Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory

Migration Monitoring Fall 2015

At work in the banding tent

Doug Brown Bander in charge

November 2015

The Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory is a project of the

Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance

In 2015, major funding was provided by the Canadian Wildlife Service.

The Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory also received funding from Oliver Kiwanis

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Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... II LIST OF TABLES ...... III LIST OF FIGURES ...... III INTRODUCTION ...... 1 METHODS ...... 2 WEATHER...... 3 EFFORT ...... 4 BANDING ...... 5 RECAPTURES ...... 11 NETS ...... 14 CENSUS ...... 14 OBSERVATIONS ...... 17 ESTIMATED DAILY TOTALS (ETS) ...... 18 NON-STANDARD BANDING (NSB) ...... 20 OWL BANDING ...... 20 MORTALITIES AND INJURIES ...... 23 OTHER WILDLIFE ...... 24 VISITOR PROGRAMS ...... 25 RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 26 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... 26 PHOTO CREDITS ...... 27 APPENDIX A: CHARTS ...... 28 APPENDIX B. ANNUAL TOTALS FOR ALL CENSUS METHODS...... 32

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List of Tables

Table 1. Weather data 2006-2015………………………………………………………....8 Table 2. Effort data for last 10 years...... 9 Table 3. Mean birds and species banded per day and birds per net hour 2005-2015...... 10 Table 4. Rank and number for the top ten species banded...... 11 Table 5. Age and sex numbers for the top 10 banded species...... 13 Table 6. Age and sex ratios 2005-2015 for all banded birds...... 13 Table 7. Average weights for top 10 banded species...... 14 Table 8. Average fat levels for the top 10 banded species 2005-2015 ...... 14 Table 9. Top ten recaptured species for 2005-2015...... 15 Table 10. Recaptures other than VLBO 2015...... 16 Table 11. Net productivity...... 17 Table 12. Top 10 censused species in terms of numbers and number of days observed. ..18 Table 13. Top 10 observed species in terms of numbers and number of days observed. ..21 Table 14. Top 10 species in terms of numbers and number of days observed...... 22 Table 15. Total birds for all census methods 2005-2015...... 22 Table 16. Total species for all census methods 2005-2015...... 22 Table 17. Owling effort and numbers for all years……………………………………….25

List of Figures

Figure 1. Number of birds banded; daily means: 2005-2015...... 32 Figure 2. Cumulative number of birds banded 2005-2015...... 32 Figure 3. Daily numbers of birds and species banded...... 33 Figure 4. Daily banded totals of top 5 species...... 33 Figure 5. Orange-crowned Warbler fat levels...... 34 Figure 6. Lincoln’s Sparrow fat levels...... 34 Figure 7. Song Sparrow fat levels...... 3

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Introduction

This report is a summary of the activities and results of the 2015 fall migration monitoring season of the Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory.

Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory (VLBO) is one of 9 migration monitoring stations operating in British Columbia. The other stations are Mackenzie in northern BC, Rocky Point and Pedder Bay on southern Vancouver Island, Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo, Tatlayoko Lake in central BC, Colony Farm and Iona Island in the Lower Mainland and Revelstoke in southeastern BC. As the only station in the dry southern interior the data collected at VLBO is very important to the continued monitoring of bird migration in B.C. VLBO is a member of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network (CMMN) which collects data from stations across Canada.

This is the fifteenth consecutive season that the station has been run at its present location and the tenth year in a row with the same bander-in-charge. The station was first located at the north end of Vaseux Lake but was moved to its present location in 2001 due to increased public usage of the previous site. The present location is one kilometre north of Vaseux Lake and is on land that is part of the Vaseux-Bighorn Wildlife Area and the Vaseux Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary. The original banding location was run by the CWS and was chosen because Vaseux is one of the narrowest parts of the valley and it was thought that this would funnel and concentrate migrants heading south. It is now known that most of the birds migrate along the ridges here but many of the valley bottom breeding species do pass through the area. This report will only consider data from the present location.

The area is a section of riparian habitat between Highway 97 and the channelized Okanagan River. The dominant trees in the area are Water Birch (Betula occidentalis) and various species of willow (Salix spp.) with a few Sitka Alders (Alnus crispa) scattered about. The shrub cover consists of Red-osier Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), various species of wild rose (Rosa spp.), Blue Elderberry (Sambucus caerulea), Saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia), Red Raspberry (Rubus idaeus) and Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus). Plants dominant in the area include Cattail (Typha latifolia), Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense), Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica), Hemp Dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) and various grasses and sedges. Water is an important component of the area with most of the nets located along the banks of the old Okanagan River channel where it used to flow before the diking and straightening of the river. The area is bordered on the west by marshland and on the east by Highway 97, beyond which

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are open grasslands with scattered Ponderosa Pines. Much of the eastern edge is now vineyards. The habitat is assessed each year to monitor changes and any significant changes will have to be dealt with. Keeping the habitat with as few changes as possible assures the scientific integrity of the collected data. This year there were some changes to the habitat. A wet snowstorm in November 2014 heavily damaged the willows and water birches in the area and as a result numerous trees had to be cut out.

The station is often not as busy—in terms of birds netted—as some migration monitoring stations, but it does attract and catch good numbers of some species that are not well represented by other stations in British Columbia or Canada. As such it plays an important role in monitoring the avifauna of Canada.

Methods

Monitoring at the station has three components; banding, the daily census and the daily observations. The station is run daily from August 1 to October 15. This is the first time that the October banding has been included in the regular season but after 10 years of doing it and showing the station should run until October 15 the October banding will now be part of the regular season.

The banding effort consisted of 14 standard 12 metre mist nets opening half an hour before sunrise and remaining open for 6 hours. Banding outside of the 6-hour period or birds caught in other nets are excluded from the season totals and will be discussed separately as non-standard banding (NSB). Net locations are predetermined and are unchanged since 2006. Nets were closed if weather conditions such as rain or high wind endangered the birds’ health and safety. Birds cannot fluff themselves to keep warm when they are caught in the nets so nets are not opened if temperatures are too cold (below - 4ºC). This matches the protocols at Long Point Bird Observatory. Every effort is made to reduce the stress of capture on the birds. Birds that are badly tangled and take too long to extract are released immediately without being banded. Nets are checked every 20-30 minutes and the birds are extracted and brought back to the station for processing. This consists of banding, ageing and sexing the bird, measuring wing chord, weighing the bird and checking for fat levels and feather moult.

Monitoring also included a daily census. This was started approximately one hour after sunrise and lasted for 1 to 1.5 hours. It followed a predetermined route and was performed by experienced observers familiar with the species expected at the station. During the census period the observer recorded the numbers of all species seen or heard. The census covers parts of the survey area not covered by the banding and also records species that will not normally be caught in the nets. Census is done every day whether nets are opened or not.

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The third aspect of monitoring is the daily observations. During the banding period station personnel record all birds seen and heard each day. The numbers for this part of the monitoring are usually the largest but the banding effort and other station activities can have a large effect on the numbers by limiting observation effectiveness.

At the end of the day the three monitoring methods are combined to come up with estimated daily totals (ET’s) for each species recorded. The numbers are used to extrapolate approximate abundance of each species. The relative visibility of a species is an important consideration in determining the species abundance. Species which are larger or more vocal are observed much more easily while skulking species such as wrens and sparrows are easily missed. Consultation with all observers is necessary to avoid duplication of counts on the more obvious species. ET’s cannot exceed the sum total of birds recorded by the 3 census methods.

Weather

Due to inconsistencies in data collection during the first 5 years only the last ten years are being used for weather analysis. Weather during the 2015 season was extremely good with no hours being lost to rain. Extreme winds in late September and October closed nets early on a few days for the only net hour losses of the season.

Mean temperature after opening was 11.9°C in August, which is right on the long- term mean, while the September mean was 7.7°C, 0.7°C below the long-term mean and the October mean was 6.8°C, 1.8°C above average. The season ended with a mean temperature of 9.2°C, right on the average. Temperatures at closing in August averaged 25.3°C, 0.2°C below the average, 19.4°C in September, 1.9°C below the average and 17.3°C in October, 1.8°C above the average. The season finished with an average temperature of 21.4°C, 0.5 degrees below average.

Sunshine, as indicated by cloud cover, was down this year. After opening 40.8% of the mornings got recorded with little or no cloud cover. This is one of the lowest percentages ever and well below the average of 51.2%. At closing 42.1% of the mornings had little or no cloud, well below the average of 47.2%. Overall the percentage of days with overcast skies was 26.3%, well above the average of 17.4%. As well 1.3% of the days had light rain that still allowed nets to be open. This is below the season average of 1.6%.

Wind speed and direction can greatly affect migration. Wind strength in all 3 months was slightly above average and September set a record high for average wind

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speed. Wind direction analysis shows that the total number of days with north winds was one of the lowest ever while days with winds from the south set a new record high.

