FOS: Philadelphia Vireo and Gray-cheeked Thrush

We had a very good day of banding with 115 new birds and 13 recaptures of 20 different species.  This is the first time this season that we have hit 20 species captured in a day!  Hightlights included first-of-the-season Philadelphia Vireo and Gray-cheeked Thrush.

Philadelphia Vireo (HY, sex unknown)

- Aaron
   

NEW BIRDS
1 Eastern Wood-Pewee
1 Philadelphia Vireo
2 White-eyed Vireo
3 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Carolina Chickadee
1 House Wren
2 Swainson's Thrush
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush
12 Gray Catbird
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
3 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Palm Warbler (Western)
3 Prairie Warbler
2 Black-and-White Warbler
8 American Redstart
72 Common Yellowthroat
1 Northern Waterthrush

RECAPTURES
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 White-eyed Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
4 Gray Catbird
1 American Redstart
1 Common Yellowthroat
2 Painted Bunting
2 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  115
# of Recaptures:  13
# of Species:  20
Effort:  104.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  123.1 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

September 29, 2013

We banded 67 new birds and had 13 recaptures of 12 different species. 

- Aaron

NEW BIRDS
4 White-eyed Vireo
8 Gray Catbird
2 Yellow Warbler
3 Black-throated Blue Warbler
5 Palm Warbler (Western)
2 Prairie Warbler
4 American Redstart
32 Common Yellowthroat
2 Indigo Bunting
4 Painted Bunting
1 Northern Cardinal

RECAPTURES
1 White-eyed Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
3 Gray Catbird
1 American Redstart
7 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  67
# of Recaptures:  13
# of Species:  12
Effort:  105 net-hours
Capture Rate:  76.2 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

September 28, 2013

Another windy day but we still banded 64 new birds and had 11 recaptures of 14 different species.  We captured all three regularly occurring mimids during the same net-round which made for a good "family" portrait. 

- Aaron

Northern Mockingbird (left), Brown Thrasher (center), Gray Catbird (right)

 NEW BIRDS
6 White-eyed Vireo
4 Red-eyed Vireo
1 House Wren
13 Gray Catbird
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Brown Thrasher
2 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Black-and-White Warbler
31 Common Yellowthroat
1 Indigo Bunting
2 Painted Bunting
1 Eastern Towhee

RECAPTURES
1 Carolina Chickadee
4 White-eyed Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
2 Gray Catbird
1 Northern Mockingbird
2 American Redstart

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  64
# of Recaptures:  11
# of Species:  14
Effort:  102.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  73.5 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

FOS: Cape May Warbler, Blue Grosbeak, House Finch

I knew we were gonna be in for a lot of birds by all the nocturnal flight calls we heard in the sky while opening the nets this morning.  We banded 106 new birds and had 16 recaptures of 17 different species.  The first hour and a half was fast and furious as that was when a majority of today's birds were captured.  We did our first net run right at sunrise at 7:15am.  The nets were surprisingly quite then.  But as we rechecked the nets on our way back to the table they started to fill up with birds.    

We added three new species for the fall:  Cape May Warbler (2), Blue Grosbeak (2), and House Finch (1).

Cape May Warbler (AHY, male)

- Aaron
        

NEW BIRDS
2 White-eyed Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 House Wren
9 Gray Catbird
3 Yellow Warbler
2 Cape May Warbler
3 Black-throated Blue Warbler
9 Palm Warbler (Western)
7 American Redstart
64 Common Yellowthroat
1 Northern Waterthrush
2 Blue Grosbeak
1 Painted Bunting
1 House Finch

RECAPTURES
1 Common Ground-Dove
4 White-eyed Vireo
2 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Blue Jay
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Common Yellowthroat
6 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  106
# of Recaptures:  16
# of Species:  17
Effort:  106.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  115.1 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

September 26, 2013

Despite the breezy conditions, we banded 36 new birds and had 20 recaptures of 14 different species.  Gray Catbirds were still the most common species today but Common Yellowthroats made a comeback after being absent yesterday including this interesting looking individual. 

There can be some variation in the amount of black and gray in the face of Common Yellowthroat but I have never seen one with that much gray before.   

