I banded 36 Boreal Chickadees (Poecile hudsonicus) and had 27 recaptures for a total of 63 encounters in Anchorage, Alaska, from 1990-1995. Boreal Chickadees mean weight and fat accumulation did not vary between seasons; overall annual mean weight was 11.4 g. During fall and winter measured weight increased during daylight hours, but in summer birds maintained a steady weight throughout the day. Winter weight gain throughout the day was calculated to equal about 11.7% of base body weight. Wing, tail, and tarsal measurement averages and ranges are provided. Body, crown, and remige molt was heaviest in late July and August, but light body molt continued into October. This note contributes to a scarcity of avian daily weight patterns in locations with extreme seasonal changes in photoperiod.
INTRODUCTION
The Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus) is a resident of boreal forests dominated by spruce and fir from western Alaska to Newfoundland, Canada. Despite its extensive range, it is little studied; most of what we know comes from the workofMcLaren(1975),Fickenetal.1996),Snow 2023). For example, morphological measurements from P.h.hudsonicus,thesubspeciesthatoccursin Alaska,comefrom19malesand10females(Ficken et al. 1996). Ficken et al. (1996) reported mass from 84 individuals in Ontario (mean 9.8 ± 0.81 g, range7.0-12.4g),2femalesinAlaska,and3other individuals and concluded there was insufficient data“to assess whether there are sex differences or seasonalchanges”(Fickenetal.1996:19). Laitand Burg(2013),usingmitochondrialDNA,identifieda separation of populations east and west of Hudson Bay,sodatafromOntariomaynotberepresentative ofthepopulationinAlaska.
METHODS
The banding site description and banding protocol are described in North (2018). I operated this banding station inAnchorage,Alaska, from March
1990 - March 1995. Birds were examined and measuredwhencaptured. Weightwastakenwith a 50-gPesolascaletothenearest1gthroughOct1992 and,thereafter,withaOhaus300-gelectronicscale to the nearest 0.1 g. Wing chord (unflattened) and tail length (from insertion to longest feather) were measuredto the nearest 1 mm with anAvinetwing andtailruler. Capturedchickadeeswereexamined and scored for fat and molt. Fat and molt were scoredasnone(0),light(1),moderate(2),orheavy (3). I also looked for cloacal protuberances and brood patches during the breeding season. Sexes were determined based on morphological data in Pyleetal.(1987)andPyle(1997)andlook-uptables provided online by the Bird Banding Laboratory.
I used Excel statistical programs AVERAGE to calculate mean weights and measurements, and SLOPEtocalculatedailyweightchangeswithtime of day. Diurnal weight changes were calculated fromdatapooledfromallencounters(includingboth captures and recaptures), and time of day treated as decimal hours (e.g., 1430 became 14.50 h). I plottedmeanmonthlyweightbymeanmonthlyday length,andusedExcelstatisticalfunctionsSLOPE, INTERCEPT, PEARSON, and RSQ to analyze the relationship.
IdefinedsummerasJune-August,fallasSeptemberNovember, winter as December-February, and spring as March-May. However, March inAlaska can be quite winter-like, although the photoperiod is spring-like, so I combined March weights with winter weights to obtain a better sample size for winter diurnal weight trends since I had no other springweights.
RESULTSANDDISCUSSION
From Dec 1990 - March 1995 I banded 36 Boreal Chickadeesandhad27recapturesof16individuals. Recaptures ranged from 1 to 155 days after initial capture (median value 42 days, average 58 days); 9 recaptures were within 2 weeks of first capture.
Conditions at each encounter were used to tally moltandfatscores. Onebirdwascaptured6times between 2 Oct 1993 and 15 Jan 1994, and another was captured 5 times between 6 Aug 1994 and 7 Jan 1995. Weights (n = 61) were collected during all encounters except two. I also collected wing (n = 63) and rectrices (n = 59) measurements and examined most birds for body molt (n = 55) and abdominal fat (n = 59) condition. The majority of birds captured were of unknown age and sex (n = 29, 80.5%). Two were identified as adults based on cloacal protuberance and symmetrical wing molt, and 4 were identified as HY or SY based on rectrixshape. Twowereknownmalesbasedontail length and cloacalprotuberance; nonewere known females. Theonlyindicationofbreedingstatuswas amalewithacloacalprotuberanceon6Jun1992. BorealChickadeesappearedtooccurinAnchorage onmoreofaseasonalbasisthanasregularresidents. MonthlycapturesweregreatestinAugust(Table1); however,seasonallymostcapturesoccurredlaterin thefall. Thissuggestthereareseasonalmovements occurring,whethertheyarealtitudinalorlatitudinal migrations, or dispersion from breeding habitats to winterhabitatsisunknown.
Weight Mean monthly weight was greatest in January (12.0 g; Table 1) and lowest in June (10.5 g);otherwise,weightsweresteadyinthe11-grange (overall mean weight 11.4 g.). There was a slight decrease in mean monthly weight as photoperiod
increased(Figure1),but therelationshipwasweak (r2 = 0.29). Diurnal weights essentially remained steady during the summer, although the data show aslightlossofweightthroughouttheday(Table1). Acontinuous loss of weight during daylight hours is unsustainable, unless they take advantage of available early-morning light for extensive feeding early in the prolonged daylight periods. During fall they gained almost 0.2 g/hr of daylight, which suggests fall is a period of putting on extra mass forthewinter(Table1). Duringwintertheygained about 0.16 g/hr of daylight (Table 1), which is probably the amount they need to maintain mass duringthelongwinternights. Theamountofweight gainduringdaylighthoursinwinterisabout11.7% of their overall mean weight of 11.4 g. Boreal ChickadeesinAnchorageappeartohaveseasonally constant body masses as do Mountain Chickadees (Poecile gambeli)andotherNorthAmericanparids (Cooper 2007) and Red-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta canadensis; North 2018); however, their daily winter weight gains exceeded those of Mountain Chickadees.
Stored Abdominal Fat.– Cooper (2007) found weights in Mountain Chickadees did not increase significantly in winter, but fat scores did. I found that abdominal fat scores were consistent year around, with “light” scores predominating (83%; Table 2). Both scores of “no fat” were recorded from the same individual. The only indications of possible seasonal increased fat storage at the
population level (i.e., beyond just individual birds) occurred in January and August. Thus, Boreal Chickadees contrast with Mountain Chickadees, which do have significantly elevated fat stores in winter(Cooper2007).
Morphometric Measurements.– Overall mean weight(n=61)was11.4gandrangedfrom9-12.5 g. Measured wing lengths (n = 63) ranged from 60 - 69 mm and averaged 64.25 mm. Measured tail lengths (n = 59) ranged from 59 - 70 mm and
Molt.-- Limited flight feather molting observations were collected. Body feather molt, primarily from the ventral tract, primarily occurred from July through October. Heavy molt was noted only during July (Table 3). Abird of unknown sex and agewasnotedwithheavycrownmoltandmoderate ventraltractmoltoccurringon21Aug1993.
Cooper,S.J. 2007. Dailyandseasonalvariationin bodymassandvisiblefatinMountain ChickadeesandJuniperTitmice. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 119:720-724.
Ficken,M.S.,M.A.McLaren,andJ.P.Hailman.1996. BorealChickadee(Parus hudsonicus).In The Birds of North America,No.254(A.Poole andF.Gill,eds.)TheAcademyofNatural Sciences,Philadelphia,PA,andTheAmerican Ornithologists’Union,Washington,DC.
The podotheca is the scaly covering of the bare portions of bird legs. Although it is known that birds periodically replacethesescales,theprocesshasonlybeendescribed in any detail for two species. The purpose of this investigation was to describe the timing of podothecal molt in the Black-capped Vireo (Vireo atricapilla) in relation to both date and the progress of the prebasic feather molt. I captured these birds throughout the time they were present at a site within their breeding range in central Texas. I noted the presence of leg scale molt and scored the molt of primary feathers. Although I noted birds molting leg scales from early April through late September, there was a clear peak of activity in June and July. Podothecal molt was evident before the birds began their prebasic feather molt but was also common asthey replaced inner primaries. Evidence existsthat at least two other species undergo podothecal molt during their prebasic molt like the Black-capped Vireo whereas others do so before or afterward.
Theintegumentisthebody’soutermostcovering.
In birds, this consists of skin, feathers, claws, scales,andthehornysheathingofthebillandspurs (Lucas and Stettenheim 1972). The integument of the avian tarsus and toes is variable and can be entirely feathers (as in the Eastern Screech-Owl, Megascopsasio),entirelyscales(asintheAmerican Robin, Turdus migratorius), or a combination of both (as in the Ruffed Grouse, Bonasa umbellus) (Proctor and Lynch 1993). The scales covering the parts of the tarsus and toes that lack feathers are collectively known as the podotheca, derived fromtheGreek“pod”,meaning“foot”and“theca”, meaning “case” or “box” (Borror1960). Although it is thought that birds replace the scales of the podotheca at least once a year (King and Murphy 1990),thisideaisbaseduponscantevidence(Jenni andWinkler2020a). Itisappropriatetorefertothe renewal of the podotheca as “molt” because birds
slough off old scales completely as new ones grow underneathjustasoldfeathersshedwhennewones grow. Thisisunliketherenewalofthesheathingof the bill (the ramphotheca), which grows and wears awaycontinuallyformostbirdsinamannersimilar tothatofhumannails.
Black-capped Vireos (Vireo atricapilla) occur in habitats featuring abundant shrubs and predominantly nest within 2 m of the ground (Grzybowski 2020). The breeding range of the species extends from northeastern Mexico northward across parts of Texas and Oklahoma. For the nonbreeding season, Black-capped Vireos migratetoanareaalongthewesternsideofMexico. The podotheca of this species consists entirely of scales. Legscalepatternsvaryamongbirdfamilies (VanTyneandBerger1971)and,invireos,arowof scalescoversthefrontsideofthetarsusandasingle long scale shields the rear. This pattern is known as laminiplantar or scutellate-booted (VanTyne and Berger 1971, Pettingill 1970). The purpose of this investigationistodescribethetimingofpodothecal molt of the Black-capped Vireo. I observed evidence of scale molt on the tarsus only and so, in a strict sense, I studied the molt of tarsal scales. However, I will refer to the process as “podothecal molt”or“legscalemolt”.
METHODS
I conducted this investigation at Fort Cavazos MilitaryInstallationintwoCentralTexascounties, Bell and Coryell. I captured Black-capped Vireos by luring them into a 6-m mist net with broadcasts of the songs and scolding calls of conspecifics, Eastern Screech-Owls (Megascops asio), Whiteeyed Vireos (Vireo griseus), and Black-crested Titmice (Baeolophus atricrisatus). I did this each year from 2010 to 2024 throughout the time the birds were present on their breeding grounds, that is, late March through late September. Before placing bands on the birds, I examined their legs for evidence of molting scales. I only collected data on adult birds and not individuals in their hatching year. In a few cases, I observed scales partially separated from or even hanging loosely
from the tarsus. However, the most common sign I considered as evidence of molt was that one or
that distinctly differed from other adjacent scales (Fig.1). Thecauseofthisappearanceisthatthescale hasdetachedfromtheunderlyingtissueresultingin a thin layer of intervening air. Such scales often detachedeasilyfromthelegwhenIlightlyscrapped them with my fingernail. I recorded whether these molting scales were present and the leg on which they occurred. However, I considered birds only to be molting leg scales or not for purposes of this study.
Toexaminetherelationshipofpodothecalmoltand date,Ifirstconvertedcalendardatestoordinaldates andthengroupedtheseintotwenty10-dayperiods. Foreachperiod,Icalculatedthepercentageofbirds thatweremoltingscales. Asameasureofprecision, Ialsocomputeda95%confidenceintervalforeach of these percentages. To do this, I followed the method described by Zar (1999). Whenever the proportionwaszero,itwasnotpossibletocompute aconfidenceinterval.