Overall the weather this season was average in August, colder in September and warmer than average in October. The strong winds from the south in October gave us the warmer temperatures but definitely cut down on the numbers of birds. The colder September temperatures also brought more migrants in that month and meant there were few left for October. temperature cloudy rainy wind temperature after closing days with days with days days wind wind direction after little or no variable strength direction S,SE,S opening cloud cloud code N,NE,NW W 2006 8.8 21.8 49.6% 30.7% 14.9% 1.3% 1.4 73.7% 23.6% 2007 8.6 20.3 39.5% 36.4% 20.6% 3.0% 2.3 65.8% 34.2% 2008 8.6 20.8 49.5% 27.7% 20.6% 2.2% 2.4 54.0% 39.6% 2009 9.2 21.7 57.0% 19.3% 18.8% 2.6% 2.0 52.6% 39.5% 2010 7.1 20.1 37.3% 30.7% 28.5% 0.9% 2.5 69.7% 30.2% 2011 9.6 23.7 52.6% 24.5% 20.5% 0.9% 2.8 56.6% 43.5% 2012 8.7 22.3 68.9% 20.2% 11.0% 0.0% 2.4 53.9% 36.8% 2013 11.3 24.0 43.0% 20.2% 31.6% 3.5% 2.4 51.3% 47.4% 2014 10.8 22.3 45.6% 28.1% 24.1% 2.2% 2.4 68.4% 28.9% average 9.2 21.9 49.2% 26.4% 21.2% 1.8% 2.3 60.7% 36.0% 2015 9.2 21.4 41.7% 22.4% 28.9% 0.4% 2.8 52.0% 48.0%

Table 1. Weather data 2006-2015

Effort

The 2015 season did not get off to a good start. The place looked like a disaster area with trees down everywhere and despite starting clearing two days before opening and getting extra help, on opening day there were only 4 nets up. It was the 4th before all 14 nets could be opened. There were no days with net-hours lost to rain however high winds closed nets early on 4 days. Deer were almost nonexistent this year hoever there still were several nets damaged but no net hours were lost because of this. Net-hours for the season totaled 6173.5 out of a possible 6384, which converts to 96.7 % of the possible hours. August had 2484.5 net-hours and 80.1 net-hours per day, while September had 2485 out of a possible 2520 net-hours and an average of 82.8 net-hours per day. October recorded 1204 net-hours out of a possible 1260 and an average of 80.3 net-hours per day. Season net-hours averaged out at 81.2 net-hours per day. Net coverage codes averaged 2.41 for the season; 2.39 for August and 2.47 for September and 2.37 for October out of a maximum of 2.5. The season averages are all well above the average.

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This year 16 people put in 840.25 observer hours which converts to 140.0 observer days based on the six hour banding period. For August there were 339.5 observer-hours while September had 343.5 hours and October recorded 157.25 observer- hours. This converts to an average of 11 hours per day for August, 11.5 for September and 10.5 for October with the season average being 11.1 hours per day. The average number of observers per day was 2.6 for August and September and 2.3 for October with the season average being 2.5. Due to differences in observer skill levels the observer coverage code is often a better indicator of the station effort. Observer hours are adjusted according to the skill levels of the observers and these adjusted hours are used to come up with the coverage code. Observer coverage code averaged 1.74 for August, 1.75 for September and 1.70 for October out of a maximum of 2.5 with the season average being 1.74. The final coverage code is the combination of the net and observer coverage codes. Final average coverage codes were 4.13 for August, 4.22 for September and 4.07 for October with the season average being 4.15 out of a maximum of 5. Table 2 shows the effort data for this year and the previous 10 years.

Year Average # Total Person Average Total net Average Average Average observers observer days observer hours net hours net final per day hours coverage per day coverage coverage code code code 2005 2.8 730.0 121.7 1.68 4374.3 71.7 2.08 3.80 2006 2.9 1012.9 168.8 1.84 6009.5 79.1 2.34 4.17 2007 3.2 1144.0 190.7 1.71 6229.0 82.0 2.45 4.16 2008 2.8 1016.0 169.3 1.74 6367.7 83.8 2.46 4.25 2009 3.5 1198.5 199.8 1.94 6299.5 82.9 2.47 4.41 2010 3.2 1082.0 180.3 1.97 6272.0 82.5 2.43 4.39 2011 2.9 975.1 162.5 1.90 6029.0 79.3 2.34 4.24 2012 2.9 924.6 154.1 1.80 6195.0 81.5 2.42 4.21 2013 3.2 976.5 162.8 1.74 6170.5 81.2 2.38 4.23 2014 3.3 1159.5 193.3 1.88 6342.0 83.4 2.48 4.32 average 3.1 1021.9 170.3 1.82 6028.9 80.7 2.39 4.22 2015 2.5 840.3 140.0 1.74 6173.5 81.2 2.41 4.15 Table 2. Effort data 2005-2015

Banding

The 2015 season got off to a slow start on opening day due to only 4 nets being up but despite that the 32 birds banded indicated there were plenty of birds around. The highest banding total for the season was achieved on August 4th when 84 birds were banded followed by September 16th with 76 birds and September 7th with 65 birds. This season we again banded hummingbirds and with the station now having our own pliers we were able to band all we captured.

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August was a very good month of banding with the second highest banding total ever. Week 1 had its second highest banding total ever and the remaining weeks in August were all well above average. August finished with 903 birds for the second best August ever. For the first time in 4 years we had a good September. The Orange-crowned Warbler migration which accounts for a good portion of our September birds was well above the average and other species that arrive at the same time were also in above average numbers. September finished with 971 birds banded, the second best September ever. We finished the season with 2002 birds banded which is more than 600 birds above the average. The mean birds per day finished at 27.2 which is well above average. This gave us 0.34 birds per net hour which is also above the average. Although the reason for this year's fantastic numbers is impossible to prove, many of the species that were in record numbers normally migrate through the lower slopes. It's believed that the smoke and fires this year made these birds come down to the valley bottom to migrate

This year there were 64 species banded which ties our second highest total ever. The highest species diversity for the season was reached on August 5th when 17 species were banded, followed by August 9th and 19th and September 7th when 16 species were banded. This is the second highest number of species for a day. Mean species per day worked out to be 9.9 which is well above the average. Table 3 shows the mean per day for the last 10 years as well as birds per net hour.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 average 2015 m ean birds/day 12.6 40.0 16.8 21.0 15.0 26.4 22.1 21.8 19.3 24.3 21.9 27.2 m ean species/day 6.5 10.4 7.1 8.6 7.5 9.9 9.4 9.7 7.3 8.9 8.5 9.9 birds/net hour 0.18 0.43 0.19 0.23 0.18 0.28 0.26 0.247 0.23 0.26 0.25 0.34 Table 3. Mean birds and species banded per day and birds per net hour 2005-2015

As well as the banded birds there were a few birds that were netted only but not banded. A number of California Quail were caught but we’re not allowed to band upland game birds.

As usual, there were many highlights to this season. There were 2 new banded species for the station. A Rose-breasted Grosbeak banded on September 2nd was not just our first banding record but our first record of the species. The other new species was Spotted Sandpiper, a species long overdue for the nets. The extension of the regular season to October 15th also added American Wigeon, Northern Pygmy-owl, Northern Shrike, Steller's Jay and Western Palm Warbler to the list of banded species. This brings the station banding total to 108 species. Other notable species and numbers were American Goldfinch-112 (new season high), American Redstart-3 (ties season high), Belted Kingfisher-3 (new season high), Bewick’s Wren-7 (10th-16th banding records, new season high), Chipping Sparrow-18 (new season high), Cooper's Hawk-1, Gray Flycatcher-4 (5th-8th banding records, new season high), Lazuli Bunting-26 (new season

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high), Least Flycatcher-3, Mourning Dove (10th banding record), Pacific Wren-3 (ties season high), Ruby-crowned Kinglet-69 (new season high), Red-eyed Vireo-4 (10th-13th banding records, new season high), Rufous Hummingbird-2 (10th+11th banding records), Swainson's Thrush-31 (new season high), Western Tanager-27 (new season high), Western Wood-pewee-35 (new season high), Willow Flycatcher-124 (new season high) and White-throated Sparrow-3.

Rank and Number Banded 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Orange-crow ned Warbler 1 258 4 120 6 47 3 134 7 73 1 251 2 120 1 219 5 97 1 474 7 55 Lincoln's Sparrow 2 208 6 86 5 69 8 67 5 110 6 108 5 71 6 71 3 120 2 277 4 71 Song Sparrow 3 204 3 142 2 185 2 143 1 189 4 132 4 84 4 110 2 131 6 163 2 77 Common Yellow throat 4 190 2 165 1 227 1 166 2 159 2 239 3 91 3 111 4 117 5 164 3 75 Gray Catbird 5 169 1 261 3 179 4 132 4 136 3 153 1 122 2 160 1 194 4 188 1 113 Willow Flycatcher 6 124 5 103 4 111 5 77 8 61 8 66 8 33 7 70 6 66 10 61 6 58 American Goldfinch 7 112 10 45 8 34 10 32 39 19 5 18 5 30 5 64 Yellow Warbler 8 85 7 81 7 46 5 77 3 148 5 109 6 58 5 91 7 53 9 91 8 34 Ruby-crow ned Kinglet 9 69 21 10 25 17 7 10 9 27 12 4 44 16 Audubon's Warbler 10 46 8 51 12 9 58 10 7 86 7 52 9 35 12 3 243 12

Table 4. Rank and number for the top ten species banded

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Western Tanager-one of the species caught in record numbers this year

Overall there were 471 of the 64 species that were banded in above average numbers and 19 species tied or set new record highs. This means that only 17 species were caught in below average numbers. Of the top 10 banded species this year 8 were recorded in above average numbers and those 10 species made up 73.2% of our banded birds. Orange-crowned Warbler was the most abundant species this year for the first time in 5 years. No species set a new record low but Red-shafted Flicker and Virginia Rail tied their previous low. Table 4 shows the numbers and rank for this year’s top.10 banded species

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Rose-breasted Grosbeak-first banding and station record

This year 1460 of the 2092 captured birds were hatch year and 632 were adults, which works out to be 69.8% hatch year birds. This is exactly on the season average but below the 10-year average. There were no birds that went unaged. This is due to better aging techniques and knowledge from the early years of the station. A look at the age ratios for the top 10 species shows that 5 of the 10 species had an above average ratio of hatch year birds. Willow Flycatcher had the highest ratio of hatch year birds while Yellow Warbler had the lowest percentage of hatch year birds. The low number of young Yellow Warblers was likely due to the early breeding season this year which resulted in many of the young Yellow Warblers leaving in late July (fide MBL). Yellow Warbler had the poorest difference with 30.6% fewer hatch year birds than average while American Goldfinch had the best difference with 20.4% more hatch year birds than the average. Table 5 shows the age and sex ratios for the top 10 banded species this year. Table 6 has the age and ratios for the last 10 years.

