Fall 2016 www.bbbo.org The Marsh Wren Braddock Bay Bird Observatory A non-profit organization dedicated to ornithological research, education, and conservation. Feather by Feather ave you ever wondered what our banders are molt begins in the nest, and for others it takes place weeks looking at when they peer so intently at a bird’s tail to months after fledging. While the flight feathers of the or wing, smoothing the feathers or fanning them wing and tail are typically not replaced during this molt, Hout for a better view? The simple answer is . molt! the body plumage is replaced with feathers much closer in appearance to adult feathers. All About Molt At the end of the breeding season, adult passerines in North America undergo a complete molt of all body and flight In addition to determining a bird’s appearance, feathers feathers, resulting in a uniform coat of feathers termed the serve many important functions including insulation from “basic plumage”. Some species have an additional molt - the elements and flight control. Feathers wear out over time, typically in the spring - to prepare for the breeding season. and so all birds replace their feathers in predictable patterns This molt, called the “prelternate molt”, is typically not on an annual cycle. The process of feather replacement is complete and may involve only a few feathers on the body called “molt.” and wing. Birds like ducks and geese are covered with fuzzy downy feathers when they hatch, but passerines hatch essentially Juvenal Feathers Tell the Tale featherless. They have, or may acquire, a sparse coat of natal down but these wispy feathers are quickly replaced Juvenal feathers are different than their adult counterparts. by the bird’s juvenal plumage. This plumage tends to be They are often thin and narrow, they are more loosely loosely textured and is often quite different in appearance textured, they wear and fade more quickly, and they may from that of the adults. have a different color or shape. Because most passerines retain at least some juvenal feathers for an entire year, we The juvenal body plumage is typically short-lived in are often able to tell that birds are young by confirming passerines. All North American passerines replace some or presence of those feathers. So - when we are peering over all of their juvenal plumage within the first year of life in a a bird’s wing and tail, we are searching for evidence of molt called the “preformative molt”. For some species, this juvenal plumage! Progression of molt in a Yellow Warbler. The far left photo shows a bird in juvenal plumage. Photo 2 shows the start of the preformative molt with a few pinfeathers on the wing. Photos 3 and 4 show the preformative molt progressing along the face, wing and breast. Molt Limits The photo on the opposite page top left is the wing of a second year Magnolia Warbler. The bird has gone through its prejuvenal, preformative, and prealternate molt - and the wing shows feathers from all three generations! The fluffy white secondary wing coverts close to the bird’s body are alternate feathers; the blackish secondary wing coverts and the small rounded alula feather are formative feathers, and the brownish primary coverts, two pointy alula feathers, and all the primaries and secondaries are juvenal feathers. When we look at a wing, we are often looking for contrasts in feather generations - especially between juvenal and formative feathers - called “molt limits.” When we call a bird a hatch year or second year by molt limit, you’ll know we’re looking at a wing like this! Feather Shape The two photos on the top and middle right of this page show two Lincoln’s Sparrow tails. Both birds were captured on the same fall day, but the top tail shows juvenal feathers belonging to a hatch year bird and the bottom tail shows basic feathers belonging to an after hatch year bird. Notice how the young (juvenal) feathers are more narrow and pointed than the adult (basic) feathers. Sometimes the contrast is subtle, and the shape differences we are looking for can vary from species to species . but when we fan the tail we are usually looking for evidence of pointy, narrow juvenal feathers. Feather Wear The photo to the immediate right shows two Chipping Sparrows captured in the summer, just before their prebasic molt. Both birds are adults, but because of the condition of the feathers of the two birds, we can tell that the bird on the left is younger than the bird on the right. The bird on the left still has juvenal feathers which have become extremely faded, worn, chipped and nicked over time. The bird on the right’s feathers, by contrast, are still lustrous and in fairly