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Breeding Season 2009
Hannah Suthers
This nesting season will be remembered for its frequent, though
mostly light, rains. Many tadpoles and invertebrates at the vernal
pools may have been washed downstream. The entire season was green,
with much standing water. The singing male census held its own with 65
nesting species, missing being the Willow Flycatcher, Yellow-billed
Cuckoo, Brown Thrasher and Yellow-breasted Chat. Neotropical migrant
species on territory stayed at just over 40% of all species, but their
numbers are slowly drifting down from the peak of 57% of birds censused
in 1995 to 41%.
Early nest attempts failed for many species, especially the ground
nesters: there were only 9 Ovenbird fledglings banded compared to 15
last year, not appearing until mid July, and no Towhee and Blue-winged
Warbler fledglings. Only 4 Wood Thrush fledglings were banded compared
to 15 last year. Catbird fledglings appeared in the mist nets June 21,
two weeks earlier than usual indicative of the warming trend, and three
waves were evident though numbers were depressed.
Mist-netting for the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship
program resulted in 218 new birds compared to 341 last year, due both
to fewer adults captured and the paucity of fledglings. Forty species
were banded compared to 43 last year. Fifty birds returned from
previous years, compared to 58 last year, and 14 of these were banded
as fledglings. Ages of returns were over-8-years old male Veery, 8-year
female Cardinal and 3 male Catbirds, over-7-years male and female Wood
Thrushes, over-6-years male Catbird, 6-year male hybrid Chickadee,
over-5-years male Robin, 5-year female Towhee, several other 5-year,
4-year, 3-year birds of various species. The migratory miles flown and
navigation back to the same territory are awe inspiring.
As cooperators with the University of California LA/National
Insititute of Health Avian Flu project, we swabbed and took feather
samples of 200 birds.
The species list follows, the numbers being singing/displaying males
on territory.
| Common Name | Count & Comments |
| Great Blue Heron | flyover June 14 |
| Green Heron | at pond July 26 |
| Woodcock | 9 |
| Wild Turkey | 3 |
| Canada Goose | 2 pr, nests predated |
| Mourning Dove | 14 |
| Black Vulture | flyover June 14 |
| Turkey Vulture | 2 pairs |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 pair, routinely mobbed. |
| Screech Owl | 3 |
| Great-horned Owl | 1 |
| Black-billed Cuckoo | 1 |
| Chimney Swift | flyover July 20 |
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird | 3 |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | 20 |
| Hairy Woodpecker | 1 |
| Downy Woodpecker | 8 |
| Yellow-shafted Flicker | 10 |
| Pileated Woodpecker | 1 |
| Eastern Wood Pewee | 6 |
| Eastern Phoebe | 3 |
| Great-crested Flycatcher | 8 |
| Tree Swallow | pair |
| Barn Swallow | 5 pairs, 25 fledglings |
| Blue Jay | 20 |
| American Crow | 11 |
| Carolina Chickadee | 12 |
| Black-capped Chickadee | 3 |
| Hybrid Chickadee | 4 |
| Tufted Titmouse | 24 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | 10 |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | pair building nest |
| House Wren | 10 |
| Carolina Wren | 12 |
| House Finch | 6 |
| American Goldfinch | 6 |
| Chipping Sparrow | 8 |
| Song Sparrow | 8 |
| Field Sparrow | 5 |
| Eastern Towhee | 29 |
| Northern Cardinal | 40 |
| Rose-breasted Grosbeak | 11 |
| House Sparrow | 6 |
| White-eyed Vireo | 1 |
| Yellow-throated Vireo | 5 |
| Red-eyed Vireo | 13 |
| Black-and-white Warbler | 1 |
| Blue-winged Warbler | 9 |
| Yellow Warbler | 3 |
| Ovenbird | 35 |
| Louisiana Waterthrush | 1 |
| Common Yellowthroat | 23 |
| Brown-headed Cowbird | 10 |
| Red-winged Blackbird | 9 |
| Baltimore Oriole | 14 |
| Common Grackle | 14 |
| European Starling | 1 |
| Scarlet Tanager | 10 |
| Cedar Waxwing | 3 |
| Northern Mockingbird | 4 |
| Gray Catbird | 58 |
| Eastern Bluebird | 3, 2 broods |
| Wood Thrush | 24 |
| Veery | 22 |
| American Robin | 49 |
Hannah Suthers and the Featherbed Lane Banding Station Crew
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