 
- Aaron

NEW BIRDS
1 Common Ground-Dove
1 White-eyed Vireo
3 Red-eyed Vireo
1 House Wren
1 Swainson's Thrush
12 Gray Catbird
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
4 Palm Warbler (Western)
2 Prairie Warbler
1 American Redstart
8 Common Yellowthroat
1 Northern Cardinal

RECAPTURES
2 Common Ground-Dove
1 Carolina Wren
3 White-eyed Vireo
3 Red-eyed Vireo
3 Gray Catbird
3 Common Yellowthroat
4 Painted Bunting
1 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  36
# of Recaptures:  20
# of Species:  14
Effort:  103.8 net-hours
Capture Rate:  53.9 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Alder Flycatcher!

It was an interesting day of banding today with 44 new birds and 10 recaptures of 15 different species.  After a couple weeks of being inundated with Common Yellowthroats, we did not band any today!  It seems that (for now) Gray Catbirds have taken their place.  I have a feeling, though, we have not seen the last of the Common Yellowthroats.

Another interesting bird captured today was a White-eyed Vireo that was banded with 2 color bands but no metal USGS band.  This bird's origin may remain a mystery because it was not wearing the standard-issue numbered band.  I'm not quite sure why someone would take to time to put color bands on a bird (especially a migratory one) and not put on a metal band.  I will be investigating this with the Bird Banding Lab to see if they are aware of anybody color-banding White-eyed Vireos and not using metal bands.  Stay tuned . . .

We banded to "Traill's" Flycatchers today - one that was not able to be speciated and the other that keyed out to be an Alder Flycatcher!  This is the first Alder Flycatcher that we have ever been able to positively identify.  In a post coming soon, I will explain and visually shows all the measurements that we use in an attempt to separate Alder and Willow Flycatchers.  

Lastly, we added a new species for the year - a Blue Jay!  We don't catch many Blue Jays.  Last year we caught only one Blue Jay and it was a bird that was banded in 2011.

- Aaron

Blue Jay (HY, sex unknown)

House Wren (HY, sex unknown)

NEW BIRDS
1 Common Ground-Dove
1 Alder Flycatcher
1 "Traill's" Flycatcher
3 White-eyed Vireo
12 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Blue Jay
1 House Wren
19 Gray Catbird
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Palm Warbler (Western)
1 Prairie Warbler
1 American Redstart
1 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
6 White-eyed Vireo
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Painted Bunting
1 Gray Catbird
1 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  44
# of Recaptures:  10
# of Species:  15
Effort:  103.8 net-hours
Capture Rate:  52.0 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Even Better Today . . .

We banded 95 new birds and had 10 recaptures of 13 different species.  It was a good day for Red-eyed Vireos, Gray Catbirds, and (of course) Common Yellowthroats.  In fact, this is the most Red-eyed Vireos we have ever banded in one day during the five years KIBS have been in operation! 

I am hoping for another good tomorrow as conditions should be similar to today. 

I updated our "Banding Staff" page, so check it out to meet this season's banding crew.

- Aaron

NEW BIRDS
5 White-eyed Vireo
17 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Veery
21 Gray Catbird
1 Northern Parula
2 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Palm Warbler (Western)
1 Prairie Warbler
1 American Redstart
43 Common Yellowthroat
1 Painted Bunting
1 Eastern Towhee

RECAPTURES
1 White-eyed Vireo
2 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Common Yellowthroat
4 Painted Bunting
1 Northern Cardinal
1 Eastern Towhee

BANDING STATS
# of Banded Birds:  95
# of Recaptures:  10
# of Species:  13
Effort:  108.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  97.2 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Good Migration Last Night

We had a much better day today with 71 new birds and 10 recaptures of 17 different species.  There are still a lot of Common Yellowthroat moving through but we did have a nice variety other species including two new species for the season:  Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Swainson's Thrush.

An added bonus was a handsome adult male Chestnut-sided Warbler. We have only banded a few Chestnut-sideds over the years and this was our first adult male. He had an interesting plumage abnormality where he either retained or replaced the black cheek stripe but only on the right side.



Chestnut-sided Warbler (AHY, males)




I have wrote before about ageing warblers and other species using molt limits within the alulas feathers. Today we banded 5 Black-throated Blue Warblers of different age and sex classes. They are good examples to use to show this molt limit because of the very distinct contrast between replaced and unreplaced feathers.




