Collectively, we banded 9,124 birds and had 2,447 recaptures
of 106 different species. Captain Sams
had a substantial increase in the number of birds banded compared to last fall,
while Little Bear experienced a small decrease. Combined, however, we banded 14% more birds than last year.
Overall, the average monthly temperature was consistent with
the historical average. However, the
first half of November was 5.6 °F warmer than the historic
average. This season was also slightly drier,
and we experienced less rain (18.7”) than normal (19.4”). Most of the rain this season (12.8”) came in
the first half of August prior to our banding season starting. The first “cold” front arrived on 20 August. Unlike
the last several years, cold fronts seemed to come in more regularity averaging
about one per week through September and October. Most of the cold fronts were weak or had
weakened by the time they reached the Southeast. We experienced good movement
of migrants with the passage of two strong cold fronts in September (9/9 and
9/19) and two in October (10/1 and 10/15).
As usual migration slowed down during
November, but steady numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers arrived all month
long.
It was an active Atlantic hurricane season with 18 named
storms but only two affected our operations at KIBS. Hurricane Debby made landfall in the Florida panhandle
as a Category 1 on 5 August. It weakened
and moved up the coast making a second landfall on 8 August just north of
Charleston, SC bringing with it 7” of rain, strong winds, and a 1 ft storm
surge. The rain flooded both stations
for the start of the banding season but because Captain Sams is tidal, most of
the water receded quickly only leaving 6-8” of water in the lower
elevation areas of the station. Little
Bear on the other hand is situated in a basin that collects and holds water,
and as a result had 12-18” of water throughout much of the site. Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category
4 in the Big Bend region of Florida on 26 September. Helene weakened and quickly moved inland up into
Georgia and western South Carolina. While
the effects of Helene were minimal in our area, we did receive enough rain to
shut down banding operations for a day.
CAPTAIN SAMS
Nets were open for a total of 105 days from 15 August - 30
November. There were 3 days when banding
did not occur because of weather: 9/7 (rain), 9/27 (Hurricane Helene; rain and
wind), 11/7 (rain).
We banded 5,779 new birds of 93 different species. The most commonly banded species were Common
Yellowthroat (1,520), Yellow-rumped Warbler (1,013), and Gray Catbird (767). Those
three species combined made up 57.1% of all the birds banded this season. After falling to the number 3 spot last year,
Common Yellowthroats rushed to the top this year and increased by 82% from last
year and 35% from the average since 2012.
This was the most Common Yellowthroats we have ever banded in one
season. Rebounding from a poor fall last
year, Yellow-rumped Warblers increased by 93% this fall compared to last year
and 31% compared to the average since 2012.
After topping the list last year, Gray Catbirds fell to third with a decrease
of 18% from last year and 5% since 2012.
The overall effort increased from 17,178.3 net-hours in 2023 to 17, 502.9 net-hours this year. This difference is small, and we did have one additional day of banding this year.
We banded 1,158 more birds this year compared to last year, and 1,028 birds more than the average for the previous 13 years. The capture rate of new birds was 33.0 birds/100 net-hours. The capture rate increased by 6.1 birds/100 net-hours compared to last year but was still 4.8 birds/100 net-hours lower than the 13-year average of 37.8 birds/100 net-hours. Our capture rate has decreased every year starting in 2012 except for 2017, 2019, 2022, and again this year when we experienced small increases from the previous year. The capture rate of recaptures is normally very consistent from year to year, however, this year the capture rate was 8.6 birds/100 net-hours which is 1.2 birds/100 net-hours lower than the average since 2012.
We had 1,506 recaptures this season compared to 1,292 recaptures from last year representing a 17% increase. Recaptures can be divided into 3 categories: repeats (birds recaptured in the same season in which they were banded), returns (birds recaptured in a different season in which they were banded), and foreign recaptures (birds recaptured that were banded elsewhere). We had 1,279 repeats, 221 returns, and 6 foreign recaptures. It is rare to catch a bird that was banded at another location but to have multiples in one season is even more extraordinary.
