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  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Mission and Vision Statement
    • Equality and Diversity Policy
    • BSBO Board of Directors
    • BSBO Staff
    • Visit BSBO >
      • Directions
      • Building Improvements
      • Anna Macke Mikolajczyk Window On Wildlife
      • John Gallagher Memorial Birding Trail
    • eNews
    • BSBO Blogs >
      • BSBO CONSERVATION BLOG
      • BSBO Bird Bander's Blog
      • BSBO Education and Outreach Blog
    • Contact Us
  • Support BSBO
    • Donate
    • Join or Renew
    • BSBO Swamp Shop
    • Education Center
    • Sponsor A Mist Net
    • Help BSBO while you shop
    • Birds and Business Alliance
    • Birder Tea Fundraiser
  • RESEARCH
    • Peer-Reviewed Publications
    • Songbird Research >
      • Migration Monitoring >
        • Migration Tracking
      • Prothonotary Warbler Research
      • Building Collision Study
      • Oak Openings
    • Morning Flight Count
    • Project SNOWstorm >
      • About Project SNOWstorm
      • Meet Buckeye
      • Meet Wolverine
    • Research Highlights >
      • Gray-Cheeked Thrush from Colombia, South America
      • BSBO Bird Bander's Blog
    • Past Research >
      • Colonial Wading Birds
      • Ohio Winter Bird Atlas
      • Shorebirds
    • Reports >
      • Annual Project Reports
      • Navarre Marsh Annual Banding and Survey Data
    • Research Volunteer Form
    • Research Volunteer Page
  • EDUCATION
    • Bird Migration Profiles
    • Family Activities >
      • Free Online Resources
    • Young Birders >
      • Ohio Young Birders Club
      • Youth Birding Camps
    • Teachers >
      • Songbird Banding and Migration Programs
      • Students Against Balloon Releases
    • Group Programs >
      • Presentations by Request
    • BSBO Bird Knowins
  • Conservation
    • BioBlitzes
    • Bird-safe / Birder-friendly Communities
    • Responsible Wind Energy
    • Conservation Updates
    • Position Statement on Feral and Free-Ranging Cats
    • Habitat Designations
    • Easy Ways for YOU to Support Conservation
  • EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
    • Birding with BSBO >
      • BSBO's Biggest Week In American Birding
      • Frequent Flyer Birding
      • Lake Erie Pelagics
    • Birds at Home
    • Highway Clean-up
    • Calendar of Events
  • NW OHIO BIRDING
    • Responsible Owl Viewing
    • Regional Bird Checklist
    • Timing of Spring Migration
    • Timing of Fall Migration
    • Timing of Fall Shorebird Migration
    • Spring Migration Wave Theory
    • ABA Code of Birding Ethics
    • Birding Ohio

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A Surprise Encounter From Our Morning Point Count

8/19/2020

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Picture
​After photographing this Yellow-billed Cuckoo (YBCU) for nearly half an hour, I was flabbergasted when I pulled up the photos on my computer and realized this bird was BANDED! In over 200 photos of this bird, the band showed for only a brief few seconds during the photoshoot owing to short legs and a cuckoo’s propensity for lounging low on a branch. While we’ll almost certainly never be able to read the band number well enough to determine which individual bird this is, the most likely explanation is that this is a locally-breeding, adult YBCU banded by BSBO in a previous year.  

There are a few pieces of information that help us reach this conclusion. First, we know that BSBO did not band this bird in 2020, since we haven’t banded any YBCU this year, so if this bird was banded by us, it didn’t happen this year. Second, when we look closely at the band, we can see that the edges have been worn smooth and round, a phenomenon that only happens after (typically) years of wear on a band. This bird was definitely not banded any time recently.  

So we’re left with two explanations. Option a.) this bird was banded by BSBO in a previous year, or b.) this bird was banded by another bander/banding station in a previous year. In order to parse those options a bit further we need to consider recapture likelihood. “Foreign recapture,” a bird recaptured in a location away from its original banding site, is an occurrence that happens very infrequently in bird banding. A much more frequent occurrence is encountering a “return” bird, one that has been recaptured at the original banding location, but in a season other than that in which it was originally banded. Just considering this likelihood alone, the chance of this bird being a BSBO return is much higher than the chance this is a foreign recapture from another station.  

One final piece of natural history information helps us even further in our thought investigation. Many species of birds, including YBCU, show some site-fidelity to the breeding grounds, meaning they will return to the same general area year after year to breed, particularly if they have been successful in mating and raising young there. YBCU is a regular breeding bird in the Navarre Marsh and their “kowlp” calls echo through the June beach ridge forests each day once they make their return.   

While we may never be able to say for sure who this individual is or how old they are, one thing is for certain, the beach ridge habitat in Navarre Marsh is important breeding and stopover habitat for many tens of thousands of birds annually, plus one happy cuckoo.  

Don't forget to follow BSBO on Facebook where you can stay up-to-date with our daily point counts and join us every Wednesday (about a half hour after sunrise) for Morning Marsh Moments when we go live during our point counts and give a glimpse into BSBO's research station. 
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    ABOUT THE
    ​NAVARRE MARSH BANDING STATION

    The Observatory's primary banding 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 migration 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 well-known beach ridge of the Magee Marsh Bird Wildlife Area where the world-famous boardwalk is situated. 

    Two other remnant beach ridge habitats in Northwest Ohio are the Darby unit of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and 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 access to research students when special arrangements are made in advance. 

    We'd love to hear from you! Let us know how you like the BSBO Bird Bander's Blog by emailing us at: [email protected]. 
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