Powdermill Nature Reserve
Fall 2003
Bird Banding Summary

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

INTRODUCTION & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


Powdermill Nature Reserve's Bird Banding Program, located on the 2,000-acre biological station of Carnegie Museum of Natural History in the Laurel Highlands region of southwestern Pennsylvania, completed its 42nd fall migration banding season in 2003.  The station was operated on 87 out of a possible 122 days from August through November.  Total banding effort for the fall 2003 season was 19,410 net-hours (avg. 223 net-hours/day).  While the number of days of operation was one less than for fall 2002 (both near the long-term average), total net-hours of effort this fall was well above the 41-year average of 15,274 net hours, which means the average number of net hours per banding day also was above average.  Our average daily effort in fall 2003 even exceeded fall 2001, when we logged a near record number of total net hours in 2001 (21,640 net hours) over a greater number of banding days (average daily effort of 216 net-hours/day) than 2002.  The larger number of net hours in fall 2003 is attributable to the four, week-long bander workshops hosted this fall at Powdermill, and the more than usual amount of help on hand. 

 
Of course, a banding operation of this magnitude is made possible only with the help of several regular, and dependable volunteers and we sincerely thank the following for their contribution to the success of the program in fall 2003: Hope Carpenter, Mary Helen Chiodo, Randi Gerrish, Carroll Labarthe, Trish Miller, and Carole Shanahan.  For her help again this year we also thank Annie Lindsay (Grove City College), who helped right up until her senior year began and on many weekends and breaks thereafter.  For occasional help with the banding, we also thank Brian Jones, David Liebmann and Mike Lanzone's two children Jeffrey (9) and Ashley (6).  We also thank Steve and Lisa Hoffman, and their son Merlin, for helping out during their "relaxing" weekend visit to Powdermill this fall.

We benefited once again from an extended visit by Dr. David Norman, our British friend and ringing colleague from the Merseyside Ringing Group, whose visit this fall coincided perfectly for adding assistance and some "overseas" banding insight during two of our four bander workshops.  We also thank all those who attended the workshops, especially for their help and patience during the very busy days when "regular" workshop activities were put on hold: Guy Ubaghs, Rosemary Spreha, Sue Finnegan, Cindy Cartwright, Danielle Skoncey, Tom Greg, Aura Stauffer, Barbara Chambers, Joanna Taylor, Kelly Williams-Seig, Sandra Wilmore, Cindy Marino, and Bill Teetz.  We hope everyone involved enjoyed the discussions and instructions on species identification, ageing and sexing, measurement techniques, and the opportunity to share and learn ideas and techniques from other banders.

This fall, we also welcomed Dr. David Smith, Powdermill's new Director, and we thank him for stepping in to help as we filled his hands with birds and bags on our second busiest banding day this fall (233 birds on October 10).

Last but not least, we are extremely fortunate to have a highly skilled data entry operator at Carnegie Museum's Section of Birds, Marilyn Niedermeier, who painstakingly enters, checks and double checks all of our banding records, and who is responsible for generating banding schedules and filling data requests.  Thank you, Marilyn!
 

 
How'd We do?
Species Diversity
Highs and Lows
Migration Patterns

 

 

HOW'D WE DO?

We banded 6,796 birds from August through November 2003.  This total fits well within one standard deviation of our long-term average of 6,286 and not counting our record fall total in 2001, is the highest fall banding total since 1995.  We banded 100 or more birds on 24 days during the season (compared to 16 days last fall).  Peak banding dates were October 16 (407; our eighth highest daily banding total ever), October 10 (233), October 23 (232), October 11 (215), and October 19 (211).  An additional way of measuring this seasons success is to look at our daily capture rates.  Importantly, days with capture rates over a hundred, were days with well below 100 net hours and not reflective of large catches.  Our fourth highest daily capture rate was on 10/23 with just over 90 birdsnetted per 100 net hours.  We banded 13% of our cumulative total during August, 33% in September, 46% in October, and 8% in November (see graph below).

