Above: A molt limit among the greater coverts in a Yellow Warbler
Start at 6:00am, closing at 12:00pm
Total 15 nets up
Total 86 birds, 20 species
- 1 Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri)
- 3 Anna’s Hummingbirds (Calypte anna)
- 5 Allen’s hummingbirds (Selasphorus sasin)
- 1 Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)
- 3 Hooded Orioles (Icterus cucullatus)
- 13 House Finches (Haemorhous mexicanus)
- 4 Lesser Goldfinches (Spinus psaltria)
- 3 Dark-eyed Juncos, Oregon race (Junco hyemalis oreganus)
- 4 Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
- 1 Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)
- 3 Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus)
- 2 Warbling Vireos (Vireo gilvus)
- 1 Orange-crowned Warbler (Leiothlypis celata)
- 9 Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia)
- 18 Common Yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas)
- 1 Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla)
- 1 Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
- 10 Wrentits (Chamaea fasciata)
- 1 Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
- 2 Swainson’s Thrushes (Catharus ustulatus)
It’s somewhat hard to believe that I’ve been banding for a year now. Well okay, maybe not. I’m very much tracking how many times I go out to band. My first cycle bird banding at Zuma was May 22, 2021. I had decided to join the crew after a person in my bird group (Los Angeles Birders-Students) did a presentation on Zuma bird banding. At the end of the presentation during the Q&A session, I eagerly asked: “What are the pre-requisites to learning how to band birds?” The person replied saying that there weren’t really any, that it was all a learning experience. A few emails later, I was in contact with the master bander there and was scheduling a day to come out and observe the Zuma banding crew.
But even before all that, I had dreamt of tagging animals and recording data. I knew about GPS systems placed on birds and sharks that scientists used to track their movements and migrations. I knew about radio collars for mountain lions and other animals. I knew field biology was something I was very interested in, I just didn’t think there were any opportunities for a person my age.
Now, I’ve been banding birds for a year now! I still have a lot to learn and certainly have areas to improve on, but I am grateful for the knowledge I’ve gained and the people I’ve met along the way. The banding crew at Zuma are some of my favorite people! I’ve gotten better at quickly identifying a bird’s species. I’ve learned how to determine a bird’s age and sex based on subtle plumage differences that most bird observers probably wouldn’t pick up on. I’ve learned to use breeding data as a way of gauging a population’s health and muscle and fat content to determine the health of an individual. I’ve now experienced all the regular migratory birds at Zuma, the species that alternate from season to season. I’ve observed breeding characteristics and molting, adult birds and recently fledged birds. I’m so thrilled about the skills I’ve developed and where they will lead me in the future!
The May 21, 2022 cycle was in stark contrast to the cycle one year ago. Then, only 12 birds were caught in 84 net hours. This time, only six net hours more yielded 86 birds! I remember the first time I arrived at Zuma, there was practically no vegetation, just a dry landscape deprived of some much needed water. Now a year later, vegetation abounds (though less than there has been over the past few months). This is in part attributed to all the rain we got at the beginning of 2022. In fact, the first cycle of the year was canceled because of flooding and another cycle was spent banding under light rain.
This cycle, we got so many birds; the most since I’ve been banding at Zuma in fact. We banded a wide variety of species too, including the first Yellow Warblers, Willow Flycatcher, and Black-chinned Hummingbird of the year. Now they join the migrants that arrived earlier in the spring, which continue to include Black-headed Grosbeaks, Hooded Orioles, Wilson’s Warblers, and Swainson’s Thrushes.
In addition, we caught a good number of Hatch Year birds and adult birds that continue to show signs of breeding. These included Hatch Year (HY) House Finches, Lesser Goldfinches, Song Sparrows, Common Yellowthroats, and Wrentits. Some, like the Common Yellowthroat below, still had a significant remnant of the gape showing. A gape is a fleshy area formed at the base of the bird’s bill where the upper and lower mandibles meet. As a chick, the bird’s gape is enlarged and brightly colored so that their parents can better notice the mouth and put food inside. As the bird ages, the gape slowly shrinks or becomes concealed by surrounding feathers as they grow in. Birds never fully lose their gape, but it is certainly more noticeable in younger birds that recently fledged.
The cycle was also met with a good number of resident birds, who made up 55% of the species caught. These included a Second Year (SY) male Spotted Towhee who was found to be breeding, a Second Year (SY) male Anna’s Hummingbird with developing iridescent feathers at the gorget and crown, a Hatch Year (HY) House Finch, and a surprising number of Wrentits.
Seriously, we caught seven new Wrentits this cycle!! By the end of the day, three of these seven birds were recaptured in nets close to where they were released. As I’ve mentioned before, Wrentit numbers significantly decreased after the Woolsey Fire in 2018. Pre-fire, the average number of Wrentits encountered each year was 200. That number has decreased by 87% post-fire. Getting a Wrentit these days is rare. And yet, by the end of this cycle, they were no longer so special (sorry Wrentits). In fact, they were a real pain to extract from the nets. Because they spend so much time hidden away in dense shrubbery, their feathers can get pretty mangled. That means all the thread of the nets can easily fill the slits and edges in the feathers. One Wrentit was even double-tiered, as in they had managed to get caught in two pockets of the net! Not fun!
Even though extracting Wrentits from the nets sucked, I’m so happy to know that their population is moving in the right direction! It’s relieving to know that there are a small handful of Wrentits living their lives at Zuma. It’s good to know that any of these birds here are doing all right.
Today was my one year anniversary of banding, but it was also another person’s first day of observing banding at Zuma. We have a new recruit, a college student who happens to be a friend of mine, who will be learning to band here over the summer. Unlike my first cycle that was not at all busy, her first cycle was met with 86 birds! She did a wonderful job recording the data on each bird, learning the ropes of what data we take and what each value means! So proud!
And as we received a large influx of birds, and as each bander processed them left and right, I realized that I too was making a mark on the station. When I first started banding, there is no way I would have been able to handle the number of birds I processed this cycle. Instead of having to ask for help on almost every bird, I was able to take measurements swiftly and be confident in the data I collected. That’s not at all to say I’m by any means pro at bird banding (yet), but I know that this past year I’ve learned a lot, made a lot of new memories, and met a lot of great people (and birds)! So whatever this next year has in store, I’m ready for it. Bring it on!
