 Pictured from Top Left, Clockwise: White-throated Sparrow, Blackburnian Warbler, Eastern Whip-poor-will, Brewster's Warbler (Golden-winged x Blue-winged hybrid), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (black-crowned variant), Prothonotary Warbler, Green Heron, and Scarlet Tanager With the spring migration banding season now behind us, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the highlights and observations from the banding station. Spring 2026 was...average. BUT THAT'S GREAT! After a few years of slower spring migrations, 2026 was kind of a return to normal. Average number of birds banded, average net hours, average birds per net hour... It was nice to have a migration season that felt like years past. That being said, warblers (the family we're most known for capturing) were mostly average or below average by species. Warblers that were above average were: Prothonotary, Worm-eating, Northern Parula, Bay-breasted, Pine, Northern and Louisiana Waterthrush, Connecticut, Mourning, and Common Yellowthroat. Ruby-crowned Kinglet is another species that we typically catch a fair number of, but were below average this season. Males seemed to come through at their typical timeframe in mid- to late-April, but there wasn't as big of a push by females in early-May. Golden-crowned Kinglet, too, (although not captured at the same rate as Ruby-crowned in spring) was also below average. However, the end of March (before the banding season began) had some exceptionally warm days that may have expedited passage by these miniscule migrants. But given the somewhat lower numbers by typically high-captured species, two species made up for the discrepancy with exceptionally (and record breaking!) high numbers which accounted for ~20% of total birds banded: White-throated Sparrow and Gray Catbird. Peak capture dates for each species were: White-throated Sparrow - April 24, 146; Gray Catbird - May 13, 94. Aside from their peak capture dates, these two species remained consistent throughout much of the season, with White-throated Sparrow nearly reaching 1,000 birds banded (there were even some individuals still around the station when we closed up on June 3). During the Biggest Week in American Birding, we did get a little jealous of some of the rare species that showed up in the region, that did not get the memo to fly over to the banding station. However, we did have a number of species that we rarely catch show up, giving us informative looks at what we consider to be "rare" birds:
And lastly, another "rare" species that it was an exceptional year for was Eastern Whip-poor-will (EWPW), with 8 being banded. The first EWPW of the season was seen in early April on a day that - due to the weather - the station was not able to operate. The first to be banded was April 24, the last May 14, and a peak capture date of May 4 with 3 banded. Some springs we don't even catch or record a single EWPW, so to have 8 captured plus more singing throughout the marsh made the early mornings even more worthwhile! While there is much work ahead on data entry, presented here is a preliminary breakdown of some of the numbers from this season: Total Birds Banded: 7,574 Species Banded: 105 (+1 hybrid) Banding Days: 55 Total Number of Net Hours: 6,206 Number of Returns (birds banded in a previous season/year): 181 Number of Volunteers: 57 Species with New High Records:
Species that Matched High Records:
Top Ten Species Banded (with average):
For more numbers and graphs from the spring 2026 season, head over to our Migration Tracking page. If you'd like to support our research efforts, you can donate directly through our Sponsor a Mist Net program. Mist nets are a vital tool at the banding station, allowing us to safely capture birds in order to band them and collect data from individuals. Mist nets are also our biggest expense. The sun and weather gradually breakdown fibers in the net, holes form from larger birds and vegetation snags, and deer will often run through them - creating even larger holes and breaking tension lines within the net. In an average year, we end up needing to replace all of our nets - 25 in total. You can help us in our efforts by clicking the below. We'd like to thank our passionate group of volunteers and seasonal technicians that put all their effort into ensuring a successful banding operation for both data quality and bird safety. We couldn't do it without all your help!!! Check back tomorrow for an exciting post from one of these awesome volunteers!
Many thanks to Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge for their continued support of this project (both in research and management of this invaluable habitat); Vistra Corp.'s Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station for preserving and allowing access to this incredible area; and Winous Point Marsh for their commitment to research and conservation and for providing housing for BSBO's spring passerine tech. A big thank you to all who follow along with and share our daily updates! And another big THANK YOU to all of our BSBO members and donors who make all of our research, education, and outreach programs possible!
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