MCAMMP Project:
The Milwaukee County Avian
Migration Monitoring Partnership

Few experiences compare with feeling the rapid heartbeat of a bird in your hand while releasing it back to the wild. Researchers and community participants band migrating birds in Riverside and Kletzsch parks during the spring and fall migrations. If you'd like to spend an early morning with the birds, contact Tim Vargo at tvargo@urbanecologycenter.org or 414.964.8505, x116.

Spring Banding in Full Swing (Almost)

Field notes written by Tim Vargo, Manager of Research and Citizen Science

Here's a quick update on the 2008 banding season. We have had a rough time of it this season as rain and high winds plagued us many mornings. Yet we are determined to band as many times as we can.

Spring 2008 Statistics

Banding Report - 5/21/08, Riverside Park:

What a difference a day makes.

Yesterday - 19 birds. Today - ONE. A male American Robin. That's it!

But what a beautiful robin.

Banding Report - 5/20/08, Riverside Park:

A special thank you to those who set up banding this morning in my absence. The less I'm needed at the station is a testament to how strong you have become as volunteer banders

Banded Birds (or caught in nets):

19 individuals, 13 species

Gray Catbird (3)
Baltimore Oriole (2)
Northern Waterthrush (2)
Eastern Wood Pewee (2)
Red-winged Blackbird (2)
Ovenbird (1)
Swainson's Thrush (1)
Downy Woodpecker (1)
Indigo Bunting (1)
Least Flycatcher (1)
Common Yellowthroat (1)
American Robin (1)
Common Grackle (1)

Banding Report - 5/17/08, Riverside Park:

We started late (7:30) as the wind was playing mind games with me - should have started at 5:30 but regardless had our best day of the spring so far.

Banded Birds (or caught in nets):

18 individuals, 11 species, 6 sp of warbler, finally getting Swainson's Thrushes.

Red-winged Blackbird (2, 1 Male, and 1 Female recap from 2 days ago)
Gray Catbird (1)
Swainson's Thrush (3)
Northern Cardinal (1)
Least Flycatcher (1)
Palm Warbler (1)
Magnolia Warbler (1)
American Redstart (1)
Northern Waterthrush (4)
Ovenbird (1)
Wilson's Warbler (2)

Observed birds:

I didn't do a very good job on the observed list today, so I'm undoubtedly missing many.
Number of species: 38

Canada Goose (6)
Mallard (12) Watched mom lead her ducklings all the way from the Ecology Center, cross the bike path, through Riverside Park to the Milwaukee River.
Green Heron (2)
Cooper's Hawk (2)
Red-tailed Hawk (1)
Herring Gull (2)
Chimney Swift (7)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (1)
Least Flycatcher (4)
American Crow (2)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (4)
Black-capped Chickadee (2)
White-breasted Nuthatch (1)
Swainson's Thrush (3)
American Robin (4)
Gray Catbird (1)
European Starling (2)
Chestnut-sided Warbler (1)
Magnolia Warbler (1)
Black-throated Green Warbler (1)
Palm Warbler (1)
American Redstart (1)
Ovenbird (1)
Northern Waterthrush (3)
Wilson's Warbler (2)
Chipping Sparrow (1)
Song Sparrow (2)
Northern Cardinal (2)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (3)
Indigo Bunting (1)
Red-winged Blackbird (6)
Common Grackle (2)
Brown-headed Cowbird (2)
Baltimore Oriole (1)
House Finch (2)
American Goldfinch (6)
House Sparrow (10)
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Banding Report - 5/6/08, Riverside Park:

Very interesting and eventful day. Twenty schoolchildren watched as we released a White-throated Sparrow - only to witness our resident Cooper's Hawk come out of nowhere and snatch the newly banded bird in it's talons and fly off. The crowd showed a mixed reaction of terror and awe to witness this spectacle. We think we heard one of the teachers start singing the "Circle of Life" song from the Lion King. Needless to say we changed the release location for the remaining birds to the denser forest rather than the open oak savanna.

Put up 8 nets this morning.

Banded Birds (or caught in nets):

Swamp Sparrows (2, male)
Ovenbird (1)
Red-winged Blackbird (2, male; 1, female)
White-throated Sparrow (1)
American Goldfinch (1)
Northern Waterthrush (1)
Northern Cardinal (1, male)

Banding Report - 5/5/08, Riverside Park:

Put up 8 nets this morning, perfect conditions, but only 3 birds. There were very few birds around and obviously even fewer low in the vegetation.

Banded Birds (or caught in nets):

Red-winged Blackbird (2, female)
Swamp sparrow (1)

Banding Report - 5/1/08, Riverside Park:

Well, we knew it was windy but we decided to band anyway, and were quickly shown why we don't band on windy days. No birds, even with a light wind. Although a secondary factor was the fact that there were very few birds around, especially in the undergrowth - migration has been stalled by the recent cold front and the birds that were around were up high.

Thank you to the volunteers that came today - at least you got treated to fresh bakery and coffee.

Banding Report - 4/17/08, Riverside Park:

Banding this morning was taken over by an angry mob of Brown Creepers. They wouldn't let anything else fly into "their" nets. The wind was a little strong making the nets visible and a lot of the activity was up high. We only kept the nets open for 3 hours. Thank you to all the volunteers who came out this morning.