I also examined the relationship of leg scale molt to the progress of the replacement of primary feathers in the prebasic molt. Although I did not gatherfeathermoltdataforallthebirdswhoselegs I assessed for podothecal molt, I did so for most (83%). In typical passerine fashion, the prebasic molt of Black-capped Vireos begins with the shedding of the innermost primary. Although the last feathers to complete growth in this molt are secondaries 5 and 6, replacement of the outer two primaries overlaps with these. Thus, the progress of the molt of primaries alone provides a good measure of the overall progress of the prebasic molt. I used a common system (describedin Jenni and Winkler 2020b) to assign a score of 0-5 to eachofthe10primaries. Oldfeathersreceivedthe minimum score of 0, whereas those that were new and completely grown got the maximum score, 5. Feathers that were missing or in pin got a score of 1. Scores of 2 and 3 were for primaries that were up to 1/3 and 2/3 grown, respectively, and a score of4forthosethatweremorethan2/3grownbutnot yet complete. Summing the individual scores of thetenprimariesofeachbirdgaveanoverallscore ranging from 0-50. To examine the relationship
betweenpodothecalmoltandprimarymolt,Iplaced birds into twelve groups based on their primary molt scores. Two of these consisted of birds with scoresofeither0or50,representingthosethathave notstartedtheirmoltandthosethathavecompleted it. The remaining groups included all birds that showed active primary molt. For each, I grouped birds with five consecutive scores. For example, birds with scores ranging from 10 to 14 comprised one group. It was necessary for one group to have onlyfour consecutivescores. I made thisgroupbe thebirdswithscores1-4becausetheirlargenumber ensuredanadequatesample.
RESULTS
I examined the legs of 1,222 Black-capped Vireos between 30 March and 25 September. I found evidence of leg scale molt during most of this period, 11 April to 22 September. In total, 498 individuals in this sample were molting leg scales. Although I observed podothecal molt on some Black-cappedVireos throughout most ofApril and May, it was infrequent. Not until the last two days of May and the beginning of June did this increase (Fig.2).Thepeakfrequencies occurred throughout mostofJuneandallofJuly(ordinaldates160-214; Fig. 2). Afterward,thefrequencyof leg scale molt decreased but remained in the 10-20% range until thebirdsmigratedsouthinlateSeptember(Fig.2).
I examined both leg scale molt and feather molt on 1,017 Black-capped Vireos. Podothecal molt occurredthroughouttheperiodoffeathermolt. The frequencyofthosereplacinglegscaleswasgreatest prior to and during the early stages of feather molt (Fig. 3). It then decreased steadily as feather molt progressed (Fig. 3). Greater than 40% of the birds withfeathermoltscores<25weremoltinglegscales whereaslessthan30%ofthebirdswithfeathermolt scores>25weredoingso.
DISCUSSION
This study is one of only a few to document podothecalmolt. Iamawareofonlytwoothersthat give information on this process. Both involved wild birds held in captivity (Gullion 1953, King and Murphy 1990). Although it is often possible to distinguish old feathers from those that more recentlyreplaced,thismaynotbe possiblewith leg scales. Thisfactlimitsthestudyofpodothecalmolt
in several ways. For example, it is not possible to distinguish between individuals that have not yet started molt from those that have completed it. Furthermore, if scales are replaced a few at a time separated by periods when no molt is evident, it maynotalwaysbepossibletorecognizewhenbirds areinthe midstofpodothecalmolt. Consequently, itmaynotbepossibletoknowatanindividuallevel whenpodothecalmoltbegins,ends,oritsduration. Despitetheselimitations,itispossibletodetermine the timing and duration of leg scale molt for a populationasthisstudydemonstrates.
I observed podothecal molt throughout most of the period Black-capped Vireos are on their breeding grounds. However, a definite peak of activity occurred in June and July. That I noted leg scale molt in 10-20% of birds sampled in September suggests that the process may continue into southward migration. However, its occurrence during migration and on the wintering grounds remainsatopicforfurtherinvestigation. At all stages of feather molt, birds were replacing leg scales. However, podothecal molt commenced
before feather molt as shown by the fact that 59% of birds that had not yet started feather molt were alreadyreplacinglegscales. Previousstudiesfound that American Coots (Fulica americana) replace leg scales about two months before commencing theprebasicfeathermolt(Gullion1953)andWhitecrowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) do so about three months afterward (King and Murphy 1990). IhaveobservedPaintedBuntings(Passerina ciris) molting leg scales before their prebasic molt and White-eyed Vireos (Vireo griseus) doing so both before and during this molt. Evans and Harrison (1985) mentioned a Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) that must have shed leg scales during its prebasic molt because it had a scale with an aberrant shape on one leg that was present before the moltbutnot immediatelyafterward. Spearman (1966) mentioned that domestic chickens (Gallus gallus) molt tarsal scales 7-10 days after hatching at the time of their first feather molt. Thus, even with information on few species, it is apparent that podothecalmoltinbirdsvariesinitstimingrelative tothatoffeathermolt.
The Department of theArmy provided funding for monitoring Black-capped Vireos at Fort Cavazos, whichgavemetheopportunityfirsttonoticethento gatherdataonpodothecalmolt. Thecontentofthis manuscriptdoesnotnecessarilyreflectthe position or policy of the United States government and no officialendorsementshouldbeinferred.
Grzybowski,J.A. 2020. Black-cappedVireo(Vireo atricapilla),version1.0. In Birds of the World (A.F.PooleandF.B.Gill,Editors).Cornell LabofOrnithology,Ithaca,NY.
Compiled by Claire Stuyck (If you would like to help review articles of interest to banders, please contact cstuyck “at” uw.edu, and feel free to mention if you have a particular journal or geographic area of interest).
Population Trends of the Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis) wintering in California. Pandolfino,E.R.,L.A.Douglas,andC.Ray.2024. Journal of Raptor Research 58:294-303
The Ferruginous Hawk is a raptor of conservation concern in much of its range. Population trend estimates from Breeding Bird Surveys and migration counts for this species are often contradictory and of low credibility. To counterthis,theauthorsofanewstudy,Edward
Pandolfino, Lily Douglas of the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService,andChrisRayofTheInstitutefor Bird Populations used Christmas Bird Count data to assess population trends for Ferruginous Hawks that winter in California. Evidence suggests that the birds breeding in southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon may represent a metapopulation that winters almost exclusively in California. Data for the 25-year period from 1997982021–22inthecorewinterrangeofFerruginous Hawks showed a significant positive trend. This contrasts with the continent-wide negative trends observed for most grassland and open country bird species and is surprising given ongoing declinesof this species’ preferred winter habitat in California during this same period. The authors posit several explanationsthatmayaccountforthesedifferences, including the possibility that the Californiawintering Ferruginous Hawks include a large proportionofbirdsbreedingoutsideofsoutheastern WashingtonandnortheasternOregon.MSW,SKA
Equipment,Techniques,andStationReports
Rise-Up Mist-netting (RUM): a mobile protocol for trapping wary territorial birds. Amorim, P. S., M. F. Rossi, and A. Camargo Guaraldo. Inthisimportantstudy,Amorimetal.(2021) present the Rise-Up Mist-Netting (RUM) protocol as a novel and effective method for capturing territorial and trap-averse bird species, such as the Rufous Hornero (Furnarius rufus). The study highlights how traditional mist netting, even with playbackanddecoys,wasineffective,asbirdseither evadedorcircumventedthenet. Similartotargeted mistnetting,theRUMprotocolutilizesaspeakerfor playback,aswellasashort(6m)mistnet.However, the net in RUM protocol is strung on two PVC or electrical conduit poles and held horizontally by tworesearchers. Oncethebirdistooclosetoevade capture, the researchers synchronously flip the net vertically, ensuring capture. The efficacy of the RUM protocol is demonstrated by the successful capture of 38 Rufous Horneros over 28 days in the study area surrounding the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora campus in Juiz de Fora, Brazil. This method is particularly promising for urban ecology studies due to its portability, minimal space requirements, and ease of operation. Additionally, the RUM protocol offers versatility for capturing other elusive species, such as Great Kiskadees (Pitangus sulphuratus). Despite RUM’sadvantages,theauthors’donotspecifically mention how the net is stabilized during bird extraction. For example, what happened to an end of the net when one researcher presumably moves away from the pole to extract the bird? With enough planning, this logistical challenge can be overcome in future field methods. Perhaps the net could be bagged while walking to where the bird is caught, or could be rolled around the pole, until the researcher is close enough to safely extract. Additionally, public engagement and explanation of methods should be carefully considered, as the quick setup and flipping of a net may be more conspicuous and confusing to bystanders. As with traditional mist netting, carrying, and displaying signage may be a wise decision. It may also be smart to bring an additional team member to
devote to public engagement in crowded areas. RUM can expand the toolbox for capturing elusive species, allowing researchers to bridge knowledgegapsinindividual-baseddatacollection and behavioral ecology. Overall, Amorim et al. provide a compelling case for incorporating the RUM protocol into bird banding practices, especially for urban studies. Its innovation, practicality, and potential for broad application
Identification, Molts, Plumages, Weights, and Measurements
Recent changes in distribution and plumage phenologiesoftheWhitewingedTern(Chlidonias leucopterus) in the Middle East. Kiat, Y., and P. Pyle. 2024. Journal ofOrnithology 126. Changesinspeciesgeographicdistributions, including those of migration routes, stopover sites, and over-wintering grounds, may affect the phenologyofbreedingandmolt. TheWhite-winged Tern is a long-distance migrant which breeds in EurasiaandwintersinAfricaandAustralasia. This species is known in the Eastern Mediterranean and theMiddleEastmainlyduringthemigrationseasons althoughitalsobreedslocallyineasternTurkeyand thePersianGulf.However,inthelastdecade,there hasbeenanapparentchangeinthewinterdistribution of this species, with increasing observations of individuals during December–February in the Middle East, many of them in breeding plumage. Using data collected from specimens stored at the Natural History Museum at Tring (UK), ringing data from Israel, the online database eBird, and accompanying Macaulay Library (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), authors Yosef Kiat from Tel Aviv UniversityandPeterPylefromTheInstituteforBird Populations described these recent changes in the seasonaldistributionandannualmoltcycles.While the birds that breed in the north begin to replace their black body feathers immediately at the timesnorthernhemisphere breeding populations. This might suggest yet-to-be discovered local breeding in the Middle East in February–April. In such cases as this, the authors hypothesize that examination of plumage phenology may help researchers investigate the timing of as yetunknownbreedingphenology. MSW,SKA
BandingResults
Annual migratory movement, apparent moltmigration, migration schedule, and diffuse migratory connectivity of Hermit Warblers. Kim,H.,R.B.Siegel,J.L.Stephens,J.C.Hagar,B. J.Furnas,M.-S.Jeong,B.C.McComb,andM.G. Betts. 2024. AvianConservationandEcology19:6. TheHermitWarblerisaspeciesthatgenerally keeps to itself, away from humans, staying high in the treetops of coniferous forests where they breed in the mountains of southern Washington, Oregon, and central and northern California. Because their secretivenaturemakesthemdifficulttostudy,little is known about the Hermit Warbler’s ecology, behavior, or migration. However, data from the Breeding Bird Survey suggests that this species is declining across its range, and in Washington and California’sSierraNevadainparticular. Inarecent studypublishedinAvianConservationandEcology, HankyuKim,nowafacultymemberatKyungHee University in Seoul, Korea, along with colleagues includingRodneySiegelfromTheInstituteforBird Populations, examined migratory connectivity in HermitWarblersusinggeolocators. Understanding migratoryconnectivity,orwheredifferentbreeding populations of a species spend the non-breeding period, is critical to conserving migratory species thatmayfacethreatsindifferentpartsoftheirrange astheymovethroughtheirannualmigrationcycle. Kim and colleagues deployed these transmitters on Hermit Warblers in seven locations spanning their breeding range, including Yosemite National Park in the spring and summer of 2019 intending to recapture the birds when they returned to their breeding territories the following year to retrieve the geolocators and the data they carried. But we allknow what happenedin 2020. Kimwasable to recoverenoughgeolocatorsandgatherenoughdata tocompletethefirststudyofmigratoryconnectivity in this species. Kim and colleagues found that Hermit Warbler breeding populations from up and down the West Coast mix together during the nonbreeding season across the non-breeding range in southern Mexico and Central America. However, the Hermit Warblers that bred in Yosemite, in the southern part of the species breeding range, spent the non-breeding season in the most eastern part
of the non-breeding range- southeastern Mexico. Though the sample size of birds tracked from Yosemite was small, this suggests a form of chain migration in which these more southeasterly breedingpopulationsaremigratingtosoutheasterly portions of the non-breeding range. Deforestation inthispartofMexicohasbeenparticularlyseverein recentyearsandmaycontributetothedeclineofthe Sierra Nevada breeding population of this species. The researchers also found that Hermit Warblers migrated relatively quickly during northbound migrationtothebreedinggrounds,butmoreslowly onthewaysouthtothenon-breedinggrounds.Kim andcolleagueshypothesizethatthefastermigration northmayreflectcompetitiontoestablishfavorable breeding territories. In addition, birds need to time their breeding so that it coincides with the flush of food resources (insects) in spring. This is seen in many other species of migratory birds. Hermit Warblers are known to molt soon after the breeding season, which coincides with their migration south. Kim and coauthors suggest that the slower progress of the post-breeding migration maybebecausethebirdsaremoltingastheymigrate through the mountains of Northern California and the Sierra Nevada. Anecdotally, Kim notes thathe caught Hermit Warblers undergoing flight feather and body feather molt in early July. The authors describe the proposed molt migration in Hermit Warblersasa“continuous”ratherthana“stopover” molt migration seen in other species because the warblers apparently do not stop migration for an extended period to complete their molt, but rather moveslowlybutsteadilytowardsthenon-breeding grounds while they molt. This study highlights the importance of Sierra Nevada forests for the conservation of this species, as the populations thatbreedthereareindecline,andpopulationsthat breed farther north undergo molt, an energetically demanding process, as they migrate through this region. Kimrecommendsfurtherstudyofmigratory connectivity in the southern portions of the Hermit Warbler’s breeding range- including the Sierra Nevada-toboostsamplesizesandfurtherelucidate migration connectivity patterns forthis population. MSW,SKA
Genomics-informed conservation units reveal spatial variation in climate vulnerability in a migratory bird. Miller, C. V., C. M. Bossu, J. F. Saracco,D.P.L.Toews,C.S.Rushing,A.RobertoCharron, J. A. Tremblay, R. B. Chandler, M. G. DeSaix,C.J.Fiss,J.L.Larkin,S.Haché,S.Nebeland K.C.Ruegg. 2024. MolecularEcology33:e17199. Identifying genetic conservation units (CU) in threatened species is critical for the preservation of adaptive capacity and evolutionary potential in the face of climate change. However, delineatingCUsinhighlymobilespeciesremainsa challengeduetohighratesofgeneflowandgenetic signaturesofisolationbydistance. EvenwhenCUs are delineated in highly mobile species, the CUs often lack key biological information about what populations have the most conservation need to guide management decisions. Here we implement a framework for CU identification in the Canada Warbler, a migratory species of conservation concern,andthenintegratedemographicmodelling andgenomicoffsettoguideconservationdecisions. In a study published in Molecular Ecology, lead author Caitlin Miller, along with scientists from The Institute for Bird Populations and other organizations,foundthatpatternsofwholegenome genetic variation in this highly mobile species are primarily driven by putative adaptive variation. Therewasalsosignificantspatialvariationinclimate vulnerability, with the Northwestern birds being identified as the most vulnerable to future climate change. However, the steepestpopulationdeclines have occurred within the Eastern populations. Overall, the authors illustrate that genomics informedconservationprovidesastrongfoundation for identifying current and future regional threats that can be used to inform management strategies for a highly mobile species in a rapidly changing world.MSW,SKA
Breeding birds of high-elevation mixedconifer forests have declined in national parks of the southwestern U.S. while lower elevation species have increased, with responses to drought varying by habitat. Jones, H. H., C. Ray, M. Johnson, and R. Siegel. 2024. Ornithologica Applications 126:duae007.
