after the peak!

we are entering now the later part of the spring migration: excitement is gearing down a notch, less birds and new species are to be expected, the peak (especially the peak of warblers) is behind us...

But it doesn't mean that this is over! Oh no! After the last big day of 103 banded birds, we are still getting decent days of banding, notably 52 birds in our nets on May 23, with 22 of them being American Redstarts! Cabot Head is a fine breeding place for them, as well as a good migration staging ground, so we get lots of this striking warbler. That day, we also got a Bobolink in the small shrubs at the tip: surprisingly enough, it was my first Bobolink at Cabot Head (even though more expert ears have picked up its faint flight calls many times). The first Blackpoll Warbler for the season was also detected on that day, as well as the Eastern Wood-Pewee.

On May 22, a very unexpected bird was seen and heard: almost dismissed at first as a Winter Wren, its very harsh and different call made us look more closely; to our delight, it was a MARSH WREN, a species almost never detected at Cabot Head for lack of the right habitat!! A Red-bellied Woodpecker was seen on May 24, another uncommon bird here.

Those last few days have been very quiet, banding-wise. However, the moult migration of Canada Goose has started: on the evening of May 25, the first flock of about 80-90 was loudly flying over the station, heading north to a quiet place. The next day, it's almost 500 Geese that moved through, flocks after flocks (from about 25 to 125 geese).

It is also on May 25 that we got the visit of an immature Bald Eagle. It seemed to like our Wingfield Basin as it took residence for hours at a time in a White Pine on the shore. The next day, an adult joined in, displaying its magnificent white head and tail. And later in the morning, a third Bald Eagle came in as well! This one is likely a 4-year-sold, as attested by the black terminal band on its white tail (the head being pure white). As if 3 Bald Eagles at the end of May wasn't a treat on itself, we spotted an Osprey flying towards one of the big marshy lakes of Cabot Head!

Today, the weather is foggy and rainy: no banding, then. But it didn't stop us from observing and getting 57 species! Most notably, as they were detected for the first time this spring, we had: 3 Horned Larks on the bay shore; one Philadelphia Vireo in a small bush with 2 Red-eyed Vireos; one buzzing Clay-coloured Sparrow at the tip; and finally, a Chimney Swift swooping bugs very low! The latter is very rarely seen at Cabot Head, and when seen, usually disappear in a wingbeat! But this one might have been disoriented by the low ceiling as it stayed around for quite some time...

Among late migrants, a Blackpoll Warbler was seen, and later heard. Two Yellow-bellied Flycatchers were foraging in the trees. Usually an early migrant, we were surprised to discover a Palm Warbler!

The fog was too heavy to see if our eagle friends were still around. We'll keep our eyes open for them!

Keep you posted!