Banded Birds (or caught in nets):

Brown Creeper (6)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (1)
Eastern Phoebe (1)
Song Sparrow (1)
Hermit Thrush (1)

Observed birds:

Here is a list of all the birds observed in the park this morning, which includes birds seen by the regular Thursday morning birders: (35 species in all)

Canada Goose (20)
Wood Duck (2)
Mallard (21)
Double-crested Cormorant (31)
Turkey Vulture (1)
Cooper's Hawk (2, their nest is easily seen from the banding table, provides good entertainment during slow periods)
Peregrine Falcon (1)
Killdeer (1)
Ring-billed Gull (2)
Herring Gull (1)
Belted Kingfisher (1)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (3)
Downy Woodpecker (3)
Hairy Woodpecker (1)
Northern Flicker (1)
Eastern Phoebe (2)
American Crow (9)
Tree Swallow (1)
Black-capped Chickadee (4)
White-breasted Nuthatch (1)
Brown Creeper (3)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (1)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (9)
Hermit Thrush (1)
American Robin (16)
European Starling (24)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (5)
Song Sparrow (2)
Dark-eyed Junco (2)
Northern Cardinal (3)
Red-winged Blackbird (5)
Brown-headed Cowbird (7)
House Finch (2)
American Goldfinch (23)
House Sparrow (5)

Fall 2007 Statistics

Banding Report - 9/28/07, Kletzsch Park:

Absolutely gorgeous weather at Kletzsch Park (Milwaukee) this morning. Slow but steady stream of birds.

Banded Birds (or caught in nets):

Gray Catbird
Northern Cardinal
White-throated Sparrow (2)
Swainson's Thrush (2)
Hermit Thrush
Black-capped Chickadee (3)
Ovenbird (3)
Northern Waterthrush
Northern Flicker

Observed birds:

Number of species: 20

A great view of an Osprey in the morning
Canada Goose 68
Great Blue Heron 1
Osprey 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Northern Flicker 2
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 8
Black-capped Chickadee 6
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Swainson's Thrush 2
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 4
Gray Catbird 2
Ovenbird 3
Northern Waterthrush 1
White-throated Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 3
American Goldfinch 2

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Banding Report - 9/25/07, Riverside Park:

We had another slow day banding:

Banded Birds:

5 Swainson's Thrush (3 successful samples)
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush
1 Tennessee Warbler
1 Northern Waterthrush (recaptured immediately after release)

Observed Birds:

Number of species: 25

Canada Goose 8
Mallard 6
Cooper's Hawk 1
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Mourning Dove 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
Red-eyed Vireo 1
American Crow 2
Black-capped Chickadee 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Gray-cheeked Thrush 1
Swainson's Thrush 7
American Robin 5
Gray Catbird 1
Cedar Waxwing 7
Tennessee Warbler 1
Northern Waterthrush 2
White-throated Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 2
American Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow 10

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Banding Report - 9/21/07, Kletzsch Park:

Once again, a beautiful day, but VERY few birds flying around anywhere much less into our nets. We closed up the nets after about three hours.

Banded Birds (or caught in nets):

5 White-throated Sparrows
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Observed Birds:

Number of species: 16

Canada Goose 11
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Eastern Screech-Owl 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Swainson's Thrush 1
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 1
White-throated Sparrow 5
Northern Cardinal 2
American Goldfinch 3

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Banding Report - 9/18/07, Riverside Park:

Perfect weather, but very few birds - almost all birds were caught in the first hour and then virtually nothing for two hours so we closed early.

Banded Birds:

1 Black-capped Chickadee (recap from last week - went from heavy molt to molt completion in a week)
1 Northern Cardinal (juv)
1 Northern Waterthrush
1 Common Yellowthroat
2 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Black-and-white Warbler
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush
1 Swainson's Thrush

Observed Birds:

Number of species: 19

Canada Goose 11
American Kestrel 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 3
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Black-capped Chickadee 4
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Gray-cheeked Thrush 1
Swainson's Thrush 6
Blackpoll Warbler 2
Black-and-white Warbler 1
American Redstart 1
Northern Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Northern Cardinal 1
American Goldfinch 4

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Banding Report - 9/11/07, Riverside Park:

Slow morning as winds picked up steadily and forced us to close early.

Banded Birds:

4 Swainson's Thrush
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Northern Waterthrush
1 American Redstart
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush
1 Northern Cardinal

Observed Birds:

Number of species: 33

Canada Goose X
Mallard X
Great Blue Heron X
Cooper's Hawk X
American Kestrel X
Ring-billed Gull X
Ruby-throated Hummingbird X
Downy Woodpecker X
Northern Flicker X
Eastern Wood-Pewee X
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Black-capped Chickadee X
Red-breasted Nuthatch X
White-breasted Nuthatch X
Gray-cheeked Thrush X
Swainson's Thrush X
American Robin X
Gray Catbird X
Tennessee Warbler X
Nashville Warbler X
Magnolia Warbler X
Black-throated Green Warbler X
Black-and-white Warbler X
American Redstart X
Ovenbird X
Northern Waterthrush X
Common Yellowthroat X
Song Sparrow X
White-throated Sparrow X
Northern Cardinal X
Rose-breasted Grosbeak X
American Goldfinch X