We captured a decent variety of species but in very low numbers today with 10 new birds banded along with 3 recaptures of 12 different species. The wind was much calmer today compared to the past couple so I was hoping for more migrant activity. What we lack in numbers, we definitely made up for by the banding of a rare species for the eastern United States. The group was buzzing with excitement when a BELL'S VIREO was brought back to the banding table! Bell's Vireo breeds in the central and southwestern US and winters along the west coast of Mexico with a few wintering in south Florida. Only a few records of this species is recorded each year along the east coast, primarily in the fall. Surprisingly, this is the second Bell's Vireo banded at KIBS. Last fall, we banded a Bell's Vireo on September 17th which was the first Bell's Vireo ever banded in the state of South Carolina. I guess we now have the second SC banding record, too!
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| Bell's Vireo (6 September 2012; hatch-year, sex unknown) |
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| Bell's Vireo (6 September 2012) |
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| Bell's Vireo (17 September 2011) |
It's always neat to get a Common Ground-Dove in the net! This was an immature bird based on the brownish-colored eye, pale-colored bill, and back and wing coverts edged in white. Adults will have a bright pinkish-purple eye, bright orange bill with black tip, and back and wing coverts without white edging. We were able to sex this bird as male based on the iridescent blue spots on the upper wing coverts. The iridescent blue in this photo did not turn out and the spots look black.
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| Common Ground-Dove (hatch-year, male) |
Excellent report Aaron! Thanks for including the super helpful pictures too!!
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