Albert Creek July 26 - MacGillivray's Warbler finally caught!

And so it finally happened - our elusive but very vocal male MacGillivray's Warbler got finally caught in net 14, the one the bird has been dancing around for so many days now. In spite of this individual's rather Mourning Warbler-like song the plumage and measurements fit perfectly to MacGillivray's without anything that we could see pointing towards a hybrid. This is only the second record of the species for the site.

The other highlight of the day was a year-old Peregrine Falcon that perched briefly for good views on top of a snag before continuing southeast. Surprisingly, if my memory serves me correct, this one was a new species for the observatory! We banded 51 birds including 16 Tennessee and 3 Magnolia Warblers.

Jukka


MGWA photos copyright Jukka Jantunen

Teslin Lake Update - July 26, 2011

After 6 days of operation, a total of 138 birds of 30 species have been banded at TLBO. As is typically the case at this time of year, the birds captured at the station are dominated by local breeders. The top species banded to date include; Yellow Warbler (21), Dark-eyed Junco (14), Myrtle Warbler (11), Swainson's Thrush (10) and American Redstart (9).

The number of American Redstarts appear to be relatively high this year and it is estimated that there are three family groups roaming the study site on a daily basis. We have also been fortunate in capturing woodpeckers (which we do not normally capture at TLBO) including 3 Downy Woodpeckers, a Northern Flicker and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. This is only the 6th sapsucker ever banded at TLBO and the first ever banded in the fall ! A new species for TLBO, a Brown-headed Cowbird was also banded on the 26th,

The same can be said for sandpipers, to date we have captured 2 Spotted Sandpipers and 2 Solitary Sandpipers. On the 24th, three separate broods of Spotted Sandpipers were observed in the count area.

We also had a few interesting band recoveries of birds previously banded at the site including; adult male Northern Waterthrush banded May 27, 2007, adult male Yellow Warbler banded August 10, 2008, adult female Myrtle Warbler banded July 16, 2010 and adult male American Redstart banded August 17, 2008.

Some notable bird observations in the count area to date have included; Western Tanager on the 22nd and 23rd and a Magnolia Warbler on the 24th.


male Northern Flicker


Least Flycatcher


Downy Woodpecker


adult male American Redstart

Albert Creek July 23, 2011 - the start of a new season!!

The Yukon Bird Observatories are now officially open for the fall season of 2011. Albert Creek was opened by two seasoned Yukon Bird Observatory veterans, Ted Murphy-Kelly and Jukka Jantunen, and we welcomed our first long-term volunteer Kelly Riggs from Missouri. Kelly will be with us for the next six weeks, first at Albert Creek and then in Teslin.

The start for the new season was an enjoyable one for the most part. Our only minor complaint was that the calm and muggy weather brought the mosquitoes out in somewhat annoying numbers. As for the birds, we banded 67 individuals of 20 species. Typical for the start of a fall season the majority of our catch was local breeders, Common Yellowthroat (15), Northern Waterthrush (12) and Tennessee Warbler (9) topping the list. A juvenile Solitary Sandpiper was perhaps the most exciting bird banded today.

There was a lot happening in the area outside the nets too. A family of American Kestrels spent most of the day in the tall spruce forest across the marsh and the same trees also had a male Pileated Woodpecker and a Three-toed Woodpecker during the morning. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were everywhere - 3 even found our nets. In the marsh at least two Swamp Sparrows sang a few times and a Sora was calling near net 14. We finally managed a visual of a strange singer first spotted on the 21st when setting up the station. This elusive bird turned out to be a MacGillivray's Warbler, at least plumage-wise, in spite of it's quite Mourning Warbler-like song. A good example how one should always try to get a visual of a bird sounding like a rarity! Hopefully we'll catch it soon for a closer examination.

Jukka

Yukon Bird Observatories Update - May 19, 2011

The 2011 spring season is shaping up to be one of the most peculiar spring bird migrations since the Yukon Bird Observatories began migration monitoring in the Yukon over 10 years ago. This as been particularly evident at Albert Creek, were daily monitoring over multiple years has allowed us to gain an understanding of bird migration through the southern Yukon.

At the start of the season (late April), there was a noticeable absence of sparrows and it wasn't until the final days of April until small numbers of sparrows were encountered. Following the passage of the bulk of the early migrant sparrows, it was apparent that they were 2 to 3 weeks later than average and there was no apparent "fallout" of sparrows (white-crowns, fox) which normally occurs at this time of year.

Following the passage of the early migrating sparrows, some of the early season neotropical migrants such as Wilson's and Orange-crowned warblers appeared to be on schedule when they arrived in early to mid May.

More recently, some of the later season neotropical migrants such as Yellow and Blackpoll warblers appear to be showing up early. On May 14th and 15th, there was a notable pulse of movement for these two species following a period of inclement weather (which included nearly 4 inches of snow on the ground !!). These species are not typically seen at Albert Creek in any numbers until after May 20 so their presence a week ahead of schedule and on the heels of a snowstorm was most peculiar ! Additional early arrivals at the site have included Tennessee Warbler on May 16 and Least Flycatcher on May 18; previous early records for these species have been May 22 and May 23, respectively. To add to the strangeness of this spring, species such as Warbling Vireo and Gray-cheeked Thrush are yet to be encountered; both of these species are normally encountered at the site by the 16th of May.

