BCCER Bird Banding

1 Ruby-crowned kinglet
1 Pacific-slope flycatcher
1 Nashville warbler
7 hermit thrush (all new!!)
1 Audubon's warbler
1 Orange-crowned warbler (1 recap, a cool story, caught this bird as a SY (second year in 2006 breeding on site, recaptured in May of 08- breeding onsite, recaptured today- breeding onsite. so the bird is in its 5th year- and likes the BCCER despite being captured 3X)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Apr 14, 2009	TOSL	50	44-62*F, winds 10-15 mph gusts, 95%clouds	Garcia, S. King, M. Fisher

Outreach School: Four Winds

Birds captured: 12 individuals of 6 species

1 Hammond's flycatcher
2 Orange-crowned warbler (1 recap)
5 Hermit thrushes
2 Mac Gillivrays warbler
2 Steller's jay
1 bushtit

auditory and visual on flock of pine siskins and evening grosbeaks

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Apr 7, 2009	TOSL	40	57F, No wind, 70% cloud cover at open - 75F, gusty, 30% cloud cover at close	M. Fisher, M. Ocken, M Boyd

The weather held and made for a great day at BCCER. Cloudy and calm when we arrived but mostly clear and windy by noon. Actually, quite pleasant all morning. New migrants to the area were a beautiful male Rufous Hummingbird (RUHU) and a Empidonax sp. Like the group last Saturday at BCEP, we had lots of Orange-crowned Warblers (OCWA). It seemed like they were everywhere as they called all morning long. Plenty of diversity on the site with 10 different species caught.

Birds captured: 20 individuals of 10 species

6 Orange-crowned warbler (2 recap)
3 Spotted Towhee (1 recap)
2 Hermit thrush (both recaps)
2 Fox Sparrow
2 Oregon Junco
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Empid
1 Purple Finch
1 Rufous Hummingbird
1 Oak Titmouse (recap)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Apr 1, 2009	TOSL	40	46-70*F, wind light, clouds high ~60% to clear	Garcia, J. Nelson, Ocken, and S. King who showed up to take pics

Today we combined our spring migration banding with our first official outreach program "bird banding as a science and conservation tool" for 4-6 graders. We had Chico Country Day for our first of 6 schools on the schedule to see our program. This project was funded by Audubon CA, and is in coordination with Kids and Creeks and the BCCER staff. It was a hit (see pics - reading band, releasing Golden-crowned sparrow - thanks to Steve King)!.

I am amazed how much migrant activity has moved in since we banded last at this site. Newest detected migrants were Bullock's orioles and Black-throated gray Warbler. Audubon's were singing and in fancy breeding plumage, Orange-crowns were everywhere. Ruby crowned kinglets, golden-crowned sparrows and hermits, still got 'em.

Following are the results of this amazingly energetic day: Thanks for everyone who helped it be a success!

Birds captured: 9 species of 25 individuals

8 Orange-crowned warbler (3 recaps from, 2 from 2006 both in their fifth year -1 was recaped again in 2008, an obvious breeder at BCCER)
2 Audubon's warblers
1 Ruby-crowned kinglet
1 Oregon Junco
3 Hermit thrush (numbers are dwindling!- 1 recap from 2008)
1 Bewick's Wren
3 Golden-crowned sparrow
2 White-breast nuthatch (1 recap from 4/08 at least in it's 4th year)
4 Spotted towhee

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Mar 19, 2009	TOSL	40	47-68*F, wind calm to light, clear	Garcia, Fisher, Nelson, Ocken

All, we went to toyon slope to run our migration station. Not touching the nets were many orange-crowned warblers singing away! But our detections/captures indicated winter residents continue onsite; ruby-crowned kinglets and juncos continue to sing and yellow-rumped warblers continue to move through. We had a flock of about 200 snow geese flyover including 1 blue goose. Steller's jays still in large numbers. Onsite breeders were also singing; bewick's wren, spotted towhee, lesser goldfinch, purple finch, Hutton's vireo. Several of the these species are going through their pre-alternate molt and it can be challenging to age some of these birds (see pic of us examining molt limits of lesser goldfinch female). Pacific treefrogs, CA newts and W,. fence lizards are active. Springs are running, flowers in bloom include miner's lettuce, hounds tongue, scarlet frittilary, long-necked iris. Buckeye, maple, oaks leafing out, redbud and osoberry in bloom. Following are the results of our banding efforts.

Birds captured: 16 individuals of 5 species

1 Audubon's warbler
4 Hermit thrush (1 recap from 4/08, at least 4 years old!)
5 Spotted Towhee (1 recap from 5/08, 3 years old)
3 bushtit
3 Lesser goldfinch

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Feb 1, 2009	TOSL	36	38*F-74, clear, wind calm to 1B	J. Nelson, R. King, M. Ocken, C. Martin, D. Koenig, N. Pacini

We did a little winter sampling at the BCCER this weekend. I went off to do point counts and left my subpermittee Julie Nelson and other trained banders to run the station. I had a really cool experience as I was driving to a point under dense, shaded canopy on the east side of the creek. A flock of ~100 band-tailed pigeons flew in from above the creek and landed on the road- did a bit of foraging and then flew off back toward the canyon opening. Other nice sightings were 2 Varied thrush and 2 flocks of Tundra swans overhead (see pic). I also had a rock wren singing from the open slope cross canyon. It took awhile for the activity to pick up in the cold frosty morning. The banders noticed the same but had a good variety of birds in the later hours.