 
 


 
 

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SPECIES DIVERSITY

 
106 species of birds were banded this fall, which is just about average for species diversity (click here for a table of species totals given in descending order).  Although they accounted for less than half the total number of birds banded, August and September accounted for 89% of the species banded this fall.  Only 9 new species were added in October and only 2 (American Tree Sparrow and Red-winged Blackbird) were added in November.  The diversity of species banded by day is plotted in the graph below.  Note, that at Powdermill species diversity peaks two to three weeks before banding totals.  The day with the highest diversity was 9/21 with 44 species banded; our record high banding total for the season was on 10/16 with 407 birds banded. 

 
One new species was added to the cumulative Powdermill fall banding list, which now stands at 171 (167 species plus two hybrid forms and two recognizable subspecies).  A female Summer Tanager, banded in September, was the fourth SUTA banded at Powdermill but the first fall banding for the species.  A few other good "gets" (species for which we average less than one banded per fall) included Green Heron, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Henslow's Sparrow (the eighth ever banded here at Powdermill and only the fourth in the last 26 years)

Conversely, conspicuous "misses" this fall (i.e., species for which an average of one or more has been banded during fall), contributing to our just average species total included: Baltimore Oriole, Barn Swallow, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Evening Grosbeak, Great Crested Flycatcher, Prairie Warbler, and Savannah Sparrow. 

As always, a handful of species makes up a large proportion of our total catch.  This fall's "top ten" list bumped up four new species that were not included on the 2002 list; Red-eyed Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler (one of the long term top ten placeholders), and Purple Finch.  If the recent trend continues, the most abundant species in the last two fall seasons, American Goldfinch, will soon supplant the former perennnial leader, Dark-eyed Junco.
 

Species Fall Totals Species Fall Totals Species Fall Totals
2003  2002   1962-2001
American Goldfinch 536 American Goldfinch 532 Dark-eyed Junco 16,777
White-throated Sparrow 522 White-throated Sparrow 392   American Goldfinch 15,678
Yellow-rumped Warbler 414 Gray Catbird 358   White-throated Sparrow 14,648
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 386 Dark-eyed Junco 348   Song Sparrow 12,470
Magnolia Warbler 371 Magnolia Warbler 271   Yellow-rumped Warbler 12,438
Gray Catbird 313 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 255   Cedar Waxwing 10,563
Song Sparrow 263 Swainson's Thrush 237   Common Yellowthroat 9,916
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 259 Song Sparrow 210   Gray Catbird 9,544
Purple Finch 257 Common Yellowthroat 197   Magnolia Warbler 8,852
Red-eyed Vireo 249 Swamp Sparrow 149   Swainson's Thrush 8,632
Total of Top Ten 3,570 Total of Top Ten 2,949   Total of Top Ten 119,518
% of 2003 Fall Total 53% % of 2002 Fall Total 52%   % of 1962-2001 Fall Total 47%

 
 
 
 
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HIGHS AND LOWS


Similar to last fall, there were very few unusually high or low banding totals this fall.  In fact, only Red-eyed Vireo set a new record high number with 249 banded, beating out the previous maximum of 223 in 1989.  Our only new record lows were for capture rates (total for a given species/total fall net hours*1000) of four species: House Wren, Black-capped Chickadee, Mourning Warbler, and American Tree Sparrow.

While not record setters, four species, doubled (or more than doubled) last year's fall totals.  They were Ruby-crowned Kinglet (386 vs. 146), Yellow-rumped Warbler (which is reflected in this fall's top ten, 414 vs. 79), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (106 vs. 64), and Purple Finch (257 vs. 42).  Magnolia Warbler (371 vs. 271), American Redstart (217 vs. 117), and White-throated Sparrow (522 vs. 392) were also netted in much higher numbers than last year.  Conversely, species banded in much lower numbers this fall included Cape-May Warbler (18 in 2003 vs. 51 in 2002), Fox Sparrow (23 in 2003 vs. 66 in 2002), Dark-eyed Junco (160 in 2003 vs. 348 in 2002), and House Finch (8 in 2003 vs. 47 in 2002).

In the tables below, totals and capture rates for fall 2003 are compared to averages, standard deviations (S.D.), minima, and maxima for the preceding 41 years.  White rows highlight species that were one or more S.D. above or below the long-term average for banding total and capture rate (comparisons were made only for species with a long-term average banding total >1).  Species in red were below average; blue denotes species that were above average in fall 2003. 

