Bird Banding.....

The following contains banding counts from The YMCA of The Rockies, and the Rosey Finch counts from the house.  Numbers are updated on a regular basis during each bird's banding season.  Your are welcome at the house for observation with prior notice, all we ask is that give mind to the private property of our surrounding neighbors.  Also new is Scott's Northern Saw-whet banding which he started 4 years ago.

...Bird banding at The YMCA of The Rockies...

  The YMCA of The Rockies is located at the very edge of Rocky Mountain National Park just west of Estes Park, Colorado.  Please join Scott for his Bird Identification Class Spring, Summer and Fall.  These classes consist primarily of netting and banding birds that move through a specific location on the YMCA grounds.  For more information please contact The YMCA of The Rockies: (970) 586-3341, x1104, or you can contact Scott directly at: pygmyowl@frii.com.

The information provided below is updated regularly during the banding season and lists the birds seen and banded at the YMCA since 1996.  The birds that appear in italics are not commonly found in this area.

 

Species	1996-2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Calliope Hummingbird	16	3	4	1	2
Broad-tailed Hummingbird	734	54	129	89	111
Rufus Hummingbird	159	18	37	11	20

Mountain Chickadee	368	10	12	7	17
Black-capped Chickadee	46
White-breasted Nuthatch	76	6	6	4	15
Pygmy Nuthatch	449	5	19	11	8

Red-breasted Nuthatch	7				1
Brown Creeper	5
Warbling Vireo	16				1
Plumbious Vireo	1

Cassin's Vireo	2	1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	169	1		6
Bluegray-Gnatcatcher	1
Steller's Jay	142	2	2	2	1

Clark's Nutcracker	4
Scrub Jay	1
Black-billed Magpie	31		2
Blue Grouse	1

Brown Thrasher	1
Gray Catbird	3
Brown-headed Cowbird	25				1
Bullock's Oriole	1

Common Grackle	37				1
Red-winged Blackbird	98	2		2	10
Hairy Woodpecker	47	7	4	5	8
Red-shafted Flicker	5

Williamson's Sapsucker	2
Red-naped Sapsucker	9	1
Downy Woodpecker	11	2	1	1
House Wren	78	1	9	8	4

Violet-green Swallow	1	1		6	5
Cliff Swallow	2
Virginia's Warbler	11
Townsend's Warbler	3

Tennessee Warbler	1
Yellow Warbler	26	2
MacGillivary's Warbler	33	1			2
Wilson's Warbler	383	18	18	7	5

Nashville Warbler	11
Northern Waterthrush	5
Yellow-rumped Warbler	64
Orange-crowned Warbler	29		2

Common Yellow Throat					1
Mourning Dove	4
Band-tailed Pigeon	1			1
Northern Pygmy-Owl	3

Great Horned Owl	2		1
Northern Goshawk	1
Cooper's Hawk	2				2
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1

Hammond's Flycatcher	9
Dusky Flycatcher	8
Cordilleran's Flycatcher	27	1		1	3
Western Wood-pewee	14

Least Flycatcher	2
Willow Flycatcher	7
American Robin	17
Mountain Bluebird	7

Swainson's Thrush	1
Western Tananger	4			1
Lazuli Bunting	5
Green-tailed Towhee	180	3	16	16	5

Spotted Towhee	1
Chipping Sparrow	136		2	3
Lark Sparrow	4
Vespers Sparrow	2

Savannah Sparrow	1
Song Sparrow	21				1
Tree Sparrow	14
Lincoln's Sparrow	210	8	8	14	20

White-crowned Sparrow	241	12		3	8
White-throated Sparrow	6	1
Brewer's Sparrow	1
Fox Sparrow	1

Slate Junco	57
Gray-headed Junco	301	27	9		30
White-winged Junco	32
Oregon Junco	341

Cassin's Finch	287	29	53	42	19
House Finch	278	5	10	7	6
Pine Siskin	1053	47	70	69	45
Lesser Goldfinch	2	1

American Goldfinch	25	2	4		4
House Sparrow	11
Evening Grosbeak	8		8	1	2
Black-headed Grosbeak	101	3	10	7	4

Rose-breasted Grosbeak	4		1
Pine Grosbeak	1
Red Crossbill	49		27

TOTAL BANDED BIRDS	6441	323	401	301	359
TOTAL NUMBER OF SPECIES	118	30	25	27	32

...Rosy Finches...

      When Mother Nature cooperates, it literally 'rains' Rosy Finches at the house!  Every early Spring  brings Scott his snow days and thousands of Rosy's just waiting to be banded.  The days are hit and miss depending on the weather and anyone is welcome if you are brave enough to tackle the roads to get here!  They normally show up when the weather is at it's worst and icy roads are always the issue.  Once again, please try and call ahead of time to let Scott know you are coming and always be mindful of the private property of our neighbors.

...Northern Saw-whet Owls...

        Scott began his Northern Saw-whet Banding Project in the fall of 2007.  Since 1998 Scott has found Northern Saw-whet Owls nesting in and around Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park.  Many of these nesting birds migrate out of the area in the fall and hopefully return the following spring to nest.

Scott along with a number of volunteers set up a Banding Station in Estes Park starting around the middle of August attempting to catch Flammulated Owls. At the beginning of September  the Northern Saw-whet Owls (mostly young of the year and adult females) begin their fall movement.   The banding station consist of a series of mist nets placed in a wooded area on a ridge top.

Just after dark the birds call is broadcast.  Throughout the evening the birds move through the area and come to the call fly into one of the nets and are captured.  The nets are checked every 15 to 30 minutes.  When a bird is caught, it is extracted, banded, weighed, measured, and released back into the darkness to continue its movement.

Below are the banding records since 2007.

Also during the nesting season, Scott monitors several Northern Saw-whet Owl nests.  Some are in natural cavities, others are in his nest boxes.  The owls that nest in his nest boxes are banded, both adults and nestlings, to hopefully be recaptured in future years nesting in other boxes.

When a nest box has a family of owls in it, Scott monitors it in such a way to determine the date the eggs are laid, the date the young hatch, the prey that the adults are feeding the nestlings and the fledging date of the owlets.

If you're interested in seeing the Northern Saw-whet Owl Banding Project please contact Scott at: pygmyowl@frii.com

All information on this site is the Copy Right of Scott Rashid Art & Rehabilitation