· Worm-eating Warbler (9/9/24) – banded 9/22/20 in Key Biscayne, FL
· Northern Waterthrush (9/22/24) – banded and nanotagged in New Jersey
·
Common Yellowthroat (9/17/24) – banded 8/31/24
in Cape May, NJ
·
Common Yellowthroat (9/22/24) – banded 9/9/24 in
Cape May, NJ
·
Common Yellowthroat (10/8/24) – banded 5/17/19
in Newberry, MA
·
Common Yellowthroat (10/8/24) – banded 4/29/20
in Chestertown, MD
In addition to the foreign recaptures, we also captured 6
individuals that were banded at our Little Bear site that is located 8.8 miles
to the east of Captain Sams. Despite
banding thousands of birds at each site during the fall, we normally have very
little movement of the birds between them.
This year we captured a Northern Cardinal (10/21/21), Northern
Waterthrush (9/25/22), Brown Thrasher (8/25/23), Gray Catbird (10/14/22), and 2
Song Sparrows (10/18/23, 11/8/23) that were originally banded at Little Bear on
the date in paratheses.
There were 12 days this fall when over 100 birds were banded
including 2 days with at least 400 birds banded and 3 days with over 200 birds
banded. The best day of the season was
on 20 September when we banded 438 birds.
Of those 438 birds, 223 of them were Common Yellowthroats! The next two busiest days occurred on 15 October
and 1 October when 400 and 296 birds were banded, respectively. Of the 400
birds banded on 15 October, 205 of those were Gray Catbirds!
We had 23 regularly occurring species that exhibited record
high numbers this season: Yellow-billed
Cuckoo (34*), Eastern Whip-poor-will (3), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (14),
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (5), Eastern Phoebe (90), White-eyed Vireo (120), Brown
Creeper (8), Winter Wren (3), Marsh Wren (6), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (18),
Golden-crowned Kinglet (28), Swainson’s Thrush (100), Chipping Sparrow (2*),
White-crowned Sparrow (4), White-throated Sparrow (24), Swamp Sparrow (80), Black-and-white
Warbler (49), Nashville Warbler (4), Common Yellowthroat (1,520), Cape May
Warbler (65), Bay-breasted Warbler (7), Summer Tanager (9), Painted Bunting
(221). Alternatively, we had one species that had record low numbers: Hooded
Warbler (1*). The * indicates species
that tied the record high or low.
Some other rare and notable species that were banded this
fall include: Red-shouldered Hawk (1; 3 previous), Sedge Wren (1; 4 previous), Grasshopper
Sparrow (1; 3 previous), Nelson’s Sparrow (1; 1 previous).
Species notably absent this year included: Mourning Dove (36
total, average 2.8/year), Cooper’s Hawk (12 total, average 0.9 year), Eastern Bluebird
(6 total, average 0.5/year), Clay-colored Sparrow (13 total, average 1.0/year),
Field Sparrow (23 total, average 1.8/year), Lincoln’s Sparrow (5 total, average
0.4/year).
We banded 5 species that have never been banded before:
Barred Owl, Dusky Flycatcher, Bicknell’s Thrush (2), Cerulean Warbler, and
Black-headed Grosbeak. The Dusky
Flycatcher is a western species that breeds wests of the Rocky Mountains and
winters in Mexico. While there have been
some records of Dusky Flycatchers in the east, this is the first one for South
Carolina. Black-headed Grosbeak is
another species that breeds in the western US and winters in Mexico however it
is more prone to wander with hundreds of records throughout the eastern US.
This appears to be the 4th record for South Carolina and the first
since 1978. Bicknell’s Thrush is an
eastern species with a very restricted range occupying disturbed mountaintop
coniferous forest in the northeastern US during the breeding season and
wintering in the Greater Antilles. While
Bicknell’s Thrushes do occur in South Carolina during migration, they look
identical to the Gray-cheeked Thrush which makes identifying them in the field impossible. Only with measurements or (a voice recording)
can Bicknell’s Thrush be identified outside of the breeding range. Of the 37 species of wood-warblers that regularly
occur in eastern North America, the Cerulean Warbler was the only one we had
not banded yet. Ceruleans are rare along
the east coast and mainly migrant inland crossing the Gulf of Mexico to South
America for the winter.
We hosted 4 groups this year including the Kiawah Island
Natural History Group (19 September), the Seabrook Island Birders (7 October), the
SC Master Naturalist Program (8 October), and the naturalists from the Kiawah
Island Golf Resort (21 November).
