Birds Wintering in Urban Landscapes

WHAT IS COLOR BANDING? BANDING? Wintering Birds in Urban Landscapes: A PSBO project Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

SPECIAL PERMIT TO COLOR BAND PSBO has been granted a permit to color band: • Black‐capped Chickadees • Chestnut‐backed Chickadees • Dark‐eyed Juncos • Fox Sparrows Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

Photo taken with motion‐ activated camera installed near feeder WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

WHY ARE WE DOING IT? • Wintering Birds in Urban Landscapes focuses on how urban Puget Sound supports the songbirds that spend the winter here. • Which species use area during winter? • How do wintering birds use the urban landscape? • What role do backyards, parks, & invasive plants play? • What breeding populations are represented? Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

HOW DOES IT WORK? • Every bird has unique number and color combination. • Example: – Black‐capped Chickadee – Banded 3 Feb 2008 as Adult – Band #2510‐93227 – Color combo: W/O‐K/S • Appears healthy • RESIGHTED 38 TIMES (at one site) Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

WHY COLOR BANDING? • Collect data on habits of individual birds • No need to recapture – Easy on the birds – Collect data in any weather conditions • Gets people interested in their birds • Fun to watch: instant gratification • Easy to become a volunteer spotter for PSBO Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

COLLECT DATA ON HABITS OF INDIVIDUAL BIRDS • 25 Oct 08 O/W‐K/S was observed not using left foot • 2 Nov it was recaptured ‐ had swollen leg, not using left foot • 26 Nov picture taken showing using foot again Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

CHESTNUT BACKED CHICKADEE COLOR BANDED 1/20/08 SILVER (lefT) - BLACK(right) FIRST BANDED in yard 9/29/06 # of sightings 120 100 Positively ID’d 113 times at 16376 28 Pl NE 80 Shoreline, WA not seen 60 after and another three times at 16358 28 Pl NE, Shoreline (not ice/snow 40 shown on this graph) storm of 12/18/08 20 0 1/20/2008 2/3/2008 2/17/2008 3/2/2008 3/16/2008 3/30/2008 4/13/2008 4/27/2008 5/11/2008 5/25/2008 6/8/2008 6/22/2008 7/6/2008 7/20/2008 8/3/2008 8/17/2008 8/31/2008 9/14/2008 9/28/2008 10/12/2008 10/26/2008 11/9/2008 11/23/2008 12/7/2008 16376 28 Pl NE MATE OF n ORANGE / LIGHT BLUE o t (LEFT)- BLACK/ SILVER (RIGHT) s e e n a f t S -K e r i c Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed e Public / s n

6/02/09 Chestnut-backed chickadee O/LB-K/S (male, #251093213) was observed feeding four fledglings. ID of new mate not determined yet. (Previous mate was S-K) 6/23/10 was observed bringing 5 fledglings to feeder Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

INTERPRETING RESULTS • Black‐capped Chickadee: – K/R‐LB/S only seen on 16 Mar, 31 May, 8 June, 22 Oct • Is this a rover? • How large is its range? • Are winter ranges and rover ranges the same size? • Do rovers fly longer distances? • Do they have a different home range? Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

6/11/2009 all adult chickadees in yard at 6:06 pm were color banded This chestnut-backed chickadee was feeding 3-4 begging fledglings at that time. Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

Black-capped chickadees started building nest late May’09 in the nest box in a small blue spruce. • Parents: O/K‐LB/S W/LB‐O/S • 3‐4 young fledged, 1 egg failed both parents feeding Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

This banded black-capped chickadee (R/W-LB/S) and an unbanded chickadee (probable new flock member) were feeding 5 newly fledged offspring 6/21/2009 Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

ORJU O/W-S/STO 160153238 FIRST BANDED 9/25/2006, RECAP 11/02/08, COLOR BANDED 3/01/2009 If breeders arrive in my yard in February, does this male use the yard for wintering and # of sightings breed further north? 20 15 10 5 0 10 0 0 0 01 01 01 20 /2 /2 /2 6/ 13 20 27 3/ 2/ 2/ 2/ D A TES SEEN Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

