Bird Banding Fall Conclusion

Bird Banding has concluded for this year.  I posted back at the midpoint on what we had then.  This semester,  the LLCC Bird Banding station banded 2047  different birds of 80 species.  Considering that all happened within about a three month window of time, this is very impressive.  New birds for all time include the Blue-headed Vireo and Cape May Warbler, pictures from Wikipedia below.




Blue-headed vireo above, Cape May Warbler below.

Below is information copied from the notes of Vern Kleen, Banding Station President and Very Important Bander (VIB)

Species with new “Seasonal” Highs

Mourning Dove                                    17

Red-bellied Woodpecker                    12*

Downy Woodpecker                            33*

Hairy Woodpecker                               4*

Yellow-shafted Flicker                        12

Eastern Wood-Pewee                           4

Blue-headed Vireo                              1

Blue Jay                                                  22

Black-capped Chickadee                    26

Tufted Titmouse                                   33

White-breasted Nuthatch                    9

Golden-crowned Kinglet                    23

Ruby-crowned Kinglet                        34

Veery                                                       6

American Robin                                    84

Cape May Warbler                             1

Black-throated Green Warbler           15

Wilson’s Warbler                                  5

Eastern Towhee                                     4

Field Sparrow                                         27

Fox Sparrow                                           13

Song Sparrow                                        120

Lincoln’s Sparrow                                23

Slate-colored Junco                              284

Northern Cardinal                                 77

The area is a mixture of woodlot, lawn, and prairie restoration, allowing for a diversity of birds.   This has been explained in a previous post, and also in this other post.   As such,  I refer you back to the other posts.  I have plenty more information about the bird banding program, but much of it is technical.  If interested, post in comments below, as so many of you have done.  (That was sarcasm, in case you couldn't tell.  I presume you could, but there's always that one person...)  Anyway, before I get any more bird-brained puns (for their body size, birds have large brains and most birds are very intelligent),  I will conclude this summary.

*Woodpecker numbers may be up due to emerald ash borers killing trees in the counties north of the banding station. I believe this has been noted in other blogs.  (I look forward to seeing "Woodpeckers on the Rise!" posted in an alarmist article in the mainstream media.)  I do think this is a sign of a serious problem.