Out of 121 examined statistically, most fell well within one standard deviation of the long-term average with respect to both raw banding total and capture rate.  Seventeen species were one or more standard deviations above average in fall 2003, in terms of raw banding total, and seven were below average.  Confirming the importance of adjusting for effort in comparing banding totals from year to year, examination of capture rates gives a very different picture, with just five species being above average and fourteen below average.  Five species were above average in terms of both raw banding total and capture rate:  Sharp-shinned Hawk, Yellow-throated Vireo, Winter Wren, Wood Thrush, and American Redstart.  Five species were below average for both: Downy Woodpecker, Canada Warbler, House Wren, American Tree Sparrow, and Dark-eyed Junco.

 

Species Total Number of Birds Banded
  Fall Seasons, 1962-2002
2003 AVE SD MIN MAX
Green Heron 2 0.7 1.0 0 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk 8 2.0 2.1 0 9
Solitary Sandpiper 3 2.6 3.3 0 14
Spotted Sandpiper 0 0.3 0.7 0 4
American Woodcock 3 1.6 1.5 0 6
Mourning Dove 4 2.3 4.1 0 23
Black-billed Cuckoo 2 3.0 3.3 0 12
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 0 1.8 1.9 0 8
Eastern Screech Owl 1 0.6 0.8 0 4
Northern Saw-whet Owl 0 0.6 1.0 0 4
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 259 121.8 65.6 30 309
Belted Kingfisher 5 4.0 2.8 0 10
Red-bellied Woodpecker 7 0.9 1.7 0 9
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4 3.6 2.6 0 11
Downy Woodpecker 7 15.1 6.2 5 34
Hairy Woodpecker 2 1.7 1.1 0 5
Northern Flicker 10 7.3 4.6 0 19
Olive-sided Flycatcher 1 2.0 2.4 0 11
Eastern Wood-pewee 28 29.9 16.4 5 66
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 88 59.8 26.5 17 121
Acadian Flycathcher 24 13.0 8.6 0 42
"Traill's" Flycatcher 15 21.0 8.9 5 39
Least Flycatcher 44 90.1 43.5 32 191
Eastern Phoebe 81 60.0 35.2 19 202
Great-crested Flycatcher 0 1.8 1.5 0 6
Eastern Kingbird 0 0.9 1.5 0 7
White-eyed Vireo 6 5.9 5.2 0 16
Yellow-throated Vireo 6 1.7 1.6 0 6
Blue-headed Vireo 33 20.8 13.2 2 53
Warbling Vireo 1 1.1 0.9 0 3
Philadelphia Vireo 16 20.5 14.2 2 69
Red-eyed Vireo 249 123.4 45.0 46 223
Blue Jay 26 16.8 12.9 0 68
Barn Swallow 0 4.6 5.3 0 20
Black-capped Chickadee 23 131.1 115.7 23 490
Tufted Titmouse 21 27.1 11.6 8 52
Red-breasted Nuthatch 0 0.4 0.7 0 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 7 7.1 3.5 2 19
Brown Creeper 6 7.1 3.8 2 16
Carolina Wren 8 4.5 6.1 0 26
House Wren 21 51.2 27.3 8 122
Winter Wren 45 19.8 15.9 1 66
Marsh Wren 3 2.0 2.5 0 13
Golden-crowned Kinglet 42 42.8 27.0 4 119
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 386 201.3 94.4 37 441
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 9 6.7 4.1 0 16