Birds and other wildlife breeding in the Southwest of the U.S. may have adapted to breed in one of the hottest and driest regions of North America. The Southwest is also a climate change hotspot. Protectedareassuchasnationalparksand monuments are ideal places to study how climate changeisaffectingbirdpopulations. Arecentstudy authored by three scientists from The Institute for BirdPopulationsandacolleaguefromtheNational ParkServiceanalyzedsouthwesternbirdmonitoring data collected in six national parks between 2007 and2018andclimatedata toexaminehowdrought and the timing of the North American Monsoon affect bird populations in the region. Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Grand Canyon National Park, Petrified Forest National Park, WupatkiNationalMonument,MesaVerdeNational Park, and Bandelier National Monument—are part of the National Park Service’s Southern Colorado Plateau Inventory and Monitoring Network, in whichthebirdsweremonitoredusingpointcounts. The Southwest’s birds, especially species of montane forest and grassland habitats, are among the fastestdeclininginNorthAmerica. Asaverage temperatures rise and extreme heat waves become more common, precipitation is declining. For the last 23 years, the Southwest has been experiencing a "megadrought," the driest multi-year period in the region since the year 800 C.E., driven in part by climate change. Drought can affect bird populations both directly and indirectly. When coupled with high heat, drought can kill birds via dehydrationandheatexhaustion. Itcanalsoreduce insect populations or alter plant communities, leadingtoalossoffoodresources,nestingsites,or habitat structure. The North American Monsoon, a significant precipitation phenomenon unique to theregion,isalsobeingaffectedbyclimatechange. The monsoon occurs from July through October, when shifting wind patterns bring moisture from the Pacific, Gulf of California, and Gulf of Mexico over the U.S. southwest and northwestern Mexico, leading to frequent rain and often violent thunderstorms. Scientists are still uncertain how climate change will affect the monsoon precipitation totals, but many studies predict that climatechangewilldelaythemonsoon,suchthatit startslaterinthesummerand ends intheearlyfall.
The authors found that the effects of the drought on birds varied according to elevation. Birds that breed in the higher elevation conifer forests, like Red-breastedNuthatchandRuby-crownedKinglet, seemedtobenefitfromdrieryearsintheshortterm, likely due to earlier snowmelt which allowed them to startbreeding earlier and possibly produce more young. However, over the longer term, many of these same species are declining, most likely due to habitat loss as drought exacerbates tree death andsevere,stand-replacingfires.Forthemostpart, these declining population trends mirrored similar declines detected from Breeding Bird Survey data across the Colorado Plateau, suggesting that the protectedareasinthestudyarebeingaffectedbytree death and wildfire similarly to how they are across thebroaderregionallandscape.Dryyearsseemedto be hardest on lower-elevation grassland birds such asHornedLarkandChihuahuanMeadowlark,likely becausegrassdoesn’tgrowastallorasdenseindry years which provides less cover for ground nests. Less precipitation also means less insect prey to feedtonestlings. Incontrast,latermonsoons(which are predicted by many climate-change models) seemedtobenefitgrasslandbirds,possiblybecause fewer late summer nests were lost due to flooding and hypothermia caused by intense rainstorms. However, the authors also found that species that relyonthemonsoon'sfoodpulsetofueltheirmolt, “molt migrants” such as Black-headed Grosbeak, Warbling Vireo, and Lazuli Bunting, were negatively impacted by later monsoons compared to species that don’t molt in the monsoon region, perhaps becauseof a mismatch between the timing oftheirmoltandthemonsoon’sabundantresources. Ourstudyshowsthathuman-causedclimatechange intheSouthwestisalreadyaffectingbirdpopulations and, in many ways, we are entering a new era of climate—one in which we are only beginning to understand how wildlife is being affected. Longterm monitoring, like the data from the National Park Service’s Inventory and Monitoring Program that we used here, is more important than ever to act as a warning system about the changes we are seeing and to understand what is driving them. MSW,SKA
HumanDimensions,Ethics,andWelfare
A bird in the hand: connecting children and wildlife through hands-on experiences with birds. Shin, Seunguk, Carena J. van Riper, Human Dimensionsof Wildlife 1-19.
Attitudes, perspectives, and subsequent environmental stewardship actions are influenced by human-wildlife interactions. The education and outreach opportunities that bird banding provides using up-close and hand-on interaction with birds andthescientificprocessareasignificantopportunity tobroadenperspectivesandfosterattitudechanges. Environmental education programs seek to engage and encourage participants to develop positive attitudes by facilitating direct nature experiences to build pro-environmental behaviors. Children are developmentally predisposed to being strongly influencedbydirectcontactwiththeirsurroundings andareidealparticipantsforthesetypesofeducation programs. Unfortunately, the impact of these experiencesisdifficulttostudyandpopulationsthat includechildrenareparticularlyunderstudied. This body of work is one of the first to address this gap. In partnership with a local park in Urbana, Illinois, the researchers recruited 23 11-15 year olds participating in one of three week-long summer campsinJuly2022. Abirdeducationprogramwas developedtoprovidetwoone-hoursessions ontwo different mornings during the week. One goal of the program was to provide hands-on interaction with local bird species using mist-netting; two trained researchers demonstrated safe capture and handling techniques with an educational focus on morphology and ecology of the species captured. Educational modules centered on learning goals of 1) general bird knowledge 2) connection to birds and nature and 3) environmental values; these modules use short lectures followed by discussion andculminatinginacreativeproject. Self-reporting surveysfollowingawithin-grouppre-andpost-test designwereusedtoevaluatechangein1)knowledge of birds, 2) connection to birds, 3) connection to nature, and 4) environmental values. Average bird knowledgedidnotsignificantlychangecomparedto prior assessed knowledge; however the researchers observed changes and expansion of knowledge that wasn’t captured in the assessments. There was
a positive change in self-reported psychological connection with birds, and a moderate increase in connection with nature. Environmental values did not change to a statistically significant degree relative to values reported prior to participation. Thisimportantstudyisoneofthefirsttoempirically demonstrate the positive attitudes that mist-netting has on wildlife conservation in children. Despite these exciting results there are significant barriers to meaningful experiences with nature whose barriers aren’t explored in this paper. Urbanization and the ubiquity of screens are further complicated by the growing disparity of social determinants
News,Notes,Comments
SedgeWrenRecapturesanda LongevityRecord
Recaptures of banded birds have the potential to provide much valuable information. Examples include adding to knowledge about movement, migration routes, migration speed, site fidelity, and longevity. Here, I report on recaptures and a longevity record for Sedge Wrens (Cistothorus stellaris)bandedatasiteontheTexasGulf Coast.
From 2012 through 2024, I banded Sedge Wrens at the Clive Runnells Family Mad Island Marsh Preserve in Matagorda County. The preserve is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy of Texas and includes large areas of grassland and wetland. The wrens occur there during their nonbreeding season from November through May and can be relatively abundant. I visited the site 1-3 times annually to capture Sedge Wrens in grasslands and an adjacent brackish wetland using asingle6-mmistnetwithameshsizeof24mm.
I banded 288 Sedge Wrens at the preserve over the 13-year period and later recaptured 15 (5%) of them. That I have recaptured this many of these birds is probably due to my work at the same site consistentlyoverarelativelylongperiod. Eightof the recaptures occurred in a different non-breeding seasonthantheoriginalcapture,thatis,thesebirds made at least one round trip migration between
to children’s access. This work presents an approachableproof-of-conceptinbothstudydesign and educational curricula that can be applied with other populations and settings. Future work may benefit from a complimentary qualitative (e.g. interviews, focus groups) to interpret children's lived experiences and how they influence their values and potential stewardship behaviors. The broader implications of this work demonstrate the power of influencing positive attitudes towards environmental stewardship that education and outreach with mist-netting can achieve. CMS
captures. Thisprovidesevidencethatatleastsome SedgeWrensreturntothesamewinteringsiteeach year. It is known that Sedge Wrens seldom return to the same breeding sites between years (Herbert et al. 2021), but these recaptures provide the first informationconcerningtheirwintersitefidelity.
I bandeda SedgeWrenin definitive basic plumage (after secondyear)with number2830-35833on31 Mar 2018. I recaptured this bird on 17 Nov 2019 and again on 15 Dec 2020. Although I did not record the precise location of each capture of this bird, all were within the same area of the preserve and could not have been separated by more than 400m. TheBirdBandingLaboratory(BBL)ofthe United States GeologicalSurvey considered this to be the first longevity record for the species with a minimum possible age of 4 years, 6 months (Bird BandingLaboratory2023).
The BBL compiles and continually updates a list of longevity records for birds. To qualify as a longevity record, a bird must not only be the oldestonrecord,butalsotohavebeenencountered sometimeaftertheseasoninwhichitwasoriginally banded (Walker et al. 2024). Consequently, many species have been recaptured but lack a longevity record(e.g.,WinterWren, Troglodytes hiemalus).
