Friday's Results

Things are starting to look up!  Bird activity seems to be increasing everyday.  Hopefully the trend will continue.   

 

Today we banded 22 new birds with 5 recaptures of 11 different species.  Northern Waterthrushes dominated the nets again with 8 banded.  Highlights included 2 YELLOW WARBLERS and another VEERY.  

Yellow Warbler (hatch-year, female)

   


Northern Waterthrush



NEW BIRDS

2 Traill's Flycatcher

1 White-eyed Vireo

3 Red-eyed Vireo

1 Veery

1 Northern Mockingbird

2 Yellow Warbler

1 American Redstart

8 Northern Waterthrush

3 Common Yellowthroat

 

RECAPTURES

1 White-eyed Vireo

1 Carolina Wren

1 Common Yellowthroat

2 Northern Cardinal

 

BANDING STATS

Effort:  80.0 net-hours

Capture Rate: 33.8 birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets:  16

Thursday's Results

We banded 14 new birds with 7 recaptures of 7 different species.  The Prairie Warblers that have been so abundant were absent and have been replaced by Northern Waterthrush with 10 banded today.  We banded our first VEERY of season but the Bird-of-the-Day had to be the WORM-EATING WARBLER.  This is only the third ever fall banding record for the species at KIBS.  

Worm-eating Warbler (after hatch-year, sex unknown)



Worm-eating Warbler

  

Veery (hatch-year, sex unknown)

NEW BIRDS

2 Red-eyed Vireo

1 Veery

10 Northern Waterthrush

1 Worm-eating Warbler

 

RECAPTURES

2 Carolina Wren

3 Northern Cardinal

2 Painted Bunting

 

BANDING STATS

Effort: 75.2 net-hours

Capture Rate:  27.9

# of Nets: 16

Wednesday's Results

Painfully slow day of banding.  We only banded 4 new birds with 4 recaptures of 5 different species.  Highlights of the day were a female HOODED WARBLER and a male COMMON GROUND-DOVE.







Hooded Warbler (hatch-year, female)





Common Ground-Dove (second-year, male)

We have been catching several Painted Buntings in the nets lately with a majority of them being juvenile (hatch-year) birds.  Hatch-year Painted Buntings can be separated fairly easily from adults by the presence of light buffy edging on their greater coverts.



Painted Bunting (hatch-year, sex unknown)



NEW BIRDS

1 Common Ground-Dove

1 Hooded Warbler

2 Painted Bunting

 

RECAPTURES

1 Brown Thrasher

1 Northern Cardinal

2 Painted Bunting

 

BANDING STATS

Effort:  73.6 net-hours

Capture Rate:  10.9 birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets:  16





Tuesday's Wet Results

We dodged rain showers most of the morning and finally decided to shut the nets down at 8:45am.  We banded 5 new birds with 3 recapture of 5 different species. 

The highlight of the day was an adult male PAINTED BUNTING.  Painted Buntings are done nesting and are now in the process of molting their feathers.  Today's male was no exception.  He was missing a chunk of feather on the top giving him the appearance as if he was going bald.  Despite his brilliant colors, most of his feathers were fairly old and unkempt looking.  Over the next several weeks, these old feather will be replaced with a fresh set and he will be ready to leave Kiawah Island for the winter.



Painted Bunting (after hatch-year, male)



Another bird that we band a lot of is the NORTHERN CARDINAL.  Because they are so common around the banding station, they seldom get their picture taken.  They also have a healthy appetite for bander's fingers.  That large seed crushing bill can cause a painful bite!  

Northern Cardinal (hatch-year, male)

NEW BIRDS

2 Prairie Warbler

1 Ovenbird

1 Common Yellowthroat

1 Northern Cardinal

 

RECAPTURES

2 Northern Cardinal

1 Painted Bunting

 

BANDING STATS

Effort: 43.2 net-hours

Capture Rate: 18.5 birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets: 16

Monday's Results

Another very slow day with only 12 new birds with 5 recaptures of 10 different species.  We delayed opening the nets for a while this morning due to rain that was just offshore and heading directly to banding station.  Fortunately for us, as the rain approached the land the clouds broke apart and the rain dissipated before reaching the banding station.  I am hoping bird activity will pick up soon!   

