Fall Banding 1998        Updated 21 Nov 1998

• 17 August to 1 November (59 days)
• 1344 new birds, 1709 birds netted, 52.8 birds per 100 net-hours, our best season ever!
• 66 species, including Rusty Blackbird (a new species and our 10,00th bird), Cape May Warbler, two Winter Wrens, many new fall records (see below)
• Most numerous species:
• Swainson's Thrush -- 174 (new fall record, and an increase of 87% over 6-year fall mean*)
• White-throated Sparrow -- 150  (new fall record, 47% increase)
• Gray Catbird -- 133 (plus 110 recaptured)
• American Robin -- 111
• Hermit Thrush -- 101  (new fall record, 122% increase)
• Blackpoll Warbler -- 68  (new fall record, 336% increase)
• Song Sparrow -- 61
• Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco -- 44 (new fall record, 52% increase)
• Magnolia Warbler -- 39
• American Goldfinch -- 36

*Increases caluculated as birds per 100 net-hours
• Other species that set new fall records:
• Red-eyed Vireo (52%)
• Black-throated Blue Warbler (281%)
• Yellow-rumped Warbler (22%)
• White-crowned Sparrow (68%)

Here's look at a list of all the birds banded this fall, and totals since 1992

I've updated our Most commonly banded species page.  We've now banded about the same number of birds as were previously banded on campus from 1979-86 by a former banding crew.  You can now look at the differences between the two periods.  Both time periods have the same top 5 species (Gray Catbird, American Robin, Swainson's Thrush, American Goldfinch, and White-throated Sparrow), but in different order.  Of the remaining 5 species, 3 are different.  We have far fewer cardinals, but many more Hermit Thrushes (they may have banded near feeders, while we do not).  Their high number of Bay-breasted Warblers is nearly entirely attributed to a single year, 1978, when 217 were banded!
 
More analyses of stopover times and weight gains, and population trends coming up...