As the winds started to shift, we began to see fewer birds during the day. We still had a total of 99 birds captured today! So basically we can start singing a song about 99 birds in the net! Our highlight of the day was capturing a Seaside Sparrow. These guys are pretty cool, only living near coastal areas. They are a ground forager eating mainly insects. The Seaside Sparrows have a total of 8 subspecies; one of the subspecies is the extinct "Dusky Seaside Sparrow" and another is the endangered "Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow". Check out the Seaside Sparrow and how limited their range is.
Based on our location, the only two subspecies that winter in South Carolina are Maritima, a northern coastal bird, and Macgillivrayii, a southern coastal bird. Check out our blog from earlier this year during the Marsh Sparrow banding here. This blog describes both subspecies along with a picture of both!
Also check out South Carolina's Fish and Wildlife page on MacGillivray's Seaside Sparrow. This page explains the habitat, current range, and even mentions Kiawah Island for its conservation efforts for wildlife!
Check out the photo below of this cute little Seaside Sparrow!
 |
hatch year Seaside Sparrow
|
-Kristin
Little Bear:
With a light breeze from the south overnight, we expected our run of 100+ bird days to end this morning. That was indeed the case, but our first couple of net checks were still fairly busy, and we ended up processing 80 birds. Unfortunately no Sapsuckers, or anything else new for us, ended up in the nets. The past few days have been highlighted by the high number of Catbirds, and they continued to be the most numerous bird around. While most of our birds are hatch-years (born this summer), we had a higher proportion of adult Catbirds today, including several that were banded here last fall, and one each that were banded in 2017 and 2016.
-Josh
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Eastern Phoebe
|
1
|
-
|
3
|
-
|
White-eyed Vireo
|
1
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
House Wren
|
-
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
Carolina Wren
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
Gray Catbird
|
41
|
25
|
19
|
7
|
Northern Mockingbird
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Eastern Towhee
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
Seaside Sparrow
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Common Yellowthroat
|
9
|
3
|
13
|
2
|
American Redstart
|
1
|
-
|
2
|
-
|
Cape May Warbler
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Black-Throated Blue Warbler
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Palm Warbler (western subspecies)
|
2
|
-
|
19
|
-
|
Prairie Warbler
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Northern Cardinal
|
-
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
Painted Bunting
|
4
|
2
|
5
|
2
|
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded |
61
|
67
|
128
|
| # of Recaptures |
37
|
13
|
50
|
| # of Species |
13
|
12
|
17
|
| Effort (net-hours) |
105.8
|
74
|
179.8
|
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) |
92.6
|
108.1
|
99.5
|
| # of Nets |
28
|
20
|
48
|
| 2019 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded |
2,619
|
1,608
|
4,227
|
| # of Recaptures |
524
|
221
|
745
|
| # of Species |
60
|
57
|
74
|
| Effort (net-hours) |
6,769.35
|
2,746.9
|
9,516.25
|
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) |
46.4
|
66.6
|
52.3
|
| # of Days | 53 | 42 | - |
Banding Staff
Aaron Given
Dan Errichetti (LB)
Arcata Leavitt (CS)
Dave Sandahl (CS)
Josh Lefever (LB)
Kristin Attinger (CS)
Bethany Darby (LB)
Lydia Moore (CS)
