FOS Indigo Bunting and Blue Jay

 CAPTAIN SAMS

The warm temperatures and humidity have returned and it looks like we will be stuck in this pattern for the next few days until the next cold front arrives. Despite this, we banded 44 new birds and had 6 recaptures of 13 species which was better than I would have expected considering the conditions. 

The most exciting capture of the day was a Blue Jay. Despite being a fairly common bird, they don't often get captured. Known for their intelligence, Blue Jays may be smart enough to avoid capture. It has been 10 years since Captain Sams has captured a Blue Jay so it was nice to see one today. 

-Aaron

Blue Jay (hatch-year, sex unknown)

LITTLE BEAR

It was another hot and muggy day at Little Bear. We did get a little respite from the heat with a little breeze and small amount of cloud cover. We experienced a drop in volume today and ended up with 44 birds: 33 new and 17 recaps. Common Yellowthroats were the most abundant with 17 individuals banded. We got a fair amount of Western Palm Warblers as well as a lovely Northern Parula. While I was processing the Parula, it snatched a mosquito right out of midair! It was very fat so it's no surprise that it's good at foraging. 

We also caught our first Indigo Bunting of the season, which was a nice surprise on this slower day. I think Indigo Buntings are such a beautiful brown color and I love the blue edging they get to their feathers. You can see some blue in the shoulders of the one we caught today. While it's slow we're gearing up to work on some net repair and hoping for some cooler temperatures soon.

-Liz

Indigo Bunting (Hatch-year, male)

Hatch year Northern Parula with a mosquito it snatched!

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Downy Woodpecker	-	1	-	-
White-eyed Vireo	1	-	1	1
Blue Jay	1	-	-	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	1	1	1
Carolina Wren	-	-	-	1
Gray Catbird	3	-	-	1
Brown Thrasher	-	1	-	-
Yellow-breasted Chat	1	-	-	-
Worm-eating Warbler	1	-	-	-
Northern Waterthrush	1	-	-	-
Black-and-white Warbler	1	-	1	-
Common Yellowthroat	35	-	17	-
American Redstart	-	-	1	1
Northern Parula	-	-	1	-
Western Palm Warbler	-	-	6	-
Prairie Warbler	-	1	2	-
Northern Cardinal	-	-	1	4
Indigo Bunting	-	-	1	-
Painted Bunting	-	1	1	2
	-	-	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	44	33	77
# of Recaptures	6	11	17
# of Species	13	13	19
Effort (net-hours)	151.6	134.4	286
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	33.0	32.7	32.9
# of Nets	32	28	60

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	1,709	989	2,698
# of Recaptures	245	221	466
# of Species	52	31	63
Effort (net-hours)	5,881.8	3,871.2	9,752.9
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	33.2	31.3	32.4
# of Days	38	31

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Liz Held (LB)

Arden Schneider (LB)

Camille Beckwith (CS)

Jeremiah Sullivan (LB)

Amy Nickerson (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 Northern House Wren

CAPTAIN SAMS

Today was "slow" compared to yesterday, but we still enjoyed a very solid day of 90 birds! We banded 73 birds and had 17 recaptures, from 12 different species. We also caught a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, though we don't actually put bands on them at KIBS. We had one first of season: House Wren! Otherwise, today was heavy on the Common Yellowthroats, which seem to be old reliable at this point! I am really enjoying the Palm Warblers (from the Western subspecies) that we have been getting lately, as I have only banded the Yellow more eastern subspecies before and generally only see the Yellow Palm Warblers in my area. The Western birds may be considered more drab than their Yellow counterparts, but I think they are really beautiful with their more subtle yellow feathers! 

Western Palm Warbler, hatch year

- Camille 

LITTLE BEAR

Today was much slower than yesterday even though the weather conditions and coastal bird movement were similar. However, the northeast winds were slightly stronger last night, which could have pushed birds further inland. We ended the morning with 47 new birds and 9 recaptures of 10 different species. 

