Tuesday, June 29, 2010

MAPS: Day 3--June 29, 2010

Hi All,

Well, another banding day began today at 4:30am. Bethany, Reed, Kristin, and I enjoyed the songs of eastern pewees, ovenbirds, and common yellowthroats along with others as we fumbled to opened our ten nets in the morning twilight. Despite the comfortable weather and abundant insects today's netting effort proved that each day is different. We returned from our first net run surprised to see that none of us had captured a bird! Our bewilderment continued throughout the day. There was a remarkable lack of birds flying into our nets and evidence that birds had settled onto nests.

We stumbled upon this nest-thought to be that of a hermit thrush-located near one of our nets.
(photo by Kristin Babcock)

All this is part of the experience and as Reed relates below there was a useful bit of extra time to catch up on our protocols, tell a few stories, and eat a few blueberries...he also describes his project surveying osprey nests! Thanks for sharing Reed.

From BRI Intern Reed Wommack:

Phew…This past banding session was a change of pace in a number of ways:

1.) I got to sleep in until 3:05! That’s an extra twenty minutes that kept me awake the rest of the day.

2.) Last banding sessions I accidentally released a bird, and I felt terribly inadequate. Don’t go telling everyone this… but this time one of the supervisors who has upwards of ten years of experience banding birds released a bird too! He or she will remain anonymous to preserve his or her pride.

3.) We only caught three birds (and one bumblebee). Patrick explained that unlike two weeks ago, males weren’t out flying around to defend territory, and instead all the birds had settled down onto nests. In fact one of the birds we caught was swollen with an egg and looked like it was going to lay it within the next 24 hours.

4.) Since we weren’t too busy banding birds, we had copious amounts of free time discuss birding lore. I heard of the living legend Grace “The Ace” Tuckerman, who was so deft she could literally shake the net and the bird would fall into her hands within seconds. Patrick also told us that an immature crossbill he caught six years ago in Idaho had just been recaptured in the exact same spot. Talk about site fidelity…

On another note, over the weekend I got started on an Osprey nest survey for BRI that I am completing as a mini-project. The goal is to visit all known nesting sites each year and see whether they are still active, and if so how many chicks fledge, and use this data to gain insight into long-term patterns of Osprey population and survival.On Sunday afternoon, I did my first expedition to look at the seven Portland harbor nest sites. Six of the seven were still active, and most had hatched two chicks. I even saw one of the nestling’s awkwardly first attempts at flight (think drunk Gumby dancing), which fittingly also reminded me of a toddler learning to walk.

The one nest that no longer existed, should have been on a pier near a massive oil tanker, so I spent nearly half an hour standing in a cemetery scanning the tanker with binoculars, cameras, and telescopes, until I realized that I was being really…well… sketchy. In the post 9/11 world I didn’t think a security guard would believe my story: “Oh, but sir, I was ..umm…just looking for a non-existent Osprey nest that happened to be right next to a likely …uh…terrorist target,” and so I collected my belongings and moved on before I was confronted. But looking back being busted and interrogated for bird watching would have been pretty cool…

Our unofficial species tally for the day:

Species Banded
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)

Species Recaptured
Common Yellowthroat (Geothylypis trichas)

Until next time,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Reserch Insitute

Friday, June 18, 2010

MAPS: Day 2--June 15, 2010

Day 2: June 15, 2010
Banders: Bethany Woodworth, Patrick Keenan, Kristen Babcock, Reed Wommack, and Sanders Wommack
Weather: Calm, 60’s, and partly cloudy and partly sunny
Start time: 4:40am End time: 10:25am

Hi All, what a great day of banding. Today marked the first day of our interns being on hand to assist at the netting station and learn about bird ID, the MAPS protocol, and bird banding. Our intern Reed Wommack a recent high school graduate (Yarmouth H. S.) and bird enthusiast offered this (below) candid description of his experience. Thank you to Reed and enjoy!

Reed Wommack releases a male common yellowthroat. A frequent capture at our site.

From Reed Wommack: Bird Bander-Early

It was only my first day on the job, and I already had so much to learn. First, “waking up early” is a relative term. To a student or white-collar worker 6:00am is early. To a lobsterman, 4:00 am is early. But to bird-banders, there’s no such thing as an early morning.