It is likely that Sedge Wrens have the potential to livemuchlongerthan4.5years. Longevityrecords forseveralmigratoryspeciesofsimilarandsmaller
size have greater longevity records. For example, a Pacific Wren (Troglodytes pacificus) lived at least 6 years, 6 months, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula) 8 years, 8 months, and a Nashville Warbler (Leiothlypis ruficapilla), 10 years, 2 months (Bird Banding Laboratory 2023) Itislikely that therelatively shortlongevityrecord forSedgeWrenisaconsequenceofthefactthatthe speciesisinfrequentlybandedand,therefore,rarely recaptured or recovered. Shieldcastle published several reports of the numbers of each species banded within the area covered by the Inland Bird Banding Association, which includes large proportionsofboth the SedgeWren’sbreedingand non-breeding ranges. The total number of Sedge Wrens banded in this area over the 5-year period 2016-2020was168(Shieldcastle2017,2018,2019, 2020,2021). Forcomparison,thenumberofWinter Wrens, a species with no longevity record, banded duringthesameperiodwasfargreater,1,116birds. For wren species that are more frequently banded, longevity records are abouttwicethatof the Sedge Wren. For example a House Wren (Toglodytes aedon)lived9years,aCarolinaWren(Thryothorus ludovicianus) 9 years, 2 months, and a Bewick’s Wren(Thryomanesbewickii)8years(BirdBanding Laboratory2023).
I thank The Nature Conservancy of Texas for allowing access to the Clive Runnells Family Mad Island Marsh Preserve. I thank the preserve’s manager,StevenGoertz,forhishospitality,logistic support,andassistancecapturingbirds. Ialsothank numerous people, especially Nicholas Glover and Paula Cimprich for their enthusiastic and energetic effortsincapturingandbandingSedgeWrens.
The Eastern Bird Banding Association held its 102ndAnnualMeetingfrom28February –2March, 2025,attheKiawahIslandGolfResortonbeautiful Kiawah Island near Charleston, SC. Over 85 bird banders, ornithologists, and conservationists from across the eastern U.S. and Canada gathered to network,learn,andcatchupwitholdfriends.
Theweekendkickedoffwithaseriesofworkshops held on Friday afternoon, covering topics such as mist net repair, an introduction to Motus, how to apply lock-on and rivet bands, tools of the trade, and banding first aid. Friday evening attendees enjoyed a happy hour watching the sun set over the Kiawah River with fire-roasted oysters and a
bonfire at Mingo Point before having a traditional LowCountryBBQdinner. TheFridayopeningspeakers,FeliciaSandersofthe South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and Fletcher Smith of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources gave, a presentation titled “The Southeast’s critical role in the survival of Red Knots.”
ThesunsetsatMingoPoint,KiawahIsland
Attendeesenjoyedfreshlyshuckedoysters
Saturday was jam-packed with presentations. After a morning welcome from outgoing President Ariane Giudicelli, this year’s meeting host and incoming President, Aaron Given, gave a presentation on Kiawah Island that included both its fascinating history and the array of banding and bird conservation projects taking place on the island.Beforelunch,weheardfrompreviousEBBA GrantrecipientMeganLinkeonherworkstudying King Rail movements and habitat use across both managedimpoundmentsandtidalmarshesincoastal South Carolina, followed by William Oakley, who shared his research on the annual survival, abundance, and behavior characteristics of SC’s wintering Ammospiza sparrow populations. Cailin O’Connor presented her work focused on tracking thefallmigrationofrehabilitatedpasserinesviathe Motus network to determine survival and changes to migratory route, and Charlie Muise presented on efforts to restore a Piedmont grassland with prescribed fire and invasive plant removal, and the banding research taking place there. The Bird Banding Laboratory chief, Antonio Celis-Murillo, provided an update from the BBL, and Chris Hill gave a talk about how movements dominate populationdynamicsofanon-migratorypopulation ofLoggerheadShrikes.
After lunch, we heard from Adam Smith about the migratory movements and stopover timing of Saltmarsh Sparrows, as inferred by Motus automated telemetry. Ben Nickley from Berkshire Bird Observatory gave an inspiring talk about a project to create habitat for kestrels by installing nestboxeswithcommunitysupportandvolunteers. Medha Pandey (newly elected to EBBA’s Council) presented her research on the temporal changes in the prevalence of the Lyme Disease spirochete in bird-borneBlackleggedTicks,andGarrettRhynea prior recipient of anEBBAmemorial grant, shared how barometric geolocators placed on Swainson’s Warblers revealed unprecedented details of their migration ecology, a project partially funded from an EBBA grant. The next two presentations focusedonmolt,includingresearchonthepatterns, processes,andimplicationsofmoltlimitspresented by Michael Gamble, and a helpful exploration of molt cycles, calendars, and terminology by Annie Lindsay of Powdermill. Our last two talks were given by Jennifer Quintero, who presented on an analysis of two decades of fall bird banding data collectedinsubtropicalFlorida,andtheneotropical migrationtrendsthedatarevealed,andWenyiZhou, who shared his work banding birds in an IndoBurmabiodiversityhotspotinsouthwesternChina. The Saturday happy hour poster presentation included “Using automated radio telemetry system to track breeding season activity patterns of
DaveBrinkerdemonstratesaraptorbownet
MichaelGamble withhisposter
songbirds in early successionalhabitats,” by Grace Muench(newlyelectedtoEBBA’sCouncil);“Field methodstoimprovereceivedsignalstrength based localization,”byMichaelGambleandAshleyLong; “Where do the Baltimore Orioles at my feeders go in the summer? A study of wintering orioles in South Carolina,” by Amy Tegeler and Jennifer Tyrrell; and “Banding together: Leveraging bird banding as a tool for community engagement and sciencecommunication,”byEmmaM.Rhodesand KyleShepard.
Unfortunately, our Saturday keynote speaker Clark Rushing, Associate Professor of WildlifeEcologyintheWarnellSchool ofForestry andNaturalResourcesattheUniversityofGeorgia, was unable to join us in person, but he provided a recording of his talk “Dotrade-offs among energyintensive life-history events constrain migratory birdresiliencytoclimatechange.”
The day was capped off with our famous bucket raffle where attendees won all kinds of bird-related treasures from jigsaw puzzles and ornithology books, to banding supplies and birdthemedart.Weraisedover$800,whichwill beput towardresearchgrants.
The weekend wrapped up with a choice of three field trips on Sunday morning: a beach bird walk to a local hotspot, and two banding sessions
–oneattheKiawahIslandbandingstationandone to band marsh sparrows. Participants on the bird walk were led by Cami Duquet, the Outreach and Stewardship Coordinator of SCDNR, and were treated to large concentrations of shorebirds and seabirdsatCaptainSamsSpitincludingRedKnots, Piping Plovers, and Black Skimmers. The Kiawah Island banding station hosted about 20 people and captured over 65 birds including species such as Yellow-rumped Warblers, Gray Catbirds, Hermit Thrushes,AmericanRobins,andaMourningDove.
About 11km away,21intrepidpeoplegatheredin the saltmarsh during high tide to help flush marsh sparrows into mist nets. The group captured 43 birds including all three target species (Seaside, Saltmarsh, and Nelson’s sparrows), Marsh Wrens, aRed-wingedBlackbird,anda ClapperRail.
In between all of the meeting activities, attendees marveled at Kiawah Island’s stunning scenery including pristine beaches, live oaks drippingwithSpanishmossandofcourseadmiring sunningalligators.
We are most grateful to our sponsors from the weekend- Lotek, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the Town of Kiawah Island, Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Avinet, Kiawah Conservancy, Audubon South Carolina and the AmericanBirdConservancy.
EBBA held its annual membership meeting on Saturday1March,2025.PresidentArianeGiudicelli welcomedmembersandintroducedthosecurrently serving on Council. The short agenda included a mix of announcements and business items. 2nd VicePresidentAnnieLindsayannouncedour2026 meeting will be held 20-22 March, 2026 at the Antiochian Village in Ligonier, PA, so mark your calendars.
Cailin O’Connor, chair of the Memorial Grant committee, announced that EBBA Council approved funding in full to Taleen Madikians, an undergraduate at Loyola Marymount University for her proposal “Older chicks get better food:An analysis of isotope ratios in Great Black-backed Gull.” She also shared that presenter Megan Linke wasapreviousEBBAMemorialGrantrecipientfor her research. Her talk at this meeting was “King Rail movement and habitat use among managed impoundments and tidal marshes in coastal South Carolina,” Proceeds from our bucket raffle and silentauctionhelpsustainourgrants.
One item of business was a required vote on a bylaw amendment. Committee chair Clifford Berek explained an inconsistency in our bylaws. The bylaws stated a minimum number of days required in advance of a special membership meeting, but no mention of advanced notice for a regular membership meeting. The 30 day notice was added toArticle 5.1 for consistency. This was unanimouslyapprovedbythemembership.
Nominating Committee chair Annie Lindsay thankedtwo people whose termswereconcluding: Alison Van Keuren and Laura-Marie Koitsch, and thanked them for their service to EBBA. She proposed a slate of Officers and Councilors for the coming year and they were approved by the membership,asfollows:
President–AaronGiven,SC
1stVP–Annie Lindsay,PA
2ndVP–CliffordBerek,NJ
3rdVP–MargaretRohde,PA
Secretary–MarenGimpel,MD
Treasurer–AndyThiede,CT
Editor–BobPantle,NY
CouncilorClassof2028
GraceMuench,DE
MedhaPandey,NY
DanZmoda,PA
DavidBrinker,MD
EBBA is looking forward to the year ahead, with planstocreatemoreopportunitiesforourmembers to learn, share knowledge, and network with other bird banders across the eastern United States and Canadian provinces, and to continue supporting studentresearchinthefieldofavianconservation.
MessagefromthePresident
When I was asked to become an officer of EBBA back in 2022, I had a vision to bring our annual meeting to “The South”. For the past year, I have spent a majority of my “EBBA time” as 1st Vice Presidentplanningthe102ndAnnualMeetingwhich occurred just a short time ago at Kiawah Island in South Carolina. There had not been a meeting in a southern state since the joint meeting with IBBA in 2012 which was held in Tennessee. There was someuncertaintyatfirstabouthowwell-attendeda meeting in the south might be, but it turned out to bearesoundingsuccessandIcan’tthankeveryone enough foryoursupport! Youcanreadmoreabout themeetinginthisissueofNABB.
It is my utmost honor and pleasure to be stepping into the role of President of the Eastern Bird Banding Association. I am excited to work alongsideEBBAmembersandCounciltocontinue the legacy of this historic organization. The work we do is so important – not only for the birds that we monitoratour localsitesbut also for the future ofbirdconservation,research,andeducationacross theworld.
As most of you already know, bird banding is a cornerstone of ornithological research tracing its roots back more than 200 years as a tool for science. It provides invaluable data that helps us
understand migration patterns, breeding success, population dynamics, and much more. We are in an era where habitat loss, climate change, and otherenvironmentalchallengesarethreateningbird populations at a historic rate, and the information gathered through bird banding and other marking programsaremoreimportantthanever.
Asyournewpresident,Iamcommittedtopromote EBBA’s mission and build on the foundation that has been established as well as explore new ideas and opportunities to increase our relevance in the ornithological community, by focusing on the followingobjectives.
I would like to thank Ariane Giudicelli for her leadership and service as President over the last year. I’d also like to thank outgoing, current, and incoming Council members for dedicating their precious time to help guide EBBA’s present and future. I look forward to working with all EBBA members to support our mission “to promote and encourage sound, ethical bird banding practices and investigations into bird biology, behavior, and ecology through banding, marking, tagging, and othertrackingmethods”.
Join us in the beautiful laurel Highlands region of southwest Pensylvania for the 2026 EBBAconference,whichwillbeheldatthe all-inclusive Antiochain Village conference centernearthehistorictownofLigonier.We will draw from the rich local and banding and orinthology community to put together aprogramofexcellentspeakers,posterpresentations, and workshops. Field trips will includedbirdinginlocalhotspotsandbanding demos at Powdermill Avian Research Center’snewbandingLab.
The conference will be based in the historic town ofHastings,whichislocatedjust43kmawayfrom the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport (MSP), along the mighty Mississippi River, near its confluence with thenationallydesignatedWildandScenicSt.Croix River. Lodging is available in a number of quaint rivertownsincludingHastings,Afton,Prescott,and Hudson. Hastings is home to Spiral Brewery, one ofasmallnumberofbrewerieswithawomanhead brewer. RiverFalls,Hudson,Stillwater,andSt.Paul arehometomanyotheruniquelocalbreweries.
Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center is a 501 c3 non-profit organization that serves 55,000 visitors per year through K-12 Environmental Education Programming, public events and 293 ha of wildlife habitat with a robust trail system. The Nature Center is open to the public 361 days a year and operates two campuses, one in Hastings, Minnesota,on 172 ha onthe bluffs of the St. Croix RiverandoneinWisconsinon121ha,justsouthof Hudsoncitylimits. TheNatureCenter’sMinnesota Campusopened to the public in 1981 andhas been operating a year-round banding station since that time. The newer Wisconsin Campus has been the location of numerous banding projects through the years. In2022thenewAlandLaurieHeinVisitors’ Center opened to the public at that location and a MAPS station was started by Rick Schmid. The Nature Center hosts two Motus towers. Carpenter
Nature Center’s bird banding research team currently operates two Project Owl-net Stations, a MAPS station at Dakota County Parks, and is part of the range-wide Wood Thrush nano-tagging project under Sarah Kendrick. Through the years Carpenter Nature Center’s field team have hosted and/or collaborated on many projects including a Sedge Wren research project, the Smithsonian Wood Thrush data logger project, National Park ServiceBaldEagleresearch,OspreyandBurrowing Owl work. The early Midwest Peregrine Society banding was performed under CNC’s permit, as wasbandingbyTheRaptorCenterattheUniversity of Minnesota and Betsy Finch of the Raptor Conservation Alliance in Nebraska to name a few ofthemanysub-permitteesthroughtheyears.
The Midwest is a great birding location and Minnesotahasastatelistof452species,with313of theseoccurringregularly. In2024CarpenterNature CenterheldasiteBigYearandlisted212specieson the property. The site features a mix of northern and southern species, from nesting Clay-colored Sparrows and Henslow’s Sparrows to the furthest south Common Raven nest in Minnesota. During October, Carpenter Nature Center is a popular destination for apples (CNC boasts a teaching orchardwith14+varietiesofapples),fallcolorsand for bird migration. Volunteer Ben Douglas hosts pointcounts inthefallfromCNC’sAdministration
Buildinglawnandin2024thecountsresultedinhigh countsof114Red-headedWoodpeckers,thousands ofBlueJaysandanumberofGoldenEagles. Afew ofthewell-knownMinnesotaspecialties,including Northern Shrike, scoters, and Pine Siskin, begin to move to the middle of the state in mid-October. Nearby Point Douglas Park, where the St. Croix RivermeetsthemightyMississippi,isamagnetfor theoccasionalraregullandinterestingwaterfowl.
Forthosewishingtoextendtheirtrip,therearemany birding hot spots and bird-centric organizations within 3 hours of Carpenter Nature Center. Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in Duluth and Sax Zim Bog are two of the best known. Other facilities include the International Owl Center in Houston, MN, the International Crane Center in Baraboo, WI, the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN, theBellMuseumofNaturalHistoryandtheUMN
Raptor Center in St. Paul. Nearby wildlife refuges includetheMinnesotaValleyWildlifeRefuge,Crew Meadows and Sherburne. There are a number of other banding stations in the area at Lowry Nature Center, Riverbend, St. Olaf, Wood Lake Nature Center,Whitewater and at the site formerly known as Warner Nature Center. For those who want the full Minnesota experience, the Saint Paul Curling Club is over100 years oldand will be open for the season in early October. Meanwhile the nearby Mall ofAmerica is large enough to house an entire amusement park complete with roller coasters. The Science Museum of Minnesota, Minneapolis Institute ofArt, and the quirky Spam Museum are justafewoftheplacestovisitinourgreatstate.
Watch the IBBA website (inlandbirdbanding.org) forfurtherdetailsontheconference.
The MAPS program, operated by the Institute for Bird Populations (birdpop.org), has collected banding data from over 1,200 stations across NorthAmericasinceit beganin1989. Thisreport, the fourth annual IBBA MAPS review, includes information from 14 MAPS stations operated in theIBBAregionin2024.Twelve ofthe15stations reporting in 2023 return for 2024, along with 2 stationshighlightedinpreviousyears.
Geographic distribution of the reporting stations covered the entire IBBA range. The Great Lakes wasagainthebestrepresentedregion,with7stations reporting. Six stations were located in the South, and1inCanada. Sevenstatesand1provincewere represented: Alabama RUFF, WEHL, Arkansas BMRD, STPR, Illinois BIGM, SPFD, WATE, Minnesota HRBO, SPLK, Ohio BSBO, OAKS, Saskatchewan NWSO, Tennessee WPNC, and TexasFDLY. Threestationshavebeeninoperation formorethan30yearsWATEandWPNC,34years each;OAKS,33years;6havebeeninoperationfor 5yearsorless.
Asin2023,HRBOinMinnesotahadthedistinction of having the most “mosts” in 2024, including the mostnewlybandedbirdsforthe2024season(284), themostnewlybandedbirdsinasingleday(77on 13Jul),andthemostspeciesbandedinasingleday (18on13Jul). BIGMin Illinoistakesthetopspot
awayfromHRBOforthemostnewlybandedbirds pernet-hr(69.6)in2024andOAKSinOhioretains the top spot for most species banded (35). Gray Catbirdmade thetop5newbandslistat7stations, Carolina Wren at 6 stations, and Indigo Bunting at 5 stations. Gray Catbird, American Robin, and Indigo Bunting were the most frequent top 5 birds in2023.
Iappreciatetheeffortsofthebandersforproviding their station’s information. Thanks to the Danielle Kaschube and the IBP staff and to leadership and other IBBA board members for their assistance contacting MAPS banders in the IBBA region. Banders wishing to contribute to the 2025 report are welcome to contact me at swgabrey@gmail. com any time and I will be sure to put you on the emaillistinthefall.
Station summaries (Data are presented in Table 1 in alphabetical order by state first, then by MAPS IDcode).
AlabamaAudubonandJeffersonCountyGreenways partnered to start the MAPS station at Ruffner Mountain in 2023. The banding station area is
GoldenEagle byGeorgeWest
mostly composed of shrub and forest habitat, with a small pond in the center. Nine of the nets were placed within the shrub and forest habitat and one was placed in a small area of open field. This was our second yearof banding at Ruffner. We banded 113 birds of 18 species (7 fewer species than last year). Our most common species were Hooded Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, Northern Cardinal and Carolina Wren. We banded 25 Hooded Warblers this year, compared to 9 last year. We recaptured 36 individuals, 16 of which were banded in 2023: 4 Carolina Wrens, 2 Eastern Towhees, 1 Northern Cardinal, 4 Kentucky Warblers, 1 Swainson’s Warbler, and 4 White-eyed Vireos. We had two new species for the station: Swainson’s Thrush and Tufted Titmouse. I would like to thank Jamie Nobles for all of his help running the station. We also had several volunteers that helped throughout the summer: Kevin Shaw, Eva Ledvina, Saranda Blythe, Mercedes Maddox, Sue Buckingham, Jess Searcy,AvaLyerlyandCarterBaumann. AL–WehleForeverWildTract(WEHL)
The Wehle MAPS station (#16727) located on the Wehle Forever Wild Tract in Midway, Bullock County, Alabama, completed its 19th season of operation in 2024. The number of new birds banded in 2024 (87) was slightly lower than 2023 (88), but still above our station average of 82.8 birds/year. We had a slightly higher-than-average capturerateof16.6birdsbanded/100nh(averageis 16.1). This year’s top five species for new banded birds were Kentucky Warbler (13), Carolina Wren (12), Hooded Warbler (12), Northern Cardinal (6), and Indigo Bunting (5). We recaptured 16 individuals banded within the 2024 season. An additional 23 individuals banded in previous years were alsorecapturedwiththemostnotable beinga HoodedWarblerfirstbandedin2018asanASY-M. Although a late migrant, we added Gray-cheeked Thrush to our breeding status list raising our total to94speciesdetectedsinceourstation’sinception. This thrush was also a new species banded, which nowstandsat46speciesforthestation.
This is the third year of MAPS banding at this site, about 8 km north of Mountainburg, near Lake Fort Smith State Park in Crawford County. This station is on privately owned land that is mostly mixed hardwood forest with a few scattered small openings,mostlyonthehilltops.Themostcommon trees are southern red oak and eastern red-cedar, along with a variety of other oaks and hickories. The forest canopy is mostly closed, and there is little understory or ground cover in the forested areas. Number of new birds banded decreased in 2024 (35) compared to 2023 (43), but was about the same as in 2022 (31). Red-eyed Vireos had been the top species in both 2023 and 2022, but they were replaced this year by Tufted Titmice (6 new birds). Red-eyed Vireos (5 new birds) came in second this year, and Indigo Buntings dropped to the bottom with just 1 new bird banded. RedeyedVireoremainsatthetopoftheoverall list(24 banded)followedbyIndigoBuntinginsecond(14) and Tufted Titmice (13) in third. One new species was added this year (Kentucky Warbler) bringing the station total to 20. Recaptures of birds banded in 2024 included 1 Carolina Wren and 1 Indigo Bunting. Recaptures of birds banded in previous years included a Red-eyed Vireo from 2023 and an Indigo Bunting from 2022. Overall, we have recaptured 8 individuals: 5 Indigo Buntings, and 1 each of Red-eyed Vireo, Northern Parula, and Carolina Wren. The highlight of the year was another ASY-M Scarlet Tanager banded on 4 Jul which was the second tanager to be banded at the station in our 3 years, and, according to the BBL website, he is the 15th to have been banded in Arkansas since 1960 (none of these banded in Arkansashavebeenencountered,andnonebanded elsewherehavebeenencounteredinArkansas).
The Stone Prairie Wildlife Management Area is a 400-ha property that consists of 3 major habitat types,includingoak-hickoryforest,oakwoodland, andopenprairie,throughwhichaperennialstream travels.TheArkansasGameandFishCommission has been managing this area since 2017 for wildlife, particularly the Northern Bobwhite, via targeted herbicide application and prescription burning. Originally, this MAPS station was sited to capture these three habitat types, but the area has opened up so that it includes less forest and more woodland. With increasingly hot summers, weoften needto close our nets early for thesafety of birds, which leads to fewer net hours overall for the season (437 this year). Nevertheless, it is fascinating to watch the landscape changes and study the birds’ responses. This year, we maintained similar productivity at our nets, with 33.9 new bands per 100 net-hr (compared to 34.0 in2023)and148totalnewbands(comparedto155 in 2023). Contrastingly, we applied new bands to three fewer species (29 in 2024 compared to 32 in 2023); however, we chalk this trend up to missing out on late migrants in May, which werea boon to our species numbers in 2023. Banding 29 species isstill>3speciesgreaterthanin2022andprevious years. Ourmostencounteredbirds(newbandsplus recaptures) included Indigo Bunting (34), YellowbreastedChat(29),EasternBluebird(20),Carolina Wren (11), and Carolina Chickadee (11). We saw 14 individuals whom we had banded in previous years(5from2021,4from2022,and5from2023).
This was the first year we have not caught any birdsthatwerefirstbandedintheinauguralyearof the station (2020). Eastern Bluebirds have never come close to making the “most encountered” list (having only captured 4 across the previous 4 years of the station). When considered along with the capture history of Black-and-white Warblers, which were on this list our first 2 years, but are rarely captured anymore, it is likely that the birds are telling the story of the vegetation. Some other noteworthy mentions from 2024 include 26 May when we caught a DCB-M Blue Jay. Though dirt commoninArkansasandoftenheardatthestation, we have never caught one. Amost victorious day was 12 Jun when we finally captured a FCA-M Yellow-throated Vireo. This species has oft sung
from the trees at the station, but has never graced our nets. We also were excited to find a DCB-M Worm-eatingWarbler2Jul,whichwerarelyhearat thestation,sothisbirdwasparticularlysurprising.
Big Marsh Park is a 121-ha property located in the South Deering Community Area of southeast Chicago. The station is on land that has been managed by the Chicago Park District for the past decadeandissurroundedbyLakeCalumet,defunct industrialparks,agolfcourse,andadecommissioned landfill. Habitat consists of emergent marsh edge, cottonwood-dominated woodland with invasive buckthorn understory, and prairie dominated by dumping piles of “slag,” a byproduct of the steel industry. We put up 7 nets in the cottonwood/ buckthorn habitat and 1 net in theemergentmarsh. This is the fifth consecutive year of operation for the station. We had more effort over all this year due to more favorable weather conditions and increased volunteer availability compared to last year,with7totalbandingsessionscomparedtolast year’s 5. Our total number of captures this year (220) was notably higher compared to 2023 (141), owingatleastpartlytoincreasedeffort. Thisyear’s topspeciesbandedwereGrayCatbird(56),Yellow Warbler (30), American Robin (27), American Goldfinch (15), and Common Yellowthroat (10). We recaptured 22 individuals that were banded in previous years. Red-eyed Vireo, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and Least Bittern were captured for the first time at the station this year, although all havebeenknownbreedersatBigMarsh. Notethat the Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Least Bittern werereleasedunbanded.