Birds captured: 14 individuals of 8 species

1 Wrentit
4 Hermit thrush (3 recaps all from winter 08)
2 Spotted Towhee
1 Fox sparrow
2 Golden-crowned Sparrow (1 recap originally banded last spring '08- showing winter site fidelity to TOSL)
2 Steller's Jay
1 American Robin

1 Anna's hummer (see pic- Mr. magenta)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Jan 9, 2009	TOSL	45	35.7 to 60.1, wind calm to light, 35-5% cloud cover	Garcia, Fisher, S King, R King, Yates, M Boyd and L Boyd

It was cold with lots of frost on the ground and ice on the table as we began at the BCCER this morning. Not a lot of birds singing early except the robins who were again working the toyon berries to the East of our banding site. We were busy but not rushed which made it a very relaxed session. Check out the beautiful Fox Sparrow (Pacific sooty) photos taken by Steve King at todays banding session.

Birds Captured: 20 individuals of 5 species

1 Wrentit
2 American Robin
3 Spotted Towhee
3 Fox Sparrow (1 recap)
11 Hermit Thrush (7 recaps)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Dec 23, 2008	TOSL	45	32-45*F, wind calm to light, 0-100% cc	Garcia, Fisher, S. King

We did a little winter sampling before the next series of storms and the end of the year at the BCCER where, had we had our nets in the right spot, would have likely caught 100's of robins. Much of the morning was a chorus of singing robins feeding on the still abundant toyon berries. It was a chilly but dry and successful morning at the nets although the diversity was quite low.

Birds captured: 37 individuals of 5 species

1 Ruby-crowned kinglet (recap male from Jan 2008 captured as ASY- so at least 3 years old!)
29 Hermit thrushes (14 recaps: most siginificant, 1 from 4/18 2006 and 1 from 11/5 2006, both 4 years old based on first capture age).
1 Purple finch
1 Fox sparrow
5 Am. Robin

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Dec 5, 2008	TOSL	36.5	temp 43-54*F, wind calm to breezy, clear skies. Sun did not rise over the ridge till after 10:00 am-keeping it very cool at the site	Garcia, Fisher, S. King, S. Huber

The Toyon Slope continues to be active and full of toyon berries. Late fall/winter is really the best time to run this station. Yesterday we had no avian surprises as the same winter residents are around but we did have a BOBCAT! I had a great view as I was removing a robin from a net. Robins are typically vociferous and this bird was giving off distress calls as I extracted it. I heard some movement upslope and saw a bobcat rapidly descending the hillside in a cascade of leaves and sticks. It saw me, and in a classic Looney Tunes moment, reminiscent of the coyote suckered by the roadrunner into running off the cliff, he reversed direction, running in place, finally gained traction and sped back up the hill! We closed the net after that to avoid any casualties. It was a beautiful fall day.

Steve King gps'd all the net lanes and I have attached a cool KMZ google earth file of the site for you to view.

Birds captured: 28 individuals of 5 species

7 Bushtit
15 Hermit thrush (4 recaps; 1 orginally banded as HY in 12/07, 1 from 1/08, 1 from 11/2006 banded as HY!)
1 Oregon junco (recap banded in 1/2008)
2 Golden-crowned sparrow (2 recaps, 1 from this winter, 1 from this 4/08)
3 American robin

These recaps are good examples of the duration our winter residents spend on wintering grounds and fidelity to site.

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Nov 16, 2008	TOSL	37	lovely!, 52-70*f, calm winds, clear skies	S & R King, C. Martin, M. Ocken, S. Huber guests: K. Pugel (Scott's niece-releasing Hermit thrush), Stuart and sons

It was a good day with toyon berries in ripe red; therefore, lots of robins, hermit thrushes and waxwings around. Waxies stayed high, but as usual, we got loads of hermits. Thanks all who came to share net repair duty (included picture so I can recruit other seamstresses)! Following are the results:

Birds captured: 25 of 5 species

1 Bushtit
2 Spotted Towhee
2 Am. Robin
19 Hermit thrush (2 recaps from 12/07 both banded as HY birds)
1 Purple finch

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Nov 5, 2008	TOSL	?	?	Garcia, S King

In between our owling venture, S. King and I conducted a bird banding demo for a bunch of Forest Ranch Charter School kids. We had great fun. See pic of one group of kids with birds in bags (not as crazed as they look!) getting ready for processing, and one boy who has the thrill of holding his first Golden-crowned sparrow (with Steve's help)

Nov 5, 2008, BCCER- TOSL

Birds captured:

7 Hermit thrushes,
1 Golden-crowned sparrow,
one spotted towhee,
1 recap towhee from May 08 (2 year-old male)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Jul 16, 2008	TOSL	40	65-86*F, wind calm to mild, slighly smokey	Garcia, Fisher- thanks Mike!

Birds captured: 15 individuals of 9 species

1 Black-throated gray warbler
2 Bewicks wren (2 HY)
1 Purple Finch (AHY/F)
1 Hutton's Vireo (HY)
2 Western Tanager (2 HY)
2 BH grosbeak (1 HY, 1 AHY/F)
4 Spotted Towhee (all HY)
2 CA towhee (2 HY)

Hi all, things have certainly quieted at the BCCER with no detections of Orange-crowned warblers, Yellow-breasted chats or Lazuli buntings. We had several young towhees and a Bewick's wren in full juvenile plumage and molting Black-headed grosbeak and western tanager young. A nice surprise was a female black-throated gray warbler, an adult (AHY) in full blown prebasic molt. I've attached a picture so you can see some of molt characteristics of an AHY. You can see fresh (dark and clean) vs old (faded and worn) primary feathers with associated privmary coverts, something you would not see in most (exceptions are always out there!) HY birds who would retain all flight feathers and primary coverts until next fall - only molting secondary coverts at this time. She was also in heavy body molt. whew- lots of energy expenditure in this girl!

