And We Have Nestlings!

The most exciting news of the day is that GORA and ORBA’s eggs have hatched! We have our first nestlings of the season! There were at least three nestlings (they were sort of nestled together, so a fourth may have been buried underneath the others). They are about one day old. Things are going to start rolling very quickly now. In seven days we will band the nestlings, then two days after they fledge we will catch one to attach a radio transmitter, then tracking will begin!

Other nest checks today: GOAN and GPAY’s nest still has 2 eggs. OBAN and - - A-'s nest still has four eggs.


Today I observed a male singing for over 20 minutes in M3/4. His right tarsus is completely missing! I was directly under him while he was singing, and I could see him holding what was left of his right leg out for balance. Either the leg stub is too short to use to balance himself on the branch, or it is a recent injury and is too painful. It was difficult to see his left leg because he was crouched down over it, but I thought I saw an aluminum band on his left leg. I have no idea who this male could be. It would almost make sense if it were BBAG, because he has been missing for a few days, and this male was in his territory, but if I really did see an aluminum band on his left leg it couldn’t be BBAG.

In N2 I saw GABR (male) foraging in his umbrella tree. His female was nowhere to be seen.

In R10 RRAO (male) was singing, but his female was also missing. The females are all probably incubating eggs somewhere.

In M5 I saw AY- - singing, and he had both legs! This was an important observation, because now I know that the male with one leg from earlier today is not AY- -. That narrows it down a bit. A bit later I saw AY- - foraging with RRBA (female) in L7. I also saw the toeless female continuing to bring grass to her nest near the bench. These were also important observations. If BBAG is truly dead, it seems unlikely that the toeless female would continue to build her nest that she started with BBAG in mind. If AY- - and RRBA are still together we know that AY- - hasn’t paired up with the toeless female, even though he has been hanging out in BBAG’s territory. I hope we just find BBAG soon, because that would clear everything up.

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April 29, 2009

Today we found RRAO and an unbanded female in N9, which is quite outside their normal range. I had seen RRAP in N9 two weeks or so ago with an unbanded female. Hm… Today we followed RRAO’s female for an hour and twenty minutes, and she exhibited no signs of nesting behavior.

We found BARO (male) foraging with an unbanded female in P6 and P7. We were able to follow the female for half an hour and there was no sign of nesting behavior. Just south of BARO we found YGAN (male) and a female (probably PBOA) in S4.

In X2 an unbanded male was singing. He did not react aggressively to the playback, just continued singing in the same tree.

In J10 YARN was singing near the fenceline. I am glad that we were able to find him today. This is only the second time we’ve seen him this season.

In C6 we saw an unbanded male perching silently just north of AROO.

Nest check for today: ORPA and - - AN: still four eggs.

Mysterious Behavior in BBAG's Territory and Why Dog Owners Should Always Leash Their Dogs

Today Adam and Laura arrived at the park while I was still stuck at PSU in the Anatomy lab. They managed to catch the unbanded male in X5 and banded him BARN. He must have been stressed because he molted all his tail feathers while he was in the cloth bird bag being weighed. Luckily they will grow back!

In R4 Adam saw PA?? (male) near PARY’s 2008 nest. It most likely is PARY (male) from last year.

Today Adam and I spent about an hour following BGAN (male) and his unbanded female through U9 and V8/9, but the female never stopped at a nest or showed any signs of nesting behavior. We also followed - - AO (male) and PGPA (female) around in U17/18 for a while, but never found a nest.

The strangest part of the day was that we saw A-GP (male) quietly sitting smack dab in the middle of BBAG’s territory in N6. BBAG was nowhere to be found. Yesterday AY- - was invading BBAG’s territory, and today it was A-GP. It was a bit more understandable for AY- - because BBAG and AY- - are next door neighbors, but A-GP’s territory is the J and K 2 and 3 region. I wonder if something has happened to BBAG.

Nest checks for today: GOAN’s nest (#1) still has two eggs. GORA’s nest (#4) still has four eggs. OBAN’s nest (#2) still has four eggs.

As Adam and I were sitting on the bench today, resting a bit before we got on the bus, a dog (unleashed of course!) ran ahead of its owner and peed right on my backpack! As soon as I realized what was happening, I yanked my backpack away, and the dog had the nerve to snarl and snap at me. The dog was probably attracted to my backpack because it smells a bit like fox urine, but still! This is one of the many great reasons why dogs should always be on leashes in the park!

Two Males Banded (RARY and APRY) and Nest Number Five!

Today we set up a net in R17 along the boardwalk to catch the unbanded male we had seen there earlier. He seemed interested in the playback today, but never flew low enough to hit the net. So we moved the net up onto the nearby hill because we had seen him fly up there. As soon as we moved the net we caught him on the first try and banded him RARY.

