Teslin Lake update - Sept 20, 2015

"In September Yukon turns yellow" is what I wrote last year. Closer to the ground there are many shades of red too!!

Not unexpectedly the temperatures dropped during the period and the colors changed from green to yellow during the period. It was still more rainy and warmer than average and we didn't get our first frost until the morning of the 20th. The banding remained good although the numbers did drop a little. However, the drop was noticeably less than on the other years at this time of the year and consequently the current season total 3814 is the observatory history's highest for the date! The current season top five is Alder Flycatcher 1058, Yellow Warbler 544, Wilson's Warbler 362, Orange-crowned Warbler 292, and Yellow-rumped Warbler 291.

A Gray-cheeked Thrush regains its freedom

A very late Warbling Vireo was caught on the 14th

 During the period a total of 634 birds were tagged including four new species for the season:  the Blackburnian Warbler on the 15th, familiar from the previous post and the highlight of the year thus far, Pine Siskin on the 14th, Varied Thrush on the 16th, and Mountain Chickadee on the 17th. The season record breaking continued as additional six species (Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Orange-crowned Warbler, American Redstart, Chipping Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, and Lincoln's Sparrow) reached a new high! The period top five was Ruby-crowned Kinglet 128, Dark-eyed Junco 94, Wilson's Warbler 58, Boreal Chickadee 54 and Orange-crowned Warbler 51. Other than the Blackburnian Warbler there weren't too many banding highlights but the few included a three Sharp-shinned Hawk net round on the 19th, and late birds such as Warbling Vireos on the 13th and the 14th, Chipping Sparrow on the 18th, and a Tennessee Warbler on the 19th.

American Redstart is one of the many species that have broken old season records this year

Juvenile (L) and adult female (R) Sharp-shinned Hawks caught on the same net run

Outside the nets the period was a rather quiet one. The season first Mountain Bluebird flew by on the 12th and three Parasitic Jaegers roamed around the lake the same day. It hasn't been a good year for Jaeger sightings. Visual migration counts were slow as well. The highest morning flight activity was seen also on the 12th when about 700 Yellow-rumped Warblers were tallied flying by as well as 146 Varied Thrushes. On the 18th another 124 Varieds were seen. Even though the weather wasn't perfect for raptor flights there was some movement on most days. 168 raptors on the 19th was the highest day total and included Osprey 6, Golden Eagle 3, Northern Harrier 26, Sharp-shinned Hawk 49, Bald Eagle 9, Red-tailed Hawk 60, American Kestrel 6, Merlin 7 and Peregrine Falcon 2. A juvenile Gyrfalcon flew right past the banding table on the 17th.

This Gray Jay attempted to cross the lake, something I've never seen at TLBO, but finally chickened out after seemingly reaching almost the half way point!

Juvenile Gyrfalcon

Who would've thought that the bright yellow of Yellow Warbler also serves as camouflage!

A long awaited visitor, the season first Mountain Chickadee. Below

Hélène and Ted are pondering over the ageing of this bird.

The banding totals as of Sept 20 (the number in brackets indicates the number banded since the previous blog entry):

Sharp-shinned Hawk - 19 (8)

Solitary Sandpiper - 3

Belted Kingfisher - 6

Downy Woodpecker - 1

Olive-sided Flycatcher -2

Western Wood-Pewee - 4

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 11

Alder Flycatcher - 1058 (8)

Least Flycatcher - 4

Hammond's Flycatcher -20 (4)

Dusky Flycatcher - 2

Say's Phoebe - 2

Warbling Vireo - 10 (2)

Gray Jay - 1

Common Raven - 1

Black-capped Chickadee -28 (1)

Mountain Chickadee - 2 (2)

Boreal Chickadee - 103 (54)

Red-breasted Nuthatch - 9 (1)

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 215 (128)

Gray-cheeked Thrush - 9 (3)

Swainson's Thrush - 67 (1)

Hermit Thrush - 6 (2)

American Robin - 3

Varied Thrush - 1 (1)

American Pipit - 6 (1)

Tennessee Warbler -8 (1)

Orange-crowned Warbler - 292 (51)

Yellow Warbler - 544 (33)

Black-and-white Warbler - 1

Yellow-rumped Warbler - 291 (49)

Blackburnian Warbler - 1 (1)

Townsend's Warbler - 2

Blackpoll Warbler - 99 (1)

American Redstart - 44 (11)

Northern Waterthrush - 53 (1)

Common Yellowthroat - 81 (14)

Wilson's Warbler - 362 (58)

American Tree Sparrow - 68 (28)

Chipping Sparrow - 29 (1)

Savannah Sparrow - 51 (16)

Fox Sparrow - 32 (11)

Lincoln's Sparrow - 54 (27)

White-crowned Sparrow - 18 (7)

Golden-crowned Sparrow - 2 (1)

Dark-eyed Junco - 162 (94)

Rusty Blackbird - 16 (9)

Brown-headed Cowbird - 1

Common Redpoll - 8 (3)

Pine Siskin - 1 (1)

= 3814 (634) birds of 51 (4) species