Frontenac Bird Studies

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (D.Derbyshire)

It’s always nice to end on a high note. The Rock Ridge MAPS site finally lived up to the potential I thought it possessed for sampling post-breeding dispersal. Waves of birds were observed during our final visit of 2009-to and fro from the rock cliffs, along edges of outcrops and overhead. Tanagers, grosbeaks, warblers, vireos-all the familiar species that breed locally in Frontenac Provincial Park. Eastern Towhee, Chipping and Field Sparrow and Yellow-rumped Warbler seemed to be the most numerous of the species on the move. Most of the birds captured and banded were young birds such as the hatch-year (born summer ‘09) male Rose-breasted Grosbeak pictured above.

Yellow-rumped 'myrtle' Warbler (S.Leckie)

We ended up banding four Yellow-rumped Warblers during the morning, a small sample of the overall number that went through.

HY Eastern Phoebe (Leckie)

This hatch-year Eastern Phoebe was the first of the species that we’ve caught this summer and may well be one of the nestlings reared on the opposite cliff face from the banding station. Note the ‘gape’ evident at the corner of this bird’s bill, a temporary vestige of its recent life as a nestling. Also indicative of hatch-year individuals is the presence of distinct buff coloured wing bars (tips of greater, median and lesser wing coverts) as seen on this bird.

AHY-F Eastern Towhee (Derbyshire)

It is safe to say that I’ve not ever seen so many towhees in one place as during this last visit to RRID in early August! Both young and adults were calling and flitting from everywhere and it is remarkable that only two were captured by day’s end. This is an adult female as indicated by the red-eye colour and brown upperparts (males have black upperparts).

HY Eastern Towhee (Derbyshire)

A hatch-year individual for comparision. Note the pale brown iris and streaked underparts indicating juvenile age.

HY White-throated Sparrow (Leckie)

White-throated Sparrows were very common at the site during the first two visits and then slowly moved out until just a single male was heard on visit 6. The hatch-year bird pictured above was the first individual captured since mid-June. We will need more consecutive seasons of experience at RRID to know whether the exodus of adults and dearth of young birds in 2009 was just an anomaly reflective of localized nest failure. Another possible explanation is that the adults present at the site were “unfit” younger males occupying substandard habitats for the species.

HY Yellow-rumped 'Myrtle' Warbler (Derbyshire)

Yellow-rumped Warblers seemed to have fared better in 2009 as a decent number of young birds were captured at our sites in July/August.

A total of 24 birds were banded during visit 7, the second highest result of the season for the RRID site. Our first summer on the ridge was a very special one. Each of seven treks to the site brought new discoveries and a deeper appreciation for its ecology. The scenery is stark and dramatic, a vivid backdrop to a long list of memorable finds such as the Whip-poor-will and Common Nighthawk nests, an adult Broad-winged Hawk, carnivorous plants and otters to name but a few. I plan to revisit the site in the fall and winter and of course will return in late spring for MAPS season two at RRID.

Rock Ridge-Visit 7 of 7

New birds banded (24 of 13 species)

Common Yellowthroat-1
Black-and-white Warbler-2
Black-capped Chickadee-2
Eastern Phoebe-1
Song Sparrow-1
Veery-1
White-throated Sparrow-1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak-1
American Robin-5
Eastern Towhee-2
Yellow-rumped ‘Myrtle’ Warbler-4
Chipping Sparrow-2
Red-eyed Vireo-1

Recaptures (2 of 2 species)

Red-eyed Vireo-1
Chipping Sparrow-1

Magnolia Warbler (Seabrooke Leckie)

The Frontenac Breeding Birds program is close to completion with just the final visit to the Rock Ridge (RRID) MAPS site remaining for this year’s fieldwork. The Maplewood (MABO) MAPS site now has seven visits neatly squared away as well as the mandatory Habitat Structure Assessment (HSA) required by IBP for each registered station. During the last visit I was pleased to finally observe mixed flocks of dispersing birds moving through the site and even happier to find a higher proportion of young birds in the nets as the previous two visits were lacking in both departments. We also encountered a few species familiar to the general area but not to MABO, which included the boldly plumaged Magnolia Warbler above. Magnolia Warblers are an uncommon breeder in the region but can be locally regular in appropriate habitats (mixed forests with dense evergreen understorey).