 

NEW BIRDS

 1 Downy Woodpecker

1 "Traill's" Flycatcher

1 Red-eyed Vireo

1 Northern Mockingbird

3 Prairie Warbler

1 American Redstart

3 Common Yellowthroat

1 Northern Cardinal

 

RECAPTURES

4 Painted Bunting

1 White-eyed Vireo

 

BANDING STATS

Effort: 51.6 net-hours

Capture Rate: 32.9 birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets: 16

Sunday's Results

The banding assistants have arrived!  Welcome - DeeAnne, Meghan, and Michael!  For the first time this fall, we opened all 16 nets however the bird activity was still rather slow.  We banded 17 new bird with 7 recaptures of 9 different species. 

 

THE RESULTS

 

NEW BIRDS

6 American Redstarts

2 Prairie Warbler

1 Yellow Warbler

1 Common Yellowthroat

1 Red-eyed Vireo

1 Downy Woodpecker

1 Painted Bunting

4 Northern Cardinal

 

RECAPTURES

1 Prairie Warbler

1 Carolina Wren

3 Painted Bunting

2 Northern Cardinal

 

BANDING STATS

Effort: 86.4 net-hours

Capture Rate: 27.8 birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets:  16

Saturday's Results & ageing Northern Waterthrush

Clear skies + cooler morning + north winds =  lots of birds.  Not today, though.  Despite what seemed like ideal conditions, we only banded 18 new birds with 6 recaptures of 11 different species.  Empidonax flycatchers appear to be on the move with 3 of them banded today - 2 "Traill's" and 1 Acadian.  This is only the 2nd Acadian Flycatcher ever banded at KIBS and the first this season.  At a later date, I will put together a post explaining how banders are able to separate the incredibly similar Empidonax flycatchers.     



Acadian Flycatcher (hatch-year, sex unknown)



We have been banding a lot of Northern Waterthrushes lately, so I thought I would explain how banders can distinguish between young (hatch-year) and adults (after hatch-year).  The key is to look at the tertials.  The tertials are the last 3 secondaries on the wing closest to the body.  



Tertials on a Northern Waterthrush



Hatch-year birds will have buffy edging on the tertials while adults will lack the buffy edging.However, late in the fall there is a chance that the buffy edging can wear away and they will look adult, so it's always a good idea to check the primary coverts for shape and wear.  In the following photo, the bird on the left is an adult and the bird on the right is a juvenile.  Notice the buffy edging on the tertials on the hatch-year bird on the right.  This trick also works for determining the age of Ovenbirds except the egding on the tertials is more of a rusty color.    

Northern Waterthrush

 

TODAY'S TOTALS

 

NEW BIRDS

5 Prairie Warbler

2 Northern Waterthrush

1 American Redstart

1 Common Yellowthroat

2 "Traill's" Flycatcher

1 Acadian Flycatcher

1 Red-eyed Vireo

3 Painted Bunting

1 Northern Mockingbird

1 Northern Cardinal

 

RECAPTURES

3 Painted Bunting

2 Carolina Chickadee

1 Northern Waterthrush

 

BANDING STATS

Effort:  50.0 net-hours

Capture Rate:  48.0 birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets:  10

Friday's Results

Rain delayed the opening of net until 7:30 this morning, however I was able to get an extra hour of sleep!  Bird activity was horrible slow with only 10 new birds banded with 3 recaptures of 5 different species.  Northern Waterthrush and Red-eyed Vireos were the most abundant today making up 90% of the catch. 

 

Yesterday I mentioned that you can use eye color to age Red-eyed Vireos in the fall.  Up until today, I had not banded an adult yet this season.  The following pictures are of a hatch-year and an after hatch-year Red-eyed Vireo, showing the difference in eye color between the age groups.  The red eye in the photo of the adult was much redder in person.  It appears to have been washed out a bit in the photo.    

Red-eyed Vireo (hatch-year, sex unknown) - notice the brownish colored eye



Red-eyed Vireo (after hatch-year, sex unknown) - notice the red eye



 In addition to eye color, plumage characteristics can also be useful in ageing Red-eye Vireos.  They have somewhat of a unique molting pattern where adults start their prebasic molt on the breeding grounds, suspend their molt during migration, and complete it on the wintering grounds.  Most other adult passerines finish their prebasic molt prior to fall migration.  Adult Red-eye Vireos will show a contrast in feather wear and color among wing coverts and sometimes flight feathers, while juveniles (hatch-year) will have a fresher, less contrasting looking wing plumage.  

