Spring 2010 - Braddock Bay Bird Observatory

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Birds Banded Autumn 2009 Birds banded during autumn 2009 included the Nashville Warbler and Blackburnian Warbler shown above. Photos by Ryan Kayhart. *“Traill's” Flycatcher includes both Willow Flycatcher and Alder Flycatcher. These species are difficult to distinguish from one another except by their calls. Double-crested Cormorant 1 Cedar Waxwing 110 Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 Blue-winged Warbler 10 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 10 Tennessee Warbler 9 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Orange-crowned Warbler 5 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Nashville Warbler 58 Downy Woodpecker 13 Northern Parula 6 Hairy Woodpecker 5 Yellow Warbler 157 Northern Flicker 8 Chestnut-sided Warbler 14 Intergrade Flicker 1 Magnolia Warbler 316 Eastern Wood-Pewee 5 Cape May Warbler 3 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 39 Black-throated Blue Warbler 48 “Traill’s” Flycatcher* 13 Yellow-rumped Warbler 27 Least Flycatcher 29 Black-throated Green Warbler 18 Eastern Phoebe 23 Blackburnian Warbler 2 Great Crested Flycatcher 1 Western Palm Warbler 6 Blue-headed Vireo 23 Bay-breasted Warbler 4 Warbling Vireo 16 Blackpoll Warbler 52 Philadelphia Vireo 18 Black-and-white Warbler 12 Red-eyed Vireo 86 American Redstart 60 Blue Jay 4 Ovenbird 8 Purple Martin 1 Northern Waterthrush 16 Black-capped Chickadee 163 Mourning Warbler 4 Tufted Titmouse 28 Common Yellowthroat 128 Red-breasted Nuthatch 2 Hooded Warbler 4 White-breasted Nuthatch 4 Wilson’s Warbler 41 Brown Creeper 70 Canada Warbler 17 Carolina Wren 1 Scarlet Tanager 2 House Wren 34 Eastern Towhee 1 Winter Wren 65 American Tree Sparrow 3 Marsh Wren 4 Chipping Sparrow 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 324 Field Sparrow 7 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 521 Fox Sparrow 4 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2 Song Sparrow 82 Veery 15 Lincoln’s Sparrow 9 Gray-cheeked Thrush 56 Swamp Sparrow 30 Gray-cheeked/Bicknell’s Thrush 13 White-throated Sparrow 839 Bicknell’s Thrush 1 White-crowned Sparrow 11 Swainson’s Thrush 60 Dark-eyed Junco 80 Hermit Thrush 186 Northern Cardinal 29 Wood Thrush 2 Rose-breasted Grosbeak 3 American Robin 18 Indigo Bunting 3 Gray Catbird 157 Common Grackle 4 Brown Thrasher 1 Purple Finch 6 European Starling 13 American Goldfinch 50
Volunteer Spotlight Tom Verhulst Tom’s involvement with BBBO began when his friend and neighbor Kathleen Holt invited him to accompany her several times when she was scheduled to scribe at BBBO. Tom immediately appreciated being able to get close-up views of the birds being handled at the banding station, and he found the research fascinating. But he says what really got him hooked was “the chance to hang out with a great bunch of very nice people who know a lot about birds and are always willing to share their knowledge with me.” Tom and his wife Jeanne served as Peace Corps Volunteers years ago (she in Brazil, Tom in Malaysia), and they continue to enjoy traveling, to all 50 states and about 15 other countries so far. They now have even more freedom to do this, as Tom retired in 2006 after about 35 years of working for the federal government (first with the Peace Corps as a volunteer, a trainer, a recruiter, and an administrator and then “finally succumbing to the siren call of the glamorous world of mail delivery” by joining the U.S. Postal Service). Tom sings in a community choir, the Rochester Oratorio Society, and he and his wife regularly attend Rochester Philharmonic classical concerts and are eagerly anticipating the Rochester International Jazz Festival in June. Nonmusical interests include watching soccer (the World Cup is coming up!) and doing The New York Times crossword puzzle. Tom and his wife became interested in birds by enjoying being outdoors, here in Rochester and wherever they traveled. It then seemed like a good idea to not just be out in the fresh air but also to really take notice of what they were seeing, which in many places was birds. The next step, of course, was to try to identify what they were seeing. So Tom says “it was kind of a slippery slope to becoming the enthusiastic novice birders we consider ourselves to be.” Tom says his most memorable experience at BBBO was being there the day that the NPR Science Friday crew came to visit, seeing what went into producing the video, feeling the generally pumpedup atmosphere, and being proud to participate in a small way as BBBO got some well deserved recognition. Like all of us at BBBO, Tom would love to work in the expanded facility that’s on the drawing board and says “more room would be great.” Like others, he does sometimes find the noise levels make it hard to hear the information being dictated by the banders. “Perhaps we need to find a way to gently remind staff and visitors to keep their voices down.” What others on the staff notice and particularly appreciate is his excellent but gentle skill in training new scribes, his sharp eyes at catching occasional errors, and his smile and good humor! Thank you for all your hard work, Tom! - Betsy Brooks “Any day I get to see a bird I haven’t seen before, or a rare one, or a particularly beautiful one, is exciting, as is any day I learn more about birds and their behavior.” - BBBO Volunteer Tom Verhulst.
Page 1 and 2: Spring 2010 www.bbbo.org The Marsh
Page 3 and 4: arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum). Cage
Page 5: Top 10 species banded during autumn

Spring 2010 - Braddock Bay Bird Observatory

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