The highlight of the morning was Little Bear's first Blackpoll Warbler. Blackpoll Warblers are transatlantic migrants, and we usually catch them when there are storms off the coast that push them onto land. They hold the record for the longest overwater flight for a songbird, flying nonstop for up to 3 days covering over 1,800 miles over the Atlantic Ocean to reach their nonbreeding grounds in Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles, and northern South America. Blackpoll Warblers breed from eastern to western Canada. The western Canadian birds have longer wings since they have to fly the farthest from western Canada to their nonbreeding grounds. Longer wings may allow them to fly faster and more efficiently to reach their nonbreeding grounds. 

Blackpoll Warbler (after hatch year, female)

-Michael

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Traill's Flycatcher	1	-	-	-
White-eyed Vireo	-	2	-	-
Red-eyed Vireo	2	1	1	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	-	-	1
House Wren	1	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	2	-	1	-
Common Yellowthroat	53	7	21	2
American Redstart	4	1	1	2
Yellow Warbler	1	-	3	1
Blackpoll Warbler	-	-	1	-
Western Palm Warbler	6	-	11	-
Prairie Warbler	1	1	2	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-
Painted Bunting	2	4	6	3

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	73	47	120
# of Recaptures	17	10	27
# of Species	12	10	14
Effort (net-hours)	182.4	140.0	322.4
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	49.3	40.7	45.6
# of Nets	32	28	60

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	1,665	956	2,621
# of Recaptures	239	210	449
# of Species	51	48	61
Effort (net-hours)	5542.1	3736.8	9278.8
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	34.4	31.2	33.1
# of Days	37	30

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (LB)

Arden Schneider (CS)

Camille Beckwith (CS)

Jeremiah Sullivan (LB)

Amy Nickerson (LB)

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.

Oh Canada

 CAPTAIN SAMS

Today was the biggest day of the season with a total of 235 birds! Naturally Common Yellowthroats were our most captured species with 191 individuals. With less impressive numbers Yellow Warblers came in second with 10, and American Redstarts in third with 7. 

As we opened nets, we could hear dozens of warblers chirping, our first sign that it was going to be a busy day! In our first net run, we had over 100 yellowthroats as well as half a dozen other species including Yellow Warblers and a Chestnut-sided Warbler. While Yellowthroats may have stolen the show due to sheer volume, the crew's favorite was a bright red Summer Tanager! As hatch years, males may begin to get hints of red or orange in their plumage but only adults will be a bright red. 

After Hatch Year Male Summer Tanager 

-Arden 

LITTLE BEAR

While not nearly so prolific as Captain Sam's, Little Bear started the day with a nice push of birds that kept us busy for the first couple of runs up until just before the day turned hot.

One lovely bird we got was a gorgeous after-hatch-year Canada Warbler. This was our first of the season and a truly spectacular specimen with large black spots adorning his crown beautifully. 

A couple angles a beautiful after-hatch-year Canada Warbler. Note the strong necklace and heavy spotting on the crown.

  

Canada Warblers range across the northeast of the continent in a vague arrowhead where the broad tip rests upon the northeastern United States and eastern Canadian provinces and one edge runs across the Northwoods to all the way into British Columbia and the other follows the Appalachians into northern Georgia. Where I worked this summer in northeastern Alberta near Fort McKay these were one of the most abundant warbler species and closer to us in South Carolina birds nesting in the Appalachians have an affinity for rhododendron and laurel thickets in dense woodlands.

In the course of the incubation period male Canada Warblers may engage in a behavior called "anticipatory feeding" where they bring food to the nest before hatching. The provisioning instinct in birds can be incredibly strong, I have been told of a Black-and-White Warbler in Texas that would feed Golden-cheeked Warbler chicks as it had none of its own and there is documentation of Cardinals shoveling food items into the mouths of Koi (presumably the large, colorful mouths are reminiscent of a begging chick). In the case of Canada Warblers this at least occasionally manifests itself as offering food to their young even before they have left the confines of the egg. 

