That's a Wrap!

 CAPTAIN SAMS

Today was our last day of the fall migration banding season. It ended on a slow note with 5 new birds and 18 recaptures of 7 species. We will have to wait and see if the Yellow-rumped Warblers trickle in throughout the winter as it gets colder or if it will just be a low winter for them. The highlight of the morning was another adult male Eastern Bluebird. They have been foraging around the table the last couple of weeks. 

It was another great season of banding at Captain Sam's and Little Bear. We did not capture any vagrants (species outside of their range) like last year's Dusky Flycatcher and Black-headed Grosbeak, but we had some rarities like Dickcissel and Connecticut Warbler. Even without vagrants, we had the most species diversity of any other season. 

Check back in a couple of weeks for a season summary!

-Michael

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Downy Woodpecker	-	1	-	-
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	-	1	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	-	3	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	2	-	-
Eastern Bluebird	1	-	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	3	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	4	8	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5	-	-
# of Recaptures	18	-	-
# of Species	7	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	163.2	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	14.1	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,584	3,495	9,079
# of Recaptures	1,359	1,048	2,407
# of Species	96	93	111
Effort (net-hours)	16,834.4	10,456.0	27,290.4
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	41.2	43.4	42.1
# of Days	104	77

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Note:  All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab.

One More Day To Go

 CAPTAIN SAMS

It was cold and breezy this morning and even though it did not get below freezing last night, a couple of nets had some frost on them when we were opening. Unfortunately, it was another very slow day with only 3 new birds and 20 recaptures. 

Five of the 20 recaptures were Yellow-rumped Warblers from previous years: 2 that were banded in 2023, 2 in 2022, and 1 in 2020. 

-Aaron

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Sharp-shinned Hawk	-	1	-	-
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	-	1	-	-
Downy Woodpecker	-	1	-	-
Eastern Phoebe	-	1	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	-	3	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	2	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	3	11	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3	-	-
# of Recaptures	20	-	-
# of Species	7	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	142.1	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	16.2	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,579	3,495	9,074
# of Recaptures	1,341	1,048	2,389
# of Species	96	93	111
Effort (net-hours)	16,671.2	10,456.0	27,127.2
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	41.5	43.4	42.3
# of Days	103	77

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Note:  All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab.

Post Turkey Day Slump

 CAPTAIN SAMS

Today was almost a carbon copy of yesterday with 20 new birds and 16 recaptures of 9 species. We had some new birds arrive with the cold front but overall, not as many as expected. It has been a weird November with warmer than usual weather and lower Yellow-rumped Warbler numbers. It is possible the warm November kept many Yellow-rumped Warblers up north where food may still be abundant. We will have to see if this trend continues through the winter or if more yellow-rumps will arrive as it gets colder. 

-Michael

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	2	1	-	-
White-eyed Vireo	-	1	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	4	-	-
Hermit Thrush	2	-	-	-
Savannah Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	2	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler	13	8	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	20	-	-
# of Recaptures	16	-	-
# of Species	9	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	146.8	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	24.5	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,576	3,495	9,071
# of Recaptures	1,321	1,048	2,369
# of Species	96	93	111
Effort (net-hours)	16,529.1	10,456.0	26,985.1
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	41.7	43.4	42.4
# of Days	102	77

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Rob Smith (CS)

Note:  All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab.

FOS Chipping Sparrow

 CAPTAIN SAMS

Michael and I had a little better of morning today with 19 new birds and 23 recaptures of 11 species. The cooler temps and north winds did seem to bring in some new birds and a lot more recaptures too. A Chipping Sparrow was Captain Sams' 96th species of the season and increased our cumulative species total to 111 for the fall. The most species Captain Sams has ever banded was 94 back in 2021. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

-Aaron 

Chipping Sparrow (hatch-year, sex unknown)

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	-	1	-	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	1	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	1	4	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	2	-	-
Chipping Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Song Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Orange-crowned Warbler	1	-	-	-
Cape May Warbler	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	14	13	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	19	-	-
# of Recaptures	23	-	-
# of Species	11	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	148.5	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	28.3	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,556	3,495	9,051
# of Recaptures	1,305	1,048	2,353
# of Species	96	93	111
Effort (net-hours)	16,382.3	10,456.0	26,838.3
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	41.9	43.4	42.5
# of Days	101	77

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Note:  All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab.

End of November, Same Old Same Old

 CAPTAIN SAMS

It was another very slow morning with 13 new birds and 5 recaptures of 3 species. We captured a small flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers but otherwise it was very quiet. A cold front is moving through now, which will hopefully bring in another push of Yellow-rumped Warblers before the end of the season.

-Michael

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Gray Catbird	2	2	-	-
Hermit Thrush	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	10	3	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	13	-	-
# of Recaptures	5	-	-
# of Species	3	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	168.0	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	10.7	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,537	3,495	9,032
# of Recaptures	1,282	1,048	2,330
# of Species	95	93	110
Effort (net-hours)	16,233.8	10,456.0	26,689.8
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	42.0	43.4	42.6
# of Days	100	77

Banding Staff

Michael Gamble (CS)

Nancy Raginski (CS)

Note:  All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab.

November Showers

 CAPTAIN SAMS

It was another day similar to the last several days except warmer with more mosquitoes, a strange mix for late November. We were cut short by rain showers but before the rain moved in, we captured 11 new birds and 8 recaptures of 7 species. We did capture another Eastern Bluebird and a Sharp-shinned Hawk. 

