The Navarre Marsh Migration Monitoring Station is located in Navarre Marsh behind the Davis Besse Nuclear Power Station on Toledo Edison property. Migration monitoring consists of constant effort mist netting and morning point counts (5 minute counts at 6 locations at the research site). Habitat is remnant beach ridge consisting of canopy trees of Hackberry, Kentucky Coffeetree, and Cottonwood with tremendous under story of rough-leaved Dogwood on the sand ridges. This is similar to the vegetation found on the most know beach ridge of the Magee Marsh Bird Trail. Two other remnant beach ridge habitats in Northwest Ohio are on the Darby unit of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and at the Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge. The Navarre beach ridge is the largest of them all occupying about 370 acres of wetland and beach ridge habitat.

The Navarre Marsh Migration Monitoring Station is on private property and not open to the public, however, we are able to give programs to groups at the site when special arrangements are made in advance.

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SPRING 2008

Tuesday, 13 May
Light fog this morning which cleared up with a southeast winds and sunshine all day. Nets were up 6 hours 40 minutes with a capture of 122 new banded birds and 68 recaptures. Several more old banded Yellow Warblers and the Sharp-shinned Hawk we banded yesterday. The day’s catch included 31 species with 14 warbler species.  Highlights for the day were a Summer Tanager female, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker female, Eastern Kingbird, and several Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. We heard the Summer Tanager calling when we set up the nets this morning and sure enough this afternoon she came low enough to visit the net. It was a surprise to see the sapsucker. They are normally gone by mid-May. 

Summer Tanager female



Summer Tanager female
 

A nice After-second Year (ASY) male Baltimore Oriole
with its great tail pattern to show off.

An interesting sighting today, while walking up to a net I saw a White-crowned Sparrow near the net on a log displaying its crest to another White-crown caught in the net. It was walking up and down the log with its feathers on its crown all poofed up. It looked like a black and white afro on its head. I have seen the crest raised so it looks like a point on its head but I had never seen the feathers on its head raised this much.  This was like a small black and white striped golf ball on top of its head. There is never a boring moment in nature—that is for sure! 

                Top 7 species for the day: 

*most of these were females coming to the ground to look for nesting material. 

The weather may cause us to dodge raindrops tomorrow but it looks like a good chance for the second wave of migrants to make a push. Tonight the winds are to be south southeast with a low in the 50’s. It could be good for bird watching tomorrow. We shall see if the weatherman gets it right.

Enjoy the day!
Julie Shieldcastle

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Monday 12, May
The weather makes you wonder if it is May or April outside. Cool and drizzly this morning with a strong north wind which dampened the birds from moving around. The temperatures were in the low 50’s even by afternoon and the sun never came out. I never thought we would catch a Ruby-throated Hummingbird today in this weather but one male made an appearance. Another highlight for the day was a recapture of a Sharp-shinned Hawk we caught several days ago and a new one. We are up to 13 Sharpies for the spring. We had 25 recaptures today with 2 Yellow Warblers, 1 Warbling Vireo, 1 Prothonotary Warbler, 1 Common Yellowthroat, and 1 Gray Catbird returning to the station from previous years. We have not caught any foreign recoveries, i.e. someone else’s banded birds, yet this year. 

Despite the weather we caught and banded 93 new birds, 30 species which included 15 species of warbler. At the first net check there was a net with 5 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in it! What a noise they make! Their squawk is quite obnoxious---however, once you have heard it you can tell it is a grosbeak when you hear it anywhere! With the strong winds, the birds were hunkered down in areas out of the wind. 

Here is the net with the grosbeaks in it, just imagine the noise…. 

                    Top seven species for the day: 

If the winds turn to the south, it looks like this week will be good for a push of second wavers - orioles, tanagers, grosbeaks, tons-of-Magnolia Warblers and potential for 20 plus species of warbler. Tomorrow winds are going to be from the SE so a better day is in store!

Quiz bird for you and always a great bird to see, what is this bird?