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Jun 12, 2008	TOSL	40	57-80*F, wind calm to breezy, clear skies	Garcia, C. Yerion, D. Anderson, C. Martin

Birds captured: 33 individuals of 12 species

2 Black-throated gray warbler (1 HY)
7 Lesser goldfinch (1 HY)
3 Orange-crowned warbler (one recap male from 6/06)
2 Hutton's vireo (2 HY)
7 Bewick's wren (6 HY, 1 recap from 8/06)
1 Oak titmouse (HY)
4 Wrentit (3 HY)
1 Lazuli bunting
1 Yellow-breasted chat (recap from this year)
3 Spotted towhee (1 HY)
1 Black-headed grosbeak
1 CA. Towhee

We had a productive capture rate, with loads of babies (hatch year-[HY] birds). Sorry no bird pics but some of the beautiful and very tall Humboldt lily (Lilium humboldtii spp. humboldtii), the dramatic fire as seen from highway 32, and the fellow Audubon members that joined me from Redding.

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
May 26, 2008	TOSL	50	58-61*F, wind calm to breezy, 100% cloud cover	Garcia- Steve, Raina and Stewart King

Birds captured: 22 individuals of 9 species

10 Orange-crowned warblers (5 HY, 4 AHY, 1 U, see pic)
1 Pacific-slope flycatcher
2 Lesser goldfinch
2 purple finch (2 SY males-see pic)
3 yellow-breasted chat (see pic)
1 Swainson's thrush
1 spotted towhee (recap)
1 wrentit (recap)
1 western tanager (F)

We had an interesting day with singing chats- never detected in this area, except for 1 hatch year that we captured last year. We are upslope from Big Chico creek and in heavy brush (an old burn site) which had become more dense over the last two years. We captured 3 adults, including a breeding pair- see pics, the female on the left with grayer lores (area between eye and beak) and lighter bill. Lots of baby Orange-crown warblers today: see picture of 1) baby face-notice yellow gape and short bill, and 2) undertail coverts with young on left vs adult on right. The new juvenile feathers are loosely textured with not much structure, while the adults are well-formed. We also had 2 second-year male purple finches. Unlike the house finch, this species goes through a second molt before it develops the beautiful purplely plumage, but these two showed some new colorful feathers (see pic) and also were in breeding condition. We had one second-year Swainson's thrush, loaded with fat for migration (see pic). The fat is bulging over the furculum (wishbone) and is yellowish under the skin (see pic).

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
May 6, 2008	TOSL	40	54-72*F, wind calm to breezy, clear skies	Garcia and J. Nelson (thanks Juls!)

Birds captured: 11 birds of 10 species

2 Orange-crowned warbler ( 1 recap M from 3/30/06- 3 years old)
2 Wilson's warbler
1 Hutton's vireo
2 MacGillivray's warbler
1 Lincoln's sparrow
1 Spotted towhee
1 Wrentit (recap from '08)
1 N. flicker

. Many birds in the canopy including our FOS singing Chipping sparrows. Julie had a nice one-net catch with the 3 species in the attached photos: Hutton's vireo, Orange-crowned warbler and our first female MacGillivray's warbler.

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Apr 24, 2008	TOSL	40.5	Temp 39-68*F, clear, wind- light to moderate	Garcia and J. Nelson (thanks JJ), visitors B. Stovall and Marcia

Birds captured: 15 individuals of 10 species

Dusky flycatcher (dorsal view)
1 Lincoln's sparrow
2 wrentit (breeders)
1 MacGillivray's warbler (SY-male, see pic)
2 Hermit thrush (1 recap from March 2006-at least 4 years old!)
4 golden-crowned sparrow (1 recap at least 4 years)
1 CA towhee(breeder and recap at least 4 years!)
2 Bushtit (both recaps-breeders)
1 Lazuli bunting (recap from June 2006- at least in 4th year: at same site!!!)

We had a fun day on the BCCER, first noting migrants that we detected setting up nets: our first of spring (FOS)Lazuli bunting, MacGllivrays warbler (FOS),and then migrants ash-throated flycatcher, Bullock's oriole, western tanageer, warbling, Cassin's and Hutton's vireo, Blue-gray gnatcatcher, Hammond's flycatcher, Orange-crowns (only 1 singer- they are likely nesting now). Happily, following our auditory detections, we captured 2 of these (!) plus an undetected Dusky flycatcher (see pic). I think our captures of most Hermit thrushes and GC sparrows now are those moving through- not necessarily those that have resided here during the winter.

I had conflicting plumage characters with our Lazuli bunting. Younger birds have more brown-tipped body feathers, as did ours, but older birds have fresher, more square-shaped feathers,as did ours. This recap male had lots of brown body plumage, but adult flight feathers, so, we aged it as an after-hatch year. This is the safety-net age, we know it is too early to be hatched this year, but could be older than 2 years. Retrieveing records, we found our boy was first captured in June 2006 as a second year male - making him at least 4 years old - AND, coming back to the same site. How cool is that!? Our Dusky flycatcher was also a challenge-see pic. We made at least 20 measures to determine this species, knowing it was different than our Hammond's 2 weeks ago, despite Hammond's being the only singing empidonax detected this morning. A great day for us!

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Feb 26, 2008	TOSL	??	calm to light breeze, CC%= 20, 44-65*F	Garcia, J. Nelson. M. Skram conducted point counts

Birds captured:9 individuals of 4 species

4 Purple Finch (lateral view, ventral view, dorsal view)
2 Oregon Junco
2 Hermit Thrush (1 recap)
1 Spotted Towhee

Hi All, a beautiful day at Toyon Slope albeit somewhat quiet. Mike Skram conducted point counts and neither of us detected any FOS migrants. I did not see one fruit on any shrubs (the presence of fruits is why I think Toyon Slope is a boom-or bust) but many are beginning to bud (snowberry,buckeye). We captured two beautiful Purple finches with obvious plumage color differences between males (see all pics). Although both are after second year (ASY-- over 2 years of age), one had more red wash to both upper and underparts. "Reds" were of a different hue with one being more raspberry (bird on left), the other a purply orange (bird on right). This may be due to diet differences that is known to result in plumage color differences in house finches. Other highlights were several overhead flocks of snow geese mixed with white-fronteds and sandhill cranes. We had our first newts of the season and lots of water in springs on site.