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HY AHY %HY Species %male %female %unknown 161 98 62.2% Orange-crowned Warbler 46.3% 53.3% 0.4% 157 52 75.1% Lincoln's Sparrow 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 155 79 66.2% Song Sparrow 0.0% 4.7% 95.3% 149 56 72.7% Common Yellowthroat 52.7% 13.2% 34.1% 144 38 79.1% Gray Catbird 0.0% 1.1% 98.9% 108 20 84.4% Willow Flycatcher 0.0% 10.9% 89.1% 74 38 66.1% American Goldfinch 45.5% 53.6% 0.9% 34 59 36.6% Yellow Warbler 48.4% 47.3% 4.3% 60 13 82.2% Ruby-crowned Kinglet 58.9% 41.1% 0.0% 31 15 67.4% Audubon's Warbler 84.8% 15.2% 0.0%

Table 5. Age and sex numbers for the top 10 banded species

YEAR HY AHY Unknown Male Female Unknown 2005 73.5% 26.0% 0.5% 16.5% 16.4% 67.1% 2006 64.8% 35.1% 0.1% 28.0% 22.6% 49.4% 2007 67.5% 32.5% 0.0% 17.1% 17.1% 65.8% 2008 68.6% 31.3% 0.1% 26.6% 20.7% 52.7% 2009 72.9% 27.1% 0.0% 26.3% 21.4% 52.3% 2010 76.0% 24.0% 0.0% 27.3% 25.7% 47.0% 2011 75.2% 24.8% 0.0% 21.0% 22.6% 56.4% 2012 78.8% 21.2% 0.1% 23.2% 22.2% 54.6% 2013 70.2% 29.8% 0.0% 18.9% 19.6% 61.5% 2014 69.1% 30.9% 0.0% 21.6% 19.4% 59.0% AVERAGE 71.7% 28.3% 0.1% 22.6% 20.8% 56.6% 2015 69.8% 30.2% 0.0% 23.6% 22.4% 54.2%

Table 6. Age and sex ratios 2005-2015 for all banded birds.

This year 491 of the captured birds were sexed as male, 468 were sexed as female and 1133 were sexed as unknown. Hatch year Common Yellowthroats can only be sexed as male or unknown at this time of year which leans the ratios heavily toward male but birds with brood patches help to even out the sex ratios. Differences in migration timing between males and females for some species, with males usually appearing earlier in the season, also results in uneven ratios. Day to day differences in weather can also affect the sex ratios as good weather while one sex is more prevalent can result in more birds of that sex passing over and missing the nets. Of course bad weather has the opposite effect and can result in more birds being captured. This season numerous species had uneven sex ratios due to the effects listed above.

The weights of the birds were low this year with only 3 of the top 10 species recording above average weights and 6 species having below average weights. Several species this year had individual birds with the lowest weights ever seen at VLBO for that species. Table 7 shows average weights for the top 10 banded species.

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2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 average 2015 Orange-crow ned Warbler 9.1 9.2 9.0 9.1 8.8 8.9 9.2 9.0 8.8 9.3 9.0 9.1 Lincoln's Sparrow 15.5 16.2 15.5 15.7 16.1 15.8 15.6 15.4 16.2 15.9 15.8 15.4 Song Sparrow 20.9 21.5 21.2 21.3 20.9 21.0 21.0 21.2 21.2 21.3 21.2 21.0 Common Yellow throat 10.2 10.2 10.2 10.2 10.2 10.1 10.5 10.2 10.0 10.1 10.2 9.9 Gray Catbird 36.3 37.0 36.7 36.8 36.9 36.9 37.0 36.7 37.1 36.7 36.8 36.9 Willow Flycatcher 12.1 12.0 12.2 12.4 11.9 12.1 12.2 12.3 11.8 11.9 12.1 11.8 American Goldfinch 12.5 12.9 11.8 12.6 12.8 13.2 12.5 12.7 12.9 13.1 12.7 12.7 Yellow Warbler 9.3 9.2 9.2 9.3 9.1 9.4 9.4 9.3 9.3 9.3 9.3 9.1 Ruby-crow ned Kinglet 6.3 6.2 6,1 6.4 6.1 6.0 6.7 6.2 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.3 Audubon's Warbler 11.8 11.6 11.7 12.0 11.7 11.9 12.2 11.7 11.8 11.9 11.8 11.7

Table 7. Average weights for top 10 banded species 2005-2015

Although the differences in the table are small the large numbers of birds for these species means that any difference is significant. All 3 species with above average weughts were only up marginally. Lincoln's Sparrow showed the highest average weight loss. Table 8 shows the average fat levels for the top 10 banded species. As with the weight table the large numbers for these species makes any differences significant. Of this year’s top 10 species 9 showed below average fat levels and only 1 species had above average fat levels. Fat levels were odd this year as the fat distribution was not typical. Normally birds fill up the furculum and then will put on fat on the sides. This year there were many birds with fat on the sides without the furculum being filled up. I believe these birds fattened up elsewhere and as they migrated the fat got used from the furculum first. We realized that the bird's weights were not matching their fat levels so we started checking the whole bird for fat. This fat distribution has never before been seen at VLBO.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 average 2015 Orange-crow ned Warbler 1.8 1.7 1.5 1.2 0.9 1.1 1.5 1.1 0.8 1.4 1.3 1.4 Lincoln's Sparrow 1.5 2.2 1.7 1.6 2.0 1.7 1.7 1.3 2.2 1.5 1.7 0.9 Song Sparrow 0.9 1.6 1.4 1.1 1.1 0.9 0.5 0.4 1.1 0.3 0.9 0.6 Common Yellow throat 0.9 1.4 1.2 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.6 0.5 0.9 0.4 0.9 0.2 Gray Catbird 0.4 1.1 1.1 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.3 0.7 0.2 Willow Flycatcher 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.0 American Goldfinch 1.2 1.8 0.8 0.6 0.2 0.4 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.6 0.2 Yellow Warbler 0.8 1.1 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.1 0.6 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.8 0.2 Ruby-crow ned Kinglet 1.1 1.3 1.0 1.8 0.2 0.4 1.3 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.9 0.8 Audubon's Warbler 0.6 0.7 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.0

Table 8. Average fat levels for top 10 banded species 2005-2015

Recaptures

This year there were 517 recaptures of 27 species. The recap number is well above average and the species total is the second highest ever. Overall this year’s total

11 works out to be 20.5% of all captures, which is below the average. There were two new recaptured species this year, Gray Flycatcher and Pacific Wren. As well the addition of the October records added 3 more species, Hermit Thrush, Red-breasted Nuthatch and Swamp Sparrow so the total number of species recaptured is now at 52. Four species set a new record high recap number, Bewick's Wren, Dusky Flycatcher, Swainson's Thrush and Western Wood-pewee and 2 species tied their previous highs. Table 9 shows the numbers for the top 10 species recaptured.

Species 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Song Sparrow 1 142 1 94 1 121 2 78 1 196 2 109 1 58 2 63 1 120 3 121 1 77 Common Yellow throat 2 100 2 76 2 65 1 86 2 63 1 173 3 41 1 66 3 77 2 146 3 37 Gray Catbird 3 65 3 60 3 52 4 28 3 42 3 41 2 47 3 49 2 89 5 64 2 49 Lincoln's Sparrow 4 38 7 14 2 9 8 7 15 7 14 8 7 7 4 5 15 4 73 1 Black-capped Chickadee 5 30 4 32 4 38 3 30 4 29 4 35 4 25 4 47 4 43 6 59 5 28 Willow Flycatcher 6 20 5 29 5 18 6 13 6 9 7 3 7 4 7 11 7 4 32 Orange-crow ned Warbler 6 20 7 14 3 5 19 6 5 28 5 17 5 26 9 6 1 176 1 Yellow Warbler 8 15 6 17 8 8 7 11 6 17 6 15 6 12 6 9 6 14 9 19 9 6 Bew ick's Wren 8 15 4 1 5 1 1 Veery 10 12 10 9 7 13 4 9 11 8 9 7 8 10 3 8 6 6 8 7

Table 9. Top ten recaptured species 2005-2015

Our busiest day for recaptures was August 14th when 17 birds were recaptured while the best days for diversity were August 4th and September 6th when 9 species were recaptured. Many birds were caught multiple times so only 331 birds account for the recaptures and 99 birds were recaptured more than once. The most frequent visitors to the nets were a hatch year Song Sparrow and a Gray Catbird that were banded this year and were recaptured 10 times throughout the season in 7 different nets. The oldest bird caught this year was a Veery banded as a second year bird on June 22, 2007 by the MAPS banding program at the Vaseux east site. This makes the bird 9 years old, a good age for this species. Out of the 331 birds recaptured this year 90 were from past years, CWS banding projects, Barry Lancaster (MBL) or the MAPS banding program. Table 10 outlines all captures not banded this year by VLBO. Notable captures and numbers not already noted are; Bewick's Wren-15 (new season record)), Cassin's Vireo-1 (6th recap record), Dusky Flycatcher-5 (7th-11th recap records, new season record), Eastern Kingbird (6th recap record), House Wren-1 (3rd recap record), Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 (4th recap record), Swainson's Thrush-10 (new season record), Western Wood-pewee-4 (4th-7th recap records, new season record) and Yellow-breasted Chat-5 (ties recap record).

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2013 MAPS 2010 2011 MAPS 2012 2013 MBL 2014 2007 fall fall 2011 fall fall Oliver fall Song Sparrow 2 1 2 12 13 30 Veery 1 1 3 5 Yellow Warbler 1 1 1 5 8 Cassin's Vireo 1 1 Gray Catbird 1 3 4 5 13 Common Yellow throat 3 3 9 15 Black-capped Chickadee 1 4 3 8 Marsh Wren 1 1 Orange-crow ned Warbler 1 1 Willow Flycatcher 1 1 2 4 Bew ick's Wren 1 1 Dow ny Woodpecker 1 1 Oregon Junco 1 1 Yellow -breasted Chat 1 1 totals 1 3 2 2 10 26 3 43 90 Table 10. Recaptures other than VLBO 2015.