Chestnut-sided Warbler (SL)

Another new species captured at MABO on visit seven was Chestnut-sided Warbler. This species is a regular breeder in edge/scrub habitats in the Frontenac Arch region. The Hemlock Lake (HELA) MAPS site contained at least one pair and roaming males have been heard and seen at both MABO and RRID throughout the summer but the species wasn’t banded until our last morning at Maplewood.

HY Chestnut-sided Warbler (SL)

We banded three in total including two hatch-year birds. Also, in the nick of time, young….

HY Veery (SL)

Veery (above) and Wood Thrush (below)! It would have been unfortunate to have an entire season slip by without banding any young of two dominant species at the site.

HY Wood Thrush (SL)

The final task of the season was to conduct the HSA for the 20 hectare station. The process is fairly time consuming but of paramount importance to the science of the operation. Three base habitats were identified and measured to index dominant species, biodiversity, structure, hydrology and succession for analysis of annual demographic statistics. The HSA will be repeated every five years for the lifetime of the station. It was enjoyable to spend the the time identifying the various species and gaining a richer understanding of the site’s ecology. Sugar Maple (dominant), Red Maple, Red Oak, White Ash, Hop-hornbeam, American Beech, Blue Beech were common in the middle-aged forest while White Oak and Eastern White Pine dominated in the younger section of the northern half. Recorded in smaller quantities were Speckled Alder, Striped Maple, Large-toothed Aspen, Shagbark Hickory, Black Ash and Red Cedar among many others. The trees were relatively straightforward while the ground cover was a little more daunting….

Understorey and ground cover at MABO (D.Derbyshire)

Already looking forward to revisiting MABO in 2010!

Maplewood Bog-Visit 7 of 7

New birds banded (15 of 12 species)

Chestnut-sided Warbler-3
Chipping Sparrow-1
Magnolia Warbler-1
Black-and-white Warbler-1
Ovenbird-1
Northern Waterthrush-1
Red-eyed Vireo-1
Veery-1
Gray Catbird-2
Baltimore Oriole-1
Wood Thrush-1
Hairy Woodpecker-1

Recaptures (4 of 4 species)
Red-eyed Vireo-1
Song Sparrow-1
Gray Catbird-1
Chestnut-sided Warbler-1

Male Indigo Bunting (Seabrooke Leckie)

The penultimate visit to MABO in 2009 was completed on July 25. Weather during the morning was more like spring with cool temperatures, thick fog and cloudy skies. A result of 18 new birds banded and 24 total captures was less than we were anticipating given the time of year. We continue to await any substantial movement of young birds at both MAPS stations. We are banding a few young birds here and there but the results so far are indicating low productivity in the area as a whole. Despite a shortage of hatch-year birds, we continue to sample adult birds in high numbers, including the Indigo Bunting pictured above.

HY Scarlet Tanager (Leckie)

This was the first hatch-year Scarlet Tanager (note the wing bars indicating Juvenal plumage) captured in 2009. We have banded enough Scarlet Tanagers this summer to suggest that both survivorship and productivity indices can be calculated on an annual basis. Veery, Wood Thrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Ovenbird and Northern Waterthrush are a few other examples of species sampled in sufficient quantity at MABO and/or RRID to produce vital rate statistics.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Leckie)

A few Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, all females, have slipped into our nets this summer. We release all hummers unbanded as we don’t have the special permits to band this species.

Wood Thrush (Leckie)

Thus far, results for Wood Thrushes and Veerys, abundant breeders at MABO, has been “hit and miss”. We have banded high numbers of adults but have yet to capture a single hatch-year in 2009. Considerably less common at MABO is the Hermit Thrush and yet we banded a juvenile here during visit 6! Naturally, these findings raise many questions that indicate a need for more data. A substantive network of stations across southern Ontario would be powerfully instructive toward an annual assessment of temporal and spatial variation in rates of productivity and long-term factors influencing population change. For the Frontenac Arch, we are committed to expansion of the MAPS program to bolster demographic monitoring in this region and hopefully to serve as a model for other areas in the province.

