Winter Banding Part 2

CAPTAIN SAMS

On Thursday, 4 February, I managed to make it out again for some winter banding out on the spit.  It was a chilly start to the morning with frost even settling on top of the furrowed nets.  It was another busy morning with 86 new birds and 57 recaptures.  Yellow-rumped Warblers were  very active around the site with 93 of  them captured.  American Robins were also out in force although not as many of them found their way into the nets.  We did capture 12 of them (but only 11 were banded - see below) which I think is a record for the number of robins banded in a single day at KIBS.  

The highlight of the day was a Yellow-breasted Chat.  Chats are uncommon winter residents on Kiawah. The bird captured on Thursday was a recapture and was banded during fall migration banding on 28 November 2020.  He was captured in the same net both times.         

Yellow-breasted Chat (Second-year, male)

Another uncommon capture was two Field Sparrows.  Field Sparrows winter in small numbers on Kiawah Island.  They can be found in the secondary dunes along the beach at the edge between the dune grasses and the wax myrtles.   

Field Sparrow

The most most extraordinary capture was an American Robin with unusual growths on the feet and legs.  After a little research, it appears that these growths were caused by scaly leg mites.  Scaly leg mites are a common condition with poultry but much less is known about them in wild birds.  It is caused by a mite in the genus Knemidocoptes.  They burrow into the skin of their hosts and over time can cause debilitating effects as seen below.  This bird was released without a band.         

Aaron

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	-	1	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	-	2	-	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	4	-	-
Carolina Wren	-	1	-	-
Hermit Thrush	2	-	-	-
American Robin	11	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	2	16	-	-
Field Sparrow	2	-	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	1	1	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	-	1	-	-
Yellow-breasted Chat	-	1	-	-
Orange-crowned Warbler	1	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	67	26	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	3	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	86	-	-
# of Recaptures	57	-	-
# of Species	14	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	176.4	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	81.1	-	-
# of Nets	28	-	-

2021 Winter Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	158	-	-
# of Recaptures	110	-	-
# of Species	18	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	331.55	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	80.8	-	-
# of Days	2	-	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Ryan Donnelly (CS)