Top 10 Species Banded at Captain Sams
1. Common Yellowthroat (1,520)
2. Yellow-rumped Warbler (1,013)
3. Gray Catbird (767)
4. American Redstart (265)
5. Painted Bunting (221)
6. Red-eyed Vireo (185)
7. Palm Warbler (161)
8. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (134)
9. White-eyed Vireo (120)
10. Northern Waterthrush (114)
LITTLE BEAR
Nets were open for a total of 80 days from 22 August - 15
November. There were 5 days cancelled due to weather: 9/7 (rain), 9/16 (Tropical
Cyclone #8; wind), 9/27 (Hurricane Helene; wind and rain), 10/10 (wind and
rain), and 11/7 (rain). Little Bear was closed for an additional day (10/18) due
to insufficient staffing.
We banded 3,345 new birds of 87 different species. The most commonly banded species were Common
Yellowthroat (825), Gray Catbird (547), and Yellow-rumped Warbler (290). Those
three species combined made up 50% of all the birds banded this season. It was a good year for Common Yellowthroats with
a 56% increase compared to last fall and a 35% increase over the average since
2015. Alternatively, Gray Catbird
numbers exhibited a 28% decrease from last fall and a 16% decrease on the
10-year average. Jumping back into the 3rd spot this year, Yellow-rumped
Warblers numbers were almost identical to last year but up 8.6% over the 10-year
average. Palm Warblers fell out of the top 3 down to 5 this year with a 60%
decrease from last year while Painted Buntings landed in 4th with an
186% increase from last year.
We logged 9,924.0 net-hours at Little Bear this fall – an increase
from 9,260.1 net-hours in 2023. We
banded one more day than last fall and added one new net (net 26). The new net was added to mitigate some of
the loss of vegetation surrounding several of our wetland nets. Excessive flooding and saltwater intrusion
have reduced the vegetation in that area severely to the point where a couple
nets have very little cover nearby.
We banded 35 less birds this year compared to last year, but
373 more birds than the average since 2015.
Little Bear’s capture rate of new birds decreased by 8% from 36.5 birds/100
net-hours in 2023 to 33.7 in 2024. Similarly,
the capture rate decreased by 12.5% compared to the average over the last 10
years. The capture rate of recaptures was up 20% from last year but right in
line with the 10-year average.
We had 941 recaptures this season, which is much higher than
the 729 recaptures from last year. We
had 827 repeats, 112 returns, and 1 foreign recapture. The foreign recapture was a Gray Catbird, however,
at the time of this report, the banding date and location is unknown.
There were 8 days when over 100 birds were banded including 1
day with at least 200 birds banded. Last
year, we had 10 days over 100 birds and two 200-bird days. The best day of the season was on 15 October
when we banded 200 birds and had 13 recaptures.
Of the 200 birds, 103 of them were Gray Catbirds! The next two busiest days occurred on 2
October and 9 September when 177 and 146 birds were banded, respectively.
Several species exhibited record high numbers this
season: Yellow-crowned Night Heron (2),
Chuck-wills-widow (2*), Downy Woodpecker (10), Eastern Wood-Pewee (10), Acadian
Flycatcher (2), Least Flycatcher (2), Eastern Phoebe (54), Brown Creeper (3),
Golden-crowned Kinglet (12),Veery (16), White-throated Sparrow (6*), Song
Sparrow (41), Swamp Sparrow (77), Cape May Warbler (61), Bay-breasted Warbler
(3*), Summer Tanager (2*), Painted Bunting (286). Species that had record low numbers included:
Eastern Towhee (1), Yellow-breasted Chat (5*), Baltimore Oriole (1*), Indigo
Bunting (9). The * indicates species that tied the record high or low.
Some other rare and notable species banded included: Bell’s Vireo
(1; 1 previous), Winter Wren (1; 4 previous), Clay-colored Sparrow (1; 5
previous), Dark-eyed Junco (1; 2 previous), Kentucky Warbler (1; 1 previous),
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (2; 1 previous).
Species notably absent included Eastern Screech Owl (16
total; 1.6/year), Sharp-shinned Hawk (11 total; average 1.1/year), American
Robin (9 total; 0.9/year), Chipping Sparrow (8 total; 0.8/year), Lincoln’s Sparrow
(8 total; 0.8/year).
We did not band any new species this year at Little Bear.
Top 10 Species Banded at Little Bear
1. Common Yellowthroat (825)
2. Gray Catbird (547)
3. Yellow-rumped Warber (290)
4. Painted Bunting (286)
5. Palm Warbler (159)
6. Northern Waterthrush (118)
7. American Redstart (116)
8. Red-eyed Vireo (88)
9. Swamp Sparrow (77)
10. White-eyed Vireo (76)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Without the cooperation of many people and entities, this
work would not be possible. The success
of this project relies on their commitment, and I owe a debt of gratitude to
everyone involved.