Eastern Bluebird 1 3.6 5.0 0 18
Veery 7 10.6 6.6 1 25
Gray-cheeked Thrush 45 40.5 33.7 5 153
Swainson's Thrush 200 216.0 150.8 36 619
Hermit Thrush 68 47.3 22.4 11 116
Wood Thrush 67 27.2 22.2 3 120
American Robin 36 19.2 15.6 0 63
Gray Catbird 313 238.2 73.8 95 390
Brown Thrasher 12 8.5 6.8 0 32
European Starling 0 0.5 1.2 0 5
Cedar Waxwing 188 264.3 269.9 56 1235
Blue-winged Warbler 14 6.3 5.6 0 23
Golden-winged Warbler 1 3.1 2.3 0 10
"Brewster's" Warbler 0 0.4 0.7 0 2
Tennessee Warbler 38 143.2 150.8 8 729
Orange-crowned Warbler 2 6.0 5.2 0 25
Nashville Warbler 32 48.5 21.6 13 101
Northern Parula 3 2.1 2.0 0 10
Yellow Warbler 2 5.9 3.7 1 18
Chestnut-sided Warbler 78 39.1 21.6 6 98
Magnolia Warbler 371 221.9 95.0 62 523
Cape-May Warbler 18 90.0 88.5 8 365
Black-throated Blue Warbler 45 21.3 17.1 1 74
Yellow-rumped Warbler 414 304.6 208.1 58 979
Black-throated Green Warbler 78 52.8 29.7 15 130
Blackburnian Warbler 7 8.0 6.1 0 25
Pine Warbler 0 0.2 0.5 0 2
Prairie Warbler 0 2.7 2.5 0 9
"Western" Palm Warbler 13 33.2 27.0 4 145
Bay-breasted Warbler 6 28.9 30.2 1 113
Blackpoll Warbler 20 32.7 15.3 11 92
Cerulean Warbler 1 1.5 1.6 0 6
Black and White Warbler 17 14.4 7.6 1 32
American Redstart 217 108.2 50.3 19 222
Worm-eating Warbler 0 0.8 1.1 0 5
Ovenbird 49 54.5 24.7 18 120
Northern Waterthrush 46 31.3 15.0 6 71
Louisiana Waterthrush 2 1.8 1.7 0 6
Kentucky Warbler 5 8.5 4.4 1 22
Connecticut Warbler 12 16.2 7.2 5 31
Mourning Warbler 5 13.9 6.0 5 27
Common Yellowthroat 238 245.1 69.1 90 427
Hooded Warbler 155 69.4 43.1 14 189
Wilson's Warbler 19 30.9 15.1 14 86
Canada Warbler 15 29.3 14.1 6 74
Yellow-breasted Chat 2 4.3 4.6 0 19
Scarlet Tanager 65 47.4 25.5 2 108
Eastern Towhee 57 42.3 19.3 13 85
American Tree Sparrow 2 26.1 19.9 4 99
Chipping Sparrow 26 46.3 41.1 6 172
Field Sparrow 51 143.7 97.6 33 394
Savannah Sparrow 0 2.0 2.7 0 14
Grasshopper Sparrow 0 0.6 1.4 0 7
Henslow's Sparrow 1 0.2 0.4 0 1
Fox Sparrow 23 34.2 21.0 7 95
Song Sparrow 263 305.5 85.2 171 511
Lincoln's Sparrow 42 59.5 23.8 22 130
Swamp Sparrow 150 156.9 55.2 55 294
White-throated Sparrow 522 362.8 177.8 110 875
White-crowned Sparrow 15 16.0 9.0 3 50
Dark-eyed Junco 160 415.4 189.7 86 945
Northern Cardinal 52 39.0 11.5 22 68
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 106 63.6 35.8 2 140
Indigo Bunting 69 68.9 29.5 16 134
Red-winged Blackbird 2 6.5 9.4 0 48
Rusty Blackbird 9 15.0 18.6 0 94
Common Grackle 5 3.3 9.8 0 50
Brown-headed Cowbird 0 1.0 1.6 0 7
Baltimore Oriole 0 2.7 2.6 0 9
Purple Finch 257 171.7 221.4 0 911
House Finch 8 56.8 84.2 0 395
Pine Siskin 1 33.7 65.4 0 361
American Goldfinch 536 394.3 245.1 160 1654
Evening Grosbeak 0 31.5 87.7 0 511
House Sparrow 5 32.4 36.9 0 143
           
