CAPTAIN SAMS
Oh boy oh boy! Are you ready for the summary of today? Are you sitting down? If not that's okay don't worry. Today at Captain Sam's we had a total of... ...okay maybe sit down if you're not... ...you ready now... okay ... 298 newly banded birds and 6 recaps!!! I know you were all anxiously awaiting a really good push of migrants, trust me I was too, and it finally arrived. I'm pleased to say the great forecast/prophecy/foretelling/prediction (I think prophecy still sounds coolest) of our wise leaders Mr. Given and Mr. Gamble has come to fruition.
In all seriousness folks, it was truly amazing to have such an awesome day after the slower start to the season. Even with so many birds it never got overwhelming, and I can't thank our volunteers Jen Tyrrell, Ann McLean, and Nancy Raginski enough for their spectacular help out there today. Aside from the boundless busy beautiful birds being about, the weather was great. We had clear skies with high temps in the 70s, paired with calmer winds than yesterday it made for a nice fall day. Today was overall a great time with high spirits all around!
We had a total of 22 species with our first of season Wood Thrush and Swainson's Thrush. 179 of our birds today were good ol Common Yellowthroats (COYEs) so that was fun as usual. Most warblers don't get tangled in the nets very bad, but COYEs are just built different. Other species of note for me were a Northern Parula, Black-and-white Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, and Cape May Warbler. Coming from banding in Wyoming all summer, it's always nice to see all the eastern warblers again!
If the great prophecy remains true, tomorrow and the rest of the weekend should be pretty bangin as well, so hopefully our numbers just keep rising for the next day or two. Oh yeah, we also got to witness a dude climb up a tree in a bee suit today so that was pretty wicked.
In any case, I hope all you crazy cats out there have a great weekend. Get some good sleep, eat some good food, and go outside! Maybe you'll see some cool birds :)
Aiden
LITTLE BEAR
Little Bear ended the day with 194 birds processed. 65% of our captures today were Common Yellowthroats, but we also got a fine mix of species like Black-and-white Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Indigo Bunting and Cape May Warbler. We got our first of season Acadian Flycatcher, identified by its yellowish plumage, gray legs, and large bill width of 6.3mm.
 |
| Acadian Flycatcher (hatch year, unknown) |
We also got an adult female Common Yellowthroat with a retained outer primary (grown last year) only on the right side. The bird did not replace this feather during the pre basic molt, and I suspect this is a leftover juvenile feather because of its super worn condition.
 |
| Common Yellowthroat (after hatch year, female) |
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Downy Woodpecker | - | - | 1 | 1 |
Acadian Flycatcher | - | - | 1 | - |
Traill's Flycatcher | 1 | - | - | - |
White-eyed Vireo | 9 | - | 5 | - |
Red-eyed Vireo | 6 | 1 | 4 | - |
Carolina Chickadee | - | 1 | - | - |
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | 2 | - | - | - |
Gray Catbird | 23 | 1 | 2 | - |
Veery | 1 | - | - | - |
Swainson's Thrush | 1 | - | - | - |
Wood Thrush | 1 | - | - | - |
Ovenbird | 3 | - | - | - |
Northern Waterthrush | 5 | 1 | 5 | - |
Black-and-white Warbler | 2 | - | 3 | - |
Common Yellowthroat | 179 | 1 | 126 | 1 |
American Redstart | 41 | - | 20 | - |
Cape May Warbler | 6 | - | 3 | - |
Northern Parula | 1 | - | 1 | - |
Magnolia Warbler | 1 | - | - | - |
Blackburnian Warbler | - | - | 1 | - |
Northern Yellow Warbler | 5 | - | 3 | 1 |
Black-throated Blue Warbler | 8 | - | 4 | - |
Western Palm Warbler | 2 | - | 8 | - |
Prairie Warbler | 1 | - | - | - |
Northern Cardinal | - | 1 | - | - |
Indigo Bunting | - | - | 1 | - |
Painted Bunting | - | - | - | 1 |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 298 | 189 | 487 |
| # of Recaptures | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| # of Species | 22 | 19 | 27 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 237.6 | 186.3 | 423.9 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 127.9 | 104.1 | 117.4 |
| # of Nets | 33 | 27 | 60 |
| 2026 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 1104 | 839 | 1943 |
| # of Recaptures | 206 | 127 | 333 |
| # of Species | 40 | 45 | 55 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 5500.85 | 3645.10 | 9145.95 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 23.81 | 26.5 | 24.89 |
| # of Days | 41 | 34 |
Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)