decent condition with minimal fading and wear. These differences show up in the wing and tail, and they are often great clues to the age of the bird. Progression of molt in a Yellow Warbler. The far left photo shows a bird in juvenal plumage. Photo 2 shows the start of the preformative molt with a few Photo 5 shows a bird in formative plumage with just a few remaining juvenal feathers, and photo 6 shows an adult bird in the spring after undergoing a pinfeathers on the wing. Photos 3 and 4 show the preformative molt progressing along the face, wing and breast. prelternate molt. All photos on this page by Andrea Patterson, except for Yellow Warbler photos 2 and 4 which were taken by Samantha Gonzales. Common Grackle in its 8th year; a Blue Jay in its 7th year; a Common Grackle in its 6th year; and two American Fall Banding Redstarts, one American Robin, one Gray Catbird, one Red-eyed Vireo, and one Yellow Warbler all in their 5th years. The 8th-year Common Grackle was originally 2015 banded by Emily Runnels in 2009 and the 7th-year Blue Jay by Leanna Twohig in 2010. he thirtieth consecutive year of fall migration There were record-high numbers banded of 12 species monitoring at the Kaiser-Manitou Beach Banding including 24 Downy Woodpecker (previous record high Station was carried out for 96 days between 20 Jul 21), 14 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (8), 33 Veery (28), 17 Tand 20 Nov 2015. We lost two days in September and Wood Thrush (11), 363 Gray Catbird (290), 34 Northern two in October due to inclement weather. 4609 birds Waterthrush (29), 150 American Redstart (107), 23 of 87 species and one hybrid form were banded, falling Northern Parula (8), 8 Scarlet Tanager (3), 2 Brown- short of Fall 2014’s total by 169 birds. Four Ruby-throated headed Cowbird (1), 18 Baltimore Oriole (13), and 19 Hummingbirds were banded, and an additional 32 Ruby- Common Redpoll (12). European Starling was missing for throated Hummingbirds were released unbanded. There the first time since 2006, after being banded in 19 of the Fall 2015Fall Banding Report were no new species for the fall list; the fall cumulative past 29 seasons, Eastern Towhee was also missing after total remains at 125 species of 129 forms. A total of being banded in 19 of the last 29 seasons (including every 17,114 net hours of banding resulted in a capture rate of year from 1999-2013), and House Finch was missing after 26.9 birds per 100 net hours, compared with 28.9 birds being banded in 23 of the last 29 years. per 100 net hours in Fall 2014 and 29.5 birds per 100 net hours in Fall 2013. Recoveries of Banded Birds The busiest day was 27 Oct when 178 birds of 13 species A Sharp-shinned Hawk banded on 9 May 2007 as an SY-M were banded in 174 net hours (102.3 b/100nh). On that was captured and released alive on 14 Oct 2015 by David day, 42.1% of the birds banded were Pine Siskins and Okines at Prince Edward Point, located on the north shore 41.0% were American Goldfinches. The second busiest of Lake Ontario. A Cooper’s Hawk banded on 18 Oct day was 23 Oct when 154 birds of 16 species were banded. 2012 as a HY-M was captured and released alive on 8 Jan The predominant species on that day was Pine Siskin at 2015 by BBRR bander Tim Willis, 3.1 miles ENE of Hilton. 93 bands, representing 60.4% of the birds banded. There were a total of 11 days on which 100+ birds were banded. The greatest species diversity occurred on 14 Sep when Education and Events 31 species were banded. 97.0% of the newly banded birds Delaina LeBlanc (Thibodoux, LA), Neil Multack (San were able to be aged more specifically than “unknown”; of Pedro, CA), and Jed Pitre (Thibodoux, LA) participated in those, 86.5% were hatch-year birds. our first summer Advanced Bander Workshop. Marygrace We recaptured 1494 previously banded birds. Of these Barber (Jamaica Plain, MA), Andrea Centola (Rochester, recaptures, 63 returned from a previous season at the main NY), Emily Pierce (Syracuse, NY), Krista Rozanski Kaiser-Manitou Beach banding station or the K-MB MAPS (Manlius, NY), Andy Thiede (Berlin, CT), and Heather station. Most birds that return from previous seasons are Williams (Amherst, NY) all completed our Fall 2015 local birds that summer or winter in the area. This year, bander training class. Michael Armstrong (Endwell, NY) the returns represented sixteen locally breeding species completed a summer independent-study banding course, including White-breasted Nuthatch and Carolina Wren. and Maddie Sutton and Joe Sanders (Hobart and William 44% of the returning birds had originally been banded as Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY) completed one in the fall.