Black-throated Blue Warbler (AHY, male)

Black-throated Blue Warbler (HY, male)

 

The first photo on the left shows an AHY male.  Notice that all 3 alulas are black and the edging on A1 and A2 are blue. 










The second photo shows a HY male.  This bird has replaced A1 but not A2 or A3.  Notice that A1 is black with blue edging but A2 is lighter with greenish edging.


Black-throated Blue Warbler (AHY, female)

The last photo is of an AHY female.  Females are not blue at all therefore they will have greenish edging to the alulas.  Notice that A1 and A2 have distinct green edging to them and all three alulas are dark. 







We did not get a HY female today but if we did A1 would would be dark with green edging while A2 would be lighter in color with little or no green edging.  

-Aaron



NEW BIRDS
1 Common Ground-Dove
4 White-eye Vireo
3 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
2 Swainson's Thrush
7 Gray Catbird
1 Brown Thrasher
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
5 Black-throated Blue Warbler
6 Palm Warbler (Western)
1 Prairie Warbler
2 American Redstart
33 Common Yellowthroat
2 Northern Waterthrush
2 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
2 White-eyed Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Common Yellowthroat
4 Painted Bunting
1 Eastern Towhee

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  71
# of Recaptures:  10
# of Species:  17
Effort:  108.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  75.0 birds/100 net hours
# of Nets:  20

Lots of Bobolinks Flying Over KIBS

While we were opening nets this morning, we were treated with a constant symphony of flight calls heard from the sky.  These "binks" and "inks" belonged to Bobolinks which are fairly common at KIBS in the fall however they are always flying over the station  Bobolinks have one of the longest migrations of all North American passerines.  They make an annual 12,500 mile round-trip journey from their breeding grounds in southern Canada and the northern United States to the pampas of South America.  

Unfortunately, it seemed that the Bobolinks were the only thing that were migrating this morning because we only captured 2 Common Yellowthroats and a Northern Mockingbird during our first net-round.  After the first net-round, it started to rain so we closed the nets.  The rain was not letting up and after a check of the radar there was more to come.  During a break in the rain, we packed up everything and headed out.  The rain that was heading our way dissipated and fell apart before reaching us and it did not rain the rest of the day. 

- Aaron                    


NEW BIRDS
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Common Yellowthroat

RECAPTURES
1 Common Yellowthroat

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  2
# of Recaptures:  1
# of Species:  2
Effort:  18.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  16.7 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

House Wren: First of the Season!

It was a rather slow day of banding with only 17 new birds and 9 recaptures of 10 different species.  We did band a new species for the season - a House Wren.  House Wrens are fairly common migrants at KIBS with a good number of them staying for the winter as well.  We usually get a few returning House Wrens every fall, so we will be looking for that first bird wearing a "non-shiny" band.  The 4 Prairie Warblers that we banded today put us over the century mark for that species for the season however they are still way behind where there were at this point last year. 

There is a cold front heading our way and it should arrive sometime tomorrow.  There is a lot of moisture on the leading edge of the front with cooler, dryer air behind it.  I am not sure yet what tomorrow will bring as it depends on when the front actually reaches us.  There is potential for it to be a good day however the rain associated with the front may interfere with our banding plans.

- Aaron            

NEW BIRDS
2 Common Ground-Dove
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 House Wren
2 Gray Catbird
2 Northern Mockingbird
4 Prairie Warbler
2 Common Yellowthroat
2 Painted Bunting
1 Northern Cardinal

RECAPTURES
1 White-eyed Vireo
2 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Common Yellowthroat
5 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  17
# of Recaptures:  9
# of Species:  10
Effort:  108.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  24.1 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Acadian Flycatcher (2nd of the Season)

We banded 24 new bird and had 5 recaptures of 8 different species this morning.  The highlight of the day was our 2nd Acadian Flycatcher of the season.  This bird stood out right away when I was removing it from the net as being much more greenish overall.  The presence of grayish legs and a large bill measurement clinched the identification.  Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my camera's battery last night so I have no photo to show today.

