Latest Dearborn Birds                   

30 May: A Chestnut-sided Warbler in my  Dearborn yard will probably be the last warbler there until fall.

29 May: A Gray-cheeked Thrush banded today tied the late date.  A Least Flycatcher has been singing in the same place for over a week...maybe it will stay to nest.

27 May: I banded a White-eyed Vireo today, the first since I banded 2 in the fall of 1992, and the first campus records since 2 in the spring of 1996.  There have been 21 records of this species in our area, including a successful nest in 1983.

Otherwise, very quiet.  One banded Nashville and one Tennessee heard were the only warblers around.  A Yellow-billed Cuckoo is still singing near the lake.  A Black-and-white Warbler yesterday was getting late.

22 May: Today we finally had our first Blackburnian Warblers, and a Mourning Warbler was banded (another was heard).

We continue to band species that aren't singing any more much or at all: Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, and Nashville Warblers for example.  Today we also had two Common Loons fly over.

20 May: Another Connecticut Warbler was heard again today, this time tantalizingly close to one of our banding nets (no luck, though). A review of records for the last 4 years averaged 6 Connecticut Warbler sightings ("hearings"?) a year.  Most are in spring, but we band a couple each fall.

The cold front that came through yesterday, despite having no discernable effect on the weather, did seem to bring some birds around.  We had our first sightings of Philadephia Vireo, Willow Flycatcher, and Alder Flycatcher today.

We also netted a Red-eyed Vireo that we originally banded in 1996.  This is our first recapture of a REVI from a previous year since I began banding at UM-D in 1992.

19 May: The hot weather with south winds hasn't helped migration much.  We saw our first Ruby-throated Hummingbird yesterday, and today we banded a  Yellow-breasted Chat; a Yellow-throated Vireo was seen at Greenfield Village.  We seem to have nesting American Woodcock, as one was seen at dusk on 17 May, and another in the same area was startled up today.

With a cold front arriving, it's time to summarize banding results for the last week:
 

13 through 19 May (6 days, 28 hours)  109 birds (82 new, 27 recaps) of 35 species.  Highlights: Golden-winged Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Scarlet Tanager, Savannah Sparrow

 

17 May: Jerry Sadowski located a singing Connecticut Warbler today.  Despite Jerry's 45 minutes of peering, pishing, craning, squeaking, following, and finally  balling up his fists, stamping his feet and whining, the bird did not show itself.

16 May: Our International Migratory Bird Day went well, with warm temperatures and a nice variety of birds in small numbers.  People attending the two banding demonstrations got to see in-hand a beautiful male Golden-winged Warbler, a Carolina Wren recap from 1996, and Indigo Bunting, Wood Thrush, and Swainson's Thrush.  We captured our season's first Wilson's Warbler, and had a Black-capped Chickadee recap from 1992.  We happily located 7 Yellow-billed Cuckoos,  several of which were actually seen!

15 May: Today was a little more interesting.  We heard our first Eastern Wood-pewee of the season, and banded the first Gray-cheeked Thrush and Savannah Sparrow (don't band many of them any more; did better when we had nets in a grassy area).  Another earlyish butterfly was Silver-spotted Skipper.

Once again, we've heard news of one of our banded birds being recovered, this time a Yellow-rumped Warbler, one of the nearly 200 we banded last spring (this spring we've had about 5!).  This bird was banded by us on 13 May 1997 as an after-hatching year, sex unknown and was captured and released by a bander in Tallahassee, FL on 11 March 1998!  Very cool!

14 May: Like Pt. Pelee, it was much quieter here today than yesterday.  New arrivals were  Swainson's Thrush, Blackpoll Warbler and Common Nighthawk.  Also saw the season's first Black Swallowtail butterfly, which seemed early to me.  The insect life is incredible...thousands of "inchworms" are raining droppings through the forest, mosquitoes are out (no news there), and the last couple days there have been clouds of some kind of midge.

13 May: Today things finally picked up, although it was hardly overwhelming.  With non-singing birds nearly undetectable, the depressed numbers are partly an illusion.  Red eyed Vireo, Black-billed Cuckoo, and American Redstart were new arrivals, and a Broad-winged Hawk was hanging around the area where we've suspected they've nested in the past.

We finally got to the 30-bird mark banding (usually considered an average day; a year ago today we banded 60).  The birds are widely dispersed throughout the mid and upper layers of vegetation.  However, our best bird was a Wood Thrush, previously color banded as part of our ongoing study on the productivity of this species.  This male (green over blue) first caught in 1995, was not detected in 1996, but it nested in 1997.  Today it was caught with an unbanded Wood Thrush that may be a new mate.  We banded her pink over green.

12 May: The only new arrival today was Bay-breasted Warbler.  With south winds expected the rest of the week, things should pick up significantly.  Seems like a good time to update the banding results:
 

Banding results 1 to 12 May:  6 days, 23.5 hours.  74 birds (53 new, 21 recaps) of 24 species.  Highlights were 7 species of warbler, including Blue-winged Warbler

11 May: More diversity, although still not great numbers, today with 12 species of warblers.  New arrivals were Yellow, Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, and Black-throated Blue Warblers.

We also welcomed back our first Gray Catbird from a previous year.  This bird was banded as a hatching year bird last August.  It was netted in the same area were it was originally captured.  Each year, we get back at least a dozen or so catbirds banded in previous years.  We also recaptured a Blue Jay that was originally banded as a hatching year bird in 1992.  It's been recaptured as a breeding female every year since except 1994 and 1997.

9 May: Today was North American Migration Count day.  Considering the leaf-out, perhaps it is more aptly named this year the North American Conspicuous Singing Male Bird Count.  One person in 3 hours found only 51 species.  While Yellow-rumped and Nashville Warblers and Ovenbirds were more numerous, migration continues to putz along.

The only new arrivals tallied were Veery and Great Crested Flycatcher. A female Cape May Warbler was seen at Greenfield Village.

7 May: Indigo Bunting, Ovenbird, and Blue-winged Warbler (one heard, one banded) at UM-D, and Eastern Kingbird at Greenfield Village.  With an ENE wind, only 20 migrating Blue Jays!

6 May: New arrivals were Spotted Sandpiper, Least Flycatcher, Lincoln's Sparrow (banded) and Rose-breasted Grosbeak (several).  At Greenfield Village, Scarlet Tanager and Tennessee Warbler.  Nashville Warbler numbers up, Yellow-rumps steady, sudden influx of White-crowned Sparrows.

We're also becoming intrigued with the number of Blue Jays migrating east/northeast, and have tried to watch the sky.  Today we've had 19 flocks totalling 348 birds.  Typical flocks are around 10 to 15, but a few have been over 40, one was 60.

5 May: At Greenfield Village: Cliff Swallow, Warbling Vireo, and White-crowned Sparrow; in east Dearborn, Whippoorwill

4 May: Wood Thrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Northern Waterthrush (banded), Evening Grosbeak (2 flying over), Pine Siskin (2 flying over), Blue Jays in several flocks totalling over 70 birds, all flying east.

We also received notice of an encounter of one of our banded birds. A Dark-eyed Junco, banded by us as an after hatching-year male on 7 April 1995 was hit by a car in Erie, PA on 29 March 1998.

3 May: Baltimore Oriole, Solitary Sandpiper, a very early nesting Killdeer with 4 young

2 May: Blue-headed Vireo

1 May: Chimney Swift, Palm Warbler, Common Yellowthroat