We also caught another unbanded male today in H3/4 and banded him APRY. Unfortunately he didn’t really fly away when we let him ago, he just hopped away. He didn’t seem to be visibly hurt, but usually towhees (and most other birds) fly away when you release them. Birds can get wing strain when caught in the net or when being extracted, but that is more likely if the net is tangled tightly around one wing and they are left in the net for longer periods of time. This was not the case for APRY. We removed him from the net immediately and he was not tightly tangled. We will keep an eye out for him the next few days.

Today Adam and I found towhee nest number five! It belongs to ORPA (female) and - - AN (male). It is in W10 near a large clump of Indian Plum. This is the same spot where I saw ORPA carrying leaves a week or so ago! The nest has four eggs.

Every two days we move the motion-activated cameras to a new, random location, swap out the memory card, and place a fresh (if it can be called “fresh”!) fox-urine soaked cotton ball in the ground. Today I moved the camera to a new location. The bottle of fox urine does not seem to seal as well as it did last year. Some of the urine is leaking into the Ziploc bag that the bottle is in, and I’m not too thrilled about putting it back in my backpack!

In M5 we observed - - A- (female) carrying leaves to nest number three under the hazelnut root. In between trips to the nest she seemed to be soliciting copulations by fluttering her wings and making soft calls. Either her mate ignored her or we missed the copulation. This female had no toes on her left leg, so it seems as though “Gimpy” (-Y-A-) has indeed lost her yellow band.

Today we also tried playing the towhee song in a few places to determine who the area belonged to. In Q7 BARO (male) appeared after we broadcasted the towhee song. In T16 - - AO responded by calling, but didn’t come close to the trail. PGPA (female) was with - - AO. Both stayed close to the park edge. In Q8 RRAO (male) was calling, so we didn’t try the playback there.

Today we checked OBAN’s nest, and there were still four eggs.

Right before we were about the leave today we saw AY - - (male) flying all around BBAG’s (male) territory and calling. He was calling in M5, N5, O5, and O6. This was very unusual. I’ve never seen AY- - being so openly defiant of BBAG’s territory boundaries. BBAG was nowhere in sight.

Nests Three and Four!

Today Adam found towhee nest number three. He had observed a female towhee very busily carrying grass near the bench in M5. After she brought in a few billfuls of grass he was able to narrow down the nest site, and found the nest under a hazelnut root! The nest was practically subterranean! Very difficult to find. At first we assumed that this female is Gimpy (- Y-A), who we had seen foraging numerous times with BBAG (male) this year. Adam says that he was not able to see a yellow band on the nest-building female’s left leg, but she didn’t appear to have any toes on her left leg, which leads us to believe that it IS –Y-A, and that she just recently lost her yellow band. Luckily this nest is still in the building stage, so there will be time to accurately determine the nest’s owners.

Today I decided to search for the nest of GORA (male) and ORBA (female) around L2 where we banded GORA last year. As soon as I arrived in the area, I found ORBA foraging. She hopped about, kicking up leaves behind her while foraging, then stopped right next to a very suspicious-looking sword fern. She did not reappear. I kept my eyes fixed on the spot for about five minutes, and I still did not see her emerge from the sword fern. I slowly approached the sword fern, and she scuttled out from under it. Nest number four, with four beautiful eggs!

In W12 Adam and I used our speakers to broadcast the towhee song. I had seen ORPA (female) in that area before carrying leaves, but I was never able to get a good look at the male’s bands. Soon after we played the towhee song, a male appeared and sang from a few different perches. His band combination was - - AN. Is this RYAN, ORPA’s mate from last year? We will have to catch him again to read the number on his aluminum band to be sure.

In U9 we saw BGAN (male) and his unbanded female in the same area where I first saw her carrying leaves several days ago. We thought she settled somewhere near a holly, but then I saw her a few feet away from us, and she was not sitting on a nest. We decided to back away and come back later to hopefully flush her off the nest. Later, we searched the area, but there was no sign of a nest or of the female.

In M1 AY- - was seen with RRBA (female), but there was no sign of nesting.

Today we set up our motion-activated infrared camera for the first time this season to estimate mammal abundance in the park. We tie the waterproof camera to a tree about a foot off of the ground, and place a fox-urine soaked cotton ball on a popsicle stick in the ground. Mammals in the vicinity come to smell the fox urine, and the camera takes a short video clip so we can identify the mammal.

Second Towhee Nest!

Today Adam decided that if GOAN (one of our most prolific breeders last year) has a nest, then OBAN (another prolific breeder) must have a nest by now. So we decided to search for OBAN’s nest today. We found OBAN and his female (- - A-, probably PORA from last year) near the fenceline in X13. We thought they were still near the fenceline, so we waited there for a bit. Two towhees flew out of a large bush in the backyard next to the fenceline and into the park. They had somehow evaded us and been in the backyard when we thought they were in the park! OBAN stayed near the fenceline, but - - A- disappeared a bit farther north. We waited around and - - A- did not appear again. We decided she must be on the nest, and even though we didn’t really know where to look, we decided to walk around and hope to scare her off the nest. We were roughly in the area of her first nest last year, so we walked around there, and she popped out from a bush! Success! Adam found the nest in a very dense clump of vegetation. It had four eggs.