Sharp-shinned Hawk (hatch year, male)

-Michael

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	3	-	-
Eastern Bluebird	1	-	-	-
Song Sparrow	3	-	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler	5	4	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	11	-	-
# of Recaptures	8	-	-
# of Species	7	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	112.0	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	17.0	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,524	3,495	9,019
# of Recaptures	1,277	1,048	2,325
# of Species	95	93	110
Effort (net-hours)	16, 065.8	10,456.0	26,521.8
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	42.3	43.4	42.8
# of Days	99	77

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Note:  All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab.

110 and Counting

 CAPTAIN SAMS

Despite another unproductive morning, we managed to catch two new species today - an Eastern Bluebird and a Sedge Wren. This puts us at 110 species for the season which is the most species we have ever banded during the fall. 

We have been hearing and seeing bluebirds for a while but they have been fairly uncooperative until today. A small flock was hanging around our "swallow net" and an adult male could not resist investigating our audio lure. 

Eastern Bluebird (after hatch-year, male)

Similarly, a Sedge Wren(s) has been hanging out near our high saltmarsh nets (#4 and 5) for a couple of weeks. We have been patiently waiting for it to make its way in but it has eluded us. Historically, Sedge Wrens are difficult to catch in our mist nets. They are so small, they can fit right through the mesh without getting caught. Today's bird was hanging out next to our banding trail that led to net #4 but it was just a little too far to try to push it into that net. Michael and I set up a net along the trail and tried to flush it into the net. In true Sedge Wren behavior, when we tried to push it into the net it just ran underneath it and into the thicker shrubs. Knowing that it didn't want to be in the shrubby area for too long, I was able to sneak in behind and flush it back into the net and Michael was waiting close by to get it as soon as it hopped in. 

Sedge Wren (after hatch-year, sex unknown)

-Aaron

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Sedge Wren	1	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	4	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	1	-	-
Eastern Bluebird	1	-	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	-	1	-	-
House Finch	1	-	-	-
Yellow-breasted Chat	1	-	-	-
Ovenbird	-	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	12	-	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	16	-	-
# of Recaptures	7	-	-
# of Species	9	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	166.8	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	13.8	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,513	3,495	9,008
# of Recaptures	1,269	1,048	2,317
# of Species	95	93	110
Effort (net-hours)	15,953.8	10,456.0	26,409.8
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	42.5	43.4	42.9
# of Days	98	77

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Note:  All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab.

Are We There Yet?

 CAPTAIN SAMS

A small cold front moved through the area as we were banding this morning. As the clouds and fog rolled in from the river, the birds became very quiet and we did not capture much after the first net check. We ended the morning with only 16 new birds and 8 recaptures of 3 species. We may get one last push of birds with the next cold front at the end of the week before the season comes to an end. 

-Michael

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Gray Catbird	1	2	-	-
Hermit Thrush	2	2	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	13	4	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	16	-	-
# of Recaptures	8	-	-
# of Species	3	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	166.4	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	14.4	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,497	3,495	8,992
# of Recaptures	1,262	1,048	2,310
# of Species	93	93	108
Effort (net-hours)	15,787.4	10,456.0	26,243.4
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	42.8	43.4	43.1
# of Days	97	77

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Note:  All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab.

Late Season Slump Continues

 CAPTAIN SAMS

The slow down continued today with only 14 new birds and 9 recaptures of 7 species. We did band two new Palm Warblers which we haven't seen in two weeks. The southwest winds are supposed to shift around to the northwest overnight which hopefully will bring in some new birds in for tomorrow.

-Aaron

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	-	1	-	-
Downy Woodpecker	-	1	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	1	-	-
House Finch	1	1	-	-
Orange-crowned Warbler	-	1	-	-
Palm Warbler (Western)	2	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	11	4	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	14	-	-
# of Recaptures	9	-	-
# of Species	7	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	163.2	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	14.1	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,481	3,495	-
# of Recaptures	1,254	1,048	-
# of Species	93	93	-
Effort (net-hours)	15621.0	10,456.0	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	43.1	43.4	-
# of Days	96	77

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Chris Snook (CS)

Note:  All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab.

Some Old Birds Return

 CAPTAIN SAMS

It was really slow out there today with only 12 new birds and 13 recaptures of 9 species. We banded only our 2nd Eastern Towhee of the season. Since 2012, we have averaged 10 of them per fall. Not sure what happened to all the towhees this year but they did not make here. 

Eastern Towhee (hatch-year, male)

In the photo below, an obvious molt limit occurs between the black greater coverts (below my thumb) and the brown primary coverts (below and to the right of my thumb). Additionally, there is another molt limit between the tertials (the inner 3 secondary feathers) and the 6th secondary feather. Unfortunately, this camera angle does not do a good job at showing that.  

Eastern Towhee (Hatch-year, male)

We also had some interesting recaptures today:
1. Brown Thrasher banded on 9/20/2018 as an adult (at least 8 years old).

2. Song Sparrow banded on 11/25/2021 as an adult (at least 5 years old).

3. Two Yellow-rumped Warblers and a House Finch that were banded last fall. 

-Aaron

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
White-eyed Vireo	-	-	1	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	-	-	1	-
Gray Catbird	1	-	1	-
Brown Thrasher	-	-	1	-
House Finch	-	-	1	-
White-throated Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Song Sparrow	-	-	1	-
Eastern Towhee	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	9	-	7	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	12	-	-
# of Recaptures	13	-	-
# of Species	9	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	166.4	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	15.0	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,467	3,495	8,962
# of Recaptures	1,245	1,048	2,293
# of Species	93	93	108
Effort (net-hours)	15,458.0	10,456.0	25,914
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	43.4	43.4	43.4
# of Days	95	77

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Note:  All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab.