Simcoe Bird Banding Group

Simcoe Bird Banding Group We are a small group dedicated to the research of bird dynamics in Southern Ontario.... Focusing on birds of prey.

Non-profit Organization dedicated to Bird research in Simcoe County, and surrounding regions in ON Canada.

We had mentioned earlier that were considering restarting the Carden Grassland bird project after a couple of years off....
06/22/2026

We had mentioned earlier that were considering restarting the Carden Grassland bird project after a couple of years off.
The site is now monitored by Ontario Parks so we had quite a bit of "paperwork" to go through.
Thanks immensely to Jim who relentlessly covered every step to insure our project moves forward.
We decided to check out the site on Saturday after a two year hiatus!
We checked out the first site and found it very quiet. We did manage a few birds, but as it is early in the season we were still optimistic that future sessions would be productive.
The site is still as we expected and other than the birds we saw a few other animals. I got to see my first green snake, and some black bear signs.
We are working on another date for early July.

We beat the weather and finished checking the remaining Kestrel boxes. Only 9 of 22 in use, but we aren't complaining ...
06/16/2026

We beat the weather and finished checking the remaining Kestrel boxes. Only 9 of 22 in use, but we aren't complaining !

As mentioned in a previous post, we should start banding Nestlings in about a weeks time.

We were able to check on 30 more Kestrel boxes today with 27 holding American Kestrels in various stages from eggs to 2 ...
06/15/2026

We were able to check on 30 more Kestrel boxes today with 27 holding American Kestrels in various stages from eggs to 2 week old chicks.

Weather permitting we will check the remaining 22 nest boxes tomorrow !

We are getting out for the 2nd check of Kestrel boxes on Manitoulin Island. A total of 27 boxes checked today with 22 b...
06/14/2026

We are getting out for the 2nd check of Kestrel boxes on Manitoulin Island.
A total of 27 boxes checked today with 22 boxes having eggs to 2 1/2 week old chicks . 2 adult females were banded and a female Recapture from the same box as last season .
We will start to band Nestlings in a weeks time.

Simcoe Bird Banding Group - American Kestrel Nest Box Check — June 1 UpdateOur second check of the American Kestrel nest...
06/07/2026

Simcoe Bird Banding Group - American Kestrel Nest Box Check — June 1 Update

Our second check of the American Kestrel nest box trail on June 1 brought results that were less encouraging than we’d hoped. Out of 14 boxes, only 5 showed activity, pointing to what may be a poor breeding season in our study area.

Factors like weather patterns, pesticide use, intensive farming practices, and reduced prey availability continue to shape kestrel success across much of Ontario, and this year appears to be no exception.

Even so, every active nest matters — and here’s hoping fledging is successful from the boxes that are occupied. We’ll continue monitoring and contributing to the long‑term picture of kestrel health in our region.

As bird banders, it is always exciting to get a "Report to Ba**er" from the Banding Office.We just received a very inter...
06/07/2026

As bird banders, it is always exciting to get a "Report to Ba**er" from the Banding Office.
We just received a very interesting one.
On May 18th 2020, we banded an After-third-year Barred owl at the Kawartha site, while working on the Broad-winged hawk project.
The bird was discovered on April 11th 2026 in a backyard while the homeowner was doing a spring clean-up.Not unusual after a hard winter, the unusual part was it was found in Minising, over 200km away!!
We were under the assumption that Barred owls, once set up on territory weren't a big migrant after that.
We have re-trapped adult Barred owl in the same location on different years, showing us some site fidelity.
We have had some good movements in fall, usually associated with a good Northern Saw-whet fall migration.These were almost all Hatch Year birds.
Unfortunately the bird was dead but has given us some interesting insight on the site dynamics we had assumed we knew!
Always learning!

The remaining Kestrel nest boxes on Manitoulin Island were checked today with great results!An additional 22 of 29 are b...
05/28/2026

The remaining Kestrel nest boxes on Manitoulin Island were checked today with great results!

An additional 22 of 29 are being utilized by Kestrels !

We know from past experience that unfortunately they will not be successful, but we always hope for the best case scenario !

A visual reference of the size comparison of some of the Owl Species.
05/27/2026

A visual reference of the size comparison of some of the Owl Species.

We have been doing our 1st check of Kestrel nest boxes this week on Manitoulin Island . After a very harsh winter with ...
05/27/2026

We have been doing our 1st check of Kestrel nest boxes this week on Manitoulin Island .

After a very harsh winter with no over wintering adults and a long drawn out wet spring we were having our doubts over the lack of sightings!

But looks can be deceiving !

46 have been checked thus far and the numbers are looking promising !

37 boxes have eggs !

Hopefully the remaining boxes will be as promising !

Here are just a few photos.

I was discussing hybrids with the group the other day.With the work we do we occasionally run into a few hybrid birds. D...
05/10/2026

I was discussing hybrids with the group the other day.
With the work we do we occasionally run into a few hybrid birds. During my time as BIC at Tommy Thompson Park Bird Research Station, wee caught a few. Most numerous were the Blue-winged X Golden-winged warbler hybrids. This is a common enough occurrence that the hybrids have been named. Brewster's warbler being the most dominant and Lawrence's being the regressive. We banded a few Brewsters, but only observed one Lawrence's.
We did band a couple of "one offs" though.
We banded a Nasville X Northern Parula cross and one we did not expect in Southern Ontario. I will post a photo and see what you guys think before revealing its lineage.

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Innisfil, ON

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