Enjoy the beauty of the season!
Julie Shieldcastle (female Blackburnian Warbler)

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Sunday, 11 May
Well, the weatherperson was right on the forecast… It rained after the nets were put up for a couple of hours. There were definitely birds out there. Then the rain shut us down completely. For the day we caught 65 new birds with 11 recaptures. Thirteen warbler species for the day…not bad for a short day. 

We caught our first Great Crested Flycatcher this year! It was neat because you could tell it was a second-year bird (hatched last year). It is not always as easy as one would think to see the differentiation in the primary covert wear on brown feathers. 

                   Top 6 species for today:

Look for the wind changing to the south and then the bushes will be dripping with Magnolia Warblers! 

Enjoy the beauty of the season!
Julie Shieldcastle

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Saturday May 10^th—International Migratory Bird Day!
And where were you on this date! It seemed like everyone was here in the Marsh Region celebrating the return of the songbirds! Forces were split up today with a public banding demonstration at the west entrance of the Magee Marsh W/A boardwalk and running the Navarre station. Nice variety of birds at the boardwalk from what I heard. I only saw what was around the parking lot. Around 10:00 AM while walking to cheek the mist nets for the demonstration there were 100+ people surrounding the Port-o-Johns looking up in the trees overtop. What a sight that was! Of course, we had to stop and ask what they were looking at. Can you believe it a Yellow-throated Warbler be-bopping over the top of the Port-o-Johns! It was around for some time because at 5:00 PM it was still in the trees near the parking lot above my truck. You never know what you might see and where you might see it.  

Not much diversity at the banding demonstration. Lots of Myrtle Warblers, blackbirds, and White-throated Sparrows were caught out of the total of 77. 

Here are the results from Navarre: 106 New banded birds of 23 species including 40 recaptures. Fourteen warbler species caught today. Lots of Red-winged Blackbirds and House Wrens jumped in the nets today. 

              Top 7 species for Navarre today:

Looks like rain tomorrow and an easterly wind so it is not looking good. Maybe the weatherperson will have an incorrect forecast. 

Enjoy the spring colors!
Julie Shieldcastle

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Friday, 9 May
Another nice day to be outside! Discovery Tours, an Arizona tour group, visited the banding station today. They were in for a real treat! We also had the pleasure of a few banders from New York and surrounding states. It is always a pleasure to have visiting researchers see our operation and share ideas and talk shop.  

For the day we had a total of 190 new birds including 30 species and 38 recaptures. More of those lovely White-throated Sparrows are sticking around for a few more days.

The highlights for the day were a Red-headed Woodpecker, two more Sharp-shinned Hawks, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and male and female Northern Parulas. Twenty species of warbler were caught today with 22 seen on the area. 

              Top 8 species for the day:

Look at the large white wing patches on this Red-headed Woodpecker

Enjoy Spring!
Julie Shieldcastle

_________

Thursday, 8 May
I should have known the weatherperson did not know how to predict the weather. The only thing they got correct was the wind direction. No rain at our station today. The winds started out northwest and by 11:00 AM were out of the east northeast which quieted down the birds. There was still a nice variety around despite the chill in the air. During the point count this morning there was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird feeding ravenously on the flowers of the bladdernut shrub. Quite a few Barn Swallows moving around the marsh here in Navarre and at Magee Marsh this afternoon. 

Today we had 125 new birds and 31 recaptures which included 29 species. Most of the recaptures consisted of White-throated Sparrows. There also was more White-throated Sparrow song in the marsh today. The north winds must have pushed some down. It has been many days that we have had that much song by White-throats. Two more old banded Gray Catbirds, a Yellow Warbler, and a Prothonotary Warbler from previous years. Finding out the original banding year is a rainy day project.

Highlights were of course the Blackburnian Warbler male with the glowing orange throat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Orange-crowned and Bay-breasted Warblers. It has been interesting that most of the Orange-crowns caught recently were early. Today we had 3 before 07:00 AM. I guess you might have to come early to get a glimpse of Orange-crowns when out birding. Sixteen species of warblers were captured with two others heard on the site. 
                     Top 6 species for today:

Just for fun here is your quiz bird for today (answer at the bottom).