On May 13, Albert Creek banded a Bufflhead (a species of duck); this is the 102nd bird species banded at the Yukon Bird Observatories since 2001 ! A Say's Phoebe (a species of flycatcher) was also banded at Albert Creek on 15th; this is only the second individual of this species banded to date at Albert Creek


At the McIntyre Marsh demonstration site, bird activity picked up substantially last weekend (May 14/15) with approximately 100 birds banded over the weekend. Bird species banded over interest included; Olive-sided Flycatcher, Solitary Sandpiper (5), juvenile Common Redpolls, Northern Waterthrush, Savannah Sparrow and numerous Tree and Violet-green Swallows. Thank you to the volunteer banding crew on the 14th/15th which included; Julie Bauer, Terry Skjonsberg, Todd Heakes, John Meikle and Nick Guenette.

Some photos from the last week are shown below (photos courtesy of Brad Bloemendel who spent 2 weeks volunteering at ACBO).


male Bufflehead


Wilson's Warbler


male Blackpoll Warbler


Solitary Sandpiper


Say's Phoebe

Yukon Bird Observatories Update - May 5, 2011

This past week saw a number of new species arriving at the Yukon Bird Observatories, particularly at Albert Creek (ACBO).

This past week, 330 birds were banded at ACBO. A noticeable movement of Fox Sparrow occurred from the 2nd to the 4th with 94 individuals banded. The numbers of Rusty Blackbird banded (51) have also been quite exceptional to date and is the second highest spring banding total for this species since ACBO began monitoring in 2001. Small numbers of Myrtle Warbler have been banded to date (16) and there is undoubtably many more individuals of this common species to arrive in the coming weeks. American Tree Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco and White-crowned Sparrow continue to be banded in low numbers but no real movement has been noted to date. New species banded for the season this past week included the following; Hermit Thrush (May 4), Savannah Sparrow (May 4), Lincoln's Sparrow (May 1) and Golden-crowned Sparrow (May 5).

At McIntyre Marsh in the past week, the station operated during the weekend and sporadically during the week. A substantial movement of birds has not yet been seen at the site; however, a number of new species have been arriving at the site over the course over the previous week. New species banded in the past week have included Dark-eyed Junco, Lincoln's Sparrow, Myrtle Warbler, American Tree Sparrow and White-crowned Sparrow. The most notable bird sighting was the Song Sparrow which has been singing in the early morning of the past week (this is presumably the same individual banded at the site on April 30). This species is considered rare in the Whitehorse; however, it has occurred at the site in the past. Two new species of shorebird (Lesser Yellowlegs and Wilson Snipe have also arrived at the marsh).

Savannah Sparrow

Hermit Thrush

Rusty Blackbird (male)

Song Sparrow

Yukon Bird Observatories Update - April 28, 2011

The first week of migration monitoring for the Yukon Bird Observatories got off to a relatively slow start as passerine migration is yet to begin in earnest across the southern Yukon.

At Albert Creek, the sparrows have begun to "trickle in" to the site over the past few days. The first Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Tree Sparrow and White-crowned Sparrow were captured on the 25th. Two Fox Sparrows were also banded on the 28th. Other migrants arrived at the site (but not yet captured) have included American Robin, Varied Thrush, Rusty Blackbird and Dark-eyed Junco. After nearly a full week of operation, a mere 7 birds have been banded. To provide perspective to a more typical season, 645 birds were banded over this same period in 2010 !

The highlight of the past week at Albert Creek was the impressive display of visual migration seen overhead as swans and geese passed overhead. High numbers were seen in particular on the 25th and 26th with the following visual migrants counted; 4,476 Tundra Swans, 9 Trumpeter Swans, 167 Canada Geese and 1,983 Greater White-fronted Geese.

At McIntyre Marsh, the station was operational from Friday (April 22) to Monday (April 25). During a typical year, such timing would yield a variety of early season migrants in the mist nets including American Tree Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco. However, due to the relatively late spring in the Yukon (and further south), these species were not yet at the site. Over the 4 day period, 77 birds of five species were banded. Common Redpoll was the most common species captured and it appears as though some of the individuals captured are already nesting at the site (as shown by a brood patch on a female Common Redpoll, see photo below). Small numbers of Boreal and Black-capped Chickadees were also banded along with a pair of White-winged Crossbills. The first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the season was heard on the 25th and later in the morning two males were captured (see photo below).

New migrant arrivals at the site included; Belted Kingfisher (Apr 25), Golden-crowned Kinglet (Apr 22), Dark-eyed Junco (Apr 23) and Varied Thrush (Apr 22). Note we have yet to see/hear an American Robin or American Tree Sparrow at the site !!

Although the site is not ideal for raptor counts, we did see a variety of species of migrating raptors including Northern Harrier (most common), Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-tailed (Harlan's) Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk and Golden Eagle. The local Bald Eagles are also seen daily. Small numbers of migrating waterfowl (Trumpeter Swan, Tundra Swan, Canada Goose) have also been seen passing overhead.




Common Redpoll brood patch - When incubating eggs/chicks, female birds loss the underfeathers on their breast and the skin becomes laden with blood vessels to better regulate the temperature of the eggs/chicks in the nest.



Male Ruby-crowned Kinglet banded at McIntyre Marsh on April 25.

Bird Observatories Opening !

Within the next few days, the Yukon Bird Observatories will be opening for the spring 2011 season. Station set up is underway at Albert Creek (near Watson Lake) and the station will be operational within the next few days. Albert Creek will be open daily from sunrise (+6 hours) until the first week in June.

The public demonstration site at McIntyre Marsh will also be opening this weekend (April 23). This station is open on weekends and holidays until the end of May. The station is located at km 4 of the Fish Lake Road in Whitehorse, near the junction of the Copper Haul Road.