09-27-13 Bird Field Note

09-27-13 Bird Field Note

September 27, 2013

This Bird Field Note shows the feathered fruits of RVRI raptor trapping efforts, raptor migration counts, songbird shrubby draw surveys, and fall songbird banding with the ASC.

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Bird Field Note Kate Stone 09-27-13

Shrubby Draw Surveys 9/3, 9/9, 9/16- Kate Stone As the sun rises, we hear the call notes of migratory songbirds descending from the sky.

Juvenile Chipping Sparrow Birds detected in shrubby draw surveys 9/3, 9/9, and 9/16/13

Wood-pewee 1 1 Total 58 136 136 134 130 376 30 174 79 1253 Only a few Gray Catbirds moved through the shrubby draws, and they mostly kept silent.

silent. A group of 45 Yellow-rumped Warblers moved through the bitterbrush along Tongue Creek on 9/9. We have not seen such a large group since.

since. A small flock of Lincoln’s sparrows popped out of a snowberry-leafy spurge patch.

On 9/16, flocks of Cedar Waxwings and American Robins returned to Sheep Camp. We have been anticipating their arrival for weeks. Once berry crops on the floodplain fade higher-elevation shrubs become more attractive. Cedar Waxwings were the second-most detected species in September surveys. We counted all 141 of them on this one day in Sheep Camp!

Camp! Many of the Cedar Waxwings showed the streaky chest that indicates a juvenile bird.

In the last week, we saw many flycatchers in the draws, most of which we had to classify as “Unknown Flycatcher.” This individual gave the “bean-dip” call indicative of a Dusky Flycatcher.

This Clark’s Nutcracker was one of many birds taking advantage of water in the Sheep Camp stock tank.

We rarely see Hermit Thrushes, though their beautiful song fills the upland conifer forests in the breeding season. This lone thrush accompanied a flock of White-crowned Sparrows at the Sheep Camp stock tank.

tank. Despite all of our efforts, cows continue to sneak onto the property. They take shelter in the lower parts of the shrubby draws and on the floodplain.

The cows destroyed a whole area of plantings and exclosures in one night.

Spiders make webs to catch the last few insects flying around the floodplain. Dew from cool morning temperatures accentuates the double structure of some of the webs.

dew on a spider web

The crew captured a rarely seen Brown Creeper’s at the Ridge site (above). They also caught several Mountain Chickadees (bottom, left) and White-Crowned Sparrows (bottom, right).

A mantis joins the raptor crew on the ridge.

A blue racer keeps a low profile in the warm rocks of the raptor crew’s wind shelter.

This week RVRI captured 25 raptors of seven species. The raptor crew banded 13 migrants at the higher trapping site, and 12 at the lower. They caught seven of the eight falcons at the lower site. Migrating falcons use powered flight more than and thermal lift compared to other types of raptors. Falcons use the Bitterroot River’s riparian areas to hunt as they migrate.

RVRI captured three Merlins at the lower site in the last week. Merlins were caught at the high trap site in 2011 and 2012, but the crew has caught none yet this year.

Eye color in Accipiters changes from yellow to red with age. While RVRI aged both of these Cooper’s Hawks as adults, the deep scarlet-red color of the bird in the lower photo is evidence of an older individual.

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09-27-13 Bird Field Note

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