Date: 10/26/26 7:59 pm From: Barbara Volkle <barb620...> Subject: [MASSBIRD] West Hill Dam banding 10/26
Thanks to Strickland Wheelock for this report.
Barbara Volkle Northborough,MA <barb620...>
* Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2026 22:17:24 +0000 (UTC) From: Strickland Wheelock <skwheelock...> Subject: West Hill Dam banding 10/26
What a nice surprise banding on this Mon. morning [cool & sunny] at West Hill Dam - nice diversity with 13 species and 38 captures in the 1st 2 net runs.
The 1st net run had a few juncos and Robins, but as it warmed up, the Marsh nets and Field & Wood nets slammed us on the 2nd net run with approx. 28 to 30 captures. The mixture in the Marsh nets was several juncos & Field Sparrows & Chipping Sparrows, 2 male Cardinals, 4 Robins, 2 Cowbirds and actually [maybe] our 1st E Starlings [2] caught at West Hill Dam.Once we arrived at the Field, Sumac & Wood nets, the nets also were load with numbers and variety of captures - the crew set to work extracting more juncos, Field, Song & Chipping Sparrows, 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 1 Purple Finch, 2 Hermit Thrushes, 3 Robins, 1 Downy Woodpecker and 2 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers [M & F with the male a stunning AHY male].By the time we aged, measured, recorded these 28 species, it was time to quickly do another net run with zero captures to our shock - after another wait to check the nets for captures & close the nets - another zero captures. Not sure why everything went so quiet - the warm sun, the sun lighting up the nets - plenty of birds around but not moving like earlier in the cooler morning.Still a great few hours to start which kept the crew busy - there were also plenty of birds around the nets like Goldfinches, Chickadees & Titmouse, Bluebirds, Blue Jays, other woodpecker species, kinglets, our 1st Red-b Nuthatch this fall, Red-w Blackbirds along with many more juncos & sparrows - looks like the Catbirds and Towhees have moved on - now we are dealing with the late fall migrants that include many sparrows and juncos & finches plus the Robins & Hermit Thrushes.