I'd like to thank my awesome team of seasonal banding assistants (Kristin Attinger, Natalie Miller, Noah Nei, and Lisa Viviano). Their hard work over the course of this long season was outstanding. It was a great season, and I would like to wish them all the very best of luck in the future. I’d also like to thank Michael Gamble, who was a former seasonal banding assistant from 2015-2018 but is now a full-time biologist with the Town of Kiawah Island. After 7 fall seasons, I am sad to say that Kirstin will not be returning in 2025, but I am happy to report that she has accepted a full-time biologist position. She will be missed, and I wish her the best of luck with her new job.
 |
| From left to right: Lisa Viviano, Noah Nei, Michael Gamble, Aaron Given, Natalie Miller, Kristin Attinger |
I'd like to acknowledge the Town of Kiawah Island for
providing funding for equipment, and stipends and housing for the banding
assistants. Thanks to the Kiawah
Partners and the Bear Island Holding Trust for allowing access to their
property for banding.
Nancy Raginski (92.7), David McLean (36.4), Ann McLean
(36.4), Peg Ackerson (25.8), Andy Thiede (25.8), Garrett Rhyne (18.7), Adam
Wolf (18.0), Molly Kilper (12.5), and Aidan Given (12.0) all donated a
considerable amount of their time (more than 10 hours) to help at the banding
station. We also had several volunteers
that came out for just the day. I’d like to thank all the volunteers that made
it out this year. Because of their help, we can operate a more efficient
banding station.
|
Banding Statistics |
Captain Sams |
Little Bear |
Total |
|
# of Birds Banded |
5,779 |
3,345 |
9,124 |
|
# of Recaptures |
1,506 |
941 |
2,447 |
|
# of Species |
93 |
87 |
106 |
|
Effort (net-hours) |
17,502.9 |
9,924.0 |
27,426.9 |
|
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) |
41.6 |
43.2 |
42.2 |
|
Capture Rate of New Birds (birds/100 nh) |
33.0 |
33.7 |
33.2 |
|
Capture Rate of Recaptures (birds/100 nh) |
8.6 |
9.5 |
8.9 |
|
# of Nets |
32 |
26 |
58 |
|
# of Days Operated |
105 |
80 |
- |
|
Dates of Operation |
8/15-11/30 |
8/22-11/15 |
- |
|
Species |
Captain Sams |
Little Bear |
||
|
New |
Recapture |
New |
Recapture |
|
|
Mourning Dove |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Yellow-billed Cuckoo |
34 |
4 |
22 |
4 |
|
Green Heron |
- |
- |
6 |
- |
|
Yellow-crowned Night Heron |
- |
- |
2 |
- |
|
Chuck-will's-widow |
1 |
- |
2 |
- |
|
Eastern Whip-poor-will |
3 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Sharp-shinned Hawk |
1 |
- |
- |
1 |
|
Cooper's Hawk |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Red-shouldered Hawk |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Eastern Screech-Owl |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Barred Owl |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Belted Kingfisher |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker |
14 |
1 |
4 |
- |
|
Downy Woodpecker |
5 |
17 |
10 |
11 |
|
Northern Flicker |
1 |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Eastern Wood-Pewee |
8 |
- |
10 |
- |
|
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher |
5 |
3 |
1 |
- |
|
Acadian Flycatcher |
2 |
- |
2 |
- |
|
"Traill's" Flycatcher |
25 |
1 |
15 |
- |
|
Least Flycatcher |
2 |
- |
2 |
- |
|
Dusky Flycatcher |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Eastern Phoebe |
90 |
9 |
54 |
- |
|
Great Crested Flycatcher |
3 |
1 |
- |
- |
|
Eastern Kingbird |
1 |
- |
2 |
- |
|
White-eyed Vireo |
120 |
54 |
76 |
2 |
|
Bell's Vireo |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Blue-headed vireo |
5 |
1 |
2 |
- |
|
Red-eyed Vireo |
185 |
3 |
88 |
5 |
|
Carolina Chickadee |
7 |
30 |
8 |
34 |
|
Tufted Titmouse |
- |
- |
2 |
1 |
|
Tree Swallow |
4 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Golden-crowned Kinglet |
28 |
10 |
12 |
- |
