-Pewee - 10
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 7 (1)
Alder Flycatcher - 621 (24)
Least Flycatcher - 10
Hammond's Flycatcher - 28 (1)
Dusky Flycatcher - 6
Northern Shrike - 1
Warbling Vireo - 16
Black-capped Chickadee - 49 (6)
Boreal Chickadee - 85 (31)
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 21 (9)
Townsend's Solitaire - 1
Swainson's Thrush - 82 (2)
Hermit Thrush - 3
American Robin - 11
Bohemian Waxwing - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 4
Orange-crowned Warbler - 41 (5)
Yellow Warbler - 284 (12)
Yellow-rumped "Myrtle" Warbler - 99 (8)
Yellow-rumped "Audubon's" Warbler -1
Townsend's Warbler - 4
Blackpoll Warbler - 57 (1)
American Redstart - 36 (2)
Northern Waterthrush - 42
Common Yellowthroat - 51 (6)
Wilson's Warbler - 66 (9)
American Tree Sparrow - 6 (2)
Chipping Sparrow - 27
Brewer's Sparrow - 1
Savannah Sparrow - 15 (2)
Fox Sparrow - 10 (2)
Lincoln's Sparrow - 13 (1)
White-crowned Sparrow - 30 (4)
Slate-colored Junco - 167 (47)
Rusty Blackbird - 8 (5)
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1
Purple Finch - 1
White-winged Crossbill - 1
Common Redpoll - 4
Pine Siskin - 10 (3)
= 1964 (184) birds of 51 species
0.359 (0.394) birds/net-hour