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Banding Lab Updates 2010

June/July/August 2010

In 18 years of operation, we have learned quite a bit about the birds we have captured. We know that some species, like Warbling Vireo, have declined. We know that at least two Wrentits have lived 13 or more years in their coastal scrub territories near the banding lab. We know that female Ruby-crowned Kinglets greatly outnumber males at the park. As I finish my second year at the lab, I realize that there is always more to learn. And, there are always opportunities to share knowledge, whether it is preparing manuscripts for scientific journals or hosting visitors at the lab.

Banding birds with the summer camp

Group bird banding demonstration

MacGillivray's Warbler

Northern Flicker

Violet Green Swallow

Visitors enjoy birds at the lab

In my limited teaching experience, I have always been more comfortable with a detailed lesson plan. It’s always nice to know just what to say in advance. However, at the banding lab, you often don’t know what the lesson will be about until you open the nets in the morning, and then hear the sounds of 15 kids piling out of the vans. Today’s lesson might be that a new wave of migrating Wilson’s Warblers has just arrived at the park, or maybe newly-fledged Orange-crowned Warblers are the special of the day. Sometimes, I’m not sure what I’m going to show them until I reach my hand into the bag. For many who have forgotten the name Wilson’s Warbler long before they have finished their packs of raisins, the lesson is simply that birds are special and worth protecting. For others, the lesson might include such complex topics as landscape ecology, lead poisoning, or radio isotopes. Sometimes, I can see myself in the group 30 years ago, wide-eyed, hanging on every word, watching each wiggling bird bag.

The birds are captivating, but sometimes get upstaged. I always lose my audience for just a moment the first time the horse tour caravan passes. For some kids, a look at the calf carcasses in the freezer is the highlight of the week. One group of Discovery Camp kids will never forget the rattlesnakes they encountered during one of our net runs this summer. The first snake was just across the footbridge and rattled as we approached. Two kids jumped aside. “Is that a rattlesnake?!” came shouts. “Is that what they sound like?” asked another. “Did I almost die?!” demanded the excited child near the front. Alena and Katie did a great job of maintaining some order, and the kids seemed much more willing to remain in a single-file behind the leader. It was a good thing, because we encountered several more rattlers in the next few minutes further down the net trail. I saw at least four rattlesnakes on that net run and no others the rest of the summer.

Banding Notes
We captured about 25 birds per day during the summer. Black-headed Grosbeaks were more numerous in 2010; only a few were captured in summer of 2009. Capture rates for Wilson’s Warbler slowed down as expected after a busy May, but it was still our most frequent species in all summer months. A couple of Violet-green Swallows dipped low enough to hit the nets, and we admired their rich colors with a few visitors. Unlike most other birds that take off for cover upon release, the swallows gracefully circled over our heads for several minutes.

Vagrants
No vagrants were captured this summer, but we did get a chance to see some rare birds around the net lanes. We found a singing male Yellow-throated Warbler above one of the nets and a singing male American Redstart outside the banding lab. Several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were also seen during the summer. Although not a vagrant, a Vaux’s Swift pair nested in the hollow of the big sycamore in front of the lab. By early July, the swifts were feeding young in the nest. From July 29th through at least August 7th, the young swifts were outside the nest along the wall of the hollow being fed by the adults.

Education and Outreach
We hosted 323 visitors at the lab during summer 2010. Each Thursday for 11 weeks, we had Discovery Camps and/or Condor Wilderness Camps, totaling 117 kids. We visited with a group of 21 biology students from U.C. Santa Cruz on July 10th. The Santa Cruz Dads (12 people) joined us on August 21st. This is an active group that plans father-son/daughter activities every week. We were glad to have them spend time with us, and we appreciate their support of the lab.

The Banding Crew
The crew this summer consisted of Elyse DeFranco, Ben Dudek, Johanna Dunlap, Rachel Perpignani, and I. Elyse, Ben, and Johanna have finished their internship and are off to other exotic (I hope) places. It was great to have each of them here, and I appreciate their help!    

April/May 2010

By Mike Stake

Black-headed Grosbeak

Elyse and Rachel

Indigo Bunting

Netting demonstration

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Tennessee Warbler

Yellow-breasted Chat

Yellow Warbler

The El Nino cycle can have dramatic effects on California weather, and life in general. In winter 1997-1998, an El Nino caused widespread flooding, mudslides, and more than 500 million dollars in damage. For birds, the El Ninos may have had a beneficial effect by increasing plant growth and insect prey base. However, the onslaught of storms extending into the spring of 1998 obviously interrupted the migration journey for many songbirds. At Andrew Molera State Park, the bird banding staff worked at a feverish pace to keep up with the spectacular numbers of captured birds. For example, on the morning of May 20, 1998, 319 birds were caught, including 74 Wilson’s Warblers, 70 Yellow Warblers, and 61 Swainson’s Thrushes. The banding crew captured another 250 birds the next day! We have not experienced days quite like that ever since.

By all appearances, the 2009-2010 El Nino has been moderate in comparison. Hopefully, rainfall totals will help offset recent years of draught, and not damage livelihoods. The high water flow of the Big Sur River precluded placement of the footbridge in April and May. Initially, we forded the river each day and set up a makeshift banding station on the other side. For those who visited the lab, only to find that we were banding across the river, I am sorry we missed you. It has simply been a wet year so far. Please come back on another Thursday or Saturday morning (June through August) or Friday through Sunday (September and October). Discovery Center

Banding Notes
So has the El Nino affected our capture rates in 2010? I think so. We captured 72 birds on the morning of May 22nd (in 78 net hours), a single-day total higher than any in 2009. Capture rates for Wilson’s Warbler and Swainson’s Thrush in April and May were nearly 3 times the rates for the same months in 2009. We captured more Swainson’s Thrushes, Yellow Warblers, and Black-headed Grosbeaks in April and May than during the entire banding season in 2009. Many of the warblers were obvious migrants with ample fat reserves. Other migrants of interest included several Olive-sided Flycatchers, Western Tanagers, and Yellow-breasted Chats.

Vagrants
Tennessee Warbler on April 9
Indigo Bunting on May 21

Education and Outreach
We hosted 265 visitors at the banding lab in April and May, 2010. Many of these visitors (70%) were part of six organized groups, including the All Saints Day School on May 7th and the Discovery Charter School on May 20th and 21st. We always demonstrate that birds come in different shapes, sizes, and colors. A brilliant blue vagrant Indigo Bunting provided fine proof at the end of the demonstration on the 20th. But even when we stick to the common stuff, the birds captivate the kids with their unique features and stories. It might be a colorful Wilson’s Warbler refueling at the park during its long migration, a flashy Black-headed Grosbeak showing its seed crushing ability on my finger, an Anna’s Hummingbird resting on the palm of a child before zipping back into the air, or a Bushtit demonstrating its flocking strategy. Our groups were pretty sharp this spring. Several kids pointed out California Condors flying overhead one morning. Preparing the usual “we often see Turkey Vultures here, which look much like condors” speech, I looked up to find that they were right. They had spotted condors! I predict a future biologist or two.

The Banding Crew
Our 2010 banding crew consists of myself, Ben Dudek, Johanna Dunlap, Elyse DeFranco, and Rachel Perpignani. They have all done a fantastic job of extracting, handling, and banding birds, as well as coping with walls of poison oak, constantly being wet, and entering the data each afternoon at the end of it all. Eric Ross returns again this year as a volunteer and has provided valuable help during some of our busiest mornings.

2009 Banding Lab Updates

2008 Banding Lab Updates

2007 Banding Lab Updates