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Fall 2003
Hannah Suthers
The fall season was wet, or rather, back to normal with tropical
storm Grace and hurricane Isabel, many days or partial days of rain,
high winds, "stornado", interspersed with cold fronts and NW winds
during which birds poured through. We banded birds on 11 weekends,
with flights on Sept 7, 21, Oct 5 and 19. A total of 85 species were
tallied at the station, 65 migratory species and 20 resident species.
Of the migrants 31 species were breeding species, and 34 species were
passage migrants. A total of 500 were banded, 65 were recaptured, and
23 escaped plus some 200 Grackles who flew into and out of the nets.
Fruit resources were abundant and insects were plentiful.
Highlights of sightings and bandings were:
| Northern Harrier | Oct 12, Nov 2 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | Sept 7, Oct 5, 12, Nov 23 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 12-Sep |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | caught in the net Oct 26 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | female sick, West Nile, taken to MCWC 7 Sept; another soaring Nov 8 |
| Great Horned Owl | pair 28 Sept, Oct 5 |
| Ruffed Grouse | flushed Sept 12, 24 |
| American Woodcock | flushed Nov 8, 23 |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | throughout |
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Oct 18, Nov 9, 17 |
| Hairy Woodpecker | Oct 5, 26, Nov 18 |
| Northern Flicker | throughout |
| Pileated Woodpecker | Oct 26, Nov 23; pair regularly at dead trees (Janet Speck) |
| Flycatchers were scarce: |
| Eastern Wood Pewee | banded Sept 7, 14 |
| Least Flycatcher | banded Sept 7 |
| Traill's Flycatcher | seen Sept 7 |
| Alder Flycatcher | banded Sept 14 |
| Eastern Phoebe | banded Oct 5, 19 |
| Yellow-bellied Flycatcher | banded Aug 24 |
| Parid numbers low: |
| Hybrid Chickadee | banded Sept 21 |
| Carolina Chickadee | 6 banded throughout, sightings throughout |
| Black-capped Chickadee | none banded, only 4 sightings Sept 7, Oct 12, 26, Nov 2 |
| Eastern Tufted Titmouse | banded Sept 14, Oct 5, (4) Oct 12, (2) Oct 26 |
| Brown Creeper | banded Oct 19, Nov 2 |
| Winter Wren | banded Oct 5, 19 |
| Golden-crowned Kinglet | Oct 5, banded Oct 12, 19, 26 |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | banded Oct 5, through Nov 16 |
| Wood Thrush | banded through Oct 5 |
| Gray-cheeked Thrush | (2) banded Oct 5 |
| Swainson's Thrush | banded Sept 7, 21 |
| Hermit Thrush | banded Oct 19, weekly through Nov 23 |
| Brown Thrasher | banded Oct 19, recaptured Oct 26 |
| Catbird | banded through Nov 16 |
| American Robin | flock of northern subspecies arrived to overwinter Oct 12, 2 banded Nov 9 |
| Cedar Waxwing | (7) on Sept 6; (1) Nov 16 |
| Red-eyed Vireo | banded Sept 7, 14 |
| Warblers, 15 species: |
| Black-and-white Warbler | banded Sept 7, 14, 21 |
| Northern Parula | 7-Sep |
| Magnolia | banded Sept 7, 21, Oct 5 |
| Yellow-rumped | first seen Oct 5, banded through Nov 23 |
| Black-throated Green | banded Sept 7, Oct 5 |
| Black-throated Blue | banded Sept 7, 21, Oct 5, 12, 19 (first banded Aug 24) |
| Blackpoll | banded Sept 21, Oct 5 |
| Yellow Palm | banded Sept 21 |
| Ovenbird | banded Sept 7, 14, 21 |
| Northern Waterthrush | banded Sept 7 |
| Common Yellowthroat | banded through Oct 12 |
| Connecticut | banded Sept 7, 21 |
| Canada | banded Sept 7, 21 (first banded Aug 21) |
| American Redstart | banded Sept 7, 14, 21 |
| Yellow-breasted Chat | banded Sept 21 |
| Common Grackle | flocks of thousands Nov 19, banded 29 |
| Scarlet Tanager | banded Sept 7 |
| Sparrows and Finches well represented: |
| American Goldfinch | present throughout, banded Nov 9 |
| Eastern Towhee | banded Sept 7 through Oct 19, still present Nov 23 |
| Swamp Sparrow | banded Oct 6, 20, Nov 3, 10, 24 |
| Dark-eyed Junco | banded Oct 6 & thereafter |
| American Tree Sparrow | Nov 22, banded Nov 23 |
| Field Sparrow | seen Oct 19 |
| White-throated Sparrow | banded Oct 5 & thereafter |
| Lincoln's Sparrow | banded Oct 5, 12 |
| Swamp Sparrow | banded Oct 12 (3), Nov 9, 23 |
| Rose-breasted Grosbeak | banded Sept 7 |
| Indigo Bunting | banded Oct 5 |
| Fox Sparrow | banded (3) Nov 9, (6) 16, (1) 23 |
| Dark-eyed Junco | banded Oct 19 & thereafter |
| Purple Finch | (2) banded Nov 23 |
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