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Feb 10, 2008	TOSL	??	calm to light breeze, clear, 42-63*F	Garcia, C. Martin, R & S King, R. Kenny, K. Hood, M. Thompson

Birds captured:14 individuals of 6 species

4 Purple Finch (see pic)
1 Golden-crown Sparrow
3 Spotted Towhee (1 recap from 2007)
1 CA Towhee
4 Fox sparrow
1 Hermit Thrush ( recap from 2005, bird is at least 4 years old, see pic)

We had a beautifully warm winter day at the BCCER. Our morning started with a mixed flock of white-fronted and snow geese, followed by tundra swans, all glowing against the blue sky. We flushed a flock of ~50 band-tailed pigeons on the reserve. Most all fruits are off the toyon, so activity was somewhat low around the nets. Instead, large flocks of robins were foraging mistletoe fruits up in the canopy. Our most common winter species, Hermit thrush, was notably missing from nets (only one capture), and I don't recall hearing them in the field. We've had this species well into April, so likely it was just a poor netting day for hermits, or as Colleen Martin said, "a good day for a hermit thrush if you're a thrush." Milkmaids (Cardamine californica) are already in bloom! Photos by Steve King.

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Jan 18, 2008	TOSL	??	calm, clear, 38- 66*F	Garcia, Fisher, J Nelson, N Nelson, R and S King

Birds captured:34 individuals of 11 species

5 Bushtit
3 Ruby-crowned kinglet (1 recap)
4 Oregon junco
1 Bewick's wren
4 Purple finch (see pci PUFI-M- 08)
3 Spotted towhee ( 1 recap)
1 red-naped sapsucker (see pic- RNSA-male)
6 Hermit thrush (2 recap)
1 red-breasted sapsucker (see pic RBSA3)
4 golden-crowned sparrow (1 recap)
1 Steller's jay
1 Fox sparrow (R)

All, after our fantastic banding workshop, 6 students got to practice their skills this weekend. We banded at BCCER and all had an in-hand lifer, the Red-naped sapsucker that the Kings had photographed several weeks earlier and had been hanging around in the same oak tree. I was the lucky one having approached Net 8 ( a net that is not typically productive) and saw 4 birds- including a flapping and ready to escape Steller's Jay. As I ran toward the jay I passed one hermit thrush and two sapsuckers and thought, hmm, that one sure has a patterned face... In the net was the jay and hermit thrush, a red-breasted, and red-naped sapsucker; Jackpot! Both days were busier in the late morning as the temperature increased from near freezing to mid-60's. We had grand flocks of band-tails (BCCER), Snows and WF geese, Tundra Swans, and Waxwings (BCEP) in the area and overhead. Point counts were conducted on both days by Brad Stovall (BCCER) and Mike Skram (BCEP). Mike thought he saw a western tanager and- we caught one, a very gray female. Here are the results:

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Jan 12, 2008	Country Club (COCL)	??	??	Garcia; plumage-characters-workshop participants

Birds captured:

17 Golden- crowned sparrow (2 recaps from 1/06 and 1/07)
5 Oregon junco
4 Spotted Towhee
1 Hermit thrush
1 Ruby-crowned kinglet
1 Red-breasted sapsucker

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Dec 1, 2007	Toyon Slope	22	30-46*F, clear skies, wind calm to 2B near the end	Garcia/N. Nelson, C Martin, C. Hatfield, R. and S. King

Excellent day today with 52 birds of 13 species, and a group of very confident and competent volunteers. We had an HY sharp-shinned hawk (first in net for the site) with an unfortunate hermit thrush it his talons. We don't know if the mortality occurred in the nets, or if the hawk had it pre-capture and flew into the net. Recaptures included two golden-crowned sparrows from (April '06 and Dec '05) and a Hutton's vireo from 6/30/06. All pics by Raina King- thanks!

Birds captured:

4 Ruby-Crown KInglet (RCKI, see pic and contrast with Hutton's vireo pic- note bill shape)
4 PUrple FInch (PUFI)
3 ORegon JUnco (ORJU)
21 HErmit THrush (HETH only 4 were AHY)
1 WEstern BLuebird (WEBL)
3 Golden-Crowned SParrow (GCSP- 2 recaps, one from 2 years ago!)
10 SPotted TOwhee (SPTO- only 2 adults)
1 FOx SParrow (FOSP)
1 STeller's JAy (STJA, see pic)
1 Sharp-Shinned HAwk (SSHA- HY/M,see pic)
1 AMerican RObin (AMRO)
1 HUtton's VIreo (HUVI, see pic)
1 ACorn WOodpecket (ACWO)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Aug 23, 2007	Toyon Slope	27	65-91*F, clear, calm	D. Garcia, S. Huber

First Summer day banding in Chico. A quiet day, both banding and point counts, at this site for migration- but, great to be out. A black bear ran from our site on our arrival, likely after the very ripe coffeeberries. Also snowberry and CA grape ripening. Thanks for the photos Scott! Here are the results:
Mike Skram conducted point counts- Thanks!

Birds captured: 5 individual of 5 species

1 Hutton's vireo (pic- molting)
1 Bewick's wren
1 Wrentit (pic)
1 Black-chinned Hummer
1 YB chat (juvenile-compare with HY 1st basic plumage from BCEP photos!)
Also large flock of 40+ band-tailed pigeons

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
May 17, 2007	Toyon Slope	?	53-80, wind calm, clear skies	Garcia, J. Nelson/ M. Skram on point counts- thanks!

