Pink Veery

 CAPTAIN SAMS

Despite the wind and rainy end to the morning, we still managed to capture 33 total birds, 22 new and 11 recaptures. One highlight of the day was an oddly colored hatch year Veery. Overall Veeries are a cinnamon brown color with similarly colored spots on their upper breast and a white underside. Our odd bird from today matched that description, but it also had a splotchy baby pink wash over its throat and belly and light pink undertail coverts. Veeries normally have pinkish legs and feet but this bird's feet also seemed especially bright pink. It is not uncommon for a bander to encounter a bird that has had its feathers stained in various shades of red, pink, and purple from the berries birds like to eat. Our pink Veery, however, featured such a light wash of color that seemed to come from the feathers themselves instead of something staining them.

Veery (hatch year, unknown sex)

Veery with light pink coloration on the belly, undertail coverts, and feet

This is an unusual plumage variation that could possibly be explained by diet. According to Cornell Lab's Bird Academy, birds' feathers gain their color in two main ways: 1) from the physical structure of the feather barbules that forces light to refract, causing us to see certain colors, or by 2) pigments that naturally occur in birds' bodies and in the food they eat. One type of pigment commonly found in nature are carotenoids. This pigment is found in a multitude of plants and is responsible for the bright red, orange, and yellow coloration seen in many songbirds. Birds' digestive systems use enzymes to break down the compounds in these pigments and deposit them into the feathers and other tissues like skin, beaks, and their legs. Because birds cannot produce carotenoids on their own, coloration can vary among individuals from how much and what types of plants a bird eats. While we can't know for sure why the Veery caught today was pink, it is possible it consumed an excess of a carotenoid-containing plant that was then deposited in some of its body plumage and feet. Either way, it was cool to see!

-Olivia

LITTLE BEAR

Today was a little slower at Little Bear, and we closed up a bit early due to a storm hitting us around 10:15. Overall it was a cooler, overcast day and stronger winds which probably kept birds from finding the nets. We ended up with 22 birds total of 8 species, with 13 new birds and 9 recaps. Despite the low numbers, most of our new birds were migrating warblers and Painted Buntings. 

The large tide yesterday evening and this morning flooded half of the station, which gave us wet feet today but hopefully it will draw in some wading birds and kingfishers! We also found another small gator in the path as well as two very large rattlesnakes. 

-Liz

Ovenbird, Hatch year unknown sex

Timber Rattlesnake

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Traill's Flycatcher	1	-	-	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	1	-	-
Tufted Titmouse	-	1	-	1
Carolina Wren	-	-	-	2
Veery	1	-	-	-
Ovenbird	-	-	1	-
Northern Waterthrush	5	1	4	-
Common Yellowthroat	10	3	2	-
American Redstart	1	-	-	-
Northern Yellow Warbler	-	1	-	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	-	-	-
Prairie Warbler	2	-	1	-
Northern Cardinal	-	3	-	3
Painted Bunting	1	1	5	3

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	22	13	35
# of Recaptures	11	9	20
# of Species	12	8	14
Effort (net-hours)	137.6	101	238.6
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	24	21.8	22.9
# of Nets	33	28	61

2026 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	519	273	792
# of Recaptures	139	93	232
# of Species	32	28	38
Effort (net-hours)	3,200	1,729.5	4,929.5
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	20.6	21.2	-
# of Days	24	17

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Liz Held (LB)

Olivia DeMarchi (CS)

Jasmine Fu (LB)

Aiden Gifford (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.