The SPFD MAPS station is located on property ownedbythe localmunicipality (CityWater,Light and Power – CWLP). It is bordered on the east by
LakeSpringfield(human-madewaterreservoir),on the northwest by Interstate 55, and on the south by residential housing. The station primarily consists of secondary growth, oak/hickory forest with an invasiveunderstory(bushhoneysuckle). Alongthe interstate,thereisoldfieldhabitat(non-nativegrass/ forb) which also creates a field/forest edge. Of the 10netsinoperation,twonetsareintheedgehabitat withthe othereightintheforest. Twooftheforest netsarenearastreamthatrunsthroughtheproperty, and one of those nets stretches over the stream (perpendicular to the water channel). A project initiated by a local conservation/restoration group working with CWLPto remove the invasive forest understory and re-establish a native understory has been temporarily (we hope) put on hold. Roughly 40% of the woodland area in which the 8 nets are locatedhasbeenclearedoftheinvasiveunderstory. Wearehopingtheprojectwillcontinueaswewould like to monitor how these modifications affect the future bird diversity and density. The number of new birds banded has fluctuated considerably over the 10 years the station has been in operation. The highest number (176 birds; 37 birds per 100 net-hr) was during our first season of operation (2015) and the lowest number (84 birds; 20 birds per 100 net-hr) was in 2022. The total number of newly banded birds this year (112) was below the average of previous years (121.9). The diversity of newly banded birds (19 species)also wasbelow the previous years’average (23.3). On 18 Jun (4th bandingdayoftheseason),wehadthehighestdaily number of captures (51 total, including 42 newly banded and 9 recaptures) since the inception of our MAPS station. Without this 1 busy day, our seasonal numbers would have been significantly lowerasweonlyaveraged13captures/dayoverthe other 7 banding days. Coinciding with the partial removal of the invasive understory (described above),wecontinuedtoseelowernumbersofGray Catbirds than in years past (post-removal average is 11.8 compared to 24.5 pre-removal). We have seen the opposite trend with American Robins as their numbers have increased slightly since the initiation of this invasive understory removal project (post-removalaverage is 31.0, compared to 28.5). Notable2024recapturesincludedaCommon Grackleoriginallybandedin2016asSY.
The 1013-ha Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve (propertyoftheForestPreserveDistrictofDuPage County) consists of prairies, savannas and oakmaple woodlands surrounding Argonne National Laboratory and adjacent to the Des Plaines River valley. Our MAPS site is located primarily in a bluff savanna, but extends a bit into prairie, shrubland, and a pine forest. In2004 considerable amounts of buckthorn, honeysuckle and other select weedy invasive trees and shrubs were removed from the hardwood forested portion of the site. Changes to the habitat since the station wasstartedin1992haveresultedinchangestoour most common species. Following the removal of theinvasiveshrubsandtreesin2004,GrayCatbird and Indigo Bunting have replaced Black-capped Chickadee and Northern Cardinal as our most often trapped species. This was our 34th year of running our MAPS station. Seven of our 10 nets arewithintherestoredsavanna,1isalongastream between restored and unrestored forest, 1 is near the shrubland, and 1 is near the edge between the savanna and the pine forest. Based on banding totals 2024 was an above average year, possibly duetotheemergenceof17-yearcicadas. Weknew from 2007 to expect cicadas in our nets, but only two banding days this year sawthenets filledwith dozens of cicadas. Removing all these cicadas from the nets and dealing with the noise made for some less-than-ideal days. However, with this plentiful food source, we were not surprised to see our numbers increase over last year. Even in our 4th decade we continue to have some interesting captures. One was a re-trap Indigo Bunting originally captured 23 Jun 2020 and aged as SY (hatched in 2019). That means this bird was in its 6th year of life. Another surprise was a juvenile Carolina wren. We rarely hear this species, and it wasonlythesecondindividualwebanded.Thefirst wasin2020. Neartheendoftheseasonwecaught aBrownThrasher,abirdweoftenseeandhearbut
rarely trap, two Northern House Wrens. This was thefirsttimethisyearwedetectedthemonoursite. Onefinalnote, aftera busy season wecapturednot a single bird on our last day of banding. This has neverhappenedtousbefore.
Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve is a 148-ha property sittingonaformerglacialshorelineridgeoverlooking the western end of Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota. The habitat is somewhat mixed, but predominantlyalderthicket,aspen,andsomemixed maple/oak forest. The area shows major signs of human alteration including recovering pastureland, and pine plantations. In July 2016, approximately 10-20% of the large trees were downed by a storm with straight-line winds of nearly 160 km/h, so the habitatisavarietyofsuccessionalstages. Thisyear was dry at the end of the summer, but very wet at thebeginning. Unfortunately,thereallystormyand wet weather coincided with nesting. As a result, overall numbers of most species were down which was also reflected in the decreased number of new birds, with 284 newly banded birds this year compared to 347 in 2023. For 2024, we did have a similar of number of previous years’ recaptures (67 birds) as in previous years, which is always encouraging. Oneinteresting note is that our top 2 birds banded from last year (Nashville Warbler, 64 birds; Tennessee Warbler, 25 birds) did not make the top 5 this year. Amazingly, we did not band anyNashvilleWarblersduringMAPSthisyear;our averageis31peryear. Recapturescontinue,which is one of the joys of MAPS. We had anAmerican RedstartandanAmericanGoldfinch,bothofwhich were at least 6 years of age when recaptured this year.
Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center’s bird banding team paired up with the Dakota County Parksnaturalresourcesteamtoresearchtheimpact
ongrasslandnestingbirdsofreintroducingbisonto the restored prairie landscape. In addition to point counts, the MAPS research site contains nets in a control area and 3 separate bison paddocks. Year one was in 2022 prior to the bison reintroduction. Yeartwowasin2023andrequiredsomejugglingto keepconsistenteffort,whileavoidingthepaddocks the bison were utilizing. Year three was back to the original 10 net lanes as the bison were at the far end of the park. Unfortunately, the weather, specifically high winds, required early net closures on many days resulting in lower numbers of birds encountered. This project is one of many that the bird banding research team at Carpenter Nature Center have undertaken through the years. Much of the research has been performed on the nature center’s293haofrestoredandnaturalhabitatinthe St.CroixRiver
Located to the west of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) headquarters, the BSBO MAPS station follows a nature trail loop within a sectionoftheOttawaNationalWildlifeRefuge. The areaisreclaimedfarmland,havingbeenplantedwith trees30+yearsagoandwithminimalmanagement, allowing for natural succession to occur. The site hosts scattered Eastern Cottonwood and Swamp WhiteOakwithaheavyGrayDogwoodunderstory. In2024,216birdswerebanded(averageofprevious years 248.2) surpassing 2023 by 30 birds. Having only operated for 6 seasons, the station is still somewhatin itsinfancy,butduringthatshorttime, the disappearance of Yellow Warblers has notably stood out. This was our lowest year for Yellow Warblers, with only 15 banded (average 64.4; previouslowof22in2023). CommonYellowthroat was also low with 3 banded (average 8). But it was not all lows as3 species set newhigh records: American Robin with 50 (average 16.4), Downy Woodpecker with 5 (average 2), and Northern HouseWrenwith11(average3.4). Asaforestedge scrub-dweller, Gray Catbirds maintained a healthy presence(73;avg.79.6).Buttheincreasingnumber ofwoodland-associatedspeciessuggestsamaturing
habitatthatcouldexplainthelackofscrub-dwelling warblers. As a younger station, it is no surprise that we banded 4 new species in 2024: 1 each of TennesseeWarbler, Eastern Phoebe, Wood Thrush, and Hairy Woodpecker. Along with the Eastern Phoebe, a Traill’s Flycatcher and a (late) Yellowbellied Flycatcher were banded, but flycatchers overall were seemingly absent throughout much of the season. Most of the return birds in 2024 were banded in 2023, however, there was a Gray Catbird originally banded ASY-F in Jun 2021 and 2NorthernCardinalsoriginallybandedAHY-Fand AHY-M in 2022. An additional Northern Cardinal was recovered, having originally been banded in May 2023 at our migration station about 11 km to the east. Our migration station also happened to recover 1 of this summer’s young birds, with an HY-M American Robin banded in Jul showing up with a proliferation ofAmerican Robins in Oct (as well asbeinga high summerforAmerican Robins, itwasalsoahighfall).
The Oak Openings Preserve Metropark of the Metroparks Toledo system encompasses a mosaic of unique and rare habitats in northwest Ohio, notably oak savanna interspersed with sand dunes. Black Swamp Bird Observatory’s (BSBO) goal is to document bird use and species composition of 4 habitats within the site (representative of habitats located throughout the 2000-ha preserve and region) and assess breeding bird response to land management. These habitats include successional savanna dominated by forbs, young oaks, and sassafras; grassland/sand dune hosting wild lupine, blazing stars, and mature oaks; managed oak forest dominated by black oak and lowbush blueberry; andunmanagedforestwithawhiteoakcanopy and fern understory. In 2024, 191 birds were banded, just above average (169.5) and only 2 birds fewer than 2023 (193). Scrub-dwelling species did well throughout the summer (even though management is occurring to reduce woody vegetation and
preserve grassland/savanna) with Gray Catbird (44), Common Yellowthroat (14), and BluewingedWarbler(5)surpassingtheirpreviousyears’ averages (18.3, 7.1, and 1.7, respectively). Indigo Bunting, however, has maintained lower numbers inpreviousyearswith7bandedthisyearcompared to an average of 15.1 for previous years. This was also our third year in a row without capturing or documenting a Lark Sparrow at the site (although theycanstillbefoundbreedinginotherestablished sites within the region). Tufted Titmouse was the only species to set a new high record with 18 banded (previous high of 11, avg. 4.1). Hooded Warblers were quite prevalent throughout the region, including 2 banded, marking the sixth and seventhbirdstobebandedatthestation(thisspecies appears to be on the rise at the northern end of its range,withmostbandingsatthesiteoccurringsince 2010). Two Tennessee Warblers were also banded attheendoftheseason,markingthethirdandfourth occurrenceforthem(firstcaptureofthespecieswas in2019,withasecondcapturein2023). And2new specieswerebandedin2024(quiteafeatgiventhe station’s longevity) with a late Wilson’s Warbler at thebeginningofJunandapre-basicBlack-throated Green Warbler in Aug. Of the 24 return birds in 2024, the oldest 2 had original banding dates in 2018: a Gray Catbird banded as an ASY-M in Jun 2018 and a Field Sparrow banded as an SY-M in Jun 2018. Additionally, 4 birds were from 2020: a Baltimore Oriole, Common Yellowthroat, and 2 FieldSparrows.
TheSaw-whetMAPSstationislocated32kmNEof Regina,Saskatchewan,nearthevillageofEdenwold. It has been in operation since 2013 and operates 7 nets. The station’s habitat is predominately tame hay land, made up of species such as meadow brome and alfalfa, with a few small wetlands and standsoftremblingaspenandwillows. Thestation sits on the edge of the Aspen Parkland ecoregion, but the majority of the surrounding landscape is annualdrycroplandsuchaswheatandcanola. This
year saw our lowest capture rate in our 12 years of operationwithonly175newbirdsbanded(previous years’ average 247). The top 5 captured species were Cedar Waxwing (29), House Wren (26), Yellow Warbler (21), Gray Catbird (19), and Least Flycatcher (11). Cedar Waxwing numbers were double or triple compared to the last 3 years, after having shown steady declines over the last decade. Least Flycatcher andAmerican Robin (4) numbers dropped by over 65% over the long-term averages. Surprisinglywecaptured3newspeciesthisyear,1 bird of each Blue Jay, Purple Martin and Orchard Oriole. The Orchard Oriole was a SY-F and we located her nest within the station boundaries, the firstconfirmedbreedingrecordofthisspecieshere! ShewaspairedwithanSY-Mandtheysuccessfully fledgedyoung. Onlyin2019have we documented a single Orchard Oriole at the station during the breeding season, with no evidence of breeding at the time. Total number of individual recaptures was slightly below average this year, (20; average of 23.4). The 2 oldest recaps this year were both banded in 2019, a Warbling Vireo and a Yellow Warbler. This was the first recapture of the SY-F Yellow Warbler since she was banded, while the AHY-U Warbling Vireo was previously recaptured in 2023. Otherwise most other recaps were from 2023. Itwasadelighttouseournewbandingshed thisseasonandbandinwhatfeltlikeluxury!
