A busy day at the station... and more!

Today, on another warm morning, as if summer finally wants to prove something, calls were heard from everywhere as we opened the nets at dawn. Sure enough, the rustles in the leaves and multiple contact calls materialized in many a sparrow caught in our eager nets! An interesting palette of sparrows were captured, from the Song to the White-crowned, with the occasional Lincoln's and an interesting 4 Swampies (Swamp Sparrows, of course). But the most common were the dark-eyed Juncos (9 banded) and undoubtedly, the White-throated Sparrow (with 31 banded). All in all, we banded 75 birds, including a remarkable 7 Hermit Thrushes (which, for their first appearance this fall at the station, made a splash!). An American Redstart and a a few Red-eyed Vireo are noteworthy, not necessarily the latest in the season, but certainly after peak time for these species.

A flock of White-winged Crossbills was seen today, this species being regularly observed since the start of the fall monitoring this season.

Other interesting obs. and banding news: a yellow-billed Cuckoo was banded on 24 September; 2 Black Scoters were observed on Georgian Bay on 22 September (as well as several White-winged Scoters); A young Bald Eagle was perched on a big red Pine for a few hours on 19 September; A Ruby-throated Hummingbird was seen that same day too; a Snow Goose, all by itself, was observed flying high towards Georgian Bay on 18 September (a very uncommon sight at Cabot Head: I believe it's only the 2nd one!); and a Clay-coloured Sparrow on 16 September.

Even though mid-September has been relatively slow (up to those last few days), there is always something special to keep us happy! Not least among the magic moments is the reflection of... no, not the moon, but Jupiter on Wingfield Basin! Skies are so dark on the Bruce Peninsula that on a clear, moon-less night, we can have a Jupiter-lit body of water!!

Migration monitoring at Cabot Head Research Station is up and running!

Finally, a post from the absentee blogger! I am afraid it’s been already 4 weeks that migration monitoring has resumed at Cabot Head on the beautiful Bruce Peninsula, 4 weeks without any reporting in the virtual world… My apologies but the real world is always more appealing and it’s hard to resist the urge to go out kayaking on Georgian Bay in the afternoons.

We opened the nets again for the first time in fall in August 16 and it started quite well, with lots of American Redstarts. The first week was indeed very productive with this species, Red-eyed Vireo, and Cedar Waxwing among others. As the weeks passed, more warblers were added to the mix: Black&White, Black-throated Green, Nashville, Magnolia, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush were captured relatively frequently toward the end of August and early September. Lots of Pine Warblers were also regularly observed in Jack Pines. The first Palm Warblers were detected on September 11 and the first Blackpoll Warblers on September 13, later than usual.

A Great Egret was seen on the basin shore on September 7, the same day than the first ever Red Crossbill was observed on census by BPBO president, Ted Cheskey. Small flocks of White-winged Crossbills have been seen during the fall, but the real highlight was on Saturday, September 13, when 3 White-winged Crossbills were captured and banded, a first for Cabot Head!

Another great moment happened on September 9: while paddling on the Bay, I watched in awe a waterspout on the North horizon! At the same time, an adult Bald Eagle was flying towards the Bruce Peninsula shore! What are the odds of that, he?

What's a waterspout, you might ask? here's the Wikipedia definition:
"A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex (usually appearing as a
funnel-shaped cloud) that occurs over a body of water and is connected
to a cumuliform cloud. In the common form, it is a nonsupercell
tornado over water, and brings the water upward. It is weaker than
most of its land counterparts." but just google it and look at
pictures...

I saw it when it was probably already weakening or maybe i was too far
away (which is not a bad thing): i didn't really see any contact with
the water and the column seemed to be lighter and broken at the end
near the water... nonetheless, it was quite impressive to see this
thin, columnar cloud, like a finger pointing down the earth!!

so, on my right, a bald eagle effortlessly riding updrafts, and on my
left, under a white cloud, a dark funnel of a cloud! what a spectacle!

Cabot Head is an amazing place, with always something "new" to
discover and enjoy, even after 6 years! (like the rattlesnake on top
of Middle Bluff, just a few steps from the edge!)