by Annie Lindsay
Nestled between the Chestnut and Laurel Ridges close to the city of Rector, Pennsylvania lies Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Pure Historical past’s environmental area analysis station, the place ornithologists have been working a long-term chicken banding station since June 1961. In 62 years of banding birds year-round, we’ve gathered greater than 830,000 banding data of practically 200 species. Some, just like the Cedar Waxwing, have tens of 1000’s of data in our dataset, whereas single people are the one representatives of different species, like Kirtland’s Warbler.
At Powdermill, we band birds all yr, various our effort seasonally, which supplies us an image of what species we count on to see at any given time of yr and the relative abundance of these species. Every season brings one thing new. By March we’re eagerly awaiting the earliest spring migrants and as spring progresses, we revel within the flood of colourful songbirds of their breeding plumage. Summer season brings breeding birds and our anticipation of which people will return yr after yr. As summer time fades into fall, we benefit from the delicate fantastic thing about birds of their non-breeding plumage as they migrate south to their wintering grounds. By mid-November, nearly all migrating songbirds have handed by means of and we’re in our winter banding season, dominated by cold-hardy birds which might be usually recaptured between years.
In 2023, we banded 9,095 new birds and recaptured 5,074 people of 123 species (plus one hybrid). Essentially the most plentiful species was Swainson’s Thrush with 631 new birds banded this yr, adopted by Ruby-crowned Kinglet (596), Grey Catbird (484), and Cedar Waxwing (447). The yr noticed barely decrease numbers than common total, however a number of species had notably excessive captures and a few even set spring or fall season data. In spring, 11 Black-billed Cuckoos edged out final yr’s ten to assert that season’s document, and within the fall 9 Louisiana Waterthrushes (a species that may be a very early migrant and customarily scarce throughout our fall months), 158 Ovenbirds, and two Bicknell’s Thrushes set fall excessive data.
We are able to use these numbers to check 2023 to earlier years and to totals from different banding stations, however the tales concerning the yr’s highlights are most compelling. Every year after we analyze our knowledge, we eagerly search for species that set new document excessive totals, people that characterize early or late banding dates, or recaptures which might be significantly previous birds, and await studies that our banded birds have been recaptured at one other station.
This yr, as in recent times, most of the species that had above common totals are species which were rising in southwestern Pennsylvania, which is a development that’s mirrored in Christmas Bird Count data. The core of those species’ ranges has traditionally been a bit farther south, however they appear to have lately been increasing northward. For instance, Carolina Wrens and Purple-bellied Woodpeckers are year-round residents in southwestern Pennsylvania and are encountered way more usually now than they have been a number of a long time in the past. Equally, Yellow-throated Warbler is a species that tends to not breed a lot farther north than non-Appalachian Pennsylvania, however is a species that we’ve seen in spring trying to ascertain territories and even breeding.
This yr’s thrilling captures started with a Swainson’s Warbler that was caught on Might 11, solely the eighth particular person of that species in Powdermill’s banding dataset. Swainson’s Warblers breed considerably south of Pennsylvania within the very southern a part of West Virginia, however since 2020, birders have noticed a number of close by within the spring and summer time and the primary breeding document within the state was confirmed in summer time 2023. This surprising seize, affectionately nicknamed “Sword-billed Warbler” by the banding crew, was actually a favourite.
This fall, one thing occurred that’s uncommon for a 62-year-old banding station: we added a brand new species to our dataset. Bicknell’s Thrush was thought of a subspecies of the extra frequent Grey-cheeked Thrush till 1995 when there was sufficient proof (primarily based on morphology, vocalizations, habitat, and migration patterns) to raise Bicknell’s to full species standing. Over time, a number of attainable Bicknell’s Thrushes have been banded at Powdermill, but it surely wasn’t till this yr that two have been definitively recognized right here, one on September 14 and one on October 8.
One of many questions we’re often requested is how lengthy birds dwell. Whereas it’s tough to know the way lengthy every species lives on common, recapturing birds between seasons tells us one thing about how lengthy they can dwell. Generally, smaller birds are shorter-lived and bigger birds are longer-lived. Catching a chicken with a band and looking out again by means of the information to see how way back it was initially banded and what number of occasions it’s been captured over time is a spotlight for the banding crew. A number of notable standouts in 2023 embrace:
- A Ruby-throated Hummingbird that was banded in August 2021 and aged as a chicken that had hatched in a earlier yr was recaptured precisely two years later, making her no less than three years previous.
- A Kentucky Warbler that was banded in June 2018 and aged as a chicken that had hatched the earlier summer time was recaptured in Might, making it six years previous.
- A Grey Catbird that was banded in August 2015, the summer time it hatched, was recaptured this fall when it had a refeathering brood patch (the naked patch of pores and skin on the stomach that songbirds develop to assist incubate eggs). This catbird was eight years previous and, as a result of feminine catbirds develop brood patches after they’re breeding, we have been in a position to decide that she was breeding at Powdermill that summer time.
- Black-capped Chickadees are often recaptured as a result of they’re year-round residents at Powdermill and since they have a tendency to spend time at feeders close to the banding station. Due to this, we regularly have their band numbers memorized and generally can acknowledge particular person mannerisms. This fall, we caught one such chickadee a number of occasions; it was banded in April 2016 and aged as a chicken that had hatched the earlier summer time, making it eight years previous!
There have been many extra previous birds captured in 2023, every one delighting the crew with its historical past.
PARC is again to the winter banding schedule and we’re trying ahead to what 2024 will deliver us!
To study extra about chicken banding, please see the publish “What is bird banding?”
Annie Lindsay is the Banding Program Supervisor at Powdermill Nature Reserve.
Associated Content material
2023 Rector Christmas Bird Count Results
Carnegie Museum of Pure Historical past Weblog Quotation Data
Weblog writer:
Lindsay, Annie
Publication date:
February 8, 2024