[TN-Bird] Re: Where are the Canada warblers?
- From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Tn-Bird" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2005 16:04:55 -0400
Rad Mayfield,
The lack of Canada Warblers at your Big Bald Mountain banding station (~4200+
feet elevation) in East Tennessee along the North Carolina border, is likely a
combination of migration timing and habitat.
Most Canada Warblers probably depart their cool, shaded, moist, mountain
habitats well before this date. We would be hard pressed to find warbler
species that migrate any earlier. They are rare on Fall counts held near the
end of the month.
Canada Warblers spread out over the landscape as they migrate. Most years, we
rarely see one in our region after the third week of September. Exteme late
dates over a wide area will include birds up to about the 10th of Oct and maybe
one in a birder's lifetime will be known to migrate in late October. We don't
have a late date for that species in Shady Valley. They probably leave before
we realize it.
I would suspect that Rick Knight has never banded a Canada Warbler at his
Carver's Gap banding station (~6400 feet elevation) on Roan Mountain -- at best
maybe one or two over the years.
They frequent wet, brushy habitat during migration. You don't have that kind
of habitat at your banding station, do you ? I don't remember seeing it.
The only Canada Warbler I have banded in Fall was an adult male, 13 Sept. 1964,
at elevation 1680 feet along Paperville Creek east of Bristol. It was taken in
an overgrown floodplain with tall saplings (10% confiers, 20%sycamore, 30%
goldenrods, 40% other mixed herbaceous plants).
So there is my take. It would be nice if others would wade in.
Let's go birding......
Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN
----- Original Message -----
From: Rad Mayfield
To: Tn-Bird
Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 1:23 PM
Subject: [TN-Bird] Where are the Canada warblers?
We don't seem to ever band any Canada warblers anymore at Big Bald (never did
band too many), yet they breed in the area. I've never really considered this
and can't seem to reason why this is. Maybe they leave earlier than we start.
Any insight out there?
G. Rad Mayfield, III
East Rutherford High School
Forest City, NC
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