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Unofficial 1999 Results

student at bander pt

Yearly Totals: 45 species 307 birds 33 recaps
Spring/Summer 1999: 26 species 120 birds 26 recaps
Fall 1999: 33 species 187 birds 6 recaps

Spring

This spring was the first year of surveys for Point au Sauble. The large number of spring migrants confirmed our suspicions that Point au Sauble is an important migratory stop for waterfowl, shorebirds and passerines. A Marbled Godwit and a Willet were probably the two most exciting bird records for the spring. A species tally and banding tally will be available soon.

Summer

The low water levels this summer led to a massive carp dieoff in the lagoon. For weeks, the lagoon and Point au Sauble became 'the' place to be for racoons and other scavengers in the area. Some banding was done this summer and banding data will be online soon. Future summer banding will help us to understand which species are breeding out on the point.

Autumn

The low water levels and the high number of duck hunters are the two most important news stories for the Fall of 1999.

This being the first fall of research, we were unsure of how much hunting pressure the point gets. Early in the year the duck hunters concentrated on the mallards and teal in the lagoon and the point. This year the lagoon dried up, so most hunting was done on the point. Large concentrations of loafing mallards, teal, wood ducks, wigeon, gadwalls, pintails and black ducks were prevalent before the hunting season. However, after the first week of the duck season, the numbers had dropped substantially, much as it does in other hunted areas of the region. Whether the pressure moves the ducks out, or if many of them migrated remains to be seen.

The low water in the lagoon was expected to bring in a lot of shorebirds. However, compared to the miles of mudflat on the west shore, Point au Sauble probably didn't look as good to the shorebirds as it did to us. The point remains a good area for sanderlings, as they are attracted to the rocky shores. The low rainfall amounts led to very little berry and insect production in the forested parts of the point. Compared to another local banding station, we had very few birds that stayed here during migration. In addition, very few flycatchers were seen or banded this fall. The lack of rainfall just didn't provide enough insect hatches.

There were a few rare or interesting migrants to note. Peregrine Falcons were seen on a number of survey trips, usually stooping over the bayshore or the lagoon. Evidence was found of a peregrine killing and eating a Bonaparte's Gull. A Prothonotary Warbler was seen north of its range on 9/25/99. A Red Knot was seen earlier in September by a number of birders, feeding in the lagoon.

Biodiversity Topics: Introduction . Plants . Animals . Mammals . Birds . Reptiles & Amphibians . Arthropods . Spiders . Insects