Thursday, August 11, 2011

Teslin Lake update - August 10th


baby Spotted Sandpiper, one of the two remaining ones


The bird migration at Teslin Lake has finally started to pick up and it is evident from our stats. From Aug 1st to Aug 5th 107 birds were banded for an average of 21.4 birds/day and 0.16 birds/net hour whereas from Aug 6th to Aug 10th 201 birds were banded for an average of 40.2 birds/day and 0.29 birds/net hour. The top five (six) for the former period was Yellow Warbler (17), Swainson's Thrush (16), Blackpoll Warbler (13), and Alder Flycatcher, Myrtle Warbler and American Redstart 7 each, and for the latter it was Yellow Warbler (40), Alder Flycatcher (37), Myrtle Warbler (23), Swainson's Thrush (15), and Wilson's Warbler (13). The season 1st Western Wood-Pewee was banded on Aug 8th and the 1st Hermit Thrush on the 9th. The complete list for the season is in the end of this post.

Besides the activity in the nets, there's been a notable surge in the numbers of other birds as well. All three common Loon species are now on the lake in small numbers and Red-necked Grebe counts are approaching 50. A few waterfowl have started to appear as well. The first Common Goldeneye was seen on the 3rd, the first flock (8) of Northern Pintails on the 6th, the first Greater White-fronted Geese (4) on the 7th, and the first White-winged Scoter on the 8th. A female Harlequin Duck, an uncommon sighting at the observatory, was seen on the 5th. Flocks of 120 and 30 Surf Scoters were spotted first flying south and then dropping into the "lake hot-spot" on the 10th. The lake hot-spot is an area that seems to attract higher numbers of arctic migrants like loons, scoters, Sabine's Gulls and Jaegers than any other area within the sight of TLBO. Almost all Arctic Terns seen are southbound as have been the few Bonaparte's Gulls. On Aug 7th two Red-necked Phalaropes flew by the station and a Say's Phoebe was seen along the lakeshore. On some days there's been some good Bank Swallow migration with numbers climbing close to 100 in spite of very limited time spent actually migration watching so far. Aug 6th was the first day with a few raptors heading south but so far the highest day total has been very modest four.


HY male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker


southbound Arctic Terns


Solitary Sandpiper ssp. solitaria


the season 1st southbound raptor was this male Northern Harrier


ooh, why can't I be at Albert Creek!!

Photos copyright Jukka Jantunen


The complete list of bird banded at Teslin Lake Bird Observatory this season as of August 10th.

Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Spotted Sandpiper - 2
Solitary Sandpiper - 3
Belted Kingfisher - 3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 5
Northern Flicker - 1
Western Wood-Pewee - 1
Alder Flycatcher - 65
Least Flycatcher - 7
Hammond's Flycatcher - 19
Dusky Flycatcher - 2
Northern Shrike - 1
Warbling Vireo - 14
Black-capped Chickadee - 17
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 9
Swainson's Thrush - 49
Hermit Thrush - 1
American Robin - 9
Bohemian Waxwing - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 3
Orange-crowned Warbler - 9
Yellow Warbler - 95
Yellow-rumped "Myrtle" Warbler - 55
Yellow-rumped "Audubon's" Warbler -1
Townsend's Warbler - 4
Blackpoll Warbler - 31
American Redstart - 28
Northern Waterthrush - 25
Common Yellowthroat - 13
Wilson's Warbler - 17
Chipping Sparrow - 21
Savannah Sparrow - 3
Fox Sparrow - 1
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1
Slate-colored Junco - 26
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1
Purple Finch - 1
Common Redpoll - 3
Pine Siskin - 1
= 556 birds of 40 species



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