CAPTAIN SAMS
Today at Captain Sam's we caught 76 birds, 51 were new and 25 recaps, with a total of 21 species. Our first net run held most of todays excitement. I returned with an Eastern Whip-poor-will (EWPW) and Michael returned with a Green Heron. This was my first time banding an EWPW, and Aarons first time banding a Green Heron on Kiawah. I was pretty stoked to band a whip, they're pretty wicked looking birds. They specialize in hunting moths and other insects at night, using the moon to backlight them so they can see them better. Whips aren't very well understood due to their elusive behavior and being most active at night, and are generally considered one of the most understudied birds in North America. I super grateful to band such an awesome bird, and hope to catch more this season!
-Aiden
LITTLE BEAR
It was a slightly slower morning than the previous two at Little Bear with 53 newly banded birds and 5 recaps of 16 species. The highlight of the day was catching a Belted Kingfisher on our closing net run. As Nick and I were closing up nets on the right side I heard Liz over the radio asking Jasmine if she had any large bags... intriguing, I thought to myself as I wrangled a catbird out of net 27. We returned to the table and me and Nick were trying to guess what the mysterious bird jumbling about in the large bag could be. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo? No, we had already caught one today and Liz and Jasmine were acting suspicious. Perhaps a Northern Flicker? We had heard one calling above the banding table that very morning. No, Flickers are very fun birds to catch at any banding station, but the excitement in Liz's voice over the radio made me believe it was something even more uncommon. I inspected the bag from my seat and caught a glimpse of the unmistakable large bill and throat band. Could it be? The elusive Belted Kingfisher? It was indeed! And it was my lucky day as I had never banded one before and I received the honor on this tremendous morning. Avoiding its dangerously stabby bill, I put the band on above its "ankle" joint. We normally band songbirds below this joint on the tarsus, but on closer inspection you will notice the tarsus on the kingfisher was miniscule! A band would never fit on such a tiny tarsus. I also noticed this bird's oddly mitten-shaped feet. We determined this bird to be a hatch year based on the wider scalloped black striping on the central tail feathers and its blue and rusty speckled throat band. The lack of a second rusty colored band meant this bird was a male.
 |
| Belted Kingfisher (hatch year male) |
 |
| Belted Kingfisher feet and band above the joint |
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Yellow-billed Cuckoo | - | - | 1 | - |
Eastern Whip-poor-will | 1 | - | - | - |
Green Heron | 1 | - | - | - |
Belted Kingfisher | - | - | 1 | - |
Least Flycatcher | 1 | - | - | - |
Eastern Phoebe | - | - | 2 | - |
White-eyed Vireo | - | 2 | - | - |
Red-eyed Vireo | 1 | 1 | - | - |
Tufted Titmouse | - | - | - | 1 |
Northern House Wren | 3 | - | 1 | - |
Gray Catbird | 12 | 12 | 11 | 1 |
Swainson's Thrush | 1 | - | - | - |
House Finch | 1 | - | - | - |
Yellow-breasted Chat | 1 | - | - | - |
Northern Waterthrush | 1 | 2 | 1 | - |
Black-and-white Warbler | - | 1 | - | - |
Common Yellowthroat | 15 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
American Redstart | 2 | - | 3 | - |
Cape May Warbler | - | - | 2 | - |
Northern Yellow Warbler | - | - | 2 | - |
Black-throated Blue Warbler | - | 1 | 3 | - |
Western Palm Warbler | 6 | - | 10 | - |
Prairie Warbler | 1 | - | 1 | - |
Northern Cardinal | 1 | 2 | 1 | - |
Painted Bunting | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 51 | 53 | 104 |
| # of Recaptures | 25 | 5 | 30 |
| # of Species | 21 | 16 | 26 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 187.7 | 136.8 | 324.5 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 40.5 | 37 | 41.3 |
| # of Nets | 33 | 28 | 61 |
| 2026 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 3182 | 1731 | 4913 |
| # of Recaptures | 437 | 184 | 621 |
| # of Species | 64 | 60 | 78 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 7933.8 | 5328.25 | 13262.1 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 45.6 | 35.9 | 41.4 |
| # of Days | 53 | 46 |
Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)