And another gorgeous bird that is in trouble is the Yellow-breasted Chat. Its numbers are declining with the removal of its breeding habitat of 3 plus acres of shrub/scrub required for nesting by these birds. The more shrub/scrub habitat the better. BSBO once owned Christy Farms Nature Preserve which had a large patch of shrub/scrub about 4 acres and one year this parcel had 3 pairs of chats and at least one extra male. We knew this because we ran a breeding bird project on the property as part of the national bird monitoring program - Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (M.A.P.S.) where we caught them on the area. It was quite an eye opening experience to have that many chats in that area. Shrub/scrub habitat doesn’t look clean and neat and most landowners do not like the looks of it. However, it has so many benefits in all seasons. Shrub habitat is great for migratory stopover habitat for songbirds with a lot of surface area for bugs. Blocks of this habitat provides breeding habitat for birds restricted to those habitats such as chats, towhees, and thrashers. It provides good cover in the winter too and many times provides food resources depending on the shrub species. 

A banding million dollar question: Can you determine the sex of this chat in this picture?

Answer: Yes, you can sex chats by their mouth lining. If it is pink then it is female if it is black then it is a male. So there you have it. This one is a male. One must be careful in determining males by the brilliance of their colors because older females of the same species can take on male coloration traits and often deepen their colors.  

There are many interesting things to see and learn in nature.

Get out and enjoy Spring!
Julie Shieldcastle

_________

Wednesday, 7 May
Another beautiful day in the marsh, southwest winds brought in a few more species but not a lot of volume yet. The next few days look a little wet and winds will turn to the northeast so the birds will not be going north until the wind turns around. Total new banded birds for the day was 230 including 47 species and 16 recaptures. More old Gray Catbirds returning today. Twenty-two species of warbler were captured with 26 species seen/heard in Navarre. It seemed like an exceptional early day for catching over a dozen American Redstarts.

Highlights for the day were Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Hairy Woodpecker, Gambel’s White-crowned Sparrow, Mourning Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, 5 Northern Parula, Hooded Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, and Yellow-breasted Chat. 

Gambel’s White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelli) is a western race of the White-crowned Sparrow. The eastern race Zonotrichia leucophrys leucophrys of the White-crowned Sparrow can be identified by the presence of the black line in the lore area. The Gambel’s race lacks the black in the lore area. 

                 Top 7 species for the day:

Beautiful head of the male Cape May Warbler 

Pair of Cape May Warblers—note the female still has the markings of the male but duller—I say the female has the shadow field marks of the male. Except the female has two wing bars and the male has one large wing bar. 

There is always something to enjoy in nature. 

Enjoy spring!
Julie Shieldcastle 

_________

Tuesday, 6 May
Light winds overnight did not produce much variety. Mid-morning the winds shifted off the lake with the presence of the high pressure system. It still was a beautiful day regardless of the apparent lower diversity of species. Once again Myrtle and Western Palm Warblers dominated the net waves. I tend to ignore the many White-throated Sparrows. They always seem to be around. However, one should not be complacent about the numerous non-descript birds. They are important too in the whole scheme of things.

Baltimore Orioles were of course around the station. A male Scarlet Tanager serenaded but no chance for an up close visit today. The best bird of the day was the male Black-throated Blue Warbler. Nice adult male with a broad white wing patch or handkerchief on its wing.

We caught our first Traill’s Flycatcher today. Traill’s Flycatcher is what banders call the Alder and Willow Flycatcher because they look similar and cannot be told apart in most cases unless you take certain wing measurements and then there is great overlap in the measurements. Maybe one in ten can be keyed out to either an Alder or Willow Flycatcher.

For just over 6 hours the nets were open to produce 188 new banded birds of 31 species and 16 recaptures. We caught several older banded Gray Catbirds. There are still a few Hermit Thrushes around. We did catch two Gray-cheeked Thrushes so be on the lookout for the all brown back and tail bird with no eye-ring.

                  Top 7 species for the day were:

The winds are to be southerly tonight and tomorrow so it could be a good migration day. So anywhere in the Lake Erie Marshes should be good places to go. I heard that for International Migratory Bird Day on Saturday and for Sunday, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is having their auto tour both days. This will be a good opportunity to see different marsh and grassland habitats for migrants including raptors, land birds and potentially shorebirds.

There are a whole host of choices of what to do on Saturday so come on out and enjoy the beauty and spectacle of songbird migration! Bird walks, optic displays, breakfast, lunch, and a whole lot more! The Bird Observatory will have a banding demonstration to see the migrants up close down at the west entrance of Magee Boardwalk alongside Tom Bartlett’s BIG SIT. Don’t miss the fun and camaraderie of the great birdwatchers from all over the country and the world. This is a statement to the value of this Lake Erie Marsh habitat.

Enjoy Spring!
Julie Shieldcastle
 

The pictures I promised you -
Male Summer Tanager from yesterday.


 

Female Scarlet Tanager—Second Year bird-note the brown primary coverts: So how do you tell a female Summer from a Scarlet Tanager? The easiest way in the hand is the underwing linings of the Scarlet Tanager are white and the Summer Tanager wing lining is yellow. There are often other coloration differences but for those that do not see many this is the definitive characteristic.

_________

Monday, 5 May
Southwest winds brought in more birds today with few of the second wave birds trickling in. The low pressure cells are moving north soon after they hit the Oklahoma/Arkansas region instead of moving east to northeast. I am not complaining. We have had few northeast or east winds which can cut down on the amount of birds in our area. It has been busy and enjoyable with the birds that we have had around. 

I cannot speak for most of the day except from the numbers given. I was conducting a banding demonstration for the regional Soil and Water Conservation folks at Old Woman Creek State Wildlife Area and by the way, it is a great place to go bird watching too.  

There was an Orchard Oriole and Baltimore Orioles taunting me way up in the trees and I heard several species of warblers from the Visitor’s Center. They have great trails along the creek to explore for migrants too! We have so many great places to bird in Ohio—it is one of our greatest assets. 

Back to the birds…. while I was working at Old Woman Creek wouldn’t you know they caught a male Summer Tanager in Navarre! Yeah, I only saw little pictures on the digital camera view finder and guess what, you will have to wait until tomorrow for the picture. No, it is not like the check is in the mail, stay tuned they are coming… 

The catch for today in Navarre consisted of 212 new banded birds with 25 recaptures. Seventeen warbler species were caught with the highlights for the day being Summer Tanager, Golden-winged Warbler male, Cape May Warbler, Eastern Kingbird, Yellow-breasted Chat!, and five Red-breasted Nuthatches. Sure seems like the northern birds are hanging around a bit longer than usual. I even heard that a small flock of Pine Siskins were in the trees in the parking lot of the Sportsman’s Migratory Bird Center this afternoon. We did catch the first Baltimore Oriole today! 

               Top 7 species for the day:

*highest capture for the day for Ruby-crowned Kinglets

**12 birds were caught in one net at one time!

If you cannot tell by now you all should be out birding before work, after work, take off from work, take vacation for the month of May and enjoy Spring! The birds are everywhere! Enjoy the green spaces near you.

Julie Shieldcastle

_________

Sunday, 4 May
The day started out slow with little song from the birds. It was cool in the 40’s and by 10:00 AM  the temperatures warmed up seemingly to activate the birds. There were a lot of Myrtle Warblers and Western Palm Warblers everywhere. Again we had a few Baltimore Orioles singing  but no luck with catching one. We have caught some very old orioles in past years and I am waiting on their return. 

For the day we caught 208 new banded birds including 27 recaptures with highlights of a Scarlet Tanager female, Prothonotary Warbler, and two more Sharp-shinned Hawks. Nine Sharp-shinned Hawks have made a record catch for the history of the project. Twenty-six species were banded today including 13 species of warblers. 

                   Top 7 species: