2003 Bird Lab updates - Ventana Wildlife Society
2003 Bird Lab updates - Ventana Wildlife Society
2003 Bird Lab updates - Ventana Wildlife Society
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BSOL Update, March <strong>2003</strong>:<br />
March was a month of many beginnings and<br />
endings. Spring began on March 21 (according to<br />
the calendar). Winter rains are probably over and<br />
the river won't rise again (not too much, that is).<br />
The first Wilson's Warblers began arriving, and the<br />
Hermit Thrushes, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and<br />
Myrtle Warblers are gearing up for northern<br />
flights. Violet-green Swallows and Tree Swallows have returned and are<br />
circling over the lab most of the day. Breeding morphology (cloacal<br />
protuberances and brood patches) is beginning to show itself almost daily,<br />
however, nest-building has been going on in earnest all month,<br />
accompanied by much melodious singing by House Wrens, Purple<br />
Finches, Wrentits, Song Sparrows, Wilson's Warblers, and<br />
Orange-crowned Warblers.<br />
Except for a few straggling "flyers" the monarch butterflies have left their<br />
central California coast overwintering grounds (we are left with the<br />
winter's data to analyze). They have been replaced by a multitude of<br />
orange-tips, blues, whites, elfins, swallowtails, admirals, skippers, and<br />
duskywings. California poppies are "popping" out everywhere. Western<br />
fence lizards are doing their push-ups on the ground and up the walls.<br />
Northward migrating gray whales may still be seen spouting water off<br />
Molera Point. Summer fog is just beginning.<br />
Mist-Netting and Banding<br />
We had a total of 8 banding days in March, totaling 88<br />
captures (26 species, up from each of the last 2 months)<br />
for an average daily census of 11 captures. Hermit<br />
Thrush was the most frequent species in our nets (20<br />
captures), followed by Ruby-crowned Kinglet (10<br />
captures, all females), Chestnut-backed Chickadee (8),<br />
Wilson's Warbler (6, all males), and Myrtle Warbler<br />
(5). On March 25, we banded our first Common<br />
Yellowthroat of the season, a very colorful adult male. We hadn't captured<br />
another Common Yellowthroat at the Andrew Molera State Park site since<br />
last November 4.<br />
We are pleased to note the observation of breeding morphology in a<br />
California Thrasher male, two Chestnut-backed Chickadee females, and<br />
two Spotted Towhee males. One of the Chestnut-backed Chickadees was<br />
a recaptured female first banded here at BSOL last March 30: she also<br />
showed a brood patch at the time of banding. Please note that last month<br />
we may have missed reporting the momentous occasion of our very first<br />
observation of the year of breeding morphology in a captured bird: on<br />
February 25, we captured an adult female Bushtit with a brood patch.<br />
Our first captures of Wilson's Warblers for the year were two birds on<br />
March 18, and another four birds on March 24, all males. One of the