Rare palm warblers fly to Idaho on their way to the Caribbean

HAMER — Scientists from the Intermountain Bird Observatory are banding, measuring and then releasing wild birds for migration research at Camas National Wildlife Refuge. Wednesday, I ran out to watch them, and they were very busy.

I asked Erica McMinn, a member of the team, what the most common bird was during the fall study, and she replied, “Wilson’s warbler.”

My next question was, “What is the most uncommon bird that you have seen this fall?”

All the scientists replied in unison, “A palm warbler.”

Then they explained that it was trapped a few weeks ago and should have been on the East Coast.

About an hour later, I was informed that another palm warbler had been found in one of the 10 mist nets on a regular checking of the nets. It was a lifer for me, as I had never seen one before.

Lucian Davis, the leader of the study group, did the study of the bird before releasing it after pictures and measurements were taken.

“It is a long way from where it should be,” Davis said. “They usually winter in the Caribbean area, and it is odd that it showed up here at this time of the year.”

The second rare catch of the day was an American robin. They usually don’t get caught in the nets, as they typically fly higher than the nests are set.

Species that were caught while I was watching were gray catbirds, Wilson’s warblers, dusky flycatchers, orange-crowned warblers, American goldfinch, MacGillivray’s warblers, song sparrows and two subspecies of white-crowned sparrows (mountain and Gambels).

The fall migration study began on July 1 and will run until October 15 — starting each morning 10 minutes before sunrise and ending in five hours, seven days each week. The only change in this schedule will be weather related, such as heavy rain.

The 10 mist nets are set up at locations around the Camas headquarters each morning and tended every 20 to 30 minutes, with each captured bird carefully removed and placed in a soft cloth bag. Each bag is numbered according to the net where the bird was captured, then taken back to the shelter where the birds are studied.

“Each bird is banded with a leg band, weighed, aged, checked for fat reserves, muscle tone, flight feathers are measured, parasites and molting are recorded,” said McMinn. “Aging is done by studying the skull, as birds only have one layer of bone on their skull when they are hatched, and by the next year, they have grown another layer.”

Each member of the team is trained to conduct these examinations, and if there is a question, another team member will be consulted. It is a very busy place, but most of the birds are calm once they are placed into the bag. The only exception was the robin, as it was very vocal and fought every aspect of the examination.

There were several interesting facts that I learned: all the birds captured on Wednesday were migrants as almost all the local songbirds have migrated on. Second, when the fall study began, the most numerous birds were the MacGillivray’s warbler. As fall progressed, the Wilson’s warblers have replaced them. Recently, 93 Wilson’s were captured in one day.

Visitors are welcome to observe and are often given the opportunity to release the birds after the process. Children are encouraged to help with the releasing, and it is a good way to get them involved with wildlife.

The water at Camas has been shut down, but there is still a lot of water where there are shorebirds, ducks, geese and sandhill cranes gathering. If you watch the banding, take the auto route through the refuge and walk the trails near the headquarters to enjoy the migrating birds.