Nice look at the eye-ring

Canada Warblers winter principally in and along the east side of the Andes Mountains from the western edge of Venezuela to deep into Peru. While there they specialize on foraging for insects on the underside of low-growing leaves. This helps them minimize competition with other insectivorous birds and can give them access to a large quantity of food when insects are driven under the leaves due to rain.

While we can't say for sure where our friend spent his summer. These warblers exhibit high fidelity to their breeding grounds so it is likely that after winter he will return to the area he bred this year.

-Jeremiah

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Downy Woodpecker	-	-	-	1
Acadian Flycatcher	1	-	-	-
Traill's Flycatcher	1	-	-	-
White-eyed Vireo	-	-	-	1
Red-eyed Vireo	5	-	1	-
Carolina Wren	-	-	-	2
Gray Catbird	2	-	2	-
Brown Thrasher	1	-	-	-
Veery	1	-	-	-
Yellow-breasted Chat	-	-	1	-
Ovenbird	1	-	-	-
Northern Waterthrush	3	-	-	1
Black-and-white Warbler	2	-	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	189	2	45	3
American Redstart	6	1	1	-
Northern Parula	-	-	1	-
Yellow Warbler	10	-	4	-
Chestnut-sided Warbler	1	-	-	-
Western Palm Warbler	-	-	6	-
Prairie Warbler	6	-	1	-
Canada Warbler	-	-	1	-
Summer Tanager	1	-	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	1
Painted Bunting	1	-	3	-
	-	-	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	231	66	297
# of Recaptures	4	9	13
# of Species	17	16	24
Effort (net-hours)	179.2	148.4	327.6
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	128.9	50.5	90.7
# of Nets	32	28	60

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	1,592	909	2,501
# of Recaptures	222	201	423
# of Species	50	47	60
Effort (net-hours)	5,180.5	3,596.8	8,777.3
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	35.0	30.9	33.3
# of Days	36	29

Banding Staff

Michael Gamble (CS)

Liz Held (LB)

Arden Schneider (CS)

Camille Beckwith (LB)

Jeremiah Sullivan (LB)

Amy Nickerson (CS)

Adam Wolf (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.

Ageing and Sexing Yellow Warblers By Plumage

 CAPTAIN SAMS

I was not expecting a very busy day today based on the wind forecast but after hearing an abundant amount of flight calls just before sunrise, I looked at the radar and to my surprise there was a decent amount of migration last night. We ended the day with 97 new bird and 6 recaptures of 15 species. 

While a majority of the birds banded today were Common Yellowthroat (as usual), we did have five Yellow Warblers that represented 3 of the 4 age/sex classes that we could have in the fall. 

While not all hatch-years can be reliably sexed in the fall, exceptionally pale yellow individuals without red breast streaking can be sexed as females while brighter yellow ones with some red streaking can be sexed as males. Adult (after hatch-year) males are the brightest with distinct red streaking on the breast and flanks. Adult females are light to moderately bright yellow and usually do not have any red streaking in the fall.    

-Aaron 

LITTLE BEAR

It was a very hot day and quite slow compared to Captain Sam's. We banded 39 birds and had 17 recaptures of 13 species. Our top species was the Common Yellowthroat again. A highlight of the day was a Northern Mockingbird, which was the first of the species I've personally banded! It had really cool molt going on, having replaced three primary feathers (P1-3) and 4 of the outermost secondary feathers (S6-9). It is typical that this species replaces the outermost secondaries in their pre-formative molt as hatch years, but the replaced feathers in their primary tracts on both wings was a very interesting find! 

Northern Mockingbird, hatch year

Hatch year Northern Mockingbird; the darker gray feathers (highlighted by blue lines) are newly replaced, and the lighter brown feathers (highlighted by light green lines) are older retained feathers

- Camille 

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Downy Woodpecker	1	-	-	-
Traill's Flycatcher	1	-	-	-
White-eyed Vireo	-	2	-	2
Red-eyed Vireo	5	-	5	-
Carolina Wren	-	-	-	3
Gray Catbird	-	-	1	-
Brown Thrasher	1	-	-	-
Northern Mockingbird	-	-	1	-
Swainson's Thrush	2	-	-	-
Yellow-breasted Chat	-	-	-	1
Ovenbird	2	-	-	-
Northern Waterthrush	1	-	2	-
Common Yellowthroat	62	2	22	8
American Redstart	11	1	4	-
Cape May Warbler	1	-	-	-
Yellow Warbler	5	-	1	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	-	-	-
Western Palm Warbler	-	-	1	-
Prairie Warbler	1	-	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	-	-	1
Painted Bunting	3	1	2	2
	-	-	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	97	39	136
# of Recaptures	6	17	23
# of Species	15	13	21
Effort (net-hours)	153.6	145.6	299.2
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	67.1	38.5	53.1
# of Nets	32	28	60

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	1,361	843	2,204
# of Recaptures	218	192	410
# of Species	50	46	59
Effort (net-hours)	5,180.5	3,448.4	8,628.9
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	30.5	30.0	30.3
# of Days	35	28

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Liz Held (LB)

Arden Schneider (CS)

Camille Beckwith (LB)

Jeremiah Sullivan (LB)

Amy Nickerson (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 Summer Tanager and Blackburnian Warbler at Little Bear

 CAPTAIN SAMS

It was a very similar day compared to yesterday with some additional humidity. We captured 32 new birds and 8 recaptures of 15 species. The highlights of the morning were two species we do not catch often: Worm-eating Warbler and Wood Thrush. This was only the second captured of each species at the spit so far this season. Unfortunately, it looks like the heat is here to stay which may result in slow days through next week. 

-Michael

LITTLE BEAR

Little Bear once again surprised the crew by capturing more birds than Captain Sams with 50 total today. To no one's surprise, Common Yellowthroat was the number one species with 19 individuals. Red-eyed Vireos swooped in second with 7 and Painted Buntings in third with 4. 

The crew enjoyed two first of the seasons both caught right at the end of the day today. The first was a hatch year male Summer Tanager with some interesting aberrant plumage including some pale feathers on the head and white greater coverts. He also sported bright pink legs and feet, differing from the grey or black this species usually has. The other exciting capture was a young female Blackburnian Warbler, a species each station will only capture a few of each year. 

-Arden

Hatch Year Male Summer Tanager 

Summer Tanager with unusual pink legs

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Downy Woodpecker	1	-	-	-
Traill's Flycatcher	-	-	1	-
White-eyed Vireo	1	-	1	1
Red-eyed Vireo	2	-	7	-
Grey Catbird	1	-	1	-
Veery	3	-	1	-
Wood Thrush	1	-	-	-
Swainson's Thrush	-	-	1	-
Ovenbird	1	-	-	-
Northern Waterthrush	-	2	2	-
Worm-eating Warbler	1	-	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	13	3	18	1
American Redstart	4	2	2	-
Yellow Warbler	1	-	-	-
Cape May Warbler	-	-	1	-
Blackburnian Warbler	-	-	1	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	-	-	1	-
Western Palm Warbler	1	-	2	-
Prairie Warbler	-	-	1	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	2
Painted Bunting	1	-	1	3

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	32	42	74
# of Recaptures	8	8	16
# of Species	15	18	21
Effort (net-hours)	160.0	144.4	304.4
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	25.0	34.6	-
# of Nets	32	28	-

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	1,264	804	2,068
# of Recaptures	212	175	387
# of Species	50	46	59
Effort (net-hours)	5,026.9	3,302.64	8,329.66
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	29.4	29.6	29.47
# of Days	34	27

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Liz Held (LB)

Arden Schneider (LB)

Amy Nickerson (CS)

Jenny Tyrrell (CS)

Jacob Gianopulos (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.