Maplewood Bog-Visit 6 of 7

New birds banded (18 of 12 species)

American Redstart-1
American Goldfinch-1
Indigo Bunting-1
Red-eyed Vireo-6
Song Sparrow-2
Scarlet Tanager-1
Hermit Thrush-1
White-breasted Nuthatch-1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker-1
American Robin-1
Wood Thrush-1
Hairy Woodpecker-1

Captured and released unbanded (1 of 1 species)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird-1

Recaptures (5 of 5 species)
American Robin-1
Song Sparrow-1
Common Yellowthroat-1
Black-and-white Warbler-1
White-breasted Nuthatch-1

Yellow-billed Cuckoo (S.Leckie)

Fieldwork for the Frontenac Breeding Birds program is still rolling along with the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship program. Since our last reports on visit three to each of the sites we have also completed rounds four and five at MABO and RRID. This summary reports on visit five to Rock Ridge (RRID), a site situated in rock barren habitat in Frontenac Provincial Park.

Sunrise over Big Clear Lake (Leckie)

Our pre-dawn entry to the site featured a spirited concert by Whip-poor-wills and Common Nighthawks and this sunrise on Big Clear Lake captured by Seabrooke Leckie. It was an enjoyable paddle-not too buggy and calm.

180 degrees of Rock Ridge goodness (click to enlarge)

I hope I’m not boring everyone with these pan shots from the RRID banding station but it continues to dazzle us with its scale and perspective:) This spot is extremely active first thing in the morning with loons diving and calling below, vultures and osprey soaring just overhead and a dizzying number and variety of birds moving between and along the cliffs. Post-breeding dispersal of adult and young birds is well underway and this is without a doubt the best spot to sit and watch. There were the usual suspects dispersing here on July 20, lots of Yellow-rumped, Pine and Black-and-white Warblers, Field and Chipping Sparrows, Purple Finches, phoebes, sapsuckers and towhees among others. There were also some new faces including a singing male Northern Parula about 50m from the banding station and several Vesper Sparrows, all of which sadly avoided capture.

Adult Hermit Thrush (Leckie)

We finally captured a Hermit Thrush at RRID! A male had been singing inside the perimeter of our station since May and had eluded us until visit 5.

Hatch-year Hermit Thrush (Leckie)

Its territory must have been neatly tucked inside our station boundaries as two youngsters were captured on this day, indicating that an active nest was present. Oddly, this was the first juvenile thrush we have captured so far this season (not including robins), despite that a much higher number of thrushes occur at MABO. In fact, the overall proportion of youngsters sampled thus far at both stations has been quite low, which may reflect low productivity-perhaps due to cool and wet weather. We still have two visits to MABO and RRID left in 2009 so we will reserve judgment for later.

Brother or sister HY Hermit Thrush (Leckie)

A second young Hermit Thrush captured in the same net on the following net check (All birds were later reunited).

Hatch-year Black-and-white Warbler (Leckie)

Black-and-white Warblers were equally sampled as three were banded on July 20, which included two young birds and an adult. Together, Hermits and Black-and-whites comprised almost 50% of the birds captured at RRID on this day. Capture totals at RRID have been considerably lower than at MABO thus far. Our point count surveys in the region indicated that the density and diversity of breeding birds in mixed-forest and rock barren habitat is lower than deciduous woodland. Still, the RRID site was partially selected for its potential to sample a large dispersal in late summer, which has yet to happen. We are hopeful that the remaining visits will yield an increased capture rate of birds dispersing from surrounding areas.

Spoon-leaved Sundew (Leckie)

Seabrooke was itching to check a nearby fen for carnivorous plants and wasn’t disappointed with what she found-plenty of Pitcher Plants and Spoon-leaved Sundews! The RRID site is positively teeming with biodiversity.

Seabrooke nest checking by canoe (Derbyshire)

There is usually some time between net checks to sit and watch birds from “the balcony” seat at the banding station. During one of these sessions I spotted an Eastern Phoebe entering a small cut in the rock at the water’s edge on the opposite cliff. I suspected a nest was present given their repeat visits to the same spot and the frequency with which adult phoebes were observed catching moths and other insects over the water.

Eastern Phoebe nest

I ‘radioed’ to Seabrooke about these observations and she was able to confirm the presence of a nest with three young positioned on a ledge underneath the cut in the rock wall. This is the second nest of an Eastern Phoebe recorded in non-manmade structures this summer. Despite how quiet the banding can be at times, there is never a dull moment at Rock Ridge!

Rock Ridge Results-Visit 5 of 7

New birds banded (15 of 8 species)

American Redstart-1
Black-and-white Warbler-3
Red-eyed Vireo-1
American Robin-4
Yellow-billed Cuckoo-1
Field Sparrow-1
Hermit Thrush-3
Blue Jay-1