It was a lovely day for migrants and summer breeders. While putting up nets I had a nice male Black-chinned hummer come and check me out and MikeSkram had a female- maybe collecting nesting material at the creek. He also had an Olive-sided flycatcher. Both not rare, but 2 new documented species onsite (by me). Still in the canopy lots of netrop breeders but many migrants are moving on and out. We had a good net day with our first two captures, the ever elusive skulker- Swainson's thrush! Here are the results of our great day.

Birds Captured: 14 of 7 species

4 Orange-crowned warbler (1 Recapture)
3 Wilson's warbler
1 MacGillvray's warbler
2 Lazuli buntings (1 Recaptured male from 6/2006!- nice breeding site fidelity. 2nd pic)
1 White-breasted nuthatch
2 Swainson's thrush
1 Bewick's wren

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Apr 27, 2007	Toyon Slope	?	58-76*, wind calm to light, CC 10%	D. Garcia,

Migration continues at the BCCER! Yesterday I had lovely color and song in the oak canopy with several small foraging flocks and individuals of Western Tanager, black-headed grosbeak and Bullock's oriole. Also Townsend's (gorgeous male!), Yellow-rumped, Orange-crowned, MacG, and black-throated gray warblers. I heard Nashville singing. Haven't had any LazB's yet (except for the one we saw on our big day April 13), and have yet to detect a chat although Mike Skram had one a week or so ago a the BCEP. The nets were slow compared to the medley above, but I still had some nice surprises. Here are the results. Can someone ID the caterpillar I saw?-blue sides and rust-colored tufts.

Birds captured: 11 individuals of 9 species

3 SPTO (spotted towhee-1 recap)
1 OCWA (orange-crowned warbler)
1 MGWA (MacGillvray's Warbler) (2nd pic)
1 LISP ( Lincoln's sparrow)
1 GCSP (golden-crowned sparrow)
1 RUHU Rufus Hummingbird (pic)
1 CALT (CA towhee)
2 BEWR (Bewick's wren)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Aug 6, 2006	TOSL	45	66-86*, high humidity after the rains, cc-25-0% wind calm to moderate	Garcia and J.Nelson

We set up nets at the BCCER after a short storm and a few showers. The morning was rather slow although we had a new migrant- an empidonax flycatcher that I was uncomfortable identifying to species. I've included photos (back, head, mandible) for y'all to take your best shot. Also new in the net were wrentits. It was the first day I had heard them at the site although I have heard them on the reserve before.

Birds: 17 individuals of 8 species

1 flycatcher (p6 emarginated) [Willow Flycatcher]
2 Lesser Goldfinch LEGO (1 recap)
2 Wrentit WREN
2 Bewick's Wren BEWR
2 Western Tanager WETA
1 Downey Woodpecker DOWO
6 Spotted Towhee SPTO (all juvs)
1 Anna's Hummingbird ANHU

Hey everybody, thanks for the input on the BCCER empidonax. After reviewing your comments, my photos and measures,-I ID'd this bird as a Willow Flycatcher (as did most of you although gray and dusky were discussed.) What really helped was an excellent banding day (115 birds!) at Jim Steele's site in the Carman Valley, eastern Sierras where we had an excellent mix of empidonax- WIFL, dusky, gray, Hammond's and several peewees thrown in. I've attached a couple of comparison photos and feel much more confident with my empidonax ID./p>

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Jul 17, 2006	TOSL	48	70-90*F, wind calm to mild, clear skies	Garcia, J. Nelson, M. Skram

Hi all, following are the results for bird-banding at the BCCER. It was a day loaded with juvies in the nets; only 9 (39%) of our 23 captures were adults. Mike Skram also conducted point counts. We noticed that the morning was rather quiet with many fewer singers than on previous counts. Only warblers heard singing; yellow-breasted chat and black-throated gray (see pic of juv). Our Orange-crowned recap was in heavy molt (see pic-shows 3 retained old secondary flight feathers, contrasting with newly replaced and growing in {97-p9} feathers. Head and body also full of feathers "in pin." With all that energy sustaining feather replacement- it is no wonder we don't hear these birds singing now!

Birds captured: 23 of 10 species

4 Bewick's wren (BEWR)
3 Lazuli bunting (LAZB)
5 Lesser goldfinch (LEGO)
2 Purple finch (PUFI)
4 Spotted towhee (SPTO)
1 Black-throated gray warbler (BTYW)
1 Orange-crowned warbler (OCWA recap)
1 Western tanager (WETA)
1 Black-headed grosbeak (BHGR)
1 California quail (CAQU)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Jun 30, 2006	TOSL	46	clear, calm winds, 68-97*F	Garcia, Peterson, Hubers

Hi all, Randall, Scott, Liam and I had a great last day of June banding at the BCCER. Having left my camera at home, we were lucky to have the Hubers show up with Liam acting as my photographer for the day. Following are the results of banding and a glimpse of the "Liam Profiles." Baby birds included several Lesser goldfinch, spotted towhee, Bewick' wren, 4 lazuli buntings and Hutton's vireo.

Birds captured: 25 of 9 species

10 Lesser Goldfinch LEGO
1 Orange-crowned Warbler OCWA
2 Hutton's Vireo HUVI
4 Lazuli Bunting LAZB
1 Bewick's Wren BEWR
3 Spotted Towhee SPTO
2 Black-headed Grosbeak BHGR
1 Western Tanager WETA
1 Purple Finch PUFI

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Jun 17, 2006	TOSL	53	58-87*, clear, winds calm	Garcia, Nelson, Peterson

We had a good day to take a snapshot of breeders at the BCCER at our Toyon Slope banding site. I expected more young but we only captured one-just out of the nest spotted towhee. Most other captures had breeding characters; brood patches (BP) or cloacal protruberances (CP). New in the net and hand for all of us were three Ash-throated flycatchers. We could not determine the sex on these birds as males "may exhibit a poorly developed CP" and both sexes develop BP's-although the females would be more developed during the peak incubation period. We had nothing on the trio-but could determine age. In the SY- the primary coverts (feathers above and associated with the primary feathers) are retained, worn and faded, whereas the ASY bird has replaced these so feathers are uniform in quality, and general color and appearance (see pic SY-ASY).