Species Capture Rates (no. birds banded/1000 net hrs.)
Fall Seasons, 1962-2002
2003 AVE SD MIN MAX
Green Heron 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.5
Solitary Sandpiper 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.7
Spotted Sandpiper 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.6
American Woodcock 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.4
Mourning Dove 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.0 1.3
Black-billed Cuckoo 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.0 1.3
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.8
Eastern Screech Owl 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.2
Northern Saw-whet Owl 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 13.3 8.2 4.5 2.2 22.2
Belted Kingfisher 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.0 0.6
Red-bellied Woodpecker 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.6
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.6
Downy Woodpecker 0.4 1.0 0.4 0.4 2.3
Hairy Woodpecker 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.4
Northern Flicker 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.0 1.5
Olive-sided Flycatcher 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.8
Eastern Wood-pewee 1.4 2.0 1.0 0.4 4.4
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 4.5 4.0 1.7 1.4 6.9
Acadian Flycathcher 1.2 0.9 0.7 0.0 4.2
"Traill's" Flycatcher 0.8 1.4 0.5 0.5 2.4
Least Flycatcher 2.3 6.3 3.7 2.2 18.6
Eastern Phoebe 4.2 4.0 2.1 1.4 11.1
Great-crested Flycatcher 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.6
Eastern Kingbird 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.0 1.1
White-eyed Vireo 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.0 1.5
Yellow-throated Vireo 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.4
Blue-headed Vireo 1.7 1.4 0.9 0.1 4.3
Warbling Vireo 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.2
Philadelphia Vireo 0.8 1.4 1.0 0.2 4.3
Red-eyed Vireo 12.8 8.8 4.7 3.1 22.4
Blue Jay 1.3 1.1 0.8 0.0 3.7
Barn Swallow 0.0 0.3 0.4 0.0 1.6
Black-capped Chickadee 1.2 9.0 8.1 1.4 34.8
Tufted Titmouse 1.1 1.8 0.7 0.6 3.5
Red-breasted Nuthatch 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2
White-breasted Nuthatch 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.1 1.1
Brown Creeper 0.3 0.5 0.2 0.1 1.0
Carolina Wren 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.0 1.6
House Wren 1.1 3.3 1.5 1.2 7.5
Winter Wren 2.3 1.2 0.9 0.2 4.1
Marsh Wren 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.7
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2.2 2.8 1.6 0.4 6.8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 19.9 13.3 6.9 5.5 45.9
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.0 1.0
Eastern Bluebird 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.0 1.6
Veery 0.4 0.7 0.4 0.1 2.1
Gray-cheeked Thrush 2.3 2.8 2.4 0.4 11.8
Swainson's Thrush 10.3 14.5 9.7 3.9 36.5
Hermit Thrush 3.5 3.2 1.7 1.4 9.0
Wood Thrush 3.5 1.7 1.2 0.2 5.6
American Robin 1.9 1.3 1.1 0.0 4.3
Gray Catbird 16.1 16.5 6.6 5.9 36.5
Brown Thrasher 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.0 2.6
European Starling 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.3
Cedar Waxwing 9.7 19.8 28.2 3.8 172.6
Blue-winged Warbler 0.7 0.4 0.4 0.0 1.6
Golden-winged Warbler 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.9
"Brewster's" Warbler 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1
Tennessee Warbler 2.0 9.6 9.1 0.6 37.0
Orange-crowned Warbler 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.0 1.1
Nashville Warbler 1.6 3.2 1.3 1.2 6.9
Northern Parula 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.6
Yellow Warbler 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.1 1.8
Chestnut-sided Warbler 4.0 2.6 1.4 0.5 6.2
Magnolia Warbler 19.1 14.6 5.0 6.0 24.4
Cape-May Warbler 0.9 6.2 6.2 0.4 26.4
Black-throated Blue Warbler 2.3 1.4 1.0 0.1 4.1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 21.3 20.2 12.5 4.2 56.7
Black-throated Green Warbler 4.0 3.5 1.7 1.1 7.0
Blackburnian Warbler 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.0 2.0
Pine Warbler 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1
Prairie Warbler 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.8
"Western" Palm Warbler 0.7 2.2 1.9 0.3 9.2
Bay-breasted Warbler 0.3 1.9 1.8 0.1 6.8
Blackpoll Warbler 1.0 2.2 0.9 0.8 5.2
Cerulean Warbler 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.4
Black and White Warbler 0.9 1.0 0.7 0.1 4.0
American Redstart 11.2 7.2 3.3 1.5 14.9
Worm-eating Warbler 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.4
Ovenbird 2.5 3.6 1.5 1.2 7.3
Northern Waterthrush 2.4 2.1 1.0 0.6 5.2
Louisiana Waterthrush 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.5
Kentucky Warbler 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.1 1.8
Connecticut Warbler 0.6 1.1 0.5 0.4 2.5
Mourning Warbler 0.3 0.9 0.3 0.4 1.7
Common Yellowthroat 12.3 16.4 4.3 9.1 25.8
Hooded Warbler 8.0 4.6 2.6 0.8 9.6
Wilson's Warbler 1.0 2.0 0.8 0.9 4.2
Canada Warbler 0.8 2.0 1.0 0.5 5.2
Yellow-breasted Chat 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.0 2.6
Scarlet Tanager 3.3 3.5 2.5 0.1 13.0
Eastern Towhee 2.9 2.9 1.5 1.1 9.6
American Tree Sparrow 0.1 1.8 1.5 0.3 5.9
Chipping Sparrow 1.3 3.0 2.7 0.5 12.6
Field Sparrow 2.6 9.6 6.0 2.1 25.5
Savannah Sparrow 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.0 2.1
Grasshopper Sparrow 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.0 1.1
Henslow's Sparrow 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2
Fox Sparrow 1.2 2.3 1.5 0.6 7.6
Song Sparrow 13.5 21.0 7.6 9.7 50.2
Lincoln's Sparrow 2.2 4.1 2.0 1.7 12.6
Swamp Sparrow 7.7 10.4 3.0 5.2 17.8
White-throated Sparrow 26.9 24.4 11.4 7.5 53.8
White-crowned Sparrow 0.8 1.1 0.6 0.3 3.6
Dark-eyed Junco 8.2 28.1 12.8 11.2 56.4
Northern Cardinal 2.7 2.6 0.8 1.3 4.7
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 5.5 4.3 2.4 0.1 8.9
Indigo Bunting 3.6 4.9 2.7 0.9 13.1
Red-winged Blackbird 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.0 2.3
Rusty Blackbird 0.5 1.1 1.7 0.0 9.8
Common Grackle 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.0 2.8
Brown-headed Cowbird 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.6
Baltimore Oriole 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.0 1.4
Purple Finch 13.2 11.2 13.4 0.0 43.6
House Finch 0.4 4.1 6.7 0.0 28.2
Pine Siskin 0.1 2.4 4.5 0.0 24.8
American Goldfinch 27.6 26.6 14.1 9.9 77.2
Evening Grosbeak 0.0 2.6 7.5 0.0 41.1
House Sparrow 0.3 2.2 2.5 0.0 11.0

