Nicole Blackburn guest blogger all they way from Northwich UK

Introducing  Nicole Blackburn today's guest blogger. Nicole hails from Northwich which is not too far from Manchester. Nicole banded here in the spring and we managed to entice her back with the allure of banding owls  this fall. We are so lucky to have her back she is a most welcome addition to our team at the marsh. She has learned tons and is a great scriber, bander, and extractor and reminds us of all the things we begin to take for granted in the north and how lucky we are as Canadians. The other banders in our team need little reminding how lucky we are Nicole  is back at the marsh. # 1 international bander. 

Blog post – 01.09.2017

The morning began with a rather bleak outlook on the days banding, the temperature had fallen to 3°C overnight so the now frosty bridge at the river was even more sketchy than usual, and a chilly breeze ruffled the nets. Not ideal conditions for banding. However as usual with bird banding things never play out how you imagine, and despite overall numbers being lower than usual (57 birds) our perseverance was rewarded with some unusual catches.

lovely wee winter wren

The first of these was a winter wren, bringing us to a total of 3 this year so that we are now tied with the previous record. Wrens seem to be a universally difficult bird to extract from mist nets due to their extremely short wings and a tendency to wiggle A LOT, which I also experienced with the Eurasian wren back in the UK. However it’s nice to catch them every so often to test even the best extractor and give us a bit of a challenge.

Secondly, a banding tick for Chris came in the form of a hatch year female belted kingfisher, a species banded only twice before at the marsh. Even more unusual is that it was caught in the feeder nets, as these birds are normally seen patrolling along the water in search of aquatic prey - definitely not nyjer seed!

belted kingfisher so many at marsh but so difficult to capture in a net this one was caught at the feeder nets which for those that know the marsh is ridiculous

The feeder nets also provided the 3^rd weird species for the day: a Wilson’s snipe. A banding tick for an excitable Sarah, this is only the 13th snipe the marsh has ever banded. Despite the marsh hosting good numbers of snipe, they usually inhabit damp, open areas so are rarely caught in the nets.

This year has been exceptional for diversity, with several species such as the indigo bunting, Connecticut warbler and American bittern being new to the marsh’s banding list. However, almost every species this year has been completely new to me and even common birds such as red-winged blackbirds, white-crowned sparrows and blue jays I find exciting. My time at the marsh so far has been a massive learning experience with so many new species to get to grips with. However that doesn’t stop me wanting more! Can we set more records and reach 100 species banded in a year?

this snipe did not lie  not a Pinocchio bird  just comparing  snoz  sizes... human to snipe 

Ruby-throated hummingbird 1
Alder flycatcher 2
White-throated sparrow 7
Song sparrow 1
Swamp sparrow 6
Rose-breasted grosbeak 3
Red-eyed vireo 6
Philadelphia vireo 1
Black and white warbler 1
Nashville warbler 1
Tennessee warbler 1
Yellow warbler 1
Magnolia warbler 2
Chestnut-sided warbler 1
Western palm warbler 1
Ovenbird 1
Common yellowthroat 6
Wilson's warbler 3
Canada warbler 1
American redstart 5
Veery 2
Swainson's thrush 1
Wilson's snipe 1
Belted kingfisher 1
Winter wren 1

57 birds, 25 species

a very excited bander  Sarah Bonnet with a Wilson Snipe