Green Creek Wildlife Society
Summer Research Projects
Bank Swallow Banding
Members travel around NW Ohio to different quarries to band bank swallows that make their homes in the piles of lime and lime waste. Banding is usually from the beginning/middle of June 'til Mid July.
Update 10/07:
We started banding Bank Swallows at the Millersville quarry on June 23rd and finished on July 15th. We banded a total of 8 Northern Rough-winged Swallows, 1 Barn Swallow, and 610 Bank Swallows. We also recaptured 100 banded birds from previous years. The total number of birds handled was 719. At the beginning of every season my goal is to band 1,000 bank swallows. I got a late start because of the Arkansas trip and trying to catch up on work that I set aside while I was gone.
Bluebird Trail
This was the clubs first project over 20 years ago. We started with about 20 boxes with the idea of repopulating Northwest Ohio with Bluebirds. Many of the Bluebirds were wiped out with the winters of 1977 and 1978. We have done what we set out to do. At this time, we have the largest maintained Bluebird Trail in Ohio with over 600 boxes. Each box is sponsored by an individual or group. Click here for information on sponsoring a box.
Update 10/07:
One of these summers I'm going to concentrate on banding every Bluebird and Tree Swallow nestling. Over the past few years it’s been difficult because of the timing of Green Creek trips and my employment with the Park District and other research projects. I remember when the bluebird/tree swallow was my only research project and I devoted full time to that effort. The numbers over the years bears out that fact. We are still raising the same numbers of birds but I am not getting out to band near as many. What we need is another me...any takers out there? I could train someone to band birds, show them the locations of all our trails, and, basically, put them in charge of our bluebird/tree swallow project. Let me know...it's very time consuming but very rewarding.
Bluebirds – 101, Tree Swallows – 255.
Update 2010
BLUEBIRD/TREE SWALLOW
PURPLE MARTIN REPORT
2009
I normally try to get this report out sometime around the Holidays...when everyone is in a "giving" mood. We tend to forget our “feathered” friends during the winter months(unless you’re a dedicated birder) and this report is a reminder that they too need our support and help. Winter is the time when we make necessary repairs on current bluebird nesting boxes and construct new ones for the 2010 nesting season. Sponsorship of a new box remains at $25.00. If you would like to make a donation to Green Creek Wildlife Society to help defray the cost of this report plus upkeep on the boxes, it would be most appreciated.
And now for this year's report:
BLUEBIRDS The average number of bluebirds banded over the past five years has been 197. This past season we banded 187, which is very close to that five year average. We didn’t notice any major weather events that would have limited production Perhaps these numbers represent a "normal" production year for Bluebirds.
The winner of the Bluebird “Parents of the Year”...The Sandusky County Park District with 38, followed by Don Miller with 24, and Jean & Lee Havens with 8.
TREE SWALLOWSThe average number of Tree Swallows banded over the past five years has been 534. This past season we banded 386, considerably less than the five year average. A majority of Tree Swallows fledge the second and third weeks of June, and we didn't notice any weather events that would have limited production. Maybe events on the wintering grounds of both bluebirds and tree swallows were the limiting factor. It will be interesting to see if those species rebound this season.
The winner of the Tree Swallow "Parents of the Year"...Brent Mackey with 165, followed by the Sandusky County Park District with 74, and Don Miller with 14.
PURPLE MARTINSThis is the fifth year of our Purple Martin project. The numbers have increased each year since 2005 from 318 to 349 to 371 to 459 and now 452. Something strange happened in the Martin colonies we banded this summer. The first banding in early July went extremely well with no problems. When we returned to the colonies in mid-July to finish the banding, disaster had struck in every colony. Colony after colony had lost young birds. At first, we thought maybe a local virus of some sort but reports were coming in from all over the state of nesting failures. The weather for a one week period in July may have been the culprit. Low temperatures for that time of the year plus cloud cover for five days might have prevented the Martins from finding enough flying insects to feed their young.
We currently band four separate colonies...Jim Chamberlin, on the north side of Sandusky Bay, Doug Carnicom and Steve Fisher, near the Gibsonburg area, and Virgil Wiechman, on Mud Creek near the Ottawa County line.
For problems or questions regarding this website e-mail Tom Dorobek - tdorobek1@woh.rr.com
Last updated: March 18, 2010