GOAN and GPAY’s nest was due to be checked today. It still had two eggs, so it turns out that was her completed clutch. Usually towhees lay three or four eggs.

We decided to try to catch that unbanded male in W5 that we had been unsuccessful with the day before yesterday. This time there was no response to the playback whatsoever. Adam walked west quite a ways, just playing the playback, but got no response. It probably didn’t help that there was some loud construction work taking place on the road next to the edge of the park.

We tried the playback in P8, L9, and J9, but got no response. We tried it in R15, approximately where I had seen an unbanded pair, and we immediately got a response. At first the male was singing ever so softly, barely opening his bill, but Adam immediately paused the playback as soon as the towhee arrived. Then the towhee pumped up his volume, apparently a little more confident since he didn’t hear the intruder anymore. He sang in one spot for quite a while and Adam was even able to get some pictures. We’ll try to set up a net and capture him tomorrow.

Towards the end of the day we decided that if GOAN and OBAN have nests, then A-GP must have a nest, too. Last year A-GP’s nestlings were the first to fledge. I decided to look for A-GP and Adam went off to look for AY--. I had seen A-GP fly with another towhee towards K2, so I headed in that direction. I wandered around for a bit, seeing nothing, then out of the corner of my eye I saw a bird fly off of a stump, so I went to check it out. Lo and behold, there was a nest on the stump with four eggs, partially concealed by dead leaves and Oregon Grape. Unfortunately the owner had flown off the nest, and I wasn’t sure if it was a towhee or not. I decided to sit down and wait for the owner to come back. A minute or so later, a Hermit Thrush appeared about 15 feet from the nest, doing its characteristic wing-shrugging. It really wasn’t clear if the Hermit Thrush was trying to go back to the nest, but didn’t want to because I was too close, or if it was just an innocent passer-by. I decided to leave and come back after the owner returned. A bit later I returned with Adam and a Song Sparrow flew off the nest. Sigh.

A Day of (Unsuccessful) Playbacks

Today we tried playing our recording of the towhee song in a few different places to see if we would get a response. Some places were chosen because we had seen unbanded males there and we wanted to see if they were in the area today and if they would respond to the playback before we bothered setting up nets. We tried this in D3 and F2 because I had seen unbanded males there before, but today we received no response to the playback. In X4 we went ahead and set up the net because we saw an unbanded male singing there today. He responded to the playback by doing the wing-raise display, but he did not seem upset enough to make more than one pass at the net, so we did not catch him.

We tried the playback in V7 because we wanted another chance to look at GA?O’s bands. GA?O responded, and it seems as though he really is missing that one band. I will look at our records and see if there are any other banded towhees besides GAGO with GA on the left leg and O on the right leg.

We tried the playback along the trail in J7 just for the heck of it, but we didn’t get a response.

In M2 GABR (male) and GORA (male) were flying around and chasing each other. GORA chased GABR back toward the tennis center, and GORA stayed on the north side of the trail.

First Towhee Nest!

The most exciting news of the day is that we found the first towhee nest of the season! It belongs to GOAN (male) and GPAY (female) and is in X16, fairly close to the road. We had seen GPAY hanging out in that particular area while calling, but then she seemed to disappear. We were standing on the path next to the road, keeping track of her movements by watching the bushes rustling, but then we saw a Song Sparrow take off from the spot where we thought GPAY was! We joked that the towhees hire Song Sparrows to fool us. Adam had a hunch about where he had last seen GPAY, so he decided to carefully walk around that area while Laura and I watched diligently from the path. Adam walked around and eventually GPAY took off right near Adam’s feet! We knew there must be a nest right there. Adam carefully looked under a few bushes, and found the nest! It had two eggs. We wondered if GPAY was still laying or if this was her completed clutch. We quickly left the area so GPAY could return to the nest. Today was the first day we had confirmed GOAN’s identity this season, so it’s nice to know he’s back and has a nest!

In Q17 we saw ??AN (male) singing across the road in a tall tree. He then flew into PAPO’s area (Q18) and we lost him before we could get a look at his left leg. In T4 YGAN was singing and calling. In W6 GA?O (male) was singing near the road. Adam and I wondered if this was GAGO, one of our fledglings from last year. Either he is missing one band, or it is riding high on his right leg and we were unable to see it. In F3 (south) AROO (male) was calling and foraging. In K5 AY - - and RRBA (female) were foraging. RRBA was picking flowers from a tree and nibbling their bases. She picked flower after flower, chewed the bases, then dropped the flowers. We wondered if she was sucking the nectar out of the flowers.