The Warner Parks, 1293 ha, are in southwest Davidson County, Nashville, Tennessee, and managedbytheMetropolitanParksandRecreation Department. The MAPS banding site is on the Warner Park Nature Center (WPNC) campus with a year-round public banding station. The center is locatedontheedgeoflargeurbannaturalareapark with two state highways nearby. Habitat is forest edge near a creek and small pond. Six nets are in edgehabitatandfournetsarealongastream. Four of these 10 nets were added 2021, the other 6 nets areinthesamelocationsinceMAPSwaslaunched atWPNCin1991. Alltensessionswerecompleted in 2024. Five tanagers, nineteen thrushes, six
vireos and seven flycatchers were banded, as well as several warblers (out of four species). Thirtytwo birds from previous years were recaptured, and the oldest were a Northern Cardinal banded as an AHY-F on 6 Jul 2021 and recaptured 14 May as anASY-F making it at least 4 years old. Some highlightsoftheseasonincludecapturingaCanada Warbler,aspecieswedonotseeatourstationoften, as well as an interesting Eastern Wood-Pewee with a definite brood patch but determined to be a male through genetic analysis, a behavior not documentedinthisspecies. NoKentuckyWarblers were captured this season, which was a notable absence from previous years, and is likely linked to the recent invasive mid-story plant removal at our banding site. All sessions were publicized through the nature center and 332 visitors learned about birds, banding, and the MAPS Program. This was the fourth year during MAPS we radiotaggedbirds with 434 MHz solar transmittersfrom CellularTrackingTechnologiesaspartofourMotus research project focused on thrushes. We captured andradio-taggeda single thrushthisMAPSseason –aSY-UVeery. ThisVeerywasdetectedinWarner Parks until 9 May 2024, and was then detected at a MOTUS station in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario on 13 May 2024. This was the 34th year of our MAPS station, the oldest continuous MAPS station in Tennessee and one of the first in the Southeast. Wearecontinuingtoworkonanalyzing the data. The Bird Program is supported by Metro Parks and Recreation and funded by Friends of Warner Parks, a non-profit support group. The MAPS project is coordinated by Sandy Bivens, KathyShawandLauraCookandmadepossibleby ateamof22dedicatedvolunteersandnaturecenter
TX–LakeFindley(FDLY) Alice,TX
Contact:MikeStewart,Alice,TX; a.tristis@gmail.com
This was our third year of operation for the Lake FindleyMAPSstationlocatedinJimWellsCounty, Texas. The net lanes are in approximately 3 ha of mesquite-hackberrywoodlandnearthelake’sedge. We were not able to operate the station during period six due to travel and nine due to weather. From 7 May to 4 Aug, 92 new birds were banded
with22recaptures. Thiswashigherthanlastyear’s totals,eventhough we missed2 ofthe periods. Of the 29 species newly captured, Northern Cardinals were the most numerous with 12 newly banded.
Painted Buntings came in second with 9, and we had 3 species tied at 7. Olive Sparrows led the
recaptures with 11, with others listed in the table below. Banding highlights include recapturing an Audubon’sOriolebandedlastyear,4HYBullock’s Orioles that all hit Net Two at once, and a busy secondperiodwithanicemixtureoflocalsandlate migrantsincluding7speciesofwarblers.
This is the 17th installment in our regular feature presenting a brief synopsis of the banding and encounter records submitted to the Bird Banding Lab for a particular species. Each installment will feature a new species;suggestionsforspeciestobecoveredordatatobepresentedarewelcome(swgabrey@gmail.com).
Spacelimitationsof NABB prohibitanyin-depthanalysisofthedataandthesenotesarenotmeanttoshow anytrendsinpopulationparameterssuchaspopulationdensityorgrowthrate,geographicdistribution,etc.. andshouldnotbeviewedasadefinitiveanalysisofthestatusofthespecies. Althoughthebandingprogram beganin the1920s, thecurrently availabledigital recordsfor banding datainclude onlythose records from 1960tothepresent(pre-1960bandingdataareavailableinotherformats,however). Allencounters,including those of birdsbandedbefore1960, areavailable in digital format. This summaryincludesonly those birds bandedintheUnitedStatesandMexicobetween1960andDecember2024;abriefreviewofencountersof birdsbandedin1959orearlierisincludedattheend.
Bandedbirds
NumbersandAgeand SexCategories.– Since 1960, 648 Greater Roadrunners have been banded in the United States and Mexico (Table 1). Sex was identified (either at banding or upon encounter) for 18% (n =115) of these; 61% were males (n = 70) and 39% were females (n = 45). Fourteen percent of the males wereagedas“firstyear”(HYorL;n=10),80%wereagedas“adult”(AHY,SY,ASY,TY,orATY;n=56), and6%wereagedasU(n=4). Ninepercentofthefemaleswereagedasfirstyear(n=4),76%wereaged asadult(n= 34),and15%were agedasU(n=7). Fifty-onepercentofthe533roadrunnersfor whichsex was not identified were aged asfirst year (n =274), 37% wereagedas adult (n = 193), and 12% were aged asU(n=66).
NumbersandAgeandSexCategories.–Therehavebeen12encountersrepresenting12GreaterRoadrunners intheUnitedStatesbetweenJan1960andDec2024.Noencountershadageorsexmismatcherrors,andno roadrunnerwasencounteredonthedayitwasbandedoronmorethan1occasion. Sexwasidentifiedfor1 ofthe12encounters,amaleagedasAHY(Table2). Sixoftheremaining11roadrunnerswereagedasfirst year(HY=4,L=2),3wereagedasadult(AHY=2,SY=1)and2wereagedasU(Table2). Timeelapsed betweenbandingandencounterdatesrangedfrom 1dayto2yr10mo0days. Minimumageatencounter (MAE)rangedfrom0yr2moto3yr9mo. MAEwaslessthan1yr0mofor8ofthe 12encounters. The oldest roadrunner for which sex was identified (and the oldest roadrunner overall) was male banded as an
AHY in Mar 1979 in Arizona and encountered in Mar 1982 at its banding location (MAE = 3 yr 9 mo). The second oldest roadrunner was banded as anAHY-U in Feb 2019 in New Mexico and encountered in May 2021 (MAE = 2 yr 11 mo) and the third oldest was an AHY-U banded in Oct 1986 in Arizona and encounteredless than aweeklater(MAE=1 yr 4 mo). Oneroadrunner bandedasan L-UinMay 1969 in Oklahoma had an encounter date ofAug 1976; however, thedate coding indicates that the exactencounter datewasnotspecifiedbythereporterandisinsteadbasedonthedateofthepostmarkonthereportingnote. Consequently,noMAEcouldbecalculated.
Geographicdistributionandhowobtainedcodes.–All 12 roadrunner encounters occurred in the state in whichtheywerebanded(Table2). Distancebetweenbandingandcapturelocationswas24kmorlessornot reportedforallencounters. Fiveoftheroadrunnerswerefounddead(howobtainedcode=0);2werecaught due to injury (how obtained code = 3); 2 were caught by hand (how obtained code = 28); 2 were seen or photographedwhilethebirdwasfree(howobtainedcode=29or52);and1wasrecapturedduringbanding operations(howobtainedcode=66).
Birdsbandedbefore1960.– Five Greater Roadrunners banded in 1959 or earlier have been encountered, allofwhichoccurredin thesamestateinwhichthebirdwasbanded. MAEforall5was1yr7moorless. Sex was not identified for any; age was reported asAHY for 3 and as U for 2. The first roadrunner to be bandedandlaterencounteredwasanAHY-UbandedinMay1950inCaliforniaandstruckbyavehicle(how obtained code 14) in Nov 1950. Four roadrunners banded between Jan andApr 1952 at a single location in Nevada were also encountered, 1 in Nov 1952 and 3 in Jan 1953; all were recaptured during banding operations(howobtainedcode=66)atthebandinglocation.
TheWesternBirdBandingAssociationsmallgrants program awarded a $1000 grant to Lauren Hill. Lauren is a master’s student at California State UniversityatLosAngelesworkinginthelabofDr. EricWood.Anabstractofherresearchstudyfollows:
"Thisstudywillexaminemigratorybirdpopulation structure along the Pacific Flyway, emphasizing the linkages between a newly recognized avian migratory corridor in Southern California and probable breeding destinations for avian migrants using this passageway. Each spring, Bear Divide funnelstensofthousandsofbirdsthroughanarrow, low-elevation mountain pass in Los Angeles County. I will use high-resolution genetic markers from DNA that I will extract from tail feather samplescollectedfromtwolong-distancemigratory songbird species that passed through Bear Divide, the Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) and Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia). Combining four years of bird banding data and DNAcollected at Bear Divide between springs 2021-2024, this study will rely on and build upon the Bird Genoscape Project’s existing genoscape database to 1) Examine the genetic population structure and probable breeding origins of Wilson’s and Yellow Warblers at Bear Divide, 2) Compare passage timing between species and sub-populations, as well as across years, and 3) Identify differences in migratory body condition and morphometrics of species and sub-populations, exploring trends in
body mass, fat deposition, feather wear, and wing lengthacrossyears.”
WBBAplans to offer a grant of $1000 in 2023 for a research or monitoring project for individuals and/or organizations engaged in projects in the New World using marked birds. Preference will be given to projects taking place in the WBBA regional area. Research projects should help test a hypothesis, while monitoring projects are intended to help individuals or institutions establish or continue monitoring programs that investigate changes in bird populations. Students (graduate andundergraduate)aswellasorganizationalinterns areencouragedtoapply.
Grant awardees will be asked to submit results of their research projects for publication in future issuesofNorthAmericanBirdBander,aswellasto presentresultsatafutureWBBAannualmeeting. Moreinformationonhowtoapplyisavailableon theWBBAwebsiteat: www.westernbirdbanding. org/research-grants.
The phenomenon of migratory birds engaging in morningflightoverArizonahasbeenpoorlystudied throughout much of the state’s ornithological history. From 20 July to 1 December2023, author PH conducted observations of birds in flight in the Lower Sonoran Desert region of Pinal County for 15-200 minutes after sunrise on 52 mornings. A second season of counting at the same site began on 1 July 2024, and monitoring is ongoing. Time and direction were noted for each passing migrant, and patterns of average flight height and behavior of different species were recorded. Weather and sky conditions were also recorded each morning. In 2023, a total of 7,641 migrants were recorded, representingatleast90species. Bycontinuingpast the monsoon season, late-season migrants such as Brewer’sBlackbirdswererecorded. White-winged Doves predominantly flew south, while Lark Sparrows and others moved in a range from south toeast. TalliesinJulythroughlateAugust2024of knownmonsoonmoltmigrants(WesternKingbird, Phainopepla, and Bullock’s Oriole) were much higher than in 2023 when monsoon moisture was delayed. We documented the passage of multiple species not typically found in this open desert habitat. Particularly notable were the occurrence of multiple Black Swifts, a Arizona rarity, and large numbers ofVaux’s Swifts migrating through. Muchmoreremainsunknownaboutmorningflight statewide. Collaboration between multiple count sites would improve our understanding of when thesemovementshappenandhowtheyareaffected byweather,geography,andotherfactors.
T M A P
Danielle Kaschube, The Institute for Bird Populations
StevenAlbert,TheInstituteforBirdPopulations
TheInstituteforBirdPopulations(IBP)initiatedtwo long-termbirdmonitoringprogramsusingbanding to use banding data to calculate demographic rates in bird populations. IBP’s flagship program, the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program, is a temperate zone breeding season monitoring program. Since its inception in 1989, over 1300 stations have operated, and it has become North America's largest, long-term, constant-effort bird banding program. Its data has been used in over 150 peer-reviewed publications, includingpublicationsshowingtheeffectsofclimate change on time of breeding and bird size. To help increasetheaccessibilityofthedatatoresearchers, IBP created the MAPS Data Exploration Tool, which allows researchers access to raw data and calculated continent-wide demographic estimates. The Monitoring Overwinter Survival (MoSI) programbeganin2002,andover250stationshave operated in 22 countries. MoSI has increased the understanding of Neotropical birds, and through a series of grants, banders have also been able to implement conservation actions. Both MAPS and MoSI began with goals of demographic research, but the stable network of banders over a large geographic area has been instrumental in helping cooperativeeffortsliketheBirdGenoscapeProject.
