What a difference a north westerly makes as temperatures finally plummet to 5 degrees Celsius kick starting the birds into migrating. It was obvious right from the start that it was to be a good day from the little blue dots on the radar to the calling kinglets and warblers that could be heard everywhere as the nets were opened. Back at the obs waiting for the first net round a brief look at the skies saw 12 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2 Rusty Blackbirds and a flock of 25 Tree Swallows. As the birds started flowing into the banding lab there were 2 additions to the species and forms list, with 4 Orange-crowned Warblers and a Flicker ‘intergrade’. (hybrid bird between the eastern and western race showing feathers with pinkie/red shafts as well as the usual yellow) 
Flicker ‘intergrade’
Where there are lots of birds generally means lots of predators and that was the case today with 6 Sharp-shinned Hawks being banded along with many more seen bouncing out of nets! High totals today came from 47 Blue-headed Vireos, 25 Black-throated Blue Warblers, 20 Golden-crowned and 17 Ruby-crowned Kinglets whilst Goldfinches only reached 14 as the days catch totalled 230 birds of 34 species. A stroll in the evening found much the same with the addition of a Pine Warbler and a male Northern Cardinal out in the Red Cedars.
29th Sept – return of the Goldfinch
Rain once again from first light resulting in extra bed time! By 10 o’clock the front had passed and as we stepped out flocks of Blue Jays and Goldfinches were passing over so we set the ground traps seeing an Orange-crowned Warbler in the process, heading out to the nets we were surprised to see warblers flitting ahead so we gave the nets a good shake and opened. Returning back to the obs the ground traps had filled up with 16 Blue Jays and many Goldfinches. Throughout the morning the wind swung from the south through to the Northwest, just what we’ve been waiting for! Anyway we already had lots of birds to deal with as a surprise return of Goldfinches tallied up to 176 bringing our total just 70 shy of 2000 for the fall.
White-breasted Nuthatch
The nets were also bringing in lots of birds with 34 Myrtle, 10 Black-throated Blue, Bay-breasted and a Tennessee Warbler to name a few. By 17:00hrs we had banded 277 birds and called it a day, well until dark when the owl nets were opened and we caught a single bird at 22:30.
28th Sept –rain ends play
Strong southerly winds greeted us this morning as rain approached from the west. In our short 2.5 hour session before the rain hit we manage to catch 20 birds and hundreds of leaves!!!!!! Very frustrating but thankfully as the rain came even more leaves dropped making the following days easier. Out of the birds caught the most notable was yet another Mourning Warbler that has now doubled the previous record to 8.
27th Sept – banding written off
The constant threat of showers all morning that never really materialised meant that no banding was carried out. Over the lake first thing flew 2 Common Loons and 5 White-winged Scoters as a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk hid in the wood. By the afternoon the weather finally started to clear out as I took a walk to Point Traverse, on route a walk along the beach found a dead Red-necked Grebe washed up. Once in the wood it took me a while of searching before I located a rather substantial warbler flock. The most obvious birds however were the noisy 12+ Black-capped Chickadees along with 8 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a Philadelphia and 3 Blue-headed Vireos. The warblers were feeding low down in the bushes making viewing easy and hard! The flock comprised of a Tennessee, 3 Nashville, 3 Northern Parula, 5 Black-throated Blue, 8 Myrtle, 12 Black-throated Green, 5 Magnolia, 1 Blackburnian, 4 Blackpoll and a Wilson’s. 
Blaclpoll Warbler
26th Sept – white crowns appear
Easterly winds cause a drop in bird numbers. From the nets came 2 Tennessee, Nashville, Black-throated Blue, 2 Myrtle, Black-throated Green and a Blackpoll Warbler. As two Eastern White-crowned Sparrows from the ground traps brought the days tally to 57 along with increasing the seasons list by one.
25th Sept – hawk added to the list
A northeast wind had Canada Geese moving at first light as 64 headed south. The nets yielded over one hundred again with 3 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Least Flycatcher, Eastern Pheobe, 2 Northern Parula and a Bay-breasted Warbler being the pick off the bunch. But it was the first net round that produced the most excitement as a large bird was flushed through the woods at net lane 4. Walking back passed lane 3 and 2 I arrived at the first set of hawk nets and there to my right laid a large hawk. As I approached all I could see was its big long tail and as I grabbed its legs a closer look revelled a very square head. It’s a Cooper’s Hawk, taking my big impressive banding tick back to the lab the only comment I got was “that’s a small one”. Well I was impressed by my hatch year male but now wonder how big would a Goshawk actually be?
Cooper’s Hawk
24th Sept – Merlin strikes again
Birds were on the move again as the wind had swung round to the north and the sun was back out. Straight away new birds for the fall were seen with several Slate-coloured Juncos along the trail followed with Golden-crowned Kinglets and Hermit Thrush. Banding was a lot more productive with a total of 204 caught. Most numerous were 23 Swainson’s and 13 Grey-cheeked Thrushes whilst ten species of warbler were topped by 10 Black-throated Blues. The prize of the bunch however goes to our second Merlin, a little male from the swamp net bringing the observatories total to four! After closing around at the lighthouse a Buff-bellied Pipit gave great views on the beach as two immature Bald Eagles drifted over out across the lake. Before midnight we caught ourselves a couple of Saw-whet Owls. 
Buff-bellied Pipit
23rd Sept – a late Canadian
A dry cloudy day meant the nets could be opened as the wind remained from the south. From the 78 caught the most unusual goes to a late Canada Warbler that was accompanied by 3 Blackpoll, 3 Western Palm and an American Redstart but the bulk of the catch once again goes to the Goldfinches. A little stroll around the harbour in the afternoon produced a fly over Barn Swallow and 3 Black Ducks. 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
22nd Sept – a very quiet day
The morning was hampered with frequent showers so as a result we only managed to catch 16 Goldfinch out of the ground traps along with a Red-breasted Nuthatch. The light southerly wind meant little was on the move with the harbour sheltering just 3 Great Blue Heron and 47 Mallards.
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