bye bye summer, hello fall!

After an unbelievably warm and sunny end of summer, it feels like fall now, with plunging temperatures, rain, and colourful leaves.

The cohorts of birds have changed as well: mostly gone are the warblers and vireos. WE had a good variety of warblers, although numbers were low. The most abundant, as always, was the American Redstart. Black-and-White and Magnolia Warblers, Ovenbird and Common Yellowthroat were also observed and captured in good numbers. There are, of course, still some warblers coming through, most notably Myrtle (Yellow-rumped) Warblers but also some Nashville Warblers. The first Orange-crowned Warbler was detected on September 22nd.

A rare sight at Cabot Head, 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were seen on afternoon, on August 30th. A few Philadelphia Vireos were seen and banded during September.

September is also the time of migration for most Thrushes, and this fall, the Swainson's Thrush was captured in record number, with 49 banded. Some Gray-cheeked Thrushes have been banded as well, but in very small number this year compared to previous ones. Hermit Thrushes have just started to migrated through.

Now is the time for White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows, for Ruby- and Golden-crowned Kinglets, for Juncos and Chickadees. I'll keep you posted! (I'll try...)