TODAY'S TOTALS

 

NEW BIRDS

5 Red-eyed Vireo

4 Northern Waterthrush

1 Prairie Warbler

 

RECAPTURES

1 Prairie Warbler

1 Northern Cardinal

1 Northern Mockingbird

 

BANDING STATS

Effort:  30.0 net-hours

Capture Rate:  43.3 birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets Used:  8    

THURSDAY'S RESULTS

Be sure to checkout the "CURRENT TOTALS" tab to see the 2012 fall summary table. 

 

We captured 32 new birds with 3 recaptures of 8 different species.  Common Yellowthroats gave the Prairie Warblers a run for their money but fell short by 1 individuals for the most abundant species. 

 

A hint of a black mask on the following Common Yellowthroat would usually indicate a hatch-year male, however closer inspection of the primary coverts (pp covs) revealed that this was an adult bird.  Sometimes, adult females can take on male-like characteristics which is what occurred with this individual.   

Common Yellowthroat (after hatch-year, female)

  

Red-eyed Vireos in the fall can be aged using eye color.  Hatch-year birds will usually have brownish colored eyes while adults will have red eyes.  When using eye color to age birds, I always confirm the age using secondary characteristics such as primary coverts shape/wear and outer tail (rectrices) shape. 



Red-eyed Vireo (hatch-year, sex unknown)



  TOTALS NEW BIRDS

10 Prairie Warbler

9 Common Yellowthroat

7 Northern Waterthrush

2 American Redstart

1 Yellow Warbler

1 Red-eyed Vireo

1 "Traill's" Flycatcher

1 Northern Mockingbird

 

RECAPTURES

2 Prairie Warbler

1 Northern Waterthrush

 

BANDING STATS

Effort: 45.0 net-hours

Capture Rate:  77.8 

# of Nets Used:  10

Wednesday's Results

The birds have returned to KIBS!  We banded 41 new birds with 6 recaptures of 11 different species.  Prairie Warblers were out in force this morning with 26 banded which makes 100 so far for the fall season.    

 

We had the first BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER of the season and captured a RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD.  The hummingbird was released unbanded as we do not have the special training and permit required to band hummingbirds yet.   

 



Black-throated Blue Warbler (Hatch-year, male)



COMMON GROUND-DOVES are always a treat to capture, as they are oftentimes very difficult to study afield.    As their name implies, these little doves spend alot of time on the ground, however they are not that common in South Carolina.     



Common Ground-Dove (unknown age, female)




Open wing of the Common Ground-Dove



 

TODAY'S TOTALS

 

NEW BIRDS

26 Prairie Warbler

4 Northern Waterthrush

3 American Redstart

2 Common Yellowthroat

1 Black-throated Blue Warbler

1 Yellow Warbler

1 Red-eyed Vireo

1 Northern Mockingbird

1 Northern Cardinal

1 Common Ground-Dove

 

RECAPTURES

3 Northern Cardinal

1 Eastern Towhee

1 Northern Waterthrush

1 American Redstart

 

BANDING STATS

Effort: 63.6 net-hours

Capture Rate:  73.9 birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets Used:  12   

Tuesday Results & Ageing, Sexing Prairie Warbler

The rain stayed just offshore this morning allowing me to get today's banding sesssion in.  I banded 14 new birds with 5 recaptures of 8 different species.  Prairie Warblers were the most numerous species again and I banded the first EASTERN TOWHEE and "TRAILL'S" FLYCATCHER of the season.    



Eastern Towhee (After hatch-year, female)



"Traill's" Flycatcher (Hatch-year, sex unknown)

Because it was a rather slow morning I was able to take some extra time with the Prairie Warblers and took some photos that will help explain how bander's age and sex this species.  Before assigning a sex to a Prairie Warbler you first need to determine it's age.  This can be done by looking for molt limits within the alula feathers on the wing.  A molt limit is the location within or between feather tracts of the wing where two generations of feathers are adjancent to each other.  If a molt limit occurs then that bird has retained some juvenile feathers therefore it can be aged as hatch-year meaning it was born this summer.  In most hatch-year warbler species, molt limits will occur within the alulas or between the carpal covert and A1 (the tiny 1st alula feather).  

Alulas and carpal coverts of Prairie Warbler

In the photo above there is no difference in the color within the alulas or carpal covert.  They are all dark black centered and A1, A2, and the carpal covert all have bright yellow edging indicating that this is an adult bird.  A3 usually won't have as bright of edging as the other but the feather center will be just as dark.  

