Final Banding stats

So the banding team wound up catching 168 Saw-whets this season. 8 of these birds had already been banded at other sites. The trend of a higher percentage of second year birds being caught continued through the season. If data trends prove correct Kathy thinks that next year will be a boom year (typically every 4 years) probably correlating with prey booms in northern forests.  Clutch sizes are more like passerine species with Saw-whets laying up to 9 eggs, typically 5-6. If a rodent boom occurs many of the owlets will live to fledge and migrate. Sad to see the season end, but I always feel lucky to help out the awesome team at Drumlin who have been studying this amazing owl species for a long time now. Now on to Short-eared Owls and Long-eared Owls !

Little Blue Heron

A very late and somewhat rare Little Blue Heron ( this one is an immature bird, not yet showing its blue adult plumage)  has been at Belle Isle for almost a week. Also the resident Red Tail was hanging out with me this morning, a very tolerant bird.

More from Belle Isle

                                        Some early morning shots of the marsh at Belle Isle.

I also caught a mixed flock of Dunlin and Black-bellied Plovers in a freshly mowed salt-hay field on Plum.

Snowy Owls & Belle Isle

Snowy Owls have started to arrive, so far I have seen 3 birds on Plum Island.
                          Not a great shot, but one gets the idea. 

So I have started working at Belle Isle, which affords alot of great birds through out the day. This week a large push of Sparrows is moving through. I also had a very late Snowy Egret fly in this afternoon, but I did not have a camera.

                                                             Belle Isle salt Pannes

                                                          

                                         

                                                                  Tree Sparrow

                             White-throated Sparrow one of many moving through the reservation

Shorebird flock

About 300 + Black-bellied Plovers, Sanderlings and Dunlin have been roosting by the lot 5 platform. A little bit further down the beach at lot 7 I caught some Dunlin and Sanderlings foraging. They must have just arrived because they did not seem to mind human proximity.

                                                                        Dunlin

                                            Mixed flock of Dunlin and Sanderlings

Winter is coming !

On a short trip up the coast looking Snowy Owls (which have arrived again) my buddy Geoff & I found a good sized flock of Snow Bunting & Horned Larks.

Also on a quick trip over to Winthrop a Juvie Red Tail was perched up at my friend Lauretta's house. She also had a nice spread of Horned Grebes out in front of her spot.

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