A Bit of a Slow Day...

Today was a bit slow. AY-- (male) and RRBA (female) were foraging and calling in L5 and M5. In D5 near the open, meadow-like area an unbanded male and female were foraging and calling. Hopefully they stick around and we have towhees other than AROO inhabiting the north part of the park. Today AROO (male) was singing, foraging, and calling in E4 and F4. He doesn’t seem to have a female yet (either that or she’s on eggs), but he does have a group of Song Sparrows that follow him everywhere!

In O2 I saw GABR (the male Laura and I banded yesterday) calling from the little island of vegetation in the middle of the tennis center parking lot. His female didn’t seem to be around. In Q1 (west) near the parking lot another unbanded male and female were calling in response to GABR. They are right on the edge so it may be difficult to capture the male or find their nest…

In M5 BBAG and Gimpy were foraging. In R12 and R13 (south) RRAO (male) was singing, foraging, and calling. No sign of his female.

First Male Towhee Banded!

Today Laura and I caught and banded our first male towhee of the season! I had heard him calling and singing earlier in N2 right next to the tennis center, so we decided to set up a net right in the manicured/landscape type area in front of the tennis center. There is no ground cover whatsoever there, just mulch, and a few planted bushes and trees. Luckily a few tennis center members were only just starting to show up, so we didn’t have any curious bystanders. The best part is that we didn’t even seem to need Gus. Gus is our taxidermied male towhee that we use along with a towhee song playback to convince the unbanded male that his territory is being invaded and that he needs to fly around (into our nets!) to find and potentially attack the intruder. I have looked everywhere, but I have not been able to find Gus anywhere in my apartment or office, so I was hoping that we can get by with just the playback this season. A minute or so after setting up the net, starting the song playback, and finding our hiding places, the unbanded male arrived and perched on top of the umbrella tree next to the net. At first he just flew over the net, and we had to move the speaker back and forth to the other side of the net to persuade the male to fly towards the speaker (and the net!). After doing this a couple times he flew into the net. He didn’t seem to need the extra visual aid of Gus to attract him to the net, The speaker seemed to be enough. We banded him GABR.

Next we tried to catch the unbanded male down on Rainbow Trail who I had seen singing next to Rainbow Road a few days ago. We set up the net right along the trail. Two male towhees responded to the playback and one flew down right next to the speaker and hopped around doing the wing-raising display! Unfortunately we ended up accidentally catching YGAN (a male banded last year) and not the unbanded male that I had seen there previously. YGAN had approached the net from the north, while the unbanded male had approached the net from the south. We will set up the net further to the south next time to try to catch that unbanded male.

Later today I saw an unbanded male and female calling and foraging in Q16, near the school playground. In M2 ORBA (female) was calling and flying around with two unidentified males. In N9 (west) RRAP (male) was foraging and calling with an unbanded female. A few days ago I thought I saw RRAP down in the south part of the park, but today I saw his bands very clearly and he seems to have a female. In the south part of R9 BABY (male) was calling agitatedly. I still have not seen BABY with a female. Either he hasn’t found a mate yet or she is off on a nest somewhere incubating!

In X11 (technically in a backyard near the fence) an unknown male was singing and ORPA (female) was foraging nearby. They both then flew towards X12. In X13, near one of the footpaths, OBAN (male) was calling with - - A- (female, probably PORA, OBAN’s mate last year). They both flew into a large tree in the backyard bordering OBAN’s territory.

In N5 (east) BBAG (male) and Gimpy (-Y-A, female) were foraging and calling.

Towhee Tussle!

Today was an exciting day in the park. In V18, right on the edge of the park, Laura and I observed two male towhees and one female in a sort of tussle. The males were chasing each other back and forth across Wembley Park Road. They were performing their wing-raising display for each other, which is meant to intimidate competitors, but really just looks like a sort of jerky wave which shows off their “armpits”. It’s cool to see because male towhees only do the performance in the spring when they’re defending their territories. This was the first time I’ve seen them do it this year. One male tended to do the display from the park edge of the road, and the other male tended to display from the front yard closest to the park. The park male was banded - -AO, and based on the location, I’m guessing that he’s YYAO from last year and has lost his yellow bands. I never got a good enough look at the yard male to see his bands (or lack thereof) because he was in a dense bush in the yard most of the time.

The other exciting news of the day is that I saw a female carrying leaves for the first time this season! That means that they are starting to think about (or have already started) nest-building! When they are on the leaf-stage it is difficult to find the nests because they are not very invested in it yet (as opposed to when they have eggs or nestlings), so they don’t aggressively defend the nest, and it would just look like another clump of leaves if you did happen to look in the right place. The female in question today was ORPA, and she was carrying a leaf in V10. She flew to a large clump of Indian Plum, and I was not able to tell if she dropped the leaf or if she deliberately placed it somewhere. Sometimes they just drop the leaves (or grass) without taking them to the nest site.