Birds captured: 20 of 8 species

1 BUSH - bushtit
7 OCWA (2 recaps) orange-crowned warbler
2 LAZB-lazuli bunting
3 ATFL- ash-throated flycatcher
1 BHGR- black-headed grosbeak
4 SPTO (2 recap)-spotted towhee
1 PUFI (1 recap)-purple finch
1 BEWR -Bewick's wren

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
May 18, 2006	TOSL	50	: 71-88*F, wind-calm, cc-0%	Garcia, Nelson, Peterson, McCormick, Johnson, Huber, Skram

Today was our final formal day of migration monitoring- most migrants have arrived- just waiting for the cuckoos! We had a great crew of people and Mike Skram ran point counts. He had 2 pairs of blue-gray gnatcatchers displaying and also heard yellow- breasted chats, newly detected on the site, along the creek. New in the nets was a house wren and a beautiful male Bullock's oriole (see photos). I plan to monitor at least once a month (every 3rd Saturday) until fall migration. Following are the results of the day.

Birds captured:15 of 10 species

1 house wren
2 Orange-crowned Warbler (1 recap male- 1 female with brood patch -BP)
1 Lazuli Bunting (F)
3 Bullock's Oriole (2 M- 1F)
1 Purple finch (F with BP)
1 Bewick's Wren (F recap w/BP)
1 Spotted Towhee (F w/BP)
1 Bushtit (recap male)
2 CA quail (1 F- 1 Male-escape)
2 CA towhee (both escape from net!)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
May 12, 2006	SURE	??	calm winds, clear skies, 60-75*	Garcia, Peterson, McCormick, Stovall

Hi all, just about to finish up spring migration monitoring with a couple of more banding sessions. Friday we set up at my first site-down near the creek. We had several singing yellow warblers, Nashville warbler, orange-crowned, and black-throated gray warbler-pacific-slope flycatcher and western wood peewee-many tanagers, bullock's oriole, Hutton's and Cassin's vireo, and laz bunting. Mostly they stayed high and avoided the nets but on our first round we had 4 beautiful western tanagers. Two new detections for the site were a Lawrence's goldfinch seen by Randall and Brad conducted point counts and picked up phainapepla. Following are Friday's results.

Birds Captured: 9 of 5 species

1 Black-throated Gray Warbler (BTYW- see photo)
1 Lesser goldfinch
1 Swainson's thrush
5 Western tanager (see photo)
1 Anna's Hummingbird (F-see photo)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
May 5, 2006	TOSL	??	clear, calm winds 58-71*	tres Garcias, Peterson, Nelson

Hi all, following are the banding results for the BCCER. We had a nice morning with three new bird species in the net for the site- a Lazuli bunting (LAZB-see pic), Bullock's Oriole (BUOR-see pic), and Swainson's thrush (SWTH). Mid-morning I heard a new song and looked up~40' in an oak at the very top- and said "look- a lazuli!" We all danced around at that, with the comment that he was a little high in the canopy to land in the nets. On the next net run~ 10 minutes later- we had a bright young male lazuli in the net just under the oak!

An unrelated sighting- I had a Western Wood peewee singing along the south fork of the American River yesterday (May 6)-the first I have heard this season.

Birds Captured: 14 birds of 9 species

1 Orange-crowned Warbler OCWA (recap male)
1 Lazuli Bunting LAZB (SY-M, notice brown wash to feathers on upperparts)
2 Swainssn's Thrush SWTH
1 Bullock's Oriole BUOR
2 CA Quail CAQU (released unbanded, male and female)
1 Golden-crowned Sparrow GCSP
2 Spotted Towhee SPTO
1 CALT
2 Lesser Lesser Goldfinch LEGO

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Apr 18, 2006	TOSL	50	clear- 36-67*F, winds calm - moderate	Garcia/M. McCormick, R Peterson

We had a somewhat slow day at the BCCER-although birds became more active as we warmed up. New migrants not in the nets include black-headed grosbeak, bullock's oriole, cassin's vireo, and black-throated gray warbler. Left me some time for botanizing-Indian pinks (Silene californica-see photo) are scattered and lovely.

Birds captured: 16 of 9 species

2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet RCKI
1 Orange-crowned Warbler OCWA
4 Hermit Thrush HETH (1 recap- see photo of sunning HETH)
1 White-crowned Sparrow WCSP (id'd to Gambel's)
3 Golden-crowned Sparrow GCSP (1 recap)
2 Spotted Towhee SPTO (1 recap)
1 Northern Flicker NOFL (see interesting photo of this lovely red-shafted flicker female with yellow-shafted RX)
1 Bewick's Wren BEWR (recap)
1 Anna's Hummingbird ANHU

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Apr 13, 2006	??	50	50-67*F, winds calm, cc% 0-30	Garcia, R. Peterson, J. Nelson, B. Stovall

We had two pretty great days of banding at our migration monitoring stations, although few of the new migrants found their way to our nets! We continue sampling for Avian influenza led by Julie Nelson.

April 13,(2006) we conducted banding and point counts. Brad Stovall (PC's) listed dusky flycatcher, black-throated gray warbler and warbling vireo as new spring migrants.

