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Taking the Long View: An inside look at the goings-on at the longest running avian ecology field station west of the Mississippi.

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Monthly Banding Summary, June 2014

July 21, 2014

This summary was compiled by Palomarin banding interns Janelle Chojnacki and Asya Rahlin with help from Renée Cormier, Banding Supervisor.

Exciting Captures and Observations:

June is a busy month, with high capture rates and many banding days. There are lots of young birds around, and this month, they made up 38% of all birds captured!

A young Black-headed Grosbeak captured and banded. Note the bright yellow underwing! Photo by Janelle Chojnacki.
A young Black-headed Grosbeak captured and banded. Note the bright yellow underwing! Photo by Janelle Chojnacki.

Let’s Do the Numbers:

In 30 days (3229.88 net hours) of mist-netting at Palomarin in July, we captured 313 new birds and recaptured 214 previously banded birds. A total of 527 birds of 30 species were caught this month. Approximately 17.56 birds were caught per banding day.

This Steller's Jay at Palo was originally captured as an adult in 2007; therefore, it is at least 8 years old! Photo by Janelle Chojnacki.
This Steller’s Jay at Palo was originally captured as an adult in 2007; therefore, it is at least 8 years old! Photo by Janelle Chojnacki.

At our other West Marin banding sites, we captured 257 new birds and recaptured 190 previously banded birds. A total of 447 birds of 30 species were caught over 16 banding days this month (897.66 net hours), an average of approximately 27.93 birds per day.

The highest capture rates at Palomarin and our other West Marin banding sites were on June 26 at Palomarin with 32 birds and June 11 at Lagunitas Creek with 44 birds.

At Palomarin the highest numbers were captured for the following species: Swainson’s Thrush (84), Wilson’s Warbler (55), Wrentit (55), Chestnut-backed Chickadee (45), and Song Sparrow (41).

Across all off-sites, the highest numbers of captures by species were: Swainson’s Thrush (127), Wilson’s Warbler (97), Song Sparrow (66), Wrentit (28), and Allen’s Hummingbird (23).

We measure the length of the black cap and estimate the percent of green within the black area to help us determine age and sex for captured Wilson's Warblers at Palo. This one is a female due to the small amount of black and large amount of green. Photo by Janelle Chojnacki.
We measure the length of the black cap and estimate the percent of green within the black area to help us determine age and sex for captured Wilson’s Warblers at Palo. This one is a female due to the small amount of black and large amount of green. Photo by Janelle Chojnacki.

About these Summaries:

In an effort to share our science with the public, Point Blue interns and staff at our Palomarin Field Station (Palomarin or “Palo”) in Point Reyes National Seashore near Bolinas, CA produce these monthly bird-banding summaries. Our science interns create these summaries as part of their science outreach training.

Our Palomarin Field Station is open to the public.  Consider visiting us!  Learn how by visiting our mist-netting demonstrations web page.

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