In other news I observed an unbanded male calling close to the tennis center in N2 in an umbrella-shaped bush. After a little while a female popped up, but we were not able to find a nest in the area, and they didn’t appear defensive.

I also saw BABY again in what seems to be his usual area (T9). He was calling agitatedly, but then flew off.

The Anna’s Hummingbird along Rainbow Trail is still incubating her eggs. Today she flew all around the nest while calling, then continued to call while actually sitting on the nest. It seems odd that she would advertise herself from the nest, and possibly alert predators to her location, but most of the time she is very still and silent on the nest.

More females with leaves!

Today in L5 RRBA (a female) was calling and foraging near AY-- (male). Last year RRBA had a successful nest with an unbanded male. Is she AY--'s mate this year?

In E5 AROO (male) was calling agitatedly. Another Spotted Towhee was present and calling, but I was never able to track it down before they both disappeared. A few minutes later I found AROO in F4 and G4 calling and foraging.

In H4 and H5 BRAN (male) was singing. I was a bit surprised he was in this area, since I usually find him in in the H8 and I8 area.

In S8 BABY (male) was singing, calling, and foraging in a big clump of holly. Right next door in T9 and T10 RBAN (male) was also singing, calling, and foraging.

In U9 (south) BGAN (male) and an unbanded female were foraging and calling. The female was carrying a billful of moss! She hopped around with the moss for a bit, then dropped it. Did she notice me watching her? A few minutes later she picked up some leaves, but I didn't see if she dropped them, too, or if she placed them in a nest. I searched the area, but again I didn't find anything. I will make sure to check on them (and that area) next time. I've seen them in that same area several times now, and it may be where they are thinking about building a nest.

In Q10 an unidentified male was singing for a long time high in a tree. He was almost surely RRAO because he was singing right above RRAO's 2008 nest site. He stayed high in the tree then flew a considerable distance so I wasn't able to check his bands.

The Hutton's Vireo nest looks intact, but I didn't see the vireos anywhere near the nest.

Vegetation Observations

Today was a lousy day for finding towhees, so I spent some time looking at the vegetation. Here are the few towhee observations:

In E4 and F4 AROO (male) was singing, calling, and foraging. I didn't see a female around.

In R11 RRAO (male) was calling, then flew to Q10 where his 2008 nest was.

In R9 BABY (male) was singing in a large holly.

I found another Downy Woodpecker excavating a cavity in U14.

Red Huckleberry leaves are starting to emerge. They are bright green and soft. The huckleberry's tiny flowers are beginning to develop.

Some Inside-Out flowers are starting to emerge. Just the duck feet-shaped leaves are visible right now.

Trillium are everywhere! In some places they almost look like they were intentionally planted to form a bouquet shape.

New Swordfern fronds are starting to poke up. Right now they look a bit like light brown question marks.

Robert's Geranium leaves are also starting to come up.

Springbrook Park Map

Here is a map of Springbrook Park. We have overlaid a grid on the map for easy reference. I will try to post the map on a sidebar so it is permanently displayed, but here it is for now.

April 7, 2009

Today I saw an unbanded male and female calling in N2 near the tennis center. It probably is the same pair I saw a few days ago.

BBAG was singing again in M3. Later in the day I saw him in N6 foraging with Gimpy.

In L4 an unbanded male was calling near a big cedar. In L2 ORBA (female) was seen foraging with an unidentified male.

In K2 A-GP was calling very close to the edge of the park. I hope he doesn't decide to nest right there. It is a dense mass of holly in that area. Not very pleasant for nest-searching or tracking fledglings.

An unbanded male was singing right on Rainbow trail in V2. An unbanded female was hiding close by. I think this male will be one of the first adults we try to catch this year because it will be easy to set up a net right on the trail where he was singing. The Rainbow trail hummingbird is still incubating her eggs.

In T5 YGAN was calling. I didn't see PBOA.

In U9 (south) BGAN was calling in one bush for a few minutes. After a bit his unbanded female popped up from nearby. This made me a little suspicious. Sometimes when towhees have an active nest the male perches close by in one spot for a long time. I searched the area where the female had emerged, but I didn't find anything. The towhees did not stick around or seem the slightest bit upset when I searched the area, so I dismissed the possibility of an active nest there.

In V10 (west) I observed RRAP (male) calling. This observation was very exciting, because RRAP was one of our radio tagged fledglings from last year. We had first banded him as GRAP (his father was YARN and his nest was along the fenceline in J10). Later in the season we accidentally caught an unbanded juvenile towhee and mistakenly banded him GRAP, also. When we caught YARN's GRAP later in the season to remove his transmitter, we switched his G band for another R so that if we saw him again we would know for sure who he was. Today RRAP flew from V10 into W11. I observed ORPA (a female) close by. Perhaps she is RRAP's mate. ORPA was carrying leaves, which means that she is beginning to build (or at least thinking about building) a nest. At this stage it is very difficult to find the nest, because they just look like piles of leaves on the ground. Once the female starts adding grass and forming the nest cup it will be easier to find.

