Notes from the Station

Species: Red-winged Blackbird
Most recent capture date: 5/23/21
Sex: female
Age: about 1 year old
​​
​Notes: A very unusual species for us to catch! This year Red-winged Blackbirds have been at CCFS in numbers that we haven’t seen in at least a decade. This young female had a brood patch, a physical trait that indicates she was breeding. Maybe we will get young Red-winged Blackbirds in a few months!

Species: Lesser Goldfinch
Most recent capture date: 5/4/2021
Age: at least 2 years old
Sex: Male
​
Notes: I’m always surprised by how short the legs of a Lesser Goldfinch are – the goldfinch is proportioned like a woodpecker, with stubby thick legs. In this photo you can see the white patch on the wing quite well; the length of that patch helps us determine the bird’s sex and age.

Species: Warbling Vireo
Most recent capture date: 5/4/2021
Age: at least 2 years old

Species: Bullock’s Oriole
Most recent capture date: 5/2/21
Earliest capture date: 4/17/19
Sex: Male
Age: at least 4 years old

Species: Lazuli Bunting
Most recent capture date: 5/2/21
Sex: Male
Age: at least 2 years old
​
​Notes: This species is somewhat unusual for us, and a flashy older male like this is a real treat. His blue feather color comes, not from pigment, but from the structure of the feathers themselves, similar to the iridescence in a hummingbird’s gorget.

Species: MacGillivray’s Warbler
Most recent capture date: 4/20/21
Sex: Male

Notes: This species is a one-bird-per-year level of rarity for us, showing up in our nets only in spring or fall as it migrates through the Bay Area. Maybe some MAPS banding station up north will catch this fellow in the summer as they survey breeding birds!

Species: Orange-crowned Warbler
Most recent capture date: 3/17/21
Earliest capture date: 9/19/12
Sex: Female
Age: at least 9 and 3/4 years old

Notes: Look at that age–this little bird is a venerable survivor! In fact, she’s older than the national Bird Banding Lab’s listed record for the oldest known individual of her species. Time to update that record…

Species: Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Most recent capture date: 4/14/21
Sex: Female

Notes: This bird has unusual white in her plumage, from scattered white feathers on her back to oddly bleached-out wing and tail feathers. This probably doesn’t impact her life in any way, but it’s fun to find a unique bird.

Species: Hutton’s Vireo
Earliest capture date: 10/17/2020
Most recent capture date: 3/17/2021
Age: ~9 months

Notes: Hutton’s Vireos are a rarity for us at CCFS, but in 2020 and 2021 we are capturing more than usual. An anomaly, or the start of some long-term change? Only time will tell.

Species: Golden-crowned Sparrow
​Most recent capture date: 2/21/2021

Notes: This sparrow must have some stories to tell, as their right leg ends in a neat stump halfway down the tarsus. Birth defect? Harrowing barely-survived injury? Whatever happened, the leg is entirely healed and the bird appears in good health.