Banding report-- Sunday, November 29, 2009

[Rosyfinch]

The team captured 34 rosy-finches as well as 2 Steller's Jays. Here is Nancy & Steve's report

Hi all,

We had a very foggy day but it was very productive.  We newly banded another 19 Rosy-Finches (16 Blacks and 3 Brown-capped) .

We recaptured another 15 Rosy-Finches from previous seasons (8 Blacks, 6 Brown-capped and 1 Gray-crowned).  One of the Blacks was originally banded on 11/27/05 as an adult making it at least 6 years old.  Two Blacks were originally banded in the winter of 2006/2007.  One Black was originally banded in the winter of 2007/2008 and 4 were from the winter of 2008/2009.  Three of the Brown-cappeds were originally banded in the winter of 2008/2009 and 3 were 1st banded in the winter of 2007/2008.  The only Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch we encountered today was a recapture.  It was originally banded in the winter of 2007/2008. This Gray-crown was an interior race.

[We also banded two Steller's Jays.]

We estimated the flock size to be around 150 birds.

On the way down, the road was wet from the top to about Doc Long's.  There were numerous icy patches.  The Crest House closed down when we finished.  Roads could be hazardous when temperatures drop.

We are currently in our 7th season, and to date we have banded 1,977 Rosy-Finches.  We are hoping to reach 2,000 before the end of 2009.

Thanks for all the help we have received.

Nancy & Steve

[Rosyfinch]

A follow-up from Nancy-- I had mentioned that traffic to this FORUM has picked up, with now over 1400 views. Her e-mail:

Hi Ken,

I am glad to hear that you are getting more traffic.  I am sure we will start to see more people up there.  We had several visitors today but most of them were not birders.  They enjoyed seeing the Rosy-Finches even so.

For the overall project, we have seen 150 Rosy-Finches in a different season from which they were banded.  Of these, 131 have been seen one additional time, 16 have been seen in two additional seasons, and 3 have been seen in three seasons.  Very exciting.

Steve started a new tradition today to honor Ryan.  Each time we get Rosy-Finches out of the trap, the person with the birds touches Ryan's sculpture.  His sculpture was touched a lot today.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

Nancy