In V14 OBAN was foraging and calling in his favorite large holly tree on the corner with a female who just had an aluminum band on her right leg. I wonder if this female is PORA, OBAN's mate last year.

In other news, the Hutton's Vireo nest is still active. One of the vireos was sitting in the nest when I arrived, but then flew off. Was the female laying eggs, or are they still building the nest and forming the nest cup?

A couple of days ago I found a Downy Woodpecker excavating a cavity. Today the cavity looked deeper but there was no sign of the woodpecker.

In T9 a whole flock of Bushtits were busily flying around. Last year they had a nest in this area, but it was either depredated or abandoned.

The Waterleaf leaves are getting bigger each day. Thimbleberry is also starting to emerge.

April 5, 2009

Today was not quite as eventful as the past few days. I'm starting to see the same towhees again in roughly the same areas that I've seen them before.

In N5 BBAG (male) was singing from a stump near the trail. Later in the day I saw BBAG in M5 foraging with Gimpy (-Y-A).

In K3 I saw AY-- foraging in the area where A-GP's nest was last year. In K4 I saw P-AG (a female) foraging with an unidentified male. The unidentified male was most likely A-GP, and P-AG is mostly likely PYAG, who we banded last year. A-GP and PYAG were mates last year.

In F4 I observed AROO (male) calling and singing. Yesterday I thought I saw AROO, but I wasn't 100% sure about the band combination. Today I got several good looks at his bands, and it is definitely AROO. A bit later I saw him singing again in a holly in D5. An unbanded female was calling in the same area. Is she AROO's mate? They weren't that close to each other, so it's hard to tell if they are a pair for sure.

On the west side of F2 an unbanded male and female were calling. We'll try to catch the male at some point to band him, but we may be unsuccessful since they are so close to the edge of the park and the main part of his territory might be in someone's backyard.

In U9 I saw BGAN (male) and an unbanded female foraging. In T10 RBAN (male) was singing.

The highlight of the day was finding my first Hutton's Vireo nest in L5! Both the male and the female were actively building the nest. They were flying back and forth to the nest, adding moss and feathers. The nest looks mostly like moss, and it is in a small tree that has limbs covered in moss. I'm sure Adam would love to film this nest, also. I'll be sure to keep an eye on it.

New Discoveries!

Today was a busy day in Springbrook Park with lots of new observations and discoveries. In G8, along Sundeleaf Drive, I saw a male, --AN, just sitting in a bush. Last year we banded a lot of towhees, adults and nestlings, with AN on the right leg, so unless we were to capture him and read his aluminum band number, it's anybody's guess as to who he is.

In J8 I observed BRAN (male) singing right next to the path in a big holly. The other day he had been near the big blackberry patch, which is right next to somone's backyard. We never did find a nest for BRAN last year. We ended up finding one of his offspring after his nestling(s?) fledged. I wonder if he had nested right next to the backyard and we missed it completely.

In E4 and E5 I observed a male singing. His left leg was AR. His right leg was almost certainly OO, but I didn't get a good enough look to be sure. If this towhee is AROO, it would be very exciting, first of all because AROO was one of our radio tagged fledglings last year, and also because we were never able to find any nests (or territorial males) in the northern part of the park last year. It seemed to be a place that towhees generally avoided. It does make sense, since Country Club Road borders the north part of the park, and it is very loud in that area.

In M5 I observed BBAG foraging with a female. I got a good look at the female and determined that she is "Gimpy" from last year. We called her Gimpy because she seemed to have some problem with one or both of her legs, and never stood up straight enough for us to see her bands. Last year she seemed to be the mate of AYYG, but we never found a nest for that pair. Today I was able to get a few good looks at her legs. Her left leg has a single yellow band and her right leg has an aluminum band. Her left foot has no toes, which is probably why she had trouble perching last year. I'm a bit surprised she made it through the winter, but she actually seems to be doing better this year. She can use the toeless foot to balance herself, and stands up straight more often, which is why I was able to see her bands today.

In L4 and M4 I observed an unbanded male calling. It is important to keep track of unbanded males so we can determine where their territories are and find a good place to set up a net to catch and band them.

In R9 I observed BABY (a male) calling loudly and repeatedly while an unidentified male sang from across the path (between the bridges). Another exciting discovery! BABY was one of our fledglings that we radio tracked last year. It's always nice to know that they made it through the winter and are now establishing territories of their own.