 
 

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Migration Patterns

Click here for a table of weekly fall totals by species from 8/7-11/30
for overall patterns of migration timing and dates

**IMPORTANT**
All tabular and graphical data on this website should be considered provisional.
They are presented here for general interest, not as completed scientific analyses.
We do invite any colleagues who may have a professional interest in working with us to undertake more comprehensive (and/or comparative) analyses of trends in Powdermill migration banding data to contact mulvipnr@westol.com.


Note about the background image:The wing shown is of an after-second year (ASY) Cedar Waxwing in the fall.  The fact that the bird is molting its flight feathers (which juvenile, or hatching year waxwings do not in their first fall) makes it certainly an after-hatching year (AHY) bird, but  because the bird is molting "wax to wax", it can be aged even more precisely as an after-second year.  The third and fourth feathers from the left are contrastingly brownish and more worn, representing an older generation than the recently molted surrounding feathers, but they have well-developed wax tips.  Because juvenile, or hatching year (HY), waxwings do not acquire wax tips (or at least not full-sized wax tips) until their second prebasic (fall) molt, the older, more worn feathers with wax tips were grown when this bird was more than a year old, making it now, a year later, at least an ASY.  An adult waxwing acquiring molting in wax-tipped secondaries for the first time (i.e., molting "no wax to wax") is replacing its juvenal secondaries and would, therefore, be a known second-year (SY) bird.

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Last Updated on 03/31/04
By Adrienne J. Leppold