The Kiawah Conservancy Visits! And a Station First Barn Swallow!

 Captain Sam's:

Today at Captain Sam's was a very special day, we had members of the Kiawah Conservancy come out and join us for banding. Thankfully the winds had changed slightly from what they had been for the last few days. This provided us with some birds to show to the members what we do and show off some neat species. It's always a good time when you get to talk birds with other people in the community who care for the well-being of the creatures some of us spend our time trying to understand. Just shortly after everyone left, we were however able to catch a recapture Mourning Dove that was banded last year as an after hatch year bird. This means the dove we caught today has been calling Kiawah Island home for at least three years now! It's great when you get unexpected recaptures from years prior, just a little check in from our feathered friends. Another exciting bird we caught today was a Traill's Flycatcher. I myself haven't seen them in the hand until I came here to Kiawah, so it has been nice to look at them closely and do the measurements needed to try and figure out if it's an Alder or Willow Flycatcher. Sadly our bird today was, like many, in-between the ranges for both so unsafe to call it one or the other. This bird inspired today's haiku.

Silent is your type

Lacking emargination

An empidonax

Thanks again to Taylor, Sarah, and Collie for coming out to the banding station! If anyone wants to get involved with the Kiawah Conservancy they can do so here. Tomorrow looks like it's going to be a very windy day with the wind bands coming from Ida, that being said it's hard to say what will or won't get blown in because of it, so stay tuned for these next couple of days!

- Nathaniel

Little Bear:

Today at Little Bear, we didn't catch a lot, but we made up for that with a station first, BARN SWALLOW. Barn swallows are one of the most numerous species we see at the banding station, but they are seldom thought of as possibilities to be caught in our nets. They tend to stay high and their agility, vision, and knack for avoiding our lanes generally keep them as distant sights at the banding station. However, on our first net run, I was stunned to see a barn swallow in one of the bottom trammels of a mist net. I was smiling and nervous as I put the bird in the bag, because I knew it was unusual, but unsure as to how infrequent until I met back up with Josh at the table. 

Hatch-year Barn Swallow. The first one ever caught at Little Bear. Photo by Josh Lefever

Spotting on the tail. Photo by Josh Lefever

 

Photo by Josh Lefever

After processing an assortment of other species, we saved the swallow for last. Josh carefully banded and measured the bird and we aged it to be a hatch-year based on its very short tail, wing, and fork length. Afterward, we were able to snag some photos of this beautiful bird. I know that for the rest of the day I watched the barn swallows streaming overhead with a newfound appreciation.  

After the swallow, things slowed way down and we processed only a handful of birds. We did catch one of my favorites, a Downy Woodpecker, and got to see this awesome bird completing its preformative molt.

-Ben

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Mourning Dove	-	1	-	-
Downy Woodpecker	-	-	1	-
Traill's Flycatcher	1	-	-	-
Red-eyed Vireo	2	-	1	-
Barn Swallow	-	-	1	-
Carolina Wren	-	1	-	2
Northern Waterthrush	1	-	1	-
Common Yellowthroat	3	-	2	-
American Redstart	1	-	-	-
Yellow Warbler	-	-	1	-
Northern Cardinal	-	2	1	2
Painted Bunting	2	2	3	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	10	11	21
# of Recaptures	6	4	10
# of Species	9	9	12
Effort (net-hours)	135	100.5	235.5
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	11.9	14.9	13.2
# of Nets	30	23	53

2021 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	284	172	456
# of Recaptures	97	32	129
# of Species	34	26	40
Effort (net-hours)	2175	1108	3283
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	17.5	18.4	17.8
# of Days	17	11	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Kristin Attinger (CS)

Nate Watkins (CS)

Kandace Glanville (CS)

Ben Stalheim (LB)

Josh Lefever (LB)