In W13 I heard a male singing. It was most likely OBAN, but I wasn't 100% sure about the O band. I saw it from far away and it could have been Y. Last year OBAN had two successful nests, and we had put transmitters on BONA (from his first nest) and ARBY (from his second nest). BONA survived the first 2 weeks or so of the tracking period, then mysteriously his signal went dead for a few days. We thought we would never find the transmitter, but mysteriously again we started hearing his signal again a couple days after it went dead. We tracked it down to U12 or so, where we had never seen OBAN or BONA spending time before. It was maddening! We knew the transmitter was extremely close, based on the signal. In fact, we knew it was on the ground under the leaves right in front of us. After digging through the leaves for a while and probably stepping on the transmitter a couple times, we managed to find it. It had a few small body feathers stuck to it, and the antenna was slightly bent, but it was otherwise intact. We were pretty pleased that the receiver and antenna were so sensitive that we were able to find a tiny transmitter under the leaves, even though it did take a bit of time. We assumed that BONA had been killed because we had never seen him or his father (OBAN) range this far, and at BONA's age he would have still have been dependent on his parents to bring him food. Also during the entire 2008 breeding season, we never had any instances of a towhee wiggling out of its transmitter harness. ARBY survived the entire tracking period. I wonder if we'll see him again this year.

In Q17 and Q18 I saw PAPO (a male) and an unbanded female calling and foraging. They were very close to the edge of the park, right next to someone's backyard. Lo and behold, there was a cat stalking them! The towhees (and the other birds in the area) did not seem to be aware of the cat. Outdoor cats are extremely detrimental to wildlife, especially birds. I used to be a cat person, and I still enjoy being around cats, but cats should really be kept inside houses, or at least outdoor enclosures. The Audubon Society has some staggering statistics about the number of birds that are brought into their center each year because they were attacked by cats. Last year PAPO's nest was in the same area. On the day that the nestlings were due to be banded, we discovered that the nest had been depredated.

In R16 an unbanded male and female were foraging silently. They seemed to be very close to PAPO. I wonder if towhees tend to be more stealthy when they know they are getting close to the border of someone else's territory. A few minutes later I saw an unbanded male foraging in Q14. Could this be the same unbanded male?

In R12 I saw RRAO (a male) and an unbanded female foraging. Last year RRAO's nest was very close to the edge of the park, in Q11. One of RRAO's fledlgings, RGAY, was another of our radio tagged birds. RGAY was one of our most wide-ranging fledlgings. His nest was up in Q11, but then he spent a lot of time in the T/U 11, 12, and 13 area.

A little bit later I found myself in the same area where I had seen BABY previously today. In S9 and T9 I saw BABY again. This time he was singing (a good sign that he has claimed the territory) and calling. In S10 I observed RBAN (a male) singing and calling in between the two bridges. This is the same spot where he had his nest last year.

In W4 an unbanded male was singing from high in a big cedar.

In R5 I just happened to see BARO (a male) and an unbanded female just perching, absolutely still, for a few minutes. I looked all around to see if there was a predator nearby, but I didn't see anything. All of a sudden, in unison, the two towhees dove down under a Swordfern.

Along Rainbow trail I found the first Anna's Hummingbird nest of the season! I just happened to see the hummingbird hovering fairly close to me, so I raised my binoculars, and she just sat down on the nest! She settled down into it, and appeared to be incubating eggs. The nest is amazingly close to the trail. I will check the nest every few days. I'm sure Adam would love to film the nest when he gets back from Hawaii.

March 30, 2009

Today in L4 I saw AY-- (male) calling. The two dashes indicate that I clearly saw the bird's right leg, and it did not have any bands. Last year this same area belonged to a male banded AYYG. I believe this is the same bird. He must have lost those bands at some point during the winter. We will try to capture him again this year to confirm his identity and replace his bands.

In J2 and J3 A-GP (a male) was calling and foraging. A-GP had one of the earliest nests last year; in fact we found his nest just before the chicks were ready to fledge. We had to band them right away. It was the first nest we banded last year, and it was a bit of a disaster. The chicks were really past the prime age for banding. They bolted in every direction from the nest as soon as we reached into the nest. We had to run all over to catch the newly fledged chicks (without stepping on them!) to band them. It would have looked pretty hilarious to an outside observer, I'm sure. That's why we try to band the nestlings seven days after they hatch. At that age they are big enough to band, but they haven't opened their eyes yet, and there is no danger of them escaping. They just lay in your hand.

In H5 and 6 BRAN (a male) was singing for a long time (~5 minutes) while perched over a big patch of Himalayan Blackberry. After a bit an unbanded female (probably his mate) appeared from lower in the blackberry. I've noticed that BRAN tends to sing a few different song varieties. After standing there listening to him sing one song for a while, it's a bit startling to hear him start singing a different variety. Perhaps that has the same effect on neighboring towhees as well.