Oregon junco study • Male junco, O/O‐S/STR* was observed feeding two begging youngsters July 2009. • Returned 2/15/2010 expected to breed here again. *Orange over Orange (left)- Silver over Striped [mauve over orange] (right) (to distinguish from older UW junco study) Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

ORJU O/O-S/STO 160153212 FIRST BANDED 9/25/06, RECAP 10/05/08 -COLORBANDED 4/05/2009 # of s i ght i ngs consistent breeder-probable 4 years-- verified for last two seasons 2/ 8/ 2010 2/ 22/ 2010 3/ 8/ 2010 3/ 22/ 2010 4/ 5/ 2010 4/ 19/ 2010 5/ 3/ 2010 D A T ES S EEN ( c a me r a s n o t f u n c t i o n i n g 1 1 / 1 5 / 0 9 - 2 / 0 7 / 1 0 ) Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

ORJU S/STO-LB/W First banded 2/14/10, recaptured 4/4/10 Was she on a nest during March? # of s ightings Or did cold wet weather drove her to more protected area? 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 20 20 /2 /2 /2 /2 /2 /2 /2 7/ 4/ 14 21 28 14 21 28 11 3/ 4/ 2/ 2/ 2/ 3/ 3/ 3/ 4/ Date s s e e n Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

WHO’S DOING THE BANDING? WHO’S Permitted banders and trained volunteers from Puget Sound Bird Observatory Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

HOW IS IT BEING DONE? • 10 ft high mist nets • Four banding stations two each about a mile apart, plus one at Seward Park • Twice a month at each station • 3‐4 hours each time • Birds banded with colored and numbered metal bands Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

Birds caught safely in mist nets And removed by PSBO banders and trained volunteers Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

Where does banding take place? 5 Sites: • 3 Backyards in Richmond Beach, Shoreline & Lake Forest Park • Shoreline Comm Coll • Seward Park Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

N Seattle Color-banding Sites Note differences in greenspace and urban density at the different sites Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

HOW CAN YOU HELP? Observations of banded birds sought from neighborhoods near banding sites to determine home ranges For Example: Eastern flocks of Black-capped Chickadees have winter ranges of about a half mile. Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

WHAT DO SPOTTERS NEED? • Binoculars • Data form or notebook • (Camera‐optional but helpful) – Handheld or tripod at feeder – Motion‐activated camera setup Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

CAN I COME WATCH? • Visitors Welcome! • Call ahead to register, and get directions. • Shoreline banding site: 206‐363‐4910 • Lake Forest Park banding site: 206‐365‐8867 • Children under direct supervision are welcome. Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

PSBO IS A NEW NON-PROFIT NON-PROFIT • PSBO's Mission Statement: Puget Sound Bird Observatory studies birds and their habitats in the Pacific Northwest to better understand changes in bird populations, to inform decision makers, and to engage the public with birds and their needs. Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

PSBO IS A NEW NON-PROFIT NON-PROFIT HELP US OUT & JOIN US! • Volunteer at a banding site • Become a bander • Host banding at your home • Join one of our committees • Donate color bands, a net, binoculars YOU CAN HELP! More volunteers = more banding sites More sites = more data Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

Points to remember when spotting • 1. ID the species—Black‐capped vs Chestnut‐ backed; Fox Sparrow, not Song Sparrow; Dark‐ eyed Junco (in this area mostly Oregon Juncos‐don’t worry about the sub‐species) • 2. Which way are it’s feet facing? A bird can be looking back at you, but the legs are facing away from you, so ID it’s left leg first. Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

Chestnut- backed Chickadee [CHCH] • Y/R‐O/S Yellow over Red Orange over Silver Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

Which species? • Which is left leg? Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

DON’T GUESS • Better to have partial than wrong Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

Be aware of tricky colors Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

Song Sparrow vs Fox Sparrow Look at head, breast, back, and bill Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

Song Sparrow vs Fox Sparrow • Look for head stripes—first; Bi‐colored bill distinctive on FOSP; Uniformity of color—back of FOSP mostly same color; Size—usually FOSP larger Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

Which is which? Sound Science→Scientific Information→ Informed Public

Birds Wintering in Urban Landscapes

by Sarah on Sep 27, 2010

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