Birds captured: 33 of 9 species

5 Ruby-crowned Kinglet RCKI
1 Lesser Goldfinch LEGO
3 Orange-crowned WarblerOCWA
11 Hermit Thrush HETH (5 recaps)
8 Golden-crowned Sparrow GCSP (2 recaps)
2 Spotted Towhee SPTO
1 American Robin AMRO
1 Bushtit BUSH
1 Bewick's Wren BEWR

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Apr 6, 2006	TOSL	50	Weather: 40-60*F, cc 20-30%, wind calm-3 mph	Garcia, McCormick, Nelson, Peterson, visitors Dale and Regina Spoor from WA!!

Excellent day with migrants moving through and some resident birds captured too. Surprisingly, only a male orange-crowned warbler (OCWA) had the first cloacal protuberance (CP-a swollen cloaca that males develop in breeding season) of the season, despite having captured Bewick's wren and spotted towhee, both resident birds with no breeding characters. New bird in the hand for me was a handsome white-breasted nuthatch (see attached) - a sparrow sized bird! I am much more accustomed to the petite red-breasted nuthatch-warbler sized.All three GCSP were undergoing prealternate molt.Julie and I started avian influneza sampling (cloacal swab).Julie uncovered a young gopher snake (see attached pic) we saw many newts, and I saw a western skink later in the day. Lots of new blooms including Sierra fawn lily.

Birds captured: 21 of 9 species

4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet RCKI
2 Hutton's Vireo HUVI (1 recap from march 23)
1 Orange-crowned Warbler OCWA
2 Bewick's wren BEWR
1 White-breasted Nuthatch WBNU
6 Hermit Thrush HETH (2 recap from March 30)
3 Golden-crowned Sparrow GCSP (1 recap from Oct. 23!)
1 Spotted Towhee SPTO
1 Acorn Woodpecker ACWO

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Mar 30, 2006	TOSL	??	43-60F*, calm winds, 50-100% cc	Garcia, J. Nelson

Results of the second banding effort at the BCCER migration station. It was the day of the Ruby-crowned kinglet (RCKI). No yellow-rumps were detected until after nets were closed and then I only saw/heard one chipping. Only other warbler singing was Orange-crowned (we banded our first today for this station). I expect to begin seeing some breeding characteristics (brood patch/cloacal protuberance) on the residents but have not to this date.

Birds captured: 18 individuals of 8 species

1 Bushtit BUSH (recap male)
7 Ruby-crowned Kinglet RCKI (all males)
1 Oarnge-crowned Warbler OCWA
1 Oregon Junco ORJU
4 Hermit Thrush HETH (2 recap from March 23, 2006)
1 Golden-crowned Sparrow GCSP
1 Fox Sparrow FOSP
2 Spotted Towhee SPTO

Some great flowers out! Scarlet Fritillary (Fritillaria recurva); Yellow Star-tulip (Calochortus monophyllus )

Great day for newts too- counted 35 in a very small area near the Creek.

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Jan 28, 2006	COCL	18	44*, 100% cc, wind 5mph+ gusts	Mike Fisher, Julie Nelson, Mela and Jackson Shedd

As most of you know it was a cold and blustery day-which did not bode well for mist-netting, the wind billows the nets like sails making them visible and avoidable to birds.

Jackson and Mela arrived with Jeff Mott and crew of ~18 people. We split the group and Jackson and crew went down the road for some chilly birding. The first banding group entirely missed any netted birds but we made a few forays off of the net loop. First we visited the enhanced frog pond created by Dr. Paul Maslin and Jeff Mott and saw tiny metamorphosing tree frogs in giant gumball-sized egg masses. After another empty run, Mike Fisher took the group on a short bird walk while Julie Nelson and I went on to check nets. Jackson came back with group 2 and we all tried to warm up under the ! shelter of the barn. Happily, on our next run we caught our first two birds. On the next net round we caught four more birds. Then it began to rain. We closed all nets, processed our birds, packed up and ended our trip. A rather uneventful day really, but everyone had the opportunity to observe the banding process. Several budding junior birders and some adults too, got to touch and release their very first bird in the hand.

Birds captured: 6individuals of 2 species

2 Lesser goldfinch (HY/F)
4 Spotted Towhees* (all male). Curiously, the last 11 spotted towhees captured in this area since Jan 15, have all been male!

*after second year (ASY) male- note deep red eye and dark black, glossy plumage. As you would expect, towhees have long nails for scratching and kicking through plant litter for food.

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Jan 26, 2006	COCL (barn)	4.5	Weather: clear, calm winds, 53*	Garcia, Julie Nelson, Mike Fisher, Mike Skram, JT

These casual attempts were primarily to identify birdy net lanes for the upcoming snow goose festival banding demonstration this saturday. What we found was the site continues to be less birdy!, as water is more available in seeps and pools and starthistle and fruit bearing trees/shrub continue to senesce. We also attempted an owl night at the off site property in forest ranch; nothing! My excitement is a slate-colored junco that has been hanging around my house-(see attached photo).

Birds captured:8 of 5 species

1 Gambel's White Crown Sparrow (recapture from 1/15- same site)
1 Hermit Thrush (recapture from 12/14-Toyon slope site)
1 Oregon Junco
3 Golden Crowned Sparrow
2 Spotted Towhee

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Jan 21, 2006	COCL (barn)	9	100% cc to 50%, calm winds, ~50-54*	Garcia, M. Fisher, E and A Flock, K. Mchenert, M.Ocken, C. Martin

*upclose LEGO photo taken by Michelle. We got some good looks at different ages and "eccentric" molt of HY Lesser goldfinches.

Birds banded:11 of 3 species

*9 Lesser Goldfinch (7 males, 2 females) (2nd Pic)
1 Spotted Towhee
1 Golden Crowned Sparrow

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Jan 15, 2006	COCL (barn)	12	frosty! 35-55*, calm winds, 0%cc	Garcia, Mela Garcia, Jackson Shedd, Tim Ruckle

A beautiful but pretty slow day and not as birdy in the past in this location. Could be attributed to lack of fruit on the fruit trees, starthistle almost spent (not many LEGO around), abundance of water in the area (no dependence on water trough where WEBL and LEGO were regular) and cold temps.One person was confident they heard a NSWO- otherwise no-one heard any owls. We also tried for NOPO with no response. Hypothesized that heavy rains at this elevation (3,000' msl) may have driven owls to valley??