Bewick's Wren-one of our top 10 recap species for the first time

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Nets

All nets this year remained in the same locations as last year. Nets 1, 2, 9, 10 and 19 were the lighter Avinet nets, nets 5, 6, 17, 18 and 20 were the new 5 shelf nets purchased last spring while nets 4 and 8 were the heavier Spidertech nets. Nets 7 and 15 were of unknown make but are most similar to Avinet nets. This year the gates of deer fencing to block off sections of the net lanes from the pesky deer were not needed as there were few deer around. Although there were still nets damaged by the deer the damage was small compared to the bad deer seasons.

Over the season the average number of captures per net was 184.0. The most productive net this year was net 9 with 290 birds and 11.0% of the captures. This was followed by nets 2 and 18 with 277 and 245 birds respectively. The poorest net this year was net 4 with just 61 birds caught followed by nets 15 and 19 with 116 and 134 birds respectively. This year nets 9 and 10 had the best diversity with 36 species caught followed by net 1 with 33 species. The poorest diversity nets were nets 4 and 5 with just 20 species captured. Table 11 shows statistics on net productivity.

Total % #species Net # Banded Recaps captures captures per net 1 144 52 196 7.5% 33 2 179 98 277 10.5% 32 4 54 7 61 2.3% 20 5 108 28 136 5.2% 20 6 132 26 158 6.0% 21 7 147 42 189 7.2% 24 8 199 34 233 8.9% 31 9 235 55 290 11.0% 36 10 183 43 226 8.6% 36 15 94 22 116 4.4% 25 17 122 27 149 5.7% 32 18 221 24 245 9.3% 31 19 106 28 134 5.1% 29 20 134 32 166 6.3% 24 Average 147.0 37.0 184.0 7.0% 28.1

Table 11. Net productivity

Census

This year there were 10,712 birds of 138 species recorded on the daily census. This is well below the season average of 11,989.3 birds. The total species ties for the 2nd highest, well above the average of 130.8. For the season census averaged 140.9 birds and 30.9 species per day. The highest diversity was on September 6th when 46 species

14 followed by August 16th and 19th with 44 and 43 species respectively. The highest number of birds was tallied on August 28th when 370 birds were counted followed by September 3rd and October 7th with 304 and 274 birds respectively.

There was only 1 new species recorded on census this year, a Barred Owl that was seen on October 10th however the addition of the October data adds 11 more species; American Tree Sparrow, Blue Jay, Cackling Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shrike, Parasitic Jaeger, Pacific Loon, Trumpeter Swan, Western Grebe, Western Palm Warbler and White-winged Scoter. This brings the census species list to 204 for the season. New high counts were set for 15 species and 4 species tied their record highs. As well 54 additional species were recorded in above average numbers. Species in notably high numbers included Bald Eagle, Bewick’s Wren, Bullock's Oriole, California Quail, Chipping Sparrow, Hooded Merganser, Lazuli Bunting, Merlin, Pacific Wren, Peregrine Falcon, Red-eyed Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Red-shafted Flicker, Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Western Tanager and Yellow-breasted Chat. Notable species other than those already mentioned include Black-chinned Hummingbird (6th record), Double-crested Cormorant (5th+6th records), Hermit Thrush (6th record), Pacific Wren (7th-11th records), Peregrine Falcon (4th-7th records), Varied Thrush (6th+7th records), and Western Sandpiper (6th-8th records). Table 12 shows the top 10 census species for numbers and number of days recorded.

Total # # Days Species observed Species observed Red-winged Blackbird 1179 Song Sparrow 75 Violet-green Swallow 578 Mallard 73 Canada Goose 549 Pied-billed Grebe 70 Wood Duck 511 Red-winged Blackbird 69 American Goldfinch 499 Black-capped Chickadee 65 Common Yellowthroat 432 American Goldfinch 64 Mallard 430 Belted Kingfisher 59 Song Sparrow 397 Common Yellowthroat 59 Barn S wallow 383 Canada Goose 56 Cedar Waxwing 351 Wood Duck 56 Table 12. Top 10 censused species in terms of numbers and number of days observed.

There were only 7 species recorded in record low numbers while 3 additional species tied the previous record low. Species in notably low numbers included American Coot, Brown-headed Cowbird, Brewer’s Blackbird, California Gull, Cassin’s Vireo, Clark's Nutcracker, Cliff Swallow, European Starling, House Finch, Lesser Yellowlegs, Marsh Wren, MacGillivray's Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Pine Siskin, Pygmy Nuthatch, Ring-billed Gull, Red Crossbill, Rock Pigeon, Sora, Tree Swallow, Virginia Rail and

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Yellow-headed Blackbird. A summary of the numbers for each species can be found in Appendix B.

Barred Owl by net 8—first census record

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Observations

Daily observations this year recorded 9,721 birds of 113 species. This is the second lowest total birds number and the fourth lowest species number ever. There were several reasons for the low number. The good banding numbers reduced the effectiveness of the observer hours, the low number of observers and the school groups which reduced the effectiveness of the observer hours all contributed to the low numbers. The daily average was 127.9 birds and 28.8 species per day. The species per day number is the lowest since 2004. The highest diversity was achieved on August 31st when 47 species were noted followed by September 6th with 42 species and August 25th and 17th with 38 species. The highest number of total birds was on October 8th when 403 birds were recorded followed by August 31st and August 28th with 343 and 333 birds respectively.

There were no new species for the daily observations this year however the addition of the October data added 16 species; American Tree Sparrow, Barrow's Goldeneye, Blue Jay, Barn Owl, Brown Creeper, Cackling Goose, Common Goldeneye, Eurasian Wigeon, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Long-billed Dowitcher, Northern Shrike, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Pacific Loon, Red-necked Phalarope, Trumpeter Swan and Western Grebe. The total species list is now 206 species. . New season highs were set by 7 species and as well 1 species tied the previous high. An additional 28 species were recorded in above average numbers. Species in notably high numbers included Bewick’s Wren, Cassin's Finch, California Quail, Common Raven, Hooded Marganser, Lewis' Woodpecker, Peregrine Falcon, Red-eyed Vireo, Ring-necked Pheasant, Turkey Vulture, Western Bluebird and Western Tanager. Notable species other than those mentioned above included Barred Owl (2nd-4th records), Common Poorwill (9th record), House Wren (10th record), Townsend's Solitaire (10th+11th records) and White-breasted Nuthatch (4th record).

Record low totals were set by 6 species and 2 additional species tied the previous low number. Species in notably low numbers included American Crow, Audubon’s Warbler, Bank Swallow, Barn Swallow, Black-billed Magpie, Brown-headed Cowbird, Brewer’s Blackbird, Bullock's Oriole, California Gull, Cedar Waxwing, Clark’s Nutcracker, Common Nighthawk, European Starling, Great Horned Owl, Herring Gull, House Finch, Killdeer, Marsh Wren, MacGillivray's Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Oregon Junco, Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, Red-winged Blackbird, Sandhill Crane, Savannah Sparrow, Sora, Spotted Towhee, Virginia Rail, Warbling Vireo, and Yellow-headed Blackbird. A summary of the numbers for each species can be found in Appendix B.

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Total # # Days Species observed Species observed Canada Goose 2023 Song Sparrow 75 Red-winged Blackbird 1385 Canada Goose 74 American Coot 660 American Goldfinch 74 Mallard 404 Mallard 73 Black-capped Chickadee 309 Red-shafted Flicker 71 American Goldfinch 296 Red-winged Blackbird 71 Yellow-rumped Warbler 278 Belted Kingfisher 66 Song Sparrow 262 California Quail 58 Violet-green Swallow 223 Great Blue Heron 58 European Starling 189 Common Yellowthroat 58 Common Raven 58

Table 13. Top 10 observed species in terms of numbers and number of days observed.

Estimated Daily Totals (ETs)

The estimated daily total is compiled each day from the three census methods; banding, census and observations, and represents the estimated number of each species present within the survey area each day. By consulting with all observers over the day the bander in charge comes up with these numbers.

This year there was a total of 20,132 birds of 152 species recorded. This number is the lowest birds total ever and the species count is also one of the lowest. The daily average was 264.9 birds and 43.7 species per day. The birds per day and species per day averages are both well below the average. The highest diversity was on September 6th when 58 species were recorded followed by August 16th and 5th with 57 and 55 species respectively. The highest number of total birds was August 28th when 620 birds were recorded followed by August 19th and 29th with 501 and 495 birds respectively.

There was 1 new species for the station this year, Rose-breasted Grosbeak. As well the addition of the October data added 13 species; American Tree Sparrow, Blue Jay, Cackling Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Pygmy-owl, Northern Shrike, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Parasitic Jaeger, Pacific Loon, Trumpeter Swan, Western Grebe, Western Palm Warbler and White-winged Scoter. The all-time species total is now 229 species. New record highs were set for 11 species this year and 1 species tied the previous record high count. As well an additional 58 species were recorded in above average numbers. Species in notably high numbers included Bewick’s Wren, California Quail, Chipping Sparrow, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Gray Flycatcher, Hermit Thrush, Hooded Merganser, Lazuli Bunting, Lewis' Woodpecker, Mountain Bluebird, Pacific Wren, Peregrine Falcon, Red-eyed Vireo, Ring-necked Pheasant, Swamp Sparrow, Swainson's Thrush, Turkey Vulture, Western Tanager, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Yellow-breasted Chat. Notable

18 species other than those mentioned above include Barred Owl (2nd-4th records), Common Poorwill (9th record), Double-crested Cormorant-2, Gray Flycatcher (5th-9th records), White-breasted Nuthatch (10th record) and Western Sandpiper (7th-9th records).