It’s just a late night. Yes, we woke up at 2:45 am. Well, I woke up that early, but my brother (who accompanied me this once) simply never went to sleep. But according to him, and according to us all, it was totally worth it.

The air was still crisp and the sky starry as Kristin Babcock, another volunteer, and I carpooled down to UNE’s banding site in Biddeford, where we met up with BRI’s Patrick Keenan and UNE professor Bethany Woodworth. At the car we collected ourselves and gathered our belongings before heading into the woods to start our MAPs banding. MAPs is a program that integrates over 500 volunteer bird-banding sites across North America to gain data about bird populations to help conservation efforts.

We set up the first mist nets just as the sky was getting light.

By 6 am all of the ten-foot tall, forty-foot wide black filament nets were up in select locations throughout the woods. After the first net run, Bethany brought the first bird to base-camp in a small cloth bag. I watched in awe as Patrick carefully eased the hermit thrush out of the bag and worked with practiced speed and grace to complete all the measurements and banding. Though I was fully expecting to take a backseat role throughout the entire day, Patrick asked if I wanted to hold the bird, and before I knew it, the thrush was tucked into my hand. Over the course of the day I handled nearly every species that came in and was eventually taking measurements on my own and helping extract birds out of nets.

During the nearly six hours of operation, we caught about twenty birds, mostly common yellowthroats, hermit thrushes, and ovenbirds, about half of which had been banded last season. However, there were some unique species that we banded such as a stunning female scarlet tanager and an eastern wood- pewee. An owl, possibly a barred owl, also flew into one of the nets, but managed to escape, leaving behind a tangled net and a few feathers.

Although I accidentally released a bird (don’t worry it was recaptured later), all in all I’d say it was an extremely successfully first day. Yes, it was early, but yes, it was worth it. There’s nothing quite like holding a small warbler and feeling its warm heart beat against your hand; I can’t wait to go out and do it again next Tuesday! --Reed Wommack


We captured a total of 20 birds on this, our second day of netting this year. We banded nine individuals and recaptured 11. Here is the unofficial tally:

Species Banded
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceaous)
Eastern Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea)
Myrtle Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Common Yellowthroat (Geothylypis trichas)

Species Recaptured
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapilla)
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
Veery (Catharus fuscescens)
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
Common Yellowthroat (Geothylypis trichas)
Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus)

Until our next banding day (scheduled for 6/29), be well.

Patrick Keenan
Outreach Coordinator
BioDiversity Research Institute

MAPS: Day 1--June 8, 2010

Day 1: June 8, 2010
Banders: Bethany Woodworth and Patrick Keenan
Weather: Calm, 60’s, and partly cloudy
Start time: 4:30am End time: 10:45am

The excitement of the first netting day of the season made my sleep restless. Indeed, I was awake before my alarm called at 3:15am--nets to open at 4:30!

The air was cool as I walked into the netting site and I flushed two Turkey Vultures from a tall Maple in the woods. This was a startling racket in the predawn darkness. With a bit of work Bethany and I were able to open eight nets and we enjoyed a slow but steady first day back in the nets. It was nice to be able to take our time looking at each bird and sharing insights about ageing and sexing the birds. It was also nice to get our dexterity back for extracting birds from mist nets without the stress of being overwhelmed with birds.

Among the highlights of the day were two birds that were originally banded last season in 2009. They were a gray catbird and a common yellowthroat each of which appear to have returned the same breeding site after migrating south last fall and north again this spring. It is remarkable to consider that these birds are able to navigate with such accuracy. But, then again, I tend to find my way home to...usually.

Bethany Woodworth holds a blue jay after banding and before release.

In all we captured a total of 10 individuals. Six of these we banded while four were returns or recaptures. Here is an unofficial list:

Species Banded
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceaous)
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
Myrtle Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Common Yellowthroat (Geothylypis trichas)

Species Recaptured
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapilla)
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
Common Yellowthroat (Geothylypis trichas)

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this update. I look forward to another update next week.

