05-13-14 Bird Field Note

05-13-14 Bird Field Note

May 13, 2014

Debbie Leick's Bird Field Note contains updates on acoustic monitoring, raptor migration counts, and shrubby draw surveys.

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Vesper Sparrow

Migrant Chipping Sparrows, above, and White-crowned Sparrows, below, dominated shrubby draw surveys this week.

In Tongue Creek, color bands on a female American Kestrel identify her as AK-43.

RVRI banded AK-43 on 4/22/12 near a nest box in lower Sheep Camp (1). Her nest failed that year. On 4/29/13 she reappeared short distance away at Tongue Creek and fledged two young (2). She returned to Tongue Creek again this year (sighted on 5/7/14)

We continue to see flocks of hundreds of American Pipits in the grasslands.

A pair of Steller’s Jays nests near Spike Camp Ridge.

Migration makes for unlikely flock-mates. For a few minutes, this dead tree held two Cassin’s Vireos, three Chipping Sparrows, and a single Dark-eyed Junco, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Orange-crowned Warblers blend in well with emerging foliage.

Audio from our Floodplain and Sheep Camp monitors included frequent vocalizations from Sora. The Floodplain recorder also picked up frequent Virginia Rail vocalizations. In the next week, we plan to perform callback surveys to discover any potential breeding birds.