09-08-14 Bird Field Note

09-08-14 Bird Field Note

September 8, 2014

Kate Stone's Bird Field Note shows a Canada Warbler, a Red Cross Bill, and a Clark's Nutcracker.

Bird Field Note Shrubby Draws, Songbird Banding Kate Stone 9/05/14

Small flocks of Lewis’s Woodpeckers joined Clark’s Nutcrackers, sapsuckers, and other woodpeckers in extracting seeds from Ponderosa Pine cones. We only spotted one colormarked woodpecker on transects this week.

William spotted a group of Bobolinks foraging in the agricultural fields near the marmot colony.

Most hummingbirds have migrated out of our area; no hummingbirds visited our feeders during surveys in the past two weeks. Next week we will install cameras to capture visits by late-season migrants.

Species diversity in shrubby draws increased this week. We recorded 41 species compared to 29 last week. Vesper Sparrows continued to dominate surveys.

Species detected in shrubby draw surveys August 29th, 2014

Berries attract many species into the shrubby draws.

Migrating flycatchers make few vocalizations, which impairs our ability to identify them. We record birds like this one as an “Unknown Flycatcher”.

During migration, birds often move in accordance with weather patterns. Rain, wind, and cloud cover may prevent movement, push movement, or change the direction of movement.

Few detections of Canada Warblers exist in Montana. This species breeds in the forests of central and eastern Canada, and typically migrates through the eastern United States. We captured this bird at our upper elevation station on Baldy Ridge.

We captured this Empidonax flycatcher at Sheep Camp, and identification proved impossible. A combination of body measurements may help to determine flycatcher species.