A
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Alfredo Leal Sandoval, Facultad de Biología, UniversidadAutónomadeSinaloa.
The Tropical Dry Forest (TDF) is one of the world's most threatened ecosystems, and Mexico has a significant extent of this habitat, with numerous species of birds (both migratory and
resident) dependent on it. The TDF of Sinaloa (TDFSS) is the largest ecoregion in the country, which faces deforestation and conversion to agricultural systems. Tropical Dry Forest has a high seasonality that intensely defines the patterns in its annual ecological cycle. Here, we describe the general vegetationstructurein Cosalá, Sinaloa, and its relationship with the abundance, richness, and diversity of birds. In 2020, we conducted 53 point counts distributed across different vegetation types and detected 133 residents, 61 Neotropical, 25 summer, and 6 vagrant migratory species. We also analyzed vegetation structure variables and the bird community, using data from a permanent banding station. We also evaluated the planthummingbird interaction network and the change in key and peripheral species during three weather periods. Finally, we examined the organization, diversity, and composition of the bird community in deciduous forests, sub-deciduous forests, secondary deciduous forests, andagroecosystems). Theresultsshowthatvegetationstructureiscrucial for birds: lower trees provide food, shelter, and protection. Bird richness and abundance in the TDF had a negative correlation with vegetation height. In the case of hummingbirds, our results revealasignificantinfluenceoffloralresourcesand long-distanceandaltitudinalmigratorymovements on the interactions of these birds. Regarding vegetation types with the highest diversity and migratory species, agroecosystems have the most diversityandmigratoryspecies.
L H C O B
O : E P 10Y
KerrieAnneLoyd
,ArizonaStateUniversity
Western Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) are declining across its geographic range, yet in Arizona this species is frequently observed using urban and suburban habitats. This poses new anthropogenic challenges to owl conservation. With the help of numerous Arizona State University undergraduates, I have monitored the Lake Havasu City (LHC) burrowing owls for thepast10nestingseasonstohelpanswerquestions
about habitat choices, movement and behaviorand document any conservation concerns. I monitored 217 nests, banded 287 birds and recaptured 51 to date. Nest success averages 73% with a mean of 4.1 fledglings per successful nest. I hypothesized that nest site characteristics (diameter, height in wash, plant cover, nearby satellite burrows) might influence nest success, but logistic regression revealed no significant predictors (model X2 (8) = 3.812, p= 0.874). Dispersal distances are higher than other populations reported in the literature, and female birds moved farther (Mean= 2876 m, n =46)thanmales(M=1568,n=25). Ihypothesized that sex, habitat (greenspace, residential, suburban commercial or urban business), competition -fledglings at nest, nearest neighbor, or artificial light at night might predict dispersal distances, but results of linear regression suggest that only the numberofsiblingsatthenestsiteexplainedvariance innataldispersal(p=0.017)(F 5,25 =1.912,p=0.128, R2=0.277). Conservation challenges include secondary poisoning and loss of active burrows to development. Understanding more about our Lake Havasu City population can help fill gaps in knowledge about this species in human-dominated environments and help us focus conservation measuresandpubliceducationefforts.
MAPSB S A : T
E R B S
AyaPickett,TucsonAudubonSociety
The Empire Ranch Banding Station is one of the furthest south MAPS banding operations in the continentalU.S.andhasbeenoperatingforover20 years. This presentation will provide an overview of the station, including capture rates, operational procedures, a summary of the 2024 season, and futureplansforexpansion.
E O S U B : AM -
Sarah Polekoff, Arizona State University, Life SciencesCenter
P. Deviche,ArizonaStateUniversity,LifeSciences Center
Urban environments expose animals to many potential stressors, including habitat alteration, pollution, and increased disease vectors. These stressors can increase the organism’s exposure to and/or production of pro-oxidants, which, unless compensated by antioxidants, can result in oxidative stress and lead to physiological damage and pathologies. We performed a meta-analysis using 26 studies, for a total of 137 effect sizes, to test the hypothesis in birds that exposure to urban sources of pro-oxidants is associated with elevated oxidative damage but also with upregulated levels of antioxidants and, therefore, not with a state of oxidativestress. Wegroupedmeasuresofoxidative balance into categories and ran a model for each. We found that urban avian populations have lower antioxidant capacity, higher dietary oxidative stress, and a tendency for higher oxidative stress overall when compared to non-urban populations of the same species. However, we did not observe consistent effects of urbanization across studies in levels of specific endogenous antioxidants. The effect of urbanization on oxidative stress was most apparent in less commonly studied species. Additionally,theeffectofurbanizationonoxidative damage differed among species. These analyses suggest that urban birds have higher oxidative stress than non-urban birds but that the effect varies by species. Differences may also be due to yet unidentified differences among cities or study design, especially for endogenous antioxidants. More studies are needed from a greater variety of habitatsandclimatesto confirmwhetherthetrends identifiedinthismeta-analysisareuniversal.
M B B D : C L
WalterH. Sakai,ThousandOaks,CA
T. E. Romero,LosAngeles,CA
LaurenHill,LosAngeles,CA
Weight or mass is a useful characteristic to assess the condition and health of a bird and is normally measured during bird banding. At Bear Divide, a dawn spring migration site just within greater Los Angeles, over 1500 birds are banded by the Bear Divide Banding Station every spring from mid-
March to mid-May, composed of 80+ species, of which more than 75% are migratory bird species. From 2021-2024, the Bear Divide Banding Station banded over 100 birds of some migrant species every year. Upwards of 20-25% of some migratory bird species [e.g. Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus); Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla)] were outside of the weight ranges, or individuals weighed less than the mean weight presented in Pyle’s Identification Guide to North American Birds, 2nd ed. Other migratory bird species [e.g. Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana); Blackheaded Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus)] mirrored the normal weight distribution presented by Pyle suggesting species-dependentor the biases in banding data focused on certain parts of a bird’s annualcycle(e.g.breeding). Thiscreatesaproblem as the Bird Banding Laboratory relies on the range of weight values presented in Pyle’s book. Here, we present some of our findings on the weights of some of these migratory bird species and discuss someoftheseproblems.
O P A D W
OlyaWeekley,TucsonAudubonSociety
Open-topverticalpipes,oftenreferredtoas"Death Pipes," present a significant but underrecognized threat to birds and other small wildlife. These structures, used for various purposes such as fence posts, gate anchors, and irrigation/ventilation systems, can become lethal traps for animals seeking shelter or nesting sites. Once inside, creatures are often unable to escape due to the smooth walls and tight spaces, leading to a slow and agonizing death. Cavity-nesting birds are the mostfrequentvictims,butother animals,including reptiles and small mammals, are also at risk. The full extent of the fatalities caused by these pipes is difficult to determine, as the trapped animals often go unnoticed until the pipes are removed. A notable discovery byAudubon California revealed hundreds of deceased animals within a single 20 ft (6.1m)pipe,highlightingtheseverityofthisissue. Toaddressthisissue,theTucsonAudubonSociety, with support fromArizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation, expanded Project Death Pipes through public education and agency outreach. In
W
2023,atotalof641pipeswerepermanentlycapped, potentially saving thousands of small animals into thefuture.
Hummingbirds hybridize more freely than almost any other family of birds. Thanks in large part to digital photography, community (citizen) science platforms such as eBird and iNaturalist, and social media, the number of known and suspected hybrid combinations involving hummingbird species that breed north of Mexico has doubled since the publication of A Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North America in 2002. Most of these are intergeneric and some are intercladal, typically involvingamemberoftheBeeclade(Mellusugini) and either an Emerald (Trochilini) or Mountaingem (Lampornithini). Nevertheless, many birders remainunawareofthisphenomenon,andwhilesome banders make special efforts to document hybrids, others avoid banding them. More consistent and thorough documentation of hybrids is necessary to aid identification both in the field and in hand and tounderstandtheprevalence,behavioralbases,and evolutionaryandbiogeographicimplicationsofthe phenomenon.
Central Arizona-Phoenix Research (CAP ) LongTermEcologicalprojectsince2000anddiscusshow long-termtrendsreflectthepressuresplacedonbird communitiesbyurbanizationand humanactivities. Data werecollectedvia15-minutebirdpointcount surveys conducted at 106 sites across the Phoenix metropolitanarea. Surveyswerecompletedduring the winter and spring seasons of each year from 2000 until the present, where each site was visited twiceperseason. Thedatashownegativetrendsfor both abundance and occupancy for bird species in the Phoenix area, where abundance decreased over timeforallspeciesandoccupancynotablydecreased overtimeforsomespecies. AsPhoenixhasgrown, so too have the pressures placed on its natural resources. The long-term CAP bird point count datarevealtroublingdeclinesinbirdabundanceand occupancy,highlightingtheimportanceofproactive urban wildlife management. Monitoring these trendsiscrucialtobalancingurbangrowthwiththe preservationofecologicalhealthinPhoenixandthe surroundingarea.
ShaneAshtonHenderson,ArizonaStateUniversity
In the Valley of the Sun, the city of Phoenix surrounds the Salt River, which provides essential habitat and resources for the unique species in this region to survive. However, urbanization in Phoenix may significantly impact native flora and fauna. It is important to monitor these impacts in order to inform urban wildlife management. Birds arefrequentlyusedasindicatorsofecosystemhealth due to their high mobility and visibility. In this poster,Isharebirdpointcountdatacollectedbythe
Membership & Back issue Margaret Rohde email: Margaret@wissahickontrails.org
Aaron Given
agiven@kiawahisland.com
2nd V.Pres.
Annie Lindsay
Councilors
Laura-Marie KoitschRebecca Esch
David Brinker
Margaret Rohde
Alison VanKeuren
ToddAlleger
Alison Fetterman
Nick Liadis
3rd V.Pres
email: clifford.berek@gmail.com
LindsayA@carnegiemnh.org
Clifford Berek
email:
Please visit our website or contact the Membership Coordinator for rates and application form
Officers
President DavidCimprich email: vireo7@yahoo.com
Secretary Steven Gabrey email: swgabrey@gmail.com
Treasurer Mike Eickman & Memb.Sec. email:
redtail15@aol.com
Terms Exp. 2025
Terms Exp. 2026
Gigi Gerben
Cailin O'Connor
RobinSchweikart
Maggie MacNeil
Terms Exp. 2027
Imm. Past Presidents:
LisaKiziuk
www.easternbirdbanding.org
1st V.Pres. Paula Cimprich email: paula.Cimprich@gmail.com
2nd V.Pres. Anthony Rothering email: arothering94@gmail.com
Board of Directors (Past Pres.)Veron "Butch"Tezlaff Erik Johnson
Roger Everhart 2nd term
MikeBishop
Robert Placier 1st term
Back Issues: Steven Gabrey swgabrey@gmail.com
Please visit our website or contact the Membership Coordinator for rates and application form www.Inlandbirdbanding.org
President & Treasurer
Danielle Kaschube
Officers
1st V.Pres C.J. Ralph
email: cjralph@humboldt1.com
2nd V. Pres. Vacant
email:
dkaschube@ birdpop.org
Secretary Cyndi Smith
email: cyndi.smith9@gmail.com
Membership Coordinator
email:
Julie Hovis jahovis711@gmail.com
Members at Large Board Mmbers
Adam Hannuksela ahannuk@gmail.com
Jason Kitting jason1991.bnow@gmail.com
Allison R. P. Nelson nelson.allison@gmail.com
Immediate Past Pres. Holly Garrod email: hmgarrod26@gmail.com
Please visit our website or contact the Membership Coordinatorfor rates and application form
Tania Romero t41romero@gmail.com
Claire Stuyck clairestuyck@gmail.com
Colin Woolley colin.woolley@birdconservancy.org
www.westernbirdbanding.org
Geographic coverage of Eastern, Inland, and Western Bird Banding Associations is shown on the map at left. Send membership applications, subscription inquiries, and manuscripts to the association representing your geographic area.
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