January 20th, 2014
On Sunday a group from the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists descended on Wrigley Corners to feed some Chickadees and band with me. Feeding at the Dickson was cold but productive. We decided to do the bird banding at Wrigley’s where everyone could hangout inside where it’s warm.
While feeding the Chickadee’s we noticed that Jeff and Tom were regular visitors while Rose and Jared were present but would not land to take seeds. Several unbanded birds have joined the flock at the Boardwalk. I will have to return to band these birds, perhaps when the weather is better (not -20 C!). Some of these unbanded birds are very happy landing to take seeds.
Feather has become much more aggressive and will eagerly take seed, this is a sudden shift in her behaviour that seems to coincide with the change in weather.
The most exciting thing we observed was another returned bird! Last week, while out with classes I noticed a banded bird near the parking lot. At the time I wasn’t able to get the full combination of color bands, however on Sunday I found the bird again and it turned out to be Guy (MPBB).
Guy was banded in November of 2011, as an ‘After Hatch Year’ Bird, which means he had already survived at least a year and possibly already bred once. This would make Guy currently an amazing 3.5 years old, a significant feat considering that the average life-span of a Chickadee is 2.5 years.
The mystery is where did Guy go? Looking at my notes, Guy disappeared shortly after being banded… I thought he might have been making a short migration and wasn’t actually a resident bird, simply a passer-through. He was only reported once by a student in 2012 – 2013, which I presumed might have been an error. What astonishes me is that I resighted Guy in nearly the exact spot that I first banded him! My current theory is that he found a place in an adjacent flock where he was a low ranking member. He survived there happily until a high ranking place opened in the Parking Lot flock at the Dickson and Guy was successful in taking that position. My few observations suggest that Guy may now actually be the top bird in his flock. Chickadee hierarchies work in such a way that openings are filled by outsiders or floaters (unaffiliated Chickadees) rather than lower ranking birds simply moving up, so the only way to get a better rank is to join a different flock. This unfortunately means that the bird likely has to leave it’s former mate behind.
Bold decision Guy. Welcome Back.
Here is Alba, my daughter eager to hold the Chickadee!