In J9, right along the fence that separates the park from the school soccer field, I saw YARN (a male) singing and foraging. Last year YARN had two nests right in the little strip of weeds on the soccer field side of the fence. A day or so before the nestlings of the first nest were due to fledge, they disappeared, and since YARN's female started building a new nest right away, we assumed that the nestlings of the first nest had been some predator's lunch. YARN's second nest was successful. It was pretty tricky at first to find the newly fledged youngsters. There is a steep hill on the park side of the fence, and the fence is covered in blackberry. We had to go back and forth around the fence to hone in on where YARN seemed to be taking food for his fledglings. After much stealthy creeping around, we managed to catch one of YARN's fledglings, GRAP, and attached a transmitter harness. We were curious how long GRAP would stay near the fence. He ended up staying near the fence for several days. In retrospect, it seemed like an advantageous position to be in. If any mammalian predator had its sights set on catching GRAP, GRAP could simply hop back and forth through the fence, neatly evading the larger predator. It sure worked on us! A few times we would use the telemetry to track him down and he would be perched right on the fence, under a tangle of blackberry!

A little ways outside the park, on Sundeleaf Drive, I observed ANYB, a fledgling from last year, singing high in a tree in someone's yard. We waited for what seemed like forever for him to come down so I could get a better look at him, but eventually we had to move on to catch the bus.

Field notes for March 26, 2009

I'm a little behind in posting field observations since I just got the blog up and running, so I'm posting observations from my last few visits to Springbrook Park today.

March 26, 2009:
This was my first visit to the park this spring. I was excited to see which towhees had survived the winter and if any towhees that hatched last year had claimed territories in the park this year. Since my mom was visiting me from Ohio, I brought her along so she could see what it was all about. When we arrived near the tennis center I heard towhees calling right away. I saw an unbanded male hanging out in the tennis center area (North N3). He was perched in a tree and sat there calling for a long time. He was perched in such a good spot that I let my mom borrow my binoculars and she was able to get a good look at the towhee. An unbanded female soon appeared from the bushes, probably his mate. I ID'd a banded female towhee who was calling right next to the road in M2. Her band combination was ORBA. To read the towhees' band combinations, we start with the top band on the bird's left leg, then the bottom band (closest to the toes) on the bird's left leg, then the top and bottom of the bird's right leg. "A" stands for Aluminum (the silver band with the unique number on it), "B" = Blue, "G" = Green, "N" = Pink, "O" = Orange, "P" = Purple, "R" = Red, and "Y" = Yellow. Also in M2 I saw a male towhee calling near the road. I didn't see his left leg, but his right leg had R and A. To note that I hadn't seen his left leg, I noted his combination as ??RA.

On the North-South Primary trail in P6 I saw BBAG (a male) singing for about 5 minutes near the top of a pine. Last year BBAG's nest was just a few feet from the bench at the intersection of the North-South and East-West Primary trails. Last year we were able to catch BBAG's mate building the nest. BBAG is the father of YPAY and GAGO. YPAY was one of our 14 fledglings that we tracked via radio telemetry last year.

A little farther down the North-South Primary trail in R4-6 we saw BARO (a male) calling with an unbanded female foraging near him. In S4 YGAN (a male) and ??OA (a female) were foraging. ??OA is most likely PBOA, his mate from last year. They ended up with only one fledgling last year, BABY. BABY's brood mate was very small and disappeard from the nest a few days before BABY fledged. YGAN and PBOA's second nest was depredated later in the season. BABY was also one of our radio tagged fledglings.

In T and U 10 we saw BGAN (a male) calling and foraging with an unbanded female. I was pretty excited to see that BGAN was claiming a territory. He is the first of our fledglings from last year to return. BGAN is the son of a towhee that seemed to have an injured foot last year. We were never able to see his left leg because he always held it close to his body. His right leg combination was BR, so we called him StubBR.

In X15 I saw ??AN (a male) and ??AY (a female) foraging. They are most likely GOAN (the male) and GPAY (the female). GOAN and GPAY were prolific breeders last year. They had two successful nests with 3-4 fledglings each, and then unfortunately one nest that they seemed to abandon. The third nest was very late in the season, though, and we assumed they abandoned it because there wasn't enough food to feed the nestlings. Last year GOAN spent a lot of time in the backyard just across Wembley Park Road. I am worried that this year he might decide to nest over there and we won't be able to monitor the nest.

The leaves are starting to come out on many of the plants in the park. The new green leaves of the Indian Plum shrub are just starting to appear. Waterleaf is starting to emerge just a few centimeters above the ground. Hazelnut leaves are also just beginning to unfold.

All in all it was a wonderful first day back in the park. I'm excited about what the new season has to offer.

Welcome to the new blog!

Thanks for stopping by! The purpose of this blog is to keep research assistants (and anyone else who is interested) up to date on our Spotted Towhee breeding season research in Springbrook Park in Lake Oswego, Oregon. I will be posting information on towhee nests that we have found, adults and nestlings that we have banded, day to day details, as well as other interesting natural history observations. I will be explaining more along the way about the purpose of the research and other relevant background information.