Total # # Days Species observed Species observed Canada Goose 2417 Black-capped Chickadee 76 Red-winged Blackbird 2284 American Goldfinch 76 Song Sparrow 752 Mallard 76 American Goldfinch 737 Song Sparrow 76 Mallard 721 Red-shafted Flicker 75 Violet-green S wallow 718 Canada Goose 74 American Coot 692 Red-winged Blackbird 74 Common Yellowthroat 688 Belted Kingfisher 72 Wood Duck 539 Pied-billed Grebe 70 Yellow-rumped Warbler 516 California Quail 69 Great Blue Heron 69

Table 14. Top 10 species ET’s in terms of numbers and number of days recorded.

mean/ mean/ mean/ mean/ mean/ banded day recap day census day obs day ets day 2005 771 12.6 269 4.4 10575 173.4 53398 875.4 63079 1034.1 2006 2591 34.1 855 11.3 18290 240.7 21217 279.2 39061 514.0 2007 1192 15.7 467 6.1 14580 191.8 14149 186.2 27551 362.5 2008 1483 19.5 367 4.8 15164 199.5 9698 127.6 23628 310.9 2009 1098 14.4 295 3.9 12113 159.4 15794 207.8 26490 348.6 2010 1707 22.5 497 6.5 10558 138.9 16255 213.9 25031 329.4 2011 1524 20.1 501 6.6 12417 163.4 13928 183.3 24569 323.3 2012 1468 19.3 403 5.3 10614 139.7 14912 196.2 24314 319.9 2013 1393 18.3 406 5.3 12248 161.2 23564 310.1 34238 450.5 2014 1627 21.4 428 5.6 10381 136.6 14674 193.1 24502 322.4 average 1438.4 20.3 435.4 6.2 12084.1 171.2 24888.6 374.7 36176.1 535.4 2015 2002 26.3 517 6.8 10712 140.9 9721 127.9 20132 264.9

Table 15. Total birds for all census methods 2005-2015. mean/ mean/ mean/ mean/ mean/ banded day recap day census day obs day ets day 2005 49 6.5 20 3.1 130 32.6 121 32.8 151 44.8 2006 60 9.6 27 4.7 139 32.6 123 34.0 161 45.7 2007 49 6.8 26 3.6 135 32.0 140 34.5 158 45.4 2008 59 8.3 28 3.2 136 32.8 137 33.8 160 45.9 2009 60 7.5 30 2.9 125 30.5 139 35.0 159 45.6 2010 60 9.0 23 3.5 126 31.8 148 41.2 162 50.7 2011 54 8.9 27 3.8 133 33.9 131 34.1 154 46.8 2012 66 9.1 30 3.7 132 33.4 136 36.7 157 48.6 2013 64 7.3 21 3.2 126 29.9 120 32.4 150 43.5 2014 62 8.3 23 3.5 137 31.0 123 29.4 155 43.0 average 58.3 8.1 25.5 3.5 131.9 32.1 131.8 34.4 156.7 46.0 2015 64 9.9 27 4.3 138 30.9 113 28.8 152 43.7 Table 16. Total species for all census methods 2005-2015

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Record low totals were set by 6 species and a further 2 species tied the previous record low. Calliope Hummingbird and Golden Eagle were missed entirely for the first time ever. Species in notably low numbers included American Crow, Black-billed Magpie, Brown-headed Cowbird, Brewer’s Blackbird, California Gull, Cedar Wazwing, Clark's Nutcracker, Cliff Swallow, Common Nighthawk, European Starling, Great Horned Owl, Greater Yellowlegs, Herring Gull, House Finch, Lesser Yellowlegs, Marsh Wren, MacGillivray's Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Pine Siskin, Ring-billed Gull, Red Crossbill, Red-naped Sapsucker, Rock Pigeon, Sandhill Crane, Sora, Tree Swallow, Vaux’s Swift, Virginia Rail and Yellow-headed Blackbird. A summary of the numbers for each species can be found in Appendix B.

Non-standard Banding (NSB)

Any banding done outside of the daily six hour period or with extra nets is recorded as non-standard banding (NSB) and has not been included in the season results. This year we had school groups coming in the last half of September and October. Because bird numbers were getting low we set up an extra net on the east side of the slough under the Ponderosa Pines with feeders around it to hopefully guarantee there would be birds for the kids to see. We caught and banded 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 1 Pygmy Nuthatch, 3Red-breasted Nuthatch and a Lincoln's Sparrow. As well we recaptured 10 Black-capped Chickadees, 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a Red-breasted Nuthatch. Surprisingly we also captured a number of passerines in the owl nets at night. One American Robin, 4 White-crowned Sparrows and a White-throated Sparrow were all caught on the first round of the owl banding. It's believed the birds came in to check out the Saw-whet Owl calls from the cd player. Interestingly all 5 of the sparrows were significantly heavier than any of these species ever caught during the normal banding hours. It's believed these 5 sparrows were probably going to go straight through overnight as they were already well fattened up for migrating. Birds caught during the regular hours were present because they had to stop and fatten up.

This year we again banded Northern Saw-whet Owls at night. All these birds were caught outside of normal net hours and as such were recorded as NSB but the owl banding will be discussed separately in this report.

Owl Banding

This season a program of Northern Saw-whet Owl banding was again run with the starting date being September 15th. This is the seventh season for the owl banding program. A triangle of nets was set up by net 5 with one net (Owl net 1) aligned northwest from the junction of nets 4 and 5 and the second (Owl net 2) running north from near the west end of net 5. Net 5 was used as the third side of the triangle. This year

20 a second triangle of nets was set up by net 19. One net (Owl net 3) ran nortwest from the south end of net 19, the second net (Owl net 4) went back to the north end of net 19 and net 19 made the third side of the triangle. The owl nets were all Russian-made nets which were a bit shorter in length, 11 instead of 12 metres, but were taller, 4 instead of 3 metres, and had 6 instead of 4 shelves. These nets were used because they were the only nets available at the station. The four owl nets were placed higher than our normal nets, almost 20 feet high, with the bottom panel at a height of about 1 metre. This net placement is similar to that used by the Long Point Bird Observatory. As well as the triangle of nets our regular nets 4, 6, 15 and 20 were opened each night as well. CD players with a continuously running Saw-whet Owl call were placed in the centre of each triangle to attract the owls. Nets were checked every 45 minutes. Nets were opened half an hour after sunset and kept open for at least 6 hours, weather permitting. The second triangle of nets ran from September 17th to October 5th when it was discontinued due to low capture rate and the second cd player interfering with captures in the other triangle. Normally Owl nets 1 and 2 catch a good percentage of the owls and they did catch birds the first two nights of the season but the entire time that the second cd player was operating they caught no birds. It's possible that the second cd player was confusing the owls so they couldn't decide where to go and ended up just passing through.

Banding and measuring a Northern Saw-whet Owl

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Of the 31 possible nights for banding there were 4 nights when weather kept the nets shut and a further 2 nights when net hours were shortened due to bad weather. There was a total of 1437.75 net hours put in which works out to an average of 46.4 net hours per night. There was a total of 186.75 volunteer hours put in which averages out to 6.0 hours per night.

This year we had a fantastic owl banding period. On the first 3 nights we caught 8 owls and I put out word to the local naturalists that this was the year to visit as we were in for a big season. I was right. This year we banded a record 79 Saw-whets and had 5 recaptures of 4 birds. This averages out at 2.6 birds per night. We caught owls every night we were open except for 2 nights when there was a full moon. The average capture time this year was 10:53, the earliest ever. For unknown reasons the birds came much earlier in the evening this year with birds being caught on the first round quite often. This made it much better for visitors hoping to see the owls being banded. Of this year’s birds 66.7% were hatch year and 33.3% were adult birds. This is one of the lowest percentages of hatch year birds than we’ve seen. This is probably because of the early breeding season this year; young migrate earlier than adults and some probably passed through before we started. Of the owls we caught this year 50.6% were female, 17.3% were male and 32.1% were not able to be sexed. This is one of our highest percentages of males and the reason for this is probably that the birds are anticipating a bad winter. Apparently in mild winters most males stay north to stake out territories for spring.

year days open net hours obs hours Aver # observers bands recaps 2009 14 570 95.5 1.0 25 0 2010 12 519 74.0 1.0 44 3 2011 17 658 111.0 1.0 46 5 2012 27 1158.5 188.0 1.0 45 3 2013 22 852.25 137.25 1.0 16 2 2014 27 992.75 175.5 1.1 36 1 average 19.8 791.75 130.2 1.0 35.3 2.3 2015 27 1437.75 186.75 1.0 79 5 Table 17. Owling effort and numbers for all years There were 5 recaptures this year accounted for by 4 birds. Two of the birds were hatch year and were believed to be local breeders. A second year bird that was banded last year was caught twice and was also probably a local breeder. Most interesting was an owl banded in 2013 as a 2-year-old, making it 4 years old. This is the oldest Saw-whet we've had so far that we know of. All owl banding gets recorded as NSB as it is outside any regular banding hours.

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Great Horned Owls were heard on a nightly basis but were not seen at all this year. A Long-eared Owl was heard around the station a couple of times and a Barn Owl was heard one night as it hunted the meadow.

