• We banded 17 of 36 days during this period with 226 recaptures far outnumbering our meager total of 81 new birds banded.  Unseasonably mild weather the last week of December and the first few weeks of the new year probably had a negative impact on totals as winter captures at Powdermill are largely driven by flocks of birds that come and go at the feeding stations.

• Five of the 81 birds banded this period, however, proved to be noteworthy because of their uncommon or rare appearance during the winter months.  On Wednesday, December 29th we added our first Pine Siskin for the winter season and the third (and last) to 2004's total (the first PISI of 2004 was banded on November 7th).  Also, on that same day, we captured an unbanded hatching year Hermit Thrush, only the 10th ever to be banded during the winter months at Powdermill.

• The third noteworthy species deserves this recognition not only for its rarity, but for the unconventional method by which it was caught.  Who would have thought that on the cold and snowy morning of January 19th, we would get a winter warbler fix with this adult (ASY) female Yellow-rumped Warbler?! (pictured below)  With fairly regular appearances on the annual Rector Christmas Bird Count (three in 2004), it is not a completely uncommon sight during the winter months in southwestern PA (where it subsists largely on the waxy fruits of poison ivy), but as only the thirteeth winter-banded YRWA in the past 44 years, it is certainly a rare bird from our banding perspective.

• Traditionally, during the winter we catch birds in two ways.  Primarily, we use plastic-coated wire potter traps baited with seed; on relatively mild winter days, we will sometimes operate 5-8 mist nets located in the immediate vicinity of feeding stations near the banding lab.  On January 19th, though, Mike Lanzone, Assistant Field Ornithology Projects Coordinator at the Powdermill Avian Research Center, added a third winter capture method.

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Upon walking out of his office that morning, he heard a Yellow-rumped Warbler chipping from the row of spruce trees lining the road.  So, naturally (for him), he chipped back, to call it in and have a closer look at the bird--and that he did!  Without even knowing it at first, he actually called the bird right into his office!  As he turned back to make sure he had closed the door, which apparently he had been holding open while calling to the bird, there she was, looking at him through the storm door window from inside his office!  He quickly caught her and brought his surprise capture (a surprise not only for Mike, but also for for us, because we only were operating Potter traps that day and certainly couldn't figure out how Mike had gotten his hands on a YRWA!).
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Thanks, Mike, for figuring out the secret to catching warblers in winter!

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• Our fourth and fifth noteworthy birds of the period were two Red-winged Blackbirds banded on Friday, Janurary 21, an immature (SY) male and an undetermined (but probaby SY- based on appearance of underwing coverts) female.  Male Red-winged Blackbirds are easy to age simply based on plumage, but  ageing females becomes much more difficult.  Skull pneumatization is helpful only in rare instances at this time of year, and as we have metioned before on this site, most immature blackbirds have a complete prebasic molt so the use of molt limits for ageing becomes restricted to a few feathers on the underwing.  The photo below is of the male's underwing and shows the molt limits among the bottom row of small underwing coverts.

• The next photo shows the mottled plumage and dull orange "shoulder," characteristic of young Red-winged Blackbirds, but note also the exteme wear on the outer four primaries and their corresponding primary coverts.  This is an example of an exception to the above rule where most immature blackbirds undergo a complete fall molt.  The outer primaries and primary coverts were not replaced on this bird last fall and are retained juvenal feathers.  Notice that not only are they much more worn, but the overall appearance (i.e. color, size/shape, quality) of the feathers is much different than the more freshly molted rest of the wing.

• As always, we encourage banders to use opportunities like this when handling known age birds, to examine the plumage and train their eye to look for and recognize expected (or sometimes even unexpected, e.g. the above case in point) molt limits.

• To conclude, we've made good on our promise to share more highlights from the second Powdermill Avian Research Center owl banding expedition up north.  After such a successful first trip in early December (see Pictorial Highlights from December '04), Mike Lanzone decided to return to Duluth, MN over the holidays, this time with his family.  Again, with such an unprecedentedly large ongoing invasion, there seemed no better time to continue studying and documenting the molt of these northern owl species for the photographic guide book project (the second volume of which will cover diurnal raptors and owls).  In the photo below, Mike and his wife Trish hold two of 43 Great Gray Owls banded in their 10 days of trapping, while Jeffrey (9) and Ashley (7) couldn't look any happier than to be spending Christmas in Duluth, MN catching owls.

• One method for catching diurnal raptors is with a Bal-chatri trap.  A Bal-chatri trap can be made for any size bird and is basically a wire cage with nylon nooses tied on the top.  The main attraction to the raptor is the lure - either a bird or small mammal -  which is put inside the cage.  When the raptor flies down to land on what it thinks is its next meal, its feet become entagled in the nooses on top of the cage and the bird is then trapped.  The photo on the left shows a Great Gray Owl on a Bal-chatri trap  (notice the lure - mouse - is not harmed inside the cage).  The photo on the right is of a Northern Hawk Owl in flight coming in to land on a trap.

Photos by Mike Lanzone

• The video clips below show another safe yet effective technique for trapping diurnal raptors. This technique proved to be our most successful method of capture for all species during both trips.  The birds were attracted to a mouse lure, but the secret was being able to be close enough to the birds to catch them as they prepared to land.  How is this possible?  Well, keep in mind that 90%, if not all, of these birds are from remote areas in the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska and have no recognition, and consequently no fear, of humans.  (Note: you will need a media player outlet to view the video clip links below.  Also, both are very large video files, 1-3 MB (.mpg & .wmv), and may take a long time to download if you have a dial-up connection to the internet--you may want to save them to your computer first and then play them from there).

• Overall, the second excursion to the North proved even more successful than the first.  As mentioned above, 43 Great Gray Owls were captured and with eleven banded in one day, our previous single day U.S. record of ten during the first trip was broke.  Interestingly, none of the 43 GGOW's banded were hatching year birds, further supporting the theory that there was virtually no reproduction this year as a result of a vole population crash and the continued food shortages through the fall pushed these birds even farther south.

photo by Mike Lanzone

• 25 Northern Hawk Owls, two Barred Owls (left), and one Boreal Owl (right) also were banded, proving that even one of the most nocturnal of raptors can be opportunistic when it comes to an easy meal.

Photos by Mike Lanzone

• Again, we owe HUGE THANKS!!!! to Frank (raptor biologist at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory) and Kate Nicoletti for once again opening their home to Mike and his family. Also, we would like to thank David Alexander for all of his help banding while we were there. We sincerely appreciate all of your contributions to the work of the raptor book project and, of course, for sharing many other winter birds of Duluth with us.

Photos by Mike Lanzone

• Finally, we thank Annie Lindsay, Trish Miller, and Felicity Newell for their help with banding at Powdermill during this period.

Last Updated on 01/27/05
By Adrienne J. Leppold