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When spring migration comes to a close, we at Black Swamp Bird Observatory quickly switch gears and begin new banding endeavors. Summer is when we transition over to a different program called MAPS, or Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship, which focuses on breeding birds. MAPS is a continent-wide banding scheme where stations throughout the country all follow the same protocol to collect data on the birds that breed in their area. The breeding season is separated into ten-day periods, and banding occurs on one day during each of those periods. BSBO runs two MAPS stations: one at the BSBO office in Magee Marsh and one in Oak Openings Preserve Metropark.
Sunrise in Oak Openings
Weather wise, 2026 wasn't too bad of a summer (summer heat is often the thing that affects our efforts the most). We were able to operate our full amount of hours most days and avoid one July week with exceptionally high temperatures. We always wish it was a little cooler, but overall conditions were tolerable.
In Oak Openings, following extensive woody undergrowth clearing last year, we had a slight uptick in new birds banded but less species banded. Gray Catbird (which heavily utilized the previous shrubby undergrowth and had been the top species banded for a number of years in a row) was again present in low numbers, similar to last summer. That might sound bad, but, the areas the catbirds were occupying would have historically been dominated by grasses, ferns, small trees, and sand barrens. Interestingly though, this was a record summer for Yellow-breasted Chat (which use about the same habitat) with 8 banded (previous high of 7 in 2020). Possibly coinciding with the clearing, we also had an increase in new Field Sparrows, which also saw a record summer with 30 birds banded (previous high of 20 in 2020). In the mix of new and recapture Field Sparrows, we had a particularly old return (banded in a previous year) sparrow at 9 years and 1 month old. A couple more summers and he'll set a new longevity record! And while we didn't catch any, we were serenaded by Eastern Whip-poor-wills nearly every morning.
At BSBO, the habitat and birds continue to change (and stay the same for some). One of the goals of this station (which is still relatively young with this being the 8th year of operation) is to examine species composition as the site matures into forest. With dogwood being the predominant woody plant, the habitat is mostly mature scrub-shrub, favored by Gray Catbirds. This was actually the second highest summer for the species (with the highest being our inaugural summer in 2017).
Another species that tends to favor the dogwood scrub-shrub is Yellow Warbler which experienced a slight increase in numbers compared to recent years. Although 32 Yellow Warblers wasn't nearly as high as the first two years (90 in 2017, 118 in 2018) it was higher than the past four years. But as previously mentioned, as this site continues to mature - with oaks, maples, and cottonwoods growing taller and taller - it's interesting to document more "forest" associated species. For the third summer in a row, Wood Thrush were banded, as well as a third year with Black-and-white Warbler. This was also the first summer we banded (and recorded in general) Least Flycatcher (which according to range maps, doesn't breed too far away) and Acadian Flycatcher (which does breed in the region, but prefers larger forests).
Species longevity and other population statistics are an important piece of conservation information that can be gained from MAPS banding. For more information about the MAPS program, check out www.birdpop.org/pages/maps.
With the breeding bird season now behind us, we're busy getting back into fall migration operations in the Navarre Marsh Banding Station. Here is an initial breakdown of the numbers from this summer: Oak Openings:
BSBO Headquarters:
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 Recently at BSBO's Oak Openings breeding bird banding site, our team recaptured an exceptionally old Field Sparrow. At 9 years and 1 month old, he's possibly the oldest Field Sparrow we've had at the site! He was originally banded at this location in June 2017 as a hatching year bird (hatched that year), with a first return in July 2025 (where he was determined to be male), and a second return this July.
He's got a couple more summers to go before setting a new longevity record for the species. But just try to think about it... All the things this humble sparrow has seen and avoided. Seed-sodden fields found; brutal winters and predators evaded. Some Field Sparrows remain in Ohio for winter, but many depart for southerly states. How many thousands of miles has this bird traveled back and forth each year, just to eventually make it back to the same field he was hatched in? Sparrows don't always get the same admiration as other birds, but they accomplish the same feats and push through the same hardships. Moments and sparrows like this remind us that every bird has a story waiting to be revealed. And through banding, that story has an opportunity to be told. You can support BSBO's research efforts through our Sponsor a Mist Net program: https://www.bsbo.org/sponsor-a-mist-net.html |
