Teslin Lake update - August 25th

HY male Rusty Blackbird

From Aug 21st through Aug 25th Teslin Lake averaged 64.4 birds/day and 0.543 birds/net-hour for a total of 322 birds banded. Three new species for the season were banded: Brewer's Sparrow on the 22nd, Rusty Blackbird on the 24th and Golden-crowned Kinglet on the 25th. The Brewer's Sparrow was an obvious choice for the banding highlight of the period. Other unusual ones were the Golden-crowned Kinglet and two HY Dusky Flycatchers. The top five species banded during the period were Alder Flycatcher (139), Dark-eyed Junco (34), Boreal Chickadee (24), Yellow Warbler (23), and Common Yellowthroat (20). The current season top five species banded are Alder Flycatcher (463), Yellow Warbler (231), Swainson's Thrush (77), Yellow-rumped "Myrtle" Warbler (72), and Dark-eyed Junco (71).

The first three Thayer's Gulls for the season flew by the observatory on the 21st and on the same day three Say's Phoebes were seen. Many species typically associated with September have been showing in decent numbers already including American Robin, American Pipit, and Bohemian Waxwing. Boreal Chickadees and Three-toed Woodpeckers are moving but it is too early to say if there is going to be a real irruption of them. By far the most numerous species seen in the migration watches has been Pine Siskin. On the 25th 680, plus over 150 redpoll/siskins, were counted!


Jarmo "Bosley" Pirhonen - already famous in the Yukon!


HY female Golden-crowned Kinglet


SY Pacific Loon


Photos ©Jukka Jantunen

The complete list of bird banded at Teslin Lake Bird Observatory this season as of August 25th (the last 5 days in brackets).

Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Spotted Sandpiper - 2
Solitary Sandpiper - 3
Belted Kingfisher - 5
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 5
Northern Flicker - 1
Western Wood-Pewee - 3 (2)
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 5
Alder Flycatcher - 463 (139)
Least Flycatcher - 10
Hammond's Flycatcher - 24 (3)
Dusky Flycatcher - 5 (2)
Northern Shrike - 1
Warbling Vireo - 16 (1)
Black-capped Chickadee - 36 (4)
Boreal Chickadee - 25 (24)
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1 (1)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 11 (2)
Swainson's Thrush - 77 (3)
Hermit Thrush - 2 (1)
American Robin - 11 (1)
Bohemian Waxwing - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 4
Orange-crowned Warbler - 26 (9)
Yellow Warbler - 231 (23)
Yellow-rumped "Myrtle" Warbler - 72 (5)
Yellow-rumped "Audubon's" Warbler -1
Townsend's Warbler - 4
Blackpoll Warbler - 52 (7)
American Redstart - 32 (1)
Northern Waterthrush - 40 (2)
Common Yellowthroat - 38 (20)
Wilson's Warbler - 49 (9)
Chipping Sparrow - 26 (2)
Brewer's Sparrow - 1 (1)
Savannah Sparrow - 12 (5)
Fox Sparrow - 3
Lincoln's Sparrow - 7 (2)
White-crowned Sparrow - 20 (15)
Slate-colored Junco - 71 (34)
Rusty Blackbird - 2 (2)
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1
Purple Finch - 1
White-winged Crossbill - 1
Common Redpoll - 4 (1)
Pine Siskin - 6 (2)
= 1422 (322) birds of 46 species
0.335 (0.543) birds/net-hour