  

In the photo below you can see there is a clear difference in color between A1 and the carpal covert.  The carpal covert was replaced this summer during the 1st prebasic molt and the alulas were retained as juvenile feathers.  For this Prairie Warbler, the molt limit is between A1 and the carpal covert making this a hatch-year bird.

 



Molt limit between carpal covert and A1 in hatch-year Prairie Warbler



Once you have figure out the age of the Prairie Warbler, next you want to look at body plumage characteristics in order to determine the sex.  Adult males will be the brightest in color and will have dark black facial markings as well as large red centers on the on the upper back feathers. 



Dark black facial markings of adult male Prairie Warbler




Large red centers on back of adult male Prairie Warbler



 

    Adult females and hatch-year males can look very similiar in plumage.  They usually have a little black in the face (but not always).  The red spots on the back feathers will be larger in males than in females but both can be moderate in size.  Some adult females will have very small red centers. 

 



Prairie Warbler (Hatch-year, male)



Moderately size red centers on back of hatch-year male Prairier Warbler



  Hatch-year females will have the dullest plumage.  Their facial markings are grayish with no black and the red centers on the the back feather are usually lacking.  Unfortunately, I neglected to get a photo of the hatch-year female from today.

 

TOTALS FROM TODAY

 

NEW BIRDS

7 Prairie Warbler

1 Ovenbird

1 Yellow Warbler

1 "Traill's" Flycatcher

2 Painted Bunting

1 Brown Thrasher

1 Eastern Towhee

 

RECAPTURES

3 Prairie Warbler

1 Ovenbird

1 Carolina Wren

 

BANDING STATS

Effort:  57.75 net-hours

Capture Rate:  32.9 birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets Used:  11

     

No Banding Today

I was giving a bird ID workshop to residents of Kiawah Island today so I was unable to band, but I will be back at again tomorrow.

SUNDAY'S RESULTS

The thermometer read 81 degrees when I walked out the door this morning at 5:00am, so I didn't have high hopes for a lot of bird activity.  I only banded 17 new birds with 3 recaptures of 9 different species but I did catch the first BROWN THRASHER of the season.  

Sorry no pictures today. . .  

 

NEW BIRDS

 

5 Prairie Warbler

4 Northern Waterthrush

1 American Redstart

1 Ovenbird

4 Painted Bunting

1 Northern Cardinal

1 Brown Thrasher

 

RECAPTURES

1 Hooded Warbler

1 Ovenbird

1 Carolina Chickadee

 

BANDING STATS

Effort:  46.75 net-hours

Capture Rate:  42.8 birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets Used:  11 

SATURDAY'S BANDING RESULTS

I could tell by the lack of "chips" and flight calls while opening the nets that we were going to be in for a much slower day.  We banded 18 new birds with 3 recaptures of 11 species.  Prairie Warblers continued to be the most abundant species with 8 banded today.

We did get the first DOWNY WOODPECKER of the season.  Usually Downys are pretty fiesty and like to drum on my fingers (oftentimes drawing blood) but this guy was very relatively cooperative.  



Downy Woodpecker (Hatch-year, male)



  Another first of the season was this adult female HOODED WARBLER.

Hooded Warbler (After hatch-year, female)



Over the last 3 fall seasons we have only banded 1 GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, however this season, we have banded 3 in 4 days!

Great Crested Flycatcher (Hatch-year, unknown sex)

 

TODAY'S TOTALS:

NEW BIRDS

8 Prairie Warblers

2 Ovenbird

2 Northern Waterthrush

1 American Redstart

1 Prothonotary Warbler

1 Hooded Warbler

1 Red-eyed Vireo

1 Great Crested Flycatcher

1 Downy Woodpecker

 

RECAPTURES

2 Carolina Wren

1 Yellow-breasted Chat

 

BANDING STATS

Effort: 55.3 net-hours

Capture Rate: 38.0 birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets Used:  11

Friday's Banding Results

Things slowed down a bit this morning compared to the last couple of days however we still had a decent array of species.  We captured 36 new birds with 7 recaptures of 16 species. 

Hightlights included the first BLUE GROSBEAK of the season.  It was a very worn female and she was sporting a brood patch so I assume she must be local breeder.  

Blue Grosbeak (After hatch-year, female)

   We also captured the first of many hundreds of COMMON YELLOWTHROAT that will move through KIBS this fall.  This bird is most likely a female (based on wing length) but because a small proportion of hatch-year males can lack black on their face we cannot be certain that it is a female.   

Common Yellowthroat (Hatch-year, sex unknown)

This PAINTED BUNTING just received some new fashion accessories. 

Painted Bunting (Hatch-year, sex unknown)

 

In coordination with the Painted Bunting Observer Team (PBOT) program, I am applying color bands to Painted Buntings this fall.  The band color combinations are unique to each individual making it possible to gather information on these birds without having to recapture them again.  If you see a Painted Bunting at your bird feeder and it is wearing color bands be sure to report the sighting at the PBOT website. 

Painted Bunting with color bands



The totals from today:

NEW BIRDS

13 Prairie Warbler

5 Northern Waterthrush

3 American Redstart

2 Black-and-white Warbler

2 Common Yellowthroat

1 Yellow Warbler

4 Red-eyed Vireo

2 Painted Bunting

1 Blue Grosbeak

1 Great Crested Flycatcher

1 Carolina Wren

1 Northern Cardinal

 

RECAPTURES

 

2 Northern Cardinal

1 White-eyed Vireo

1 Carolina Chickadee

1 Kentucky Warbler

1 Ovenbird

1 Prairie Warbler

 

BANDING STATS

 

Effort:  56.7 net-hours

Capture Rate:  74.7 birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets Used: 12 (out of 16)

THURSDAY'S RESULTS

We had another great day of banding today!  Overall numbers were similiar to yesterday but species diveristy was up.  We ended up banding 44 new birds with 12 recaptures of 16 species.  Prairie Warblers continue to make up a majority of the catch but we had a few surprises too!  Scroll all the down to see a list of everything we captured. 

 

Highlights of the day included the first ever KENTUCKY WARBLER banded at KIBS! 





Kentucky Warbler (Hatch-year, male)

And the first fall banding record for WORM-EATING WARBLER!



 Worm-eating Warbler (Hatch-year, sex unknown)

 We also captured our first YELLOW WARBLER of the season.  This bird just would not cooperate for a photo. 

Yellow Warbler

 And the first BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER of the season.  This is one of two captured today.

Black-and-white Warbler (After hatch-year, male)



 Another first of the season - PROTHONOTARY WARBLER.  This is one of two for the day.

Prothonotary Warbler (After hatch-year, male)

The totals for the day:

NEW BIRDS

20 Prairie Warbler

3 American Redstart

2 Northern Waterthrush

2 Black-and-White Warbler

2 Prothonotary Warbler

1 Yellow Warbler

1 Kentucky Warbler

1 Worm-eating Warbler

2 Red-eyed Vireo

2 Painted Bunting

1 Great Crested Flycatcher

1 Northern Cardinal

1 Carolina Chickadee

4 Northern Mockingbird

1 Mouring Dove

RECAPTURES (these do not include birds that were recaptured on the same-day they were banded)

4 Paintued Bunting

3 Prairie Warbler

1 White-eyed Vireo

1 Northern Waterthrush

1 Northern Mockingbird

1 Northern Cardinal

1 Carolina Chickadee

BANDING STATS

Effort:  60 net-hours

Capture Rate: 93.3 birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets Used:  10 (out of a total of 16)

First Day of Fall Migration Banding

We started out the 2012 fall season with a bang today!  We banded 46 new birds and had 3 recaptures of 11 species.  I was surprised with number of migrants captured and we had a decent assortment of warblers including Prairie Warbler, American Redstart, Northern Waterthrush, Ovenbird, and Yellow-breasted Chat.  The bird of the day was the Prairie Warbler with 21 of them banded.  One of the recaptures was Common Ground-Dove which is alway a nice surprise! 

 

The first bird of the 2012 season was this handsome adult male Prairie Warbler. 

We also capture a couple of females American Redstarts.

And one Ovenbird . . .

                              

And aYellow-breasted Chat. . .

This recently fledged Northern Cardinal also found its way into the net.  

Here are the totals from the day:

NEW BIRDS
21 Prairie Warbler
5 Northern Waterthrush
2 American Redstart
1 Ovenbird
1 Yellow-breasted Chat
1 White-eyed Vireo
4 Painted Bunting
3 Carolina Wren
3 Carolina Chickadee
5 Northern Cardinal

RECAPTURES
2 Northern Cardinal (originally banded on 11/5/09, 7/23/09)
1 Common Ground-Dove (10/12/11)

Effort:  57.75 net-hours
Capture Rate:  84.8 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets Used:  11