Blue-winged Warbler

So it seems that the new species are beginning to slow up a little as I didn't get any yesterday. Still this adult male Blue-winged Warbler was a rare treat.

3 more species today

Today we caught three more new species amongst another successful day of banding.

• Mourning Warbler
• Veery
• Wood Thrush

First day of banding at Powdermill

Despite some rather poor weather we caught over 150 birds of 30 species. Amongst these were 12 species which I had never seen before.

• Magnolia Warbler
• Black-throated Blue Warbler
• Chestnut-sided Warbler
• Hooded Warbler
• Tennessee Warbler
• Philadelphia Vireo
• Cape May Warbler
• Swamp Sparrow
• Grey-cheeked Thrush
• Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
• Blackpoll Warbler
• Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Not a bad start by any standards.

Indigo Bunting

Northern Parula

Powdermill arrival

I finally made it to Powdermill in the late afternoon after they had finished ringing for the day. It seems I arrived a day too late, as they caught 46 species today and over 200 birds. In fact, this was the reason that they were delayed in picking me up from Latrobe. Powdermill is situated among mature broad-leaved woodland in gently rolling hills away from any major developments. As the leaves start to change colour it is truly a beautiful place. At first glance its not easy to see what would make this a good place to capture large numbers of migrating birds. After having a short walk around the banding station this evening I'm beginning to have my first ideas. Firstly, there are more nets setup here than anywhere I've ever been previously, between 65-70 with the majority of these being 12m in length. That said, they don't cover a spectacularly large area, as most are placed in combinations of 2 or more nets. Secondly, the nets cover a diverse range of habitats including forest fringe, "old field", marshy areas and a few ponds, although almost all are in some form of "scrub" habitat alongside. However, I suspect that this is the wrong scale to be looking at, rather the most important aspect may be that these habitats all fall within a large clearing in the forest, making it a relatively attractive stopover location. Overnight there was a lady visiting who was catching bats. Owing to the early start the next day I only observed the first hour or so, but we caught a Long-eared Bat and a Little Brown Bat. I also heard my first Eastern Screech Owl tonight.

Powdermill

Yesterday I set off for Powdermill in Western Pennsylvania. As I write I'm not quite there yet. I'm in Latrobe, a cutesy old-fashioned town with the distinct air of a retirement community and 2 claims to fame. 1, it's the birthplace of golf legend Arnold Palmer and 2, it was home to the first ever Banana split! So far its been quite a journey so far involving changes in Toronto, Buffalo, Cleveland and Pittsburgh (during the G20 summits and the ensuing riots) and staying up for what seems like more than half the night. However, if what I hear is true then it'll be well worth the effort. Roll on the next 3 weeks.

Ontario Break

I've been in Ontario the last few days on holiday and will not be back in Vancouver until the new year. So far during this break I've been Sailing (twice), Canoeing and spotted three new bird species. All in all, just what I needed.