Little Bear catches a Sora!

 CAPTAIN SAMS

After a busy day yesterday, bird activity slow down today due to a wind shift from the north to south yesterday afternoon. Because of that we only caught 33 birds (26 new, 7 recaptures). 

The slower day allowed us to focus on repairing a mist net to replace one that has become brittle from the sun. We have another four nets that we plan to replace tomorrow which are in a similar state of disrepair. The mist nets that we use are made of nylon. Because these nets are in the field from early August through the end of March, they endure a lot of UV radiation which eventually breaks down the nylon and the nets become brittle and start to tear. If I am lucky, I can get two years out a mist net. Nets that are in full sun may need to be replaced after a year. 

-Aaron

LITTLE BEAR

Surprisingly busy day at Little Bear, especially when compared to Captain Sam's which makes it all the more unusual.

We had an especially exciting new bird species during our first run, a hatch-year male Sora!

Hatch-year male Sora.

Sora's are a small, beautiful species of rail with wide range and an adaptable nature that allows them to make their abodes in almost every sort of wetland from small patches of marsh to great expanses of cattail swamps. 

Like other rails Sora's are well adapted to life in the dense marshes they love to inhabit. Their long legs and spindly toes give them an advantage in moving over soft mud and boggy ground and their bodies are laterally compressed to enable them to move through the slightest gap in vegetation. The phrase "thin as a rail" is actually in regard to this group of birds. It is remarkable how tall the are compared to their width, to me it reminds me of fish floating through the marsh grasses on skeletal legs.

Soras share much of their range with another small rail, the Virginia Rail. These are easily distinguished from each other at a glance as the Virginia Rail has a long, curved bill while the Sora has a short, yellow bill that is reminiscent of a giant kernel of corn. Interestingly these two species don't seem to compete with each other as the Sora is garnering 75% of its sustenance from wild plant seeds like the abundant foxtail grasses in our area. In contrast to the generally vegetarian Sora, the Virginia is more carnivorous with 60% of its diet being insects.

While generally loathe to fly, Soras cover great distances in migration flying between breeding grounds as far north as the Yukon and Northwest Territories to winter ranges as anywhere between Delmarva and Ecuador. The ability to cover such vast distances is surprising for a group of birds that are famous for their preference to run rather than fly, but Soras illustrate well why the islands of the Pacific are such a hotbed of rail endemism.

Soras are vocal birds and regardless of time of year their hoarse whinnies break through the silence of both night and day. Hopefully even if we don't see our secretive friend again, we will hear him in the marsh.

-Jeremiah

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Sora	-	-	1	-
Downy Woodpecker	-	-	1	-
White-eyed Vireo	-	3	4	-
Red-eyed Vireo	1	-	3	-
Carolina Wren	-	-	1	-
Gray Catbird	-	-	1	-
Yellow-breasted Chat	1	-	-	-
Ovenbird	1	-	1	-
Northern Waterthrush	3	-	2	1
Common Yellowthroat	10	1	29	2
American Redstart	2	1	4	1
Cape May Warbler	1	-	3	-
Magnolia Warbler	-	-	1	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	-	7	-
Western Palm Warbler	2	-	-	-
Prairie Warbler	2	1	-	-
Northern Cardinal	1	-	-	3
Painted Bunting	1	1	2	2
	-	-	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	26	60	86
# of Recaptures	7	9	16
# of Species	13	15	18
Effort (net-hours)	153.6	145.6	299.2
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	21.5	48.1	34.1
# of Nets	32	28	60

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	1,232	762	1,999
# of Recaptures	204	167	371
# of Species	50	44	59
Effort (net-hours)	4,866.9	3,158.4	8,025.3
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	29.5	29.4	29.5
# of Days	33	26

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Liz Held (LB)

Camille Beckwith (LB)

Jeremiah Sullivan (LB)

Amy Nickerson (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.