|
Ruby-crowned Kinget |
134 |
44 |
39 |
3 |
|
Brown Creeper |
8 |
2 |
3 |
- |
|
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher |
18 |
7 |
1 |
- |
|
House Wren |
53 |
21 |
60 |
13 |
|
Winter Wren |
3 |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Sedge Wren |
1 |
1 |
- |
- |
|
Marsh Wren |
6 |
- |
2 |
- |
|
Carolina Wren |
5 |
23 |
15 |
42 |
|
Gray Catbird |
767 |
372 |
547 |
281 |
|
Brown Thrasher |
10 |
11 |
7 |
8 |
|
Northern Mockingbird |
9 |
1 |
7 |
4 |
|
Veery |
22 |
2 |
16 |
- |
|
Gray-cheeked Thrush |
3 |
- |
2 |
- |
|
Bicknell's Thrush |
2 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Swainson's Thrush |
100 |
2 |
26 |
- |
|
Hermit Thrush |
30 |
34 |
9 |
- |
|
Wood Thrush |
3 |
- |
3 |
1 |
|
American Robin |
6 |
- |
- |
- |
|
House Finch |
16 |
1 |
1 |
- |
|
American Goldfinch |
7 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Grasshopper Sparrow |
1 |
1 |
- |
- |
|
Chipping Sparrow |
2 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Clay-colored Sparrow |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Dark-eyed Junco |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
|
White-crowned Sparrow |
4 |
- |
1 |
- |
|
White-throated Sparrow |
24 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
|
Seaside Sparrow |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Nelson's Sparrow |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Saltmarsh Sparrow |
1 |
- |
1 |
2 |
|
Savannah Sparrow |
2 |
1 |
2 |
- |
|
Song Sparrow |
49 |
18 |
41 |
10 |
|
Swamp Sparrow |
80 |
33 |
77 |
27 |
|
Eastern Towhee |
7 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
|
Yellow-breasted Chat |
6 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
|
Baltimore Oriole |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Ovenbird |
43 |
22 |
22 |
1 |
|
Worm-eating Warbler |
6 |
1 |
3 |
- |
|
Northern Waterthrush |
114 |
4 |
118 |
33 |
|
Black-and-white Warbler |
49 |
17 |
19 |
- |
|
Prothonotary Warbler |
9 |
1 |
3 |
- |
|
Swainson's Warbler |
1 |
- |
2 |
2 |
|
Tennessee Warbler |
7 |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Orange-crowned Warbler |
20 |
4 |
13 |
- |
|
Nashville Warbler |
4 |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Kentucky Warbler |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Common Yellowthroat |
1,520 |
210 |
825 |
77 |
|
Hooded Warbler |
1 |
- |
2 |
- |
|
American Redstart |
265 |
25 |
116 |
10 |
|
Cape May Warbler |
65 |
4 |
61 |
2 |
|
Cerulean Warbler |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Northern Parula |
33 |
6 |
14 |
1 |
|
Magnolia Warbler |
7 |
- |
6 |
- |
|
Bay-breasted Warbler |
7 |
- |
3 |
- |
|
Blackburnian Warbler |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Yellow Warbler |
38 |
1 |
38 |
3 |
|
Chestnut-sided Warbler |
2 |
- |
2 |
- |
|
Blackpoll Warbler |
4 |
- |
2 |
- |
|
Black-throated Blue Warbler |
86 |
13 |
34 |
- |
|
Palm Warbler |
161 |
6 |
159 |
- |
|
Pine Warbler |
3 |
1 |
2 |
- |
|
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) |
1,013 |
209 |
290 |
9 |
|
Yellow-throated Warbler |
1 |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Prairie Warbler |
95 |
11 |
72 |
3 |
|
Black-throated Green Warbler |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Canada Warber |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Wilson's Warbler |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Summer Tanager |
9 |
- |
2 |
- |
|
Scarlet Tanager |
5 |
- |
2 |
- |
|
Northern Cardinal |
21 |
79 |
30 |
60 |
|
Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
1 |
- |
2 |
- |
|
Black-headed Grosbeak |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Blue Grosbeak |
1 |
- |
1 |
- |
|
Indigo Bunting |
34 |
1 |
9 |
- |
|
Painted Bunting |
221 |
175 |
286 |
283 |
Note: All data is preliminary until it has has been thoroughly proofed.
