Fall Migration Banding Starts

       This weekend marked the beginning of my fall banding season. Even though birds have been moving south for a while, it's only now that my field work can start and what a start it was! Banding took place on Saturday at the Lowry Nature Center in Carver Park Reserve near Victoria, MN just west of Minneapolis. What a great day. We had the following species for the morning:

Nashville Warbler
Canada Warbler
Black-capped Chickadee (including a retrap bird that is now 10 years old)
American Goldfinch (most common bird of the day)
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Black and White Warbler
Red-eyed Vireo
White Breasted Nuthatch
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Cardinal
Hairy Woodpecker

      Today, Sunday, we held one of our two fall banding sessions at Ritter Farm Park in Lakeville, MN which is south of the Twin Cities. Our numbers weren't as high as Saturday but we had some new species including:

Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Blue-headed Vireo
Golden winged Warbler

Totals for the weekend were 43 birds of 16 species. Nice way to start the fall. Below are some photos from Sunday.

 This male Golden-winged Warbler was my bird of the day. This is a species of much concern and Minnesota is the home to a large percentage of the entire world's population. It was good to have one in the hand.

    Ovenbirds are on of my favorite warblers to band. We have a healthy breeding population in our region and any walk through the springtime woods will be filled with their emphatic calls.

   This Blue-headed Vireo (formerly Solitary Vireo) was the 4th vireo species we banded this weekend. While Red-eyed Vireos are a mainstay of September banding here the Blue-headed is a much less common treat. There were lots of oohs and aahs when this one came out of the holding bag.

    The weather continues to transition from summer to fall and even though the recent weather has been warmer than normal, it won't be long before the mornings turn frosty. If all goes well I won't pack away my nets until early November. Please check back often to see how the migration is progressing.