Fall Migration Research Update
Block title
Fall Migration Research Update
February 14, 2022
The University of Montana Bird Ecology Lab (UMBEL) conducted our eleventh consecutive
year of migration monitoring. We captured and banded songbirds on the northern floodplain
on 38 days from August 10 to October 14. We captured a total of 1,180 birds of 57 species
this year (Appendix I). We captured just over 36 birds per 50 net hours, or the effort on a
typical banding day. We banded 872 new birds (~74%), recaptured 244 birds on separate
days (~21%), recaptured 22 birds on the same day (~2%), and left 42 unbanded (~4%).
Among birds we aged, 21% were adults and 79% juveniles, which is a similar age ratio to
previous years. Gray Catbird (163), American Robin (108), Swainson’s Thrush (106),
Gambel’sWhite-crowned Sparrow (100), and Cedar Waxwing (84) topped the list of most
frequent captures. Overall weather conditions were mild, with two weeks of moderate to
heavy wildfire smoke in the early part of the season.
year of migration monitoring. We captured and banded songbirds on the northern floodplain
on 38 days from August 10 to October 14. We captured a total of 1,180 birds of 57 species
this year (Appendix I). We captured just over 36 birds per 50 net hours, or the effort on a
typical banding day. We banded 872 new birds (~74%), recaptured 244 birds on separate
days (~21%), recaptured 22 birds on the same day (~2%), and left 42 unbanded (~4%).
Among birds we aged, 21% were adults and 79% juveniles, which is a similar age ratio to
previous years. Gray Catbird (163), American Robin (108), Swainson’s Thrush (106),
Gambel’sWhite-crowned Sparrow (100), and Cedar Waxwing (84) topped the list of most
frequent captures. Overall weather conditions were mild, with two weeks of moderate to
heavy wildfire smoke in the early part of the season.
