A Palm Warbler Kind of Day--Banding at Seven Islands

Banding at Seven Islands State Birding Park in the fall can be spectacular and our banding session on October 11th was just that.  122 birds were banded and 12 recaptured for a total of 134 birds processed by a great banding team.

Photo credit:  Colin Leonard

Among the 19 species banded, 58 were Palm Warblers!  I am focusing this post on this beautiful species and will show you more species in a second post to follow.

Palm Warblers (Setophaga palmarum) breed in bogs and fens of remote boreal forests of the northeast and are considered one of our most northerly breeding wood warblers.  Migrating at night in small flocks, they winter in the southeastern and Gulf coast states, Mexico and the West Indies.  

Photo credit:  Colin Leonard

Our banding session was timed just right to capture this species during migration. They are found at Seven Islands because they like foraging on the ground in grassy and weedy areas and on small shrubs and trees, all plentiful in the park.

Above, a Western Palm Warbler, held in a bander's grip, showing rufous feathers on his head.  The male Palm Warbler wears a rufous crown during breeding season and the visibility of rufous feathers this time of year indicates a male that has molted into winter plumage.

Above and below, Western Palm Warblers (also known as brown).

There are two subspecies of Palm Warblers, the Western Palm Warbler, also referred to as brown, and the Yellow Palm Warbler or Eastern subspecies.  Among our 58 Palm Warblers, we captured one Yellow Palm Warbler which gave us an excellent opportunity to compare the difference.

In the image above, you can see a comparison of the lores (eyebrow area) and throat of the two subspecies of Palm Warblers.  The Western subspecies has a more buffy appearance with buff-colored lores while the Yellow Palm Warbler has yellow lores, throat and belly, shown below.  Photo credit:  Colin Leonard

Above, the Western is on the left and the Yellow subspecies or Eastern on the right. The yellow tail coverts on this species are also distinctive field marks.  In the field, the Palm Warbler is often seen pumping its tail while foraging.  The two subspecies inhabit separate breeding grounds but overlap on their wintering grounds and during migration.  Western Palm Warblers breed roughly west of Ottawa, Ontario, while the Yellow Palm Warbler nests east of Ottawa.  

Only at the banding table do you have the opportunity to see little known features of these beautiful warblers--both subspecies have yellow foot pads!  

Above and below, you can see a good overall comparison of the appearance of the two subspecies, the Yellow Palm Warbler above, and the Western Palm Warbler below.  Photo credit:  Colin Leonard

Photo credit:  Colin Leonard

Banding was conducted by Mark Armstrong, Master Bander of hummingbirds and songbirds, and Billie Cantwell.  Banding studies give scientists information about the relative health and abundance of bird populations, as well as, alert us to changes in the environment.

Thanks to Colin Leonard and Richard Secrist for their assistance in taking photos!

View the second post in this two-part report on our Oct 11th banding session:  Migration Season

Visit my previous posts on bird banding.

Bird Banding at Seven Islands State Birding Park

Knoxville Chapter, Tennessee Ornithological Society

Visit the Knoxville Chapter of TOS on Facebook

Seven Islands State Birding Park

Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge now Seven Islands State Birding Park

Seven Islands State Birding Park--Migrating Warblers!

A beautiful morning full of migrating warblers!

It is fascinating and exciting to see the transition of activities and birds as summer moves into fall. What our banding team captures in the mist net tells that story of change.

Patty Ford and Eddy Whitson set up a mist net in one of the net lanes.

Just a few weeks ago, our mist nets were full of fledgling American Goldfinch and young Field Sparrows and our nets were so full of birds that we had to close a few for a while inorder to get them all banded.  More than 100 birds were processed.

 Above, Patty Ford, stretching a mist net to its end pole.

Today's session was also busy, but the story moved from breeding season to migration.   Above and below, a beautiful Magnolia Warbler.  Even with their fading fall colors, warblers are stunning. 

Magnolia warblers are boreal forest breeders, breeding in Canada and the northeastern U.S.  This time of year they are on their way to wintering grounds, mostly in Mexico and the West Indies to Panama, fattening up along the way.

Above, the beautiful tail pattern of the Magnolia Warbler.

One of the indicators of a healthy, migrating bird are the fat deposits found on the bird's belly indicating that the bird has met its nutritional needs well enough to store fat that will sustain it during its long journey.  In the image above, the oval, light, bulging area shows the bird's fat deposits which, on the banding report, were recorded as level "three" (zero indicates no fat).

Above, a Palm Warbler showing its new band.  Billie Cantwell is holding the bird in a bander's grip while she consults Pyle's Guide for details on aging.  Below, she is examining the wing.  Mark Armstrong is weighing a bird on the scale. A small stocking is placed over the bird's head to keep it calm until weight is measured, which only takes a few seconds.

Palm warblers breed in the northern boreal forests of Canada and are moving through Tennessee now on their way to more southerly wintering territories along the coast.

In the image above, you see a Palm Warbler's wing and tail as Mark and Billie consult on the freshness and color of feathers to help determine the bird's age.

Palm Warbler

The banding table.  Mark Armstrong, Master Bander (left), Billie Cantwell, banding apprentice, and Janie Kading recording, all members of the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society.

 Another beautiful wood warbler species--the Tennessee Warbler.

Billie uses a straw to blow feathers away from the skull.  The skull of a young bird is pink. Because a bird's skin is transparent, other charateristics of growth and age can be found from examining the skull.  

Tennessee Warbler

Billie opens her hand and the Tennessee Warbler pauses for a moment before it flies away.

Above, Justine Cucchiara, the parks' ranger-in-training, talks with birder, Morton Massey.

A beautiful male Eastern Bluebird.  Several bluebirds were caught in adjacent nets and were calling to each other while held in bags waiting to be processed.  Their calls helped us locate them (which bags) and they were processed and released in a short amount of time.

Eastern bluebirds wander in family groups during the late summer and fall months and remain in Tennessee during the winter.  They are often joined by northern birds and maintain a wintering flock to aid winter survival.

Above, Billie bands a male Eastern Bluebird, and below, an image of the dark tips on his wing feathers

In addition to Western Palm Warblers, Tennessee Warblers, Magnolia Warblers and Common Yellow-throats, the Oven Bird was our fourth warbler species for the day.

Always a favorite, this beautifully marked ground-nesting warbler breeds in Tennessee. This time of year the species is moving to northern South America for the winter.

Situated on more than 410 acres along the French Broad River, Seven Islands State Birding Park includes raparian zones (where land and water meet) and open grassland habitat planted with native grasses, wildflowers, shrubby fruit-bearing plants, and trees, providing favored habitat and food sources for many grassland species and migrating warblers.

Visit my previous posts on bird banding.
More views of the Oven Bird
More information on Eastern Bluebirds:  Bluebird Family
Knoxville Chapter, Tennessee Ornithological Society
Visit the Knoxville Chapter of TOS on Facebook
Seven Islands State Birding Park
Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge now Seven Islands State Birding Park