Yellow-breasted Chat Mortalities and Injuries

Unfortunately this year we did have some mortalities. On August 6th an adult Gray Catbird died in the bird bag. On August 14th a juvenile Gray Catbird died in the hand while being extracted. Both of these birds were quickly extracted from the nets and showed no signs of being excessively stressed. Barry Lancaster at his banding site 12 km south also had several unexplained mortalities and he believed an unknown sickness may have weakened some birds leading to the mortalities. On September 8th a juvenile female Yellow-breasted Chat exhibited signs of stress while being extracted despite the fact the extraction was quite easy and quick. The bird was immediately released by placing it on a branch by the net but was found dead on the ground on the next round. This was the bird's fourth capture in only a few days and I believe the accumulated stress was just too much for the bird. Unfortunately there are no measures that could have prevented any of these mortalities. Finally on October 17th while taking down the nets a Swamp Sparrow was found dead in a net. This was our last net on closing day and it appears the volunteer

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was too eager to go home and had furled the net with the bird in it. Pointing out to the volunteer what he had done should suffice as he was quite experienced. We did also lose two birds to predation. On August 21st a Cedar Waxwing was killed in the net by a Cooper's Hawk. We did get to band the hawk. On September 1st a Sharp-shinned Hawk killed a Common Yellowthroat in the net and then escaped. Both birds had been banded this year. In both of these cases of predation the area was watched for signs that these predators were hanging around the nets but there were no more incidents.

There were also a number of injuries to birds. An American Goldfinch had a broken left leg, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet had a dislocated right knee and a White- crowned Sparrow had a dislocated right thigh. With all 3 birds the volunteers were unaware the bird had been injured until it was removed from the bag. The volunteers were quite experienced so pointing out the injury was enough for them to exhibit more care. All 3 birds were banded and released and appeared otherwise healthy so are expected to survive. There were 2 cases of minor wing strain. Both birds were expected to recover.

There were other problems noted with the birds. A Common Yellowthroats had a swelling on one leg from an obviously old injury. An adult female Marsh Wren was missing one leg below the knee. The bird had a brood patch so appeared to be successfully breeding despite the injury. A Common Yellowthroat was caught with thick, hard fungal growth completely covering both lower legs. It was banded on the thigh as there was no way to band the lower legs. An Orange-crowned Warbler was also found to have a fungal growth but only on one ankle. A Song Sparrow was found with one deformed toe, probably from an old case of avian pox. There were no cases of avian pox noted this year as the hot dry weather this season kept the disease occurrence down.

Other Wildlife

This year there were the fewest deer sightings in the last ten years although there still were nets damaged. As a result the deer fence gates did not get put up this year. Both Mule and White-tailed Deer were seen. There was lots of Black Bear sign around this season and several were seen. A large mature male was seen a couple times early in the season as well as a smaller possibly 3 year old. A female with 2 cubs was seen crossing the river one day. Muskrats were not seen at all in the slough this year, probably because of the very low water levels. Beavers were seen in the river several times over the season. River Otters were seen a couple times along the dyke and on the pond and scat was noted in the area as well. An entire family of Raccoons was seen crossing the path up by the outhouse one day and tracks were seen in the net lanes. Coyotes were heard quite regularly and several were seen this year on the census. A Red Squirrel was seen late in

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the season near the banding tent and hung around until the end of the season for the first station record.

Common Garter Snakes were seen a number of times sunning themselves along the trails including some good sized ones but this year there were the fewest seen in the last 10 years. A Gopher snake was seen one day crossing the path..

As always there was a good assortment of dragonflies buzzing about the area and often getting caught in the nets. Time restraints gave little chance to identify species but darners, meadowhawks and spreadwings were certainly seen. Several Praying Mantis were seen including one caught in a net. Katydids seemed to be more common this year. With data collection for the BC Butterfly Atlas taking place an effort was again made to note the numbers of all species seen. Species seen were Mourning Cloak, Cabbage White, Woodland Skipper, Lorquin’s Admiral, Common Wood-nymph, Clouded Sulphur, Purplish Copper, Red Admiral, Compton's Tortoiseshell, Orange Sulphur, Western Tiger Swallowtail, Gray Hairstreak and Northern Crescent. Butterflies species were noted right up until closing on October 15th.

Visitor Programs

This year OSCA acquired some funding from Nature Canada to run some school programs. In late September and October we were visited by grade 4 and 5 students from 12 different schools from throughout the south Okanagan. Students were divided into 3 groups with one group going for a walk out to the dyke, one group getting a talk on bird adaptation in the second tent and one group going out with me to check the nets and then coming back to watch the birds get banded. Each activity took about half an hour and then the groups would switch around so each group got to do all 3 activities. There were 2-3 OSCA volunteers each day to help with the students. Because it was late in the season we put up an extra net with feeders around it in an attempt to guarantee we would have birds for the kids. This did save us on a few occasions when the regular nets were empty. The program was a huge success with all the children having a great learning experience. As well as the school program OSCA hosted 2 family days on weekends when the public was invited to the station to learn about the banding station and what we do. Both days there were 30-40 people who came to the station. We also this year were visited by 32 students from Capilano University in North Vancouver. The students came out one night for the Saw-whet Owl banding and then the following morning for the daytime banding. Sharon Mansiere and several of her students came out to help with the students. Again this was a great success. We had several owls at night and a nice selection of birds during the daytime.

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Recommendations

With the banding station now having run for 15 years at the present location it has become a smoothly run enterprise however if the station is going to continue to progress there needs to be some changes. The steering committee which was suggested 2 years ago needs to be put in place so we can get new ideas on how to improve the station. Having a steering committee will bring new minds to the running of the station so that hopefully additional funding sources can be investigated so that new research projects can be looked at. Many of the CMMN stations work on research projects to further our knowledge of the various species and this is a direction that Vaseux should be looking at.

We do right now have a few equipment needs. We have banding pliers for band sizes x to 3 but no proper pliers for larger bands. We need to make an effort to get these larger pliers so that the bands are properly applied. We will need about 6 new nets next year as we have several in pretty bad condition.

Acknowledgments

Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory could not be run without the funding received from the Canadian Wildlife Service through the constant support of Wendy Easton.

No banding station can run efficiently without the help of volunteers and this station is no exception. This was the poorest season ever in terms of volunteer effort with 840.25 hours accumulated over the year by 16 station personnel. Mel Thorn came in twice a week and helped with the bird extraction and data recording. Mel also came out to help with the owl banding on one evening. He also took over Dick Cannings job of organizing the census volunteers and did a great job of recruiting people for the census. Marianne Hutterli came in twice weekly throughout the season. Valerie Blow, a biologist with the Desert Centre in Osoyoos, came out weekly throughout the season. When Mel was away in late September and the first week of October. Barry Lancaster came in to look after the banding on the days I had to do census. Other people who lent time to the station this year either with extraction or data recording include Dwayne Flexhaug, Sharon Mansiere and Suzanne Maidment. Some of Sharon Mansiere’s students also helped out on days when they were here to help out with the OSCA programs and the Capilano University students visit.

Census requires daily volunteers and this season a number of people did this on a regular basis. Michael Bezener came out weekly for census throughout the season. Jim and Deirdre Turnbull also did census on a weekly basis while Thor Manson filled in 2

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days a week in late September and October. A special thanks has to go to Chris Siddle who drove all the way from Vernon to help out on census twice a week in September and once a week the rest of the season. Mike Force also came out once a week for much of the season, driving down from Winfield. Other people who helped with census or the daily observations include Laure Neish, Chris Charlesworth and Barry Lancaster.

My heartfelt thanks go out to all these volunteers who were instrumental in the smooth running of the station and making the season a big success.

Last but not least is Dick Cannings who oversees the whole operation and is the force that organizes the other volunteers, keeps up supplies and donated as much time as his busy schedule allows. Without him the station would not exist and my sincere thanks go out to him for his support and friendship.

Photo Credits

At work in the banding tent--Kurt Hutterli

Western Tanager-one of the species caught in record numbers this year--VLBO

Rose-breasted Grosbeak-first banding and station record--Mel Thorn

Bewick's Wren-one of our top 10 recap species for the first time--VLBO

Barred Owl by net 8-first census record--VLBO

Banding and measuring a Northern Saw-whet Owl--Alan McKenzie

Yellow-breasted Chat--VLBO

27

Appendix A: Charts 90

80

70 average 2015 60

50

40

30 MEAN MEAN BIRDS

20

10

0

DAY

Figure 1. 2015 Daily banding total vs average

2500

2000

average 1500 2015

BIRDS 1000

500

0

DAY

Figure 2. 2015 running total vs average

28

18

16 average 14 2015 12

10

8 BIRDS 6

4

2

0

DAY Figure 3. Daily number of species banded. 35

30 OCWA 25 LISP SOSP 20 COYE GRCA

15 BIRDS

10

5

0

DAY

Figure 4. Daily banded totals of top 5 species.

29

4.5

4.0

3.5

3.0 average 2015 2.5

2.0 FAT

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

DAY Figure 5. Orange-crowned Warbler fat levels 3.5

3.0

2.5 average 2015

2.0

1.5 FAT

1.0

0.5

0.0

DAY

Figure 6. Lincoln’s Sparrow fat levels

30

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0 average 2015

1.5 FAT

1.0

0.5

0.0

DAY Figure 7. Song Sparrow fat levels

31

Appendix B. Annual totals for all census methods.