Until then,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

2010 MAPS banding season is upon us!

Greetings. I am happy to report the start of the 2010 MAPS bird banding season. This is our second year of capturing and banding songbirds in a systematic way to Monitor Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS). Despite being a wet summer, last year’s banding effort was an absolute success and one that we hope to improve upon this year. Not only did we band a plethora of birds but we trained two devoted bird banding interns and introduced several visiting school groups and guests about bird breeding behavior and bird banding. This year we hope to see some of last year's bands again.

Our mist-netting site is located in Biddeford, ME on property owned by the University of New England. This MAPS station is one of many ongoing research projects on this property that features woodland with patches of wetland and, importantly, a breadth of breeding bird diversity. I will be updating our blog with details from each of our banding days this season, hopefully with a bit of help from this years interns.

This volunteer effort is coordinated by Bethany Woodworth, Visiting Assistant Professor, University of New England, and Patrick Keenan, Outreach Coordinator, BioDiversity Research Institute. If you are interested in supporting this project by volunteering or with a donation for supplies please be in touch. Also, please post questions and comments about this project, sometimes we may have an answer! I look forward to my next update!

All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Friday, October 23, 2009

Isle au Haut Songbird -- Keying out a bird!

Not all people can recognize all birds all of the time! At least not right away! This is one of the reasons why bird banders are equipped with a variety of field guides and identification keys for helping to identify birds to species and determine their age. A good example of a 'mystery' bird turned up in our net one morning and offered our banding intern, Becky, a great opportunity for hands on learning. After retrieving the bird from the net and recognizing it as "some type of sparrow" (a group that is notoriously difficult to identify), Becky zeroed in on what might be critical ID marks. Some useful clues were the subtle yellow hue above the eyes of this bird and its streaky breast and flanks.



Fortunately, Becky has seen many birds in the hand and was able to reduce the possibilities to a short list and then made her final call...



...yes, it was a Savannah Sparrow. Becky completed the banding and measurement process and released the bird, gently and unharmed, back to the wild.



Notably, the bird was captured in a habitat that is quite atypical of where it would normally be found. A testament that strange things happen on migration!

All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute
All photos are copyright of BioDiversity Research Institute

Friday, October 9, 2009

Isle au Haut Songbird Report -- September 24, 2009

This morning dawned overcast and mild with a light northwest wind. Driving down Isle au Haut did not produce any birds, so it seemed things haven’t changed much from yesterday. Our second net round yielded two Blackpoll Warblers which seem to be pre-disposed to finding out nets. What is interesting is that we have yet to get a recapture (a bird that we have previously banded), implying these birds are likely passing through. Their fat loading is quite high relative to other species and they are showing fat in the abdominal region. The wind picked up at about 09:30 and by 10:00 it was gusting to 15 mph. Herring Gulls were taking advantage of the lively air and soaring right over the banding station. What we were missing for birds was replaced by insects – esp. wasps and dragonflies that were getting entangled in the nets. By the time we closed the nets at 12:30, it was feeling like a warm summer day. Hoping for a big front out of the northwest for tomorrow!

By Ken Wright
Photo by Ken Wright

Isle au Haut Songbird Report -- September 23, 2009


Clear skies and gusty southwest winds were the flavor of weather when we opened nets at 06:00 this morning. Bird activity seemed relatively low with only a few Golden-crowned’s and sparrows announcing their presence. Our nets showed a similar pattern with black birdless mesh being the norm on our 30 minute inspections. But fortunately, this was not the case at net 10 where a gorgeous intricately patterned White-throated Sparrow was caught. The next bird to pop in our nets was a new one – a striking Red-breasted Nuthatch. And then a Brown Creeper (another tree-clinging specialist) was recaptured. The skies remained more or less clear with a bit of haze over the water and the wind gained strength as the morning unfolded. Fortunately, most of the wind remained at tree top level and caused minimal net billowing. While the wind often indicates a change in weather which often results in a migrant “fall out”, the southwest direction was not pushing birds towards the coast. This was soon followed by a Blackpoll Warbler which landed in the net beside our banding station. Somewhat surprisingly, this became our most common bird with 4 individuals banded today. Taunted by a flock of Cedar Waxwings and a Palm Warbler…

By Ken Wright
Photo by Ken Wright
Photo caption: Fall plumage Blackpoll Warbler