Birds banded: 11 of 5 species

4 SPotted TOwhee (SPTO- all ASY males!)
1 Gambel's WCSP
4 Golden-Crowned SParrow (GCSP also all ASY-see photo -except for 1 SY escapee)
1 BEwick's WRen (BEWR)
1 PUrple FInch (PUFI)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Dec 11, 2005	COCL (barn)	4	calm winds, CC% ~80, temps ~55*	Garcia, M. Fisher, JT and Chris Lewis, LY and P. Maslin, K. Hood, R. Kennedy, T and N. Smith, Jeff, Finn and Savannah Cresswell

We set up only 2 nets at the barn (AKA COuntry CLub-due to its cushy amentities), #1 near the water trough and barn and #2 near a pair of pomegranate trees. We made 3 net runs and closed the nets due to a fair number of birds and new volunteers. A good training session and lovely day with lovely birds. In addition, Mike Fisher and I saw a perched golden eagle on the way up, a likely bald eagle, and an unfortunate gray fox-hit by a car.

Birds: 16 individuals of 5 species

3 LEGO (LEsser GOldfinch)
2 ORJU (ORegon JUnco)
5 WEBL (WEstern BLuebird)
5 GCSP (Golden-Crowned SParrow)- 1-recapture from 11/17/2005- Toyon slope.
1 RBSA (Red-Breasted SApsucker)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Dec 3, 2005	TOSL	15	34-40*F, clear, light winds	Garcia, J. Nelson, M. Fisher, J. Lewis, Catherine and her nephew Dillion

Aside from gathering scientific data-bird banding has educational and inspirational value for budding biologists.

Birds: 11 individuals of 3 species

7 Hermit Thrush HETH
1 Golden-crowned Sparrow GCSP
3 Spotted Towhee SPTO

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Nov 23, 2005	Toyon Slope	16	45-56*F, calm winds, clear skies	Garcia, M. Skram, J. Lewis, M. Fisher

Birds captured: 11 birds of 6 species

2 SPotted TOwhee SPTO
1 SOng SParrow SOSP
3 HErmit THrush HETH -1 recap from last week
1 OAk TItmouse OATI
2 AMerican RObin AMRO
1 ACorn WOodpecker ACWO - a beautiful male- a first in the hand for me.

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Nov 17, 2005	Toyon Slope	15.5	10%cc, winds light to gusty (~5 mph), 50-70*F	Garcia/ J. Nelson, J. Zarate and K. Mchenry

We noted that the birds had moved upslope from most of our nets with the fruiting toyon. We caught more leaves than birds and likely had 3 towhee escapes due to taut nets and wind.

Birds captured 11 individuals of 5 species

1 HUVI (HUtton's VIreo)
5 HETH (2 recaps from same location)
1 GCSP (Golden-Crowned SParrow)
1 CATO (CA towhee- escaped at net)
3 SPTO (2 escaped at net)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Nov 10, 2005	SURE	25	Weather:20% cc, winds calm, ~50-65*F	D. Garcia/M. Fisher

We set up for passerines along the creek. A very slow morning and we closed relatively early after capture one of a pair of dippers. We had a nice mixed flock of GCKI (Golden-Crowned KIinglet) and RCKI (Ruby-crowned KInglet) foraging nearby.

Birds captured

1 AMDI (AMerican DIpper)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Nov 6, 2005	Owl 2	??	95-100% cc, temp ~60*	D. Garcia, M. Oken and M. Fisher

I set up to take advantage of the lull before the storm and played NOPO calls early in the evening and the 3 netted passerines (towhee and thrushes), must have come in to mob it.

Birds captured 3 individuals of 2 species

1 SPTO (SPotted TOwhee)
2 HETH (HErmit THrush)

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Oct 23, 2005	Toyon slope	7	34-40*F, clear, light winds	D. Garcia, M. Oken and M. Fisher

following are the results of the bird banding for October 23, 2005. We opened our new site "Toyon slope", named for its' dominant community of Toyon mixed with snowberry and coffeeberry, in an old burn. There is an overstory of oak and plenty of snags and debris piles. Grasses, starthistle, and wild grape make up the ground cover. Knowing the place was birdy we only erected 4 nets, figuring that would keep us busy for the morning. Indeed it did; after only 1.75 hours we closed the nets due to our large bird capture-14 in one net and 19 total on our second net run-we closed for the morning to process birds and get everyone off safely. The photo shows 2 awesome volunteers, 14 bagged birds and the banding site in the background

Birds banded: 24 individuals of 7 species

8 BUSH- Bushtit
3 RCKI- Ruby-Crowned KInglet
1 HUVI- HUtton's VIreo
5 HETH-HErmit THrush
2 GCSP-Golden-Crowned SParrow
4 SPTO-SPotted TOwhee
1 CATO-CAlifornia TOwhee

DATE	SITE	NET HOURS	WEATHER	BANDERS
Oct 16, 2005	??	4.5	34-40*F, clear, light winds	Garcia, J. Nelson, M. Fisher

.Three birds were new in the hand for me. However, generally our capture rate has been low and we will move our site upslope some.

Birds: 9 individuals in 7 species

3 HErmit THrush HETH
1 BEwick's WRen BEWR
1 Golden-crowned Sparrow GCSP
1 Ruby-Crowned KInglet RCKI
1 AMerican DIipper AMDI
1 BElted KIngfisher BEKI
1 BLack PHoebe BLPH

BCCER Bird Banding Log

* Standard abbreviations for bird names

Longevity Records