New Bands Recaps Census Observations Ets

Aver Aver Aver 01- Aver 01- Aver 01- SPECIES 01-14 Max 2015 01-14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 BUOR 1.0 7 1 0.0 0 10.9 17 16 10.8 28 5 20.5 42 19 BWHA 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 1 BWTE 0.3 3 0.0 0 16.8 36 20 8.1 49 10 24.9 56 29 CACG 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.2 3 0.3 4 0.3 4 CAFI 0.3 2 0.0 0 0.7 7 1.6 15 4 2.6 22 4 CANG 0.0 0 0.0 0 769.6 1195 549 2652.5 5933 2023 3217.9 6949 2417 CAGU 0.0 0 0.0 0 43.1 167 20 50.9 183 7 81.9 280 27 CAHU 2.1* 10* 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 2.1* 10* CAHU 0.4 2 0.0 0 0.3 1 3.1 10 3.9 13 CANV 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 1 CANW 0.0 0 0.0 0 2.5 8 0.1 1 2.6 8 CAQU 3.4* 24* 3* 0.0 0 49.9 162 162 30.9 151 148 77.5 293 280 CATE 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.2 2 0.6 3 0.8 4 CAVI 4.1 13 2 0.4 2 1 31.5 70 14 17.4 46 9 42.9 87 23 CCSP 0.7 3 0.0 0 0.8 4 0.1 1 1.5 5 CEDW 42.4 142 31 1.8 6 2 659.4 1410 351 433.1 842 78 986.9 1920 422 CHSP 2.9 10 18 0.0 0 8.9 20 34 3.2 15 1 14.9 44 51 CITE 0.3 2 0.0 0 6.4 35 7 4.6 29 9.8 48 7 CLNU 0.0 0 0.0 0 16.1 45 5 25.0 80 6 36.6 99 11 CLSW 0.0 0 0.0 0 14.9 46 1 2.5 10 16.9 46 1 COGO 0.0 0 0.0 0 1.6 16 0.1 1 1.7 16 COHA 0.5 1 1 0.0 0 5.7 14 12 8.7 23 10 13.7 32 23 COLO 0.0 0 0.0 0 2.1 15 6.5 31 7.7 33 COME 0.0 0 0.0 0 15.9 34 17 15.1 78 7 30.0 106 24 CONI 0.0 0 0.0 0 1.8 14 11.0 50 1 12.6 66 1 COPO 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.6 2 1 0.6 2 1 CORA 0.0 0 0.0 0 33.0 67 48 55.8 93 95 74.6 133 115 COTE 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 1.9 24 2.0 24 COYE 139.6 246 190 77.4 180 100 474.8 646 432 219.4 371 160 756.1 1016 688 DCCO 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.3 2 2 0.7 5 1.0 7 2 DOWO 2.7 7 1 1.9 4 1 20.6 34 21 34.4 58 34 51.6 76 48 DUFL 7.2 21 12 0.4 4 5 2.6 7 3 3.2 26 5 12.8 54 22 DUNL 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.1 1 EAKI 2.3 9 5 0.2 1 1 167.2 260 162 77.2 103 67 205.5 308 201 EUCD 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.2 2 0.4 2 0.6 4 EUST 0.4 4 0.0 0 389.6 1443 72 7522.4 49829 189 8478.6 58504 261 EUWI 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 2 0.1 2 EVGR 0.1 1 0.1 1 27.3 106 16 34.9 101 24 54.6 170 36 FLIN 0.5 2 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 2 1 0.7 4 1 FOSP 0.7 2 0.1 1 0.8 3 1 0.5 2 2.1 5 1 FRGU 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.1 1 GADW 0.0 0 0.0 0 64.3 171 91 114.5 453 179 163.6 564 239 GBHE 0.0 0 0.0 0 66.6 96 85 69.1 94 79 107.6 159 114 GCKI 0.6 7 4 0.0 0 1.8 18 2 0.3 4 2.6 18 6 GCSP 0.2 1 0.1 2 0.2 3 0.1 2 0.6 6 GHOW 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.2 1 28.7 73 11 28.9 73 11 Numbers in red indicate high counts. . Numbers in blue indicate low counts. Numbers with * indicate netted only

32

New Bands Recaps Census Observations Ets

Aver Aver Aver 01- Aver 01- Aver 01- SPECIES 01-14 Max 2015 01-14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 GOEA 0.0 0 0.0 0 1.1 3 3.8 9 4.7 10 GRAJ 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.2 3 0.0 0 0.2 3 GRCA 175.1 261 169 62.0 114 65 376.6 504 273 210.3 341 159 670.9 898 509 GREG 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.3 3 1.0 13 1.3 16 GRFL 0.3 2 4 0.0 0 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.3 2 5 GRHE 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.1 1 GRPA 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 2 0.0 0 0.1 2 GRSC 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.6 6 1.4 16 1.9 16 GRYE 0.0 0 0.0 0 3.0 14 2 4.6 9 6.9 22 2 GWCS 33.3 122 43 4.7 36 68.1 150 48 45.4 193 26 136.2 459 104 GWFG 0.0 0 0.0 0 5.2 72 5.5 72 5.6 72 GWGU 0.0 0 0.0 0 2.7 9 5 6.9 24 3 8.8 28 8 HAFL 1.5 5 1 0.0 0 0.4 1 0.4 3 2.3 6 1 HASP 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 HAWO 0.4 3 0.0 0 3.1 14 5 6.6 15 7 8.6 23 11 HERG 0.0 0 0.0 0 34.6 146 23 60.8 292 21 86.3 362 41 HETH 0.9 4 3 0.1 1 0.4 2 1 0.7 3 1.9 5 4 HOFI 0.3 1 0.0 0 133.6 329 43 83.9 214 4 194.3 418 46 HOGR 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.1 1 HOLA 0.0 0 0.0 0 1.9 9 3 11.9 102 13.6 104 3 HOME 0.0 0 0.0 0 6.2 22 25 5.3 21 14 11.1 43 36 HOSP 0.1 1 0.0 0 2.4 24 4 7.1 46 5 8.1 49 9 HOWR 1.9 6 4 0.1 1 1 1.6 7 2 0.6 2 1 4.1 14 7 HRLH 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 1 HYPA 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 INBU 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.1 1 KILL 0.0 0 0.0 0 18.7 92 11 23.7 94 8 39.6 180 19 LALO 0.0 0 0.0 0 1.1 9 3 0.5 3 1.6 9 3 LASP 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.5 2 0.0 0 0.6 2 LAZB 5.9 13 26 0.0 0 5.0 9 11 2.8 8 13.7 25 36 LBDO 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.5 3 0.3 3 0.6 3 LCSP 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 1 0.1 1 LEFL 0.9 5 3 0.1 1 0.7 3 0.3 2 1.6 7 3 LEOW 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.3 1 0.9 6 1.1 6 LESA 0.0 0 0.0 0 2.8 14 6 1.4 4 4.1 16 6 LESC 0.0 0 0.0 0 6.5 84 6.4 47 12.0 120 LEWO 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.8 10 0.8 8 17 1.6 10 17 LEYE 0.0 0 0.0 0 4.4 31 1 1.9 5 6.0 31 1 LISP 114.7 295 209 19.4 86 38 124.0 238 115 97.2 362 57 306.6 882 354 MALL 0.1 1 0.0 0 434.1 606 430 338.3 542 404 692.5 954 721 MALL 0.4* 2* 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.4* 2* MAWA 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.2 2 MAWR 32.6 94 16 9.6 26 4 239.3 472 79 117.9 200 31 345.1 650 119 MERL 0.0 0 0.0 0 4.4 8 9 4.5 11 6 8.6 16 14 MGWA 8.6 22 7 1.1 4 8.8 21 2 8.1 18 1 24.4 52 10 MOBL 0.0 0 0.0 0 1.4 11 8 1.8 16 3.1 16 8 Numbers in red indicate high counts. Numbers in blue indicate low counts. Species names in red indicate new species or forms. Numbers with * indicate netted only

33

New Bands Recaps Census Observations Ets

Aver Aver Aver 01- Aver 01- Aver 01- SPECIES 01-14 Max 2015 01-14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 MOCH 0.6 3 0.0 0 1.6 4 2 2.1 16 4.1 17 2 MODO 0.5 2 1 0.0 0 80.1 271 119 188.4 395 163 254.6 605 249 MYWA 13.5 67 14 0.9 11 2.1 8 3 1.5 11 17.1 81 17 NAWA 12.0 53 2 1.7 7 11.4 31 2 11.6 40 32.7 90 4 NOHA 0.0 0 0.0 0 22.1 57 35 23.5 54 33 35.6 79 48 NOPI 0.0 0 0.0 0 9.2 46 8 6.6 19 6 15.4 53 13 NOPO 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 NOWA 24.4 39 25 6.0 14 4 12.8 25 20 28.7 51 34 61.6 84 71 NRWS 0.1 1 0.0 0 89.2 194 106 43.9 115 4 127.0 221 109 NSHO 0.0 0 0.0 0 9.3 43 5 5.9 21 3 14.6 54 8 NSHR 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.9 3 2 1.6 6 2.0 8 2 NSWO 15.4 46 79 1.0 5 5 0.0 0 0.1 2 15.8 49 84 OCWA 190.6 474 258 35.6 176 20 129.4 248 123 123.2 237 117 413.3 958 421 ORJU 19.0 51 12 1.8 7 3 15.5 56 8 24.5 77 6 53.3 164 28 OSFL 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.2 2 0.2 2 0.5 2 OSPR 0.0 0 0.0 0 67.6 106 64 69.1 116 70 93.1 134 90 PAJA 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.1 1 PALO 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 1 PAWR 0.9 3 3 0.0 0 1 0.4 2 5 1.9 6 2 2.9 10 10 PBGR 0.0 0 0.0 0 141.3 220 170 14.8 34 28 152.6 243 196 PEEP 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.7 10 0.0 0 12 0.7 10 12 PEFA 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.2 1 4 0.8 2 5 0.9 2 8 PESA 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.5 5 0.2 1 0.7 5 PISI 12.1 100 5 0.3 2 230.9 1467 98 122.9 570 20 322.1 1902 108 PIWO 0.1 1 0.0 0 5.6 18 8 8.1 23 11 11.6 27 16 PROW 0.1* 1* 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 2 0.1 2 PSFL 0.9 2 0.0 0 0.4 4 0.0 0 1.4 6 PYNU 0.4 4 1 0.0 0 12.6 36 6 21.8 64 16 32.4 89 21 RBGR 0.0 0 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 1 RBGU 0.0 0 0.0 0 104.5 233 29 202.2 406 106 283.4 505 125 RBME 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 RBNU 1.8 8 4 0.2 3 1 9.4 44 5 12.1 46 6 19.6 73 15 RBSA 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 RCKI 35.8 68 72 3.1 10 8 48.0 82 100 48.4 123 40 114.8 218 179 RECR 0.6 3 0.0 0 49.2 197 17 66.0 217 3 100.4 317 19 REDH 0.0 0 0.0 0 12.6 62 11.1 46 24.0 63 REVI 0.6 2 4 0.0 0 3.4 15 28 1.3 7 18 4.6 18 35 RIPH 0.1* 1* 0.0 0 0.9 7 5 1.4 12 7 2.1 16 9 RLHA 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 1 RNDU 0.0 0 0.0 0 38.4 454 2 23.4 265 45.9 517 2 RNGR 0.0 0 0.0 0 1.2 6 1 0.7 5 1.9 6 1 RNPH 0.0 0 0.0 0 1.1 16 0.1 1 1.1 16 RNSA 1.3 4 2 0.1 1 2.7 8 1 2.7 12 6.1 21 3 ROPI 0.0 0 0.0 0 29.9 222 7 33.6 221 58.8 366 7 ROWR 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.2 1 0.0 0 0.2 1 RSFL 3.9 8 1 0.2 1 194.1 273 293 139.9 218 124 266.2 372 340 RTHA 0.1* 1* 0.0 0 9.2 17 20 21.9 46 31 29.1 60 44 Numbers in red indicate high counts. Numbers in blue indicate low counts. Species names in red indicate new species or forms. Numbers with * indicate netted only

