Captain Sams:
Fog greeted us this morning as we shook out the moisture from the nets. Being a little cooler today, we got a little pulse of Myrtle Warblers with a total of 19 new individuals, and various other warbler species. There was a total of 38 birds and 11 species, including 1 new for the season. We caught a Yellow-shafted Flicker, who had a molt limit within the greater coverts, characteristic of a Hatch-year bird. In addition, we caught a recaptured Pine Warblers, which is rare for this time of year. We spent our time fixing some more nets today to prepare for the busy days to come.
 |
| HY Male Yellow-shafted Flicker |
Little Bear:
It was Halloween night, or should I say morning, when mist descended upon Little Bear. After opening all of our nets, we headed out into the marsh to see if we could catch any spooky sparrows. The sparrows eluded us, but we were fortunate enough to be visited by a sweet (and not so spooky!) Marsh Wren. During this endeavor, we saw the perfect Halloween scene- in the distance, eight Boat-tailed Grackles sitting on a tree. What a bone-chilling sight!
Was it a coincidence that on out of all the days of the field season, it was Halloween that Chucky (aka a Chuck-Will's-Widow) returned?? I think not. Luckily, he was not too scary but instead, quite delightful.
We are grateful this fellow graced our nets on this festive day. In addition to Chucky, we also caught a hatch-year Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, three Downy Woodpeckers, and basically a whole flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Once again, a spooky and fun day indeed. We are excited to see what the cold front brings us tomorrow morning! Perhaps more sparrows? Perhaps...an owl? Stay tuned to find out!
Happy Halloween!
-Brittany and Natalie
| Species | Captain Sams | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Yellow-billed Cuckoo | - | - | 1 | - |
Chuck-Will's- Widow | - | - | 1 | - |
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | - | - | 1 | - |
Downy Woodpecker | - | - | 1 | 2 |
Northern Flicker | 1 | - | - | - |
Eastern Phoebe | - | - | 1 | - |
White-eyed Vireo | - | - | - | 1 |
Carolina Chickadee | - | - | 1 | - |
Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 2 | - | 3 | - |
Marsh Wren | - | - | 1 | - |
Gray Catbird | 1 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
Hermit Thrush | - | 1 | - | - |
Swamp Sparrow | 2 | - | - | - |
Eastern Towhee | - | 1 | - | - |
Orange-crowned Warbler | - | - | 1 | - |
Common Yellowthroat | 1 | - | - | - |
American Redstart | - | 1 | - | - |
Blackburnian Warbler | - | - | - | 1 |
Pine Warbler | - | 1 | - | - |
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) | 19 | 2 | 22 | 2 |
Northern Cardinal | - | 1 | - | 2 |
Painted Bunting | - | - | 4 | - |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 26 | 44 | 70 |
| # of Recaptures | 12 | 14 | 26 |
| # of Species | 11 | 14 | 22 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 165.55 | 167.5 | 333.05 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 23 | 34.6 | 28.82 |
| # of Nets | 32 | 25 | 57 |
| 2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 3,806 | 2950 | 6756 |
| # of Recaptures | 910 | 587 | 1497 |
| # of Species | 77 | 81 | 92 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 12,286 | 7522.1 | 19808.1 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 38.4 | 47 | 41.66 |
| # of Days | 75 | 63 | - |
Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)