2003 Bird Lab updates - Ventana Wildlife Society

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Welcome! Visitors are always welcome to BSOL. We band five days a week at Andrew Molera State Park, Tuesdays through Saturdays, beginning fifteen minutes after dawn and closing after five hours. Currently, we run our nets from about 7:00 am to 12:00 pm. For more information, please contact BSOL Coordinator, Sarah Stock, at (831) 624-1202, or by e-mail at SarahStock@VentanaWS.org. We look forward to having you with us! BSOL Update, July 2003: High summer settled upon Andrew Molera State Park in July. The steep ridge tops of surrounding Big Sur have become tawny and golden with the disappearance of their mantle of wildflowers. In contrast, the venerable sycamores standing about our field office have put forth their large green leaves and now provide dense shade. Summer fog routinely piles up along the shore here in July, but Molera often remains free of fog - an isolated world of blue amidst a thick blanket that withdraws by late morning. The Big Sur River has dropped considerably, chortling noisily over rocks and stones. As if on cue, the American Dipper has returned to its familiar haunt upstream from the river footbridge, much to the delight of BSOL's field crew who now find it essential on every river crossing to scan the exposed rocks and rushing currents for a glimpse of the elusive Water Ouzel. The month of July brought visitors of another variety as well: a steady flow of Discovery Campers under the tutelage of VWS' Education Program staff, and State Park visitors from all over the world. Each day was enlivened by the energy of young onlookers to the mist-netting and banding operation of BSOL. Exclamations of amazement and torrents of questions filled the banding shed as campers and visiting families alike were welcomed to have a close-up look at their first wild bird in the hand. Of course the best teachers of all are the birds themselves, who never fail to inspire and enthrall us with their remarkable lives. Mist-Netting/Banding at Andrew Molera State Park The month of July capped off our incredible run of spring vagrants, leaving behind the month's chief protagonists, resident birds, hard at work wrapping up the business of breeding. Most noteworthy was a bonanza of young Black-headed Grosbeaks. July also marked the onset of heavy molts for both hatching year and adult birds, making life even more interesting in the banding lab. Whereas young Wilson's Warblers have completed their preformative molt, the worn adults are just beginning their own replacement of feathers in preparation for fall migration. Casual mixed species flocks of Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Bushtits, Warbling
Vireos and others have been observed flitting about the study area. Occasionally, we have re-sighted the Great Tit interloper that we captured and banded last month, foraging with the resident birds. This July we operated our year-round mist-netting station for 22 days, yielding 596 captured individuals of 33 species. Daily totals hovered around 25 birds and 10 species. Our most frequently captured species was again Wilson's Warbler, comprising a total of 143 individuals, up 30% from last month. Song Sparrows continued to lead the pack of coastal riparian breeders, producing second and perhaps even third clutches for the season. Black-headed Grosbeaks also did very well this breeding season; we banded a total of 98 birds of this species, 95 % of them being hatching year birds. Unusual captures in July included a young Northern Mockingbird, netted and banded on July 29th. It was only the second Northern Mockingbird captured at Molera, after a hiatus of 10 years since the last (and first) one. Another notable capture was a young Brown Creeper banded on July 31st, the first individual of this species captured in calendar year 2003. Carmel River Projects Mist-Netting/Banding. July was our third month of banding at our three Carmel River MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) stations in association with the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District. We banded a total of nine days at Red Rocks, All Saints, and Rancho San Carlos. Bird activity slowed as the breeding season began to wind down, which meant slightly lower capture totals than last month. Many birds were starting their fall molts, and toward the end of the month we noticed the formation of early mixed-species foraging flocks as young birds struck out on their own. This month we captured a total of 206 individuals of 29 species. Red Rocks was the most productive site (81 birds), while All Saints had the fewest number of captures (60 birds). Red Rocks also had the most species (19) while Rancho San Carlos had the fewest (17). Bushtits once again were our most frequently captured bird, with 36 individuals, followed by Song Sparrows (21) and Wilson's Warblers (20). Unusual and exciting captures included a breeding male Black-throated Gray Warbler banded at All Saints, and a juvenile Northern Rough-winged Swallow banded at Red Rocks. Weekly banding continued at the Carmel River Mouth where we have been monitoring birds using standardized MAPS protocol since 1999. Half of our nets are in restored willows and the other half are in mature riparian forest. By comparing bird abundance and diversity between the two portions of the study area we can determine how birds respond to the continued growth in the restoration area. This month we captured a total of 71 birds of 17 species in both the restored and mature habitats combined. The three most abundant species included Wilson's Warbler (18 individuals), Swainson's Thrush (9), and Song Sparrow (8). Nest Monitoring and Area Searches. BSOL Assistant Coordinator, Jason Scott, wrapped up his nest searching project at the Carmel River
Page 1 and 2: Ventana Wildlife Society BIG SUR OR
Page 3 and 4: only a matter of time before we wil
Page 5 and 6: Fall migration continued unabated,
Page 7 and 8: given day. So, please either call u
Page 9 and 10: each of Yellow Warbler, Bewick's Wr
Page 11: Public Outreach and Education BSOL
Page 15 and 16: Larson, a former BSOL intern, and i
Page 17 and 18: most frequently captured species in
Page 19 and 20: estored banks of the Carmel River,
Page 21 and 22: nature! Fortunately for the owls (o
Page 23 and 24: forces to meet this challenge. We i
Page 25 and 26: Wilson's Warblers captured on March
Page 27 and 28: Carmel Middle School BSOL continued
Page 29 and 30: Project Monarch Alert This month, i

2003 Bird Lab updates - Ventana Wildlife Society

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