34

New Bands Recaps Census Observations Ets

Aver Aver Aver 01- Aver 01- Aver 01- SPECIES 01-14 Max 2015 01-14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 RUBL 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 2 0.2 2 RUDU 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.9 3 0.8 10 1.6 10 RUGR 0.1* 1* 0.0 0 0.7 3 1.5 8 2.1 8 RUHU 2.9* 17* 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 2.9* 17* RUHU 0.6 4 2 0.0 0 0.7 3 3.6 22 1 4.9 25 3 RWBL 1.6 10 3 0.0 0 1345.2 4478 1179 3490.3 9310 1385 4595.1 10435 2284 SACR 0.0 0 0.0 0 24.4 59 40 189.1 664 42 205.2 689 82 SAPH 0.0 0 0.0 0 1.3 4 1 0.4 2 1.5 6 1 SAVS 6.7 19 11 0.0 0 46.7 123 40 13.7 48 2 64.6 166 52 SCJU 0.3 1 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 1 0.5 2 SEPL 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.3 2 0.1 1 0.4 2 SESA 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.2 3 0.4 3 0.4 3 SORA 1.1 3 1 0.5 4 15.6 35 3 11.1 25 1 26.0 47 4 SOSA 0.1 1 0.0 0 2.9 6 4 2.5 7 1 5.1 12 5 SOSP 154.4 230 204 107.1 214 142 432.4 699 397 271.6 362 262 784.1 1143 752 SOVI 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 SPSA 0.0 0 1 0.0 0 17.2 32 18 2.2 7 1 18.9 32 20 SPTO 7.2 19 14 0.6 2 17.0 43 13 12.9 41 3 35.1 80 27 SSHA 2.9 7 3 0.1 1 5.4 10 9 8.8 24 8 15.6 34 19 STJA 0.1 1 0.0 0 18.4 51 12 22.2 57 16 32.8 76 21 SWHA 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 1 0.2 1 SWSP 1.2 9 2 0.2 1 2.4 15 7 3.1 15 2 5.7 32 11 SWTH 10.0 19 31 1.8 5 10 3.9 10 7 9.6 39 9 24.2 56 54 TEWA 0.7 4 1 0.0 0 0.6 3 0.0 0 1.2 4 THGU 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.2 1 0.2 1 TOSO 0.2 2 0.0 0 1.1 7 2 0.6 2 2 1.9 7 4 TOWA 0.4 3 0.0 0 0.3 1 0.1 1 0.8 3 TRES 0.0 0 0.0 0 52.4 250 24 18.1 58 67.7 257 24 TRFL 0.1 2 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 2 TRUS 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.3 4 0.3 4 0.4 5 TUSW 0.0 0 0.0 0 1.2 13 0.1 1 1.2 13 TUVU 0.0 0 0.0 0 10.7 51 69 36.1 106 81 42.4 126 120 UDAD 0.0 0 0.0 0 9.8 65 11.1 106 20.9 110 UDEJ 0.7 4 0.1 1 0.1 1 0.1 1 0.9 4 UDID 0.0 0 0.0 0 1.6 11 4.6 56 6.1 57 UNAC 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.3 2 0.5 4 0.8 6 2 UNBL 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 29.9 362 29.9 362 UNBU 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 1 1 UNCA 0.0 0 0.0 0 2.0 15 0.0 0 1.8 15 UNDO 0.0 0 0.0 0 1.1 10 0.1 1 1.2 11 UNDU 0.0 0 0.0 0 106.8 208 62 68.9 472 37 175.9 590 99 UNEM 0.0 0 0.0 0 2.6 11 4 0.6 3 3.3 14 4 UNFA 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.4 3 0.4 3 UNFI 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 2 0.0 0 0.1 2 UNGR 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 1 0.2 1 UNGU 0.0 0 0.0 0 46.6 103 79 34.3 114 30 80.1 154 107 Numbers in red indicate high counts. Numbers in blue indicate low counts. Species names in red indicate new species or forms Numbers with * indicate netted only

35

New Bands Recaps Census Observations Ets

Aver Aver Aver 01- Aver 01- Aver 01- SPECIES 01-14 Max 2015 01-14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 UNHA 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 2 0.1 2 UNHU 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.9 3 2 1.8 6 2 2.7 9 4 UNLO 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.1 1 UNOW 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 2 0.1 1 0.2 3 UNPL 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 2 0.0 0 0.1 2 UNRA 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.1 1 UNSL 0.0 0 0.0 0 143.9 986 125 180.9 1592 325.1 1695 125 UNSP 0.0 0 0.0 0 2.1 10 0.3 3 2.4 10 UNTN 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 1 UNWA 0.0 0 0.0 0 1.4 14 1.4 17 3.1 28 UNYE 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.9 8 1.1 9 1.9 12 USCA 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.3 4 0.1 2 0.4 4 USWA 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.1 1 UTEA 0.0 0 0.0 0 6.1 33 1 4.4 29 3 9.6 33 3 UYRW 15.9 52 43 0.9 4 84.0 259 291 86.1 302 278 165.7 469 516 VASW 0.0 0 0.0 0 6.4 18 4 21.4 164 26.9 167 4 VATH 0.2 3 0.0 0 0.4 4 2 0.4 2 1.0 4 2 VEER 16.6 36 18 6.0 13 12 19.6 40 22 30.3 73 42 63.8 109 76 VESP 0.4 2 0.0 0 2.7 7 5 0.5 3 3.5 10 5 VGSW 0.0 0 0.0 0 449.9 1292 578 263.2 1243 223 637.6 1457 718 VIRA 4.1 14 1 0.9 4 85.1 126 11 132.1 219 38 183.6 260 41 WAVI 8.5 20 17 0.5 2 16.4 42 19 9.8 36 3 31.9 70 38 WCSP 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.1 1 WBNU 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.4 2 0.2 2 1 0.6 3 1 WEBL 0.0 0 0.0 0 30.1 107 46 34.5 99 75 62.0 152 117 WEFL 0.3 2 0.0 0 0.2 3 0.4 6 0.9 10 WEGR 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 1 0.1 1 WEKI 0.1 1 0.0 0 1.9 5 1 1.4 6 3.4 12 1 WEME 0.0 0 0.0 0 1.7 5 3 3.6 16 2 4.9 17 5 WESA 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.4 4 3 0.1 1 0.4 4 3 WESO 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 1 WETA 5.4 11 27 0.0 0 21.9 62 80 38.9 76 78 57.9 125 157 WEWP 8.3 19 35 0.2 2 4 65.3 87 56 17.9 45 21 80.4 124 93 WIFL 73.8 111 124 15.2 32 20 146.4 234 69 93.9 148 54 267.1 407 216 WIPH 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.2 2 0.0 0 0.2 2 WISN 0.9 3 0.0 0 15.4 27 11 13.7 24 8 29.6 44 19 WIWA 29.4 75 27 1.6 9 3 15.0 53 15 9.6 36 8 50.9 135 47 WODU 0.0 0 0.0 0 342.2 834 511 61.2 123 54 387.7 910 539 WPWA 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.1 1 WTSP 1.4 4 4 0.0 0 1.1 10 0.9 5 3.1 16 4 WTSW 0.0 0 0.0 0 21.9 284 6 16.1 186 28.9 356 6 WWSC 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.0 0 0.1 1 YBCH 1.7 5 3 1.0 5 5 1.0 3 3 1.1 4 1 4.5 15 11 YEWA 78.9 148 85 14.3 32 15 189.6 255 132 112.4 200 66 320.7 436 233 YHBL 0.0 0 0 0 41.4286 152 3 19.9 104 59.7 255 3 YSFL 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.1 1 0.1 1 Numbers in red indicate high counts. Numbers in blue indicate low counts. Species names in red indicate new species or forms. Numbers with * indicate netted only

36

New Bands Recaps Census Observations Ets

Aver Aver Aver 01- Aver 01- Aver 01- SPECIES 01-14 Max 2015 01-14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015 14 Max 2015

TOTALS 1484.3 2591 2094 432.6 855 533 12177.2 18290 10712 25095.0 63894 9721 37022.9 83447 20132 Species # 58.2 67 66 24.3 31 29 130.5 139 138 126.5 148 113 152.9 162 152 birds/day 21.9 40.0 27.2 6.2 11.3 6.8 171.2 240.7 140.9 374.7 1034.5 127.9 535.4 1204.5 264.9 species/day 8.6 10.4 9.9 3.6 4.7 4.3 32.1 35.2 30.9 32.5 41.2 28.8 45.3 50.7 43.7 all time 110sp 52 sp 204sp 210sp 231sp Numbers in red indicate high counts. Numbers in blue indicate low counts. Species names in red indicate new species or forms. Numbers with * indicate netted only

37