Bird Banding at Presque Isle SP IBA

Sadly, my fall birding ID class with Jerry McWilliams is completed. Happily, that afforded me the opportunity to help out Desiree and her assistant, Erica, with bird banding this past Saturday. It was a slow but steady banding day as we netted and processed white-throated sparrows, hermit thrushes, a couple of downy woodpeckers, and a winter wren. Desiree and Erica have been banding birds 6 days a week at the park, weather permitting, alternating between Niagara Boat Launch (T-Th-Sa) and Fry's Landing (M-W-F) starting at daybreak and running through to around 2:00 pm.

Erica extracts a Hermit Thrush from one of the 13 mist nets set up behind Niagara Boat Launch.

Erica places a band on a white-throated sparrow...and then hands it off to Desiree for weighing and measuring.

I was a little rusty when starting out but Desiree is a generous and patient teacher who showed me a little bit more about extracting the birds from the net as well as processing the birds. Sarah, Desiree and Erica have the processing down to, well, a science.

My first extractee this fall, a little downy that was a recapture from September.

Once a bird is captured and the species determined it is banded with an appropriately sized numbered band, aged, sexed, wing measurements are taken and fat status is determined. Then, of course, the bird is set free. Sarah, the lead bander, Desiree and Erica are also collecting ticks from the captured birds. The ticks collected will be used in a research study being conducted by Yale University. The entire process is done as quickly and efficiently as possible as to disturb the birds as little as possible. All of the information gathered is written down in a log book for purposes of later comparison as well as for uploading to a larger data base.

If you've never seen a birds ear before, you can't say that anymore!Erica delicately tweezes a tick from this hermit thrush.Each specimen vial contains ticks from one bird.

Ron Leberman, the Godfather of bird banding at PISP, looks on at the processing.

Ron and his family banded birds for 49 years at PISP. Ron tells wonderful stories about the great numbers of birds that used to frequent the park, including one ten day stretch in which they netted 650 birds!

A frequent visitor and helper at the banding station , Dave, was reluctant to extract a bird from the net, but with Desiree's not-so-subtle persuasion he finally caved and Desiree showed him how it's done!

SUCCESS!!!

Banding will continue through the end of October for the fall migration and resume in mid-April 2009 for spring migration. If you live in the area and are interested in observing or volunteering, come on down to the sites. It's definitely a wonderful and rewarding learning experience.

Sanderling Sunday

I took these shots of a young sanderling last Saturday during a bird identification class I am taking. I had never seen a sanderling before and was surprised that it approached us as closely and nonchalantly as it did. According to my birding instructor, Jerry McWilliams, however, this is not an uncommon behavior for sanderlings. Sanderlings are pretty small sandpipers, 7-8 inches with a wingspan of 14 inches. They weigh only about 1.4-3.5 oz! That has always amazed me about birds but it shouldn't seeing how they have to be able to fly:)I thought these images would be sharper than they are given his proximity but maybe it was the light mist of the day. At any rate, it was a beautiful bird to see and add to my life list, that is if I kept a list. I really need to start writing these things down:)According to Cornell's All About Birds Bird Guide on-line the sanderling is one of the most widespread wintering shorebirds in the world. It breeds in extreme northern Canada, parts of Alaska, and in parts of northern Greenland, Russia and Norway. The sanderling winters on all coasts from southern Alaska and Nova Scotia and southward to southern Chile and Argentina. Its range is quite incredible.

I wonder where this guy is now. Maybe a quick stop over in Florida, then onto the balmy shores of Argentina. Aaah, the good life.

The Purple Martin Show!

In the waning weeks of August, as dusk draws nigh, a show begins unlike any show most have ever experienced. The show runs nightly into the first week or two of September. One of the best places to see and experience this marvelous spectacle is at the foot of Sommerheim Drive in Erie, PA, on the Waterworks property. The show is incredible and the fact that more people don't attend the show is nearly as incredible. "Who", you may ask, "stars in this show?"...why...the Purple Martins, of course. It is here that the Purple Martins gather to roost each night in a large cattail bed so significant that it has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by the National Audubon Society . The martins fly in from all over this and nearby counties swooping, skimming and swirling in a spectacular avian ballet before slipping into the cattail bed for the night. The martins gather at roosts such as this prior to and during migration. It is believed these roosts are used by these highly social birds because they provide protection from predators, as well as a setting that is warmer and less windy than inland roosts. I was amazed to read that one of the largest PM roosts is in Lake Murray, SC and housed an estimated 703, 000 PMs!

There may still be a few days left for you to get down to see The Purple Martin Show, so I encourage you to grab your binoculars and get down to the "theater". My friend, Julie, listens to the calls of the circling Purple Martins.This is an example of a slow shutter speed and fast birds. I thought is was cool anyway.A female PM in flight directly above my head!

A great egret that decided to get in on the act.