- Aaron 

NEW BIRDS
1 Acadian Flycatcher
1 White-eyed Vireo
5 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Northern Mockingbird
4 Gray Catbird
1 American Redstart
6 Common Yellowthroat
5 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
1 Northern Mockingbird
2 Common Yellowthroat
2 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  24
# of Recaptures:  5
# of Species:  8
Effort:  104.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  27.9 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Willow Flycatcher

The wind subsided a bit today and we were able to open back up all the nets.  We banded 33 new birds along with 11 recaptures of 17 different species.  The highlight of the day was a Willow Flycatcher.  I have talked before about the difficulty of identifying Empidonax flycatchers especially the subtle differences between Alder and Willow Flycatchers.  Collectively, they are known as "Traill's" Flycatchers because they were once thought to be the same species.  These two species resemble each other so closely that the only way to tell them apart in the field is by their call.  Even in the hand, it is often impossible to separate the two.  Banders take a series of tedious measurements to identify them to species and most of the time there is too much overlap in those measurement to be 100% certain of the species.  We have banded 22 "Traill's" Flycatchers this season and we were finally able to identify one as a Willow Flycatcher!

- Aaron  

Willow Flycatcher (HY, sex unknown)

NEW BIRDS
1 Willow Flycatcher
1 "Traill's" Flycatcher
2 White-eyed Vireo
5 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Veery
2 Gray Catbird
2 Yellow Warbler
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Palm Warbler (Western)
1 Prairie Warbler
1 American Redstart
11 Common Yellowthroat
1 Northern Waterthrush
3 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 White-eyed Vireo
1 Carolina Chickadee
1 Brown Thrasher
1 American Redstart
1 Common Yellowthroat
4 Painted Bunting
1 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  33
# of Recaptures:  11
# of Species:  17
Effort:  100.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  44.0 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

1000th Bird Banded This Fall

We banded 28 new birds and had 5 recaptures of 10 different species.  Five nets were not opened this morning because they were exposed to the windy condition and would not have been safe for netting birds.  Common Yellowthroats are still abundant and probably will be for a while longer. 

We banded our 1000th bird of the fall season this morning!  I would have bet everything that it would have been a Common Yellowthroat but when I opened the bag I was surprised to see a Black-throated Blue Warbler.  I was curious to see when we reach 1000 birds last season and interestingly enough it was on September 17th only one day earlier than this year.     

Black-throated Blue Warbler (HY, male)

On the very last net round of the day we captured a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.  This is the 2nd hummer that we have captured in our nets this fall.  Unfortunately, we cannot band hummerbirds as special training is required to band them. 

- Aaron    




Ruby-throated Hummingbird (AHY, female)

NEW BIRDS
1 White-eyed Vireo
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Prairie Warbler
1 American Redstart
22 Common Yellowthroat
1 Northern Waterthrush
1 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Brown Thasher
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Painted Bunting
1 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Banded Birds:  28
# of Recaptures:  5
# of Species:  10
Effort:  64.8 net-hours
Capture Rate:  50.9 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  15

Windy Day With Very Little Birds

With the cold front that passed through early this morning, I thought we were going to have a good day.  Unfortunately, it was surprisingly slow with only 10 new birds banded and 5 recaptures of 9 different species.  Wind was a problem all morning.  Several nets were closed after a couple hours and we ended up closing down everything at 10:30 am.  The windy conditions are supposed to persist throughout the night and continue into tomorrow which could affect our banding effort in the morning. 

Highlights of the day included a handsome adult male American Redstart and an "old timer" male Painted Bunting.  The bunting was a recapture of a bird that was banded as an adult on Seabrook Island in 2009.   

American Redstart (AHY, male)

Just because this guy is at least 6 years old he is not going gray.  He is in the process of replacing the feathers on his head.  The white areas on the head and neck are the feather sheaths as the brilliant blue feathers have not emerged yet. 

- Aaron

Painted Bunting (ASY, male)

Painted Buting (ASY, male)

  

NEW BIRDS
2 White-eyed Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Northern Mockingbird
2 Black-throated Blue Warbler
3 Common Yellowthroat
1 American Redstart

RECAPTURES
1 Red-eyed Vireo
2 Carolina Chickadee
1 Painted Bunting
1 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  10
# of Recaptures:  5
# of Species:  9
Effort:  72.6 net-hours
Capture Rate:  20.7 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Canada Warbler

Bird activity slow down today with 21 new birds banded and 9 recaptured of 8 different species.  The bird of day was a Canada Warbler!  This is only the second ever Canada Warbler banded at KIBS.  The last one was banded last fall in early September.

A cold front is expected to move through overnight which should bring in a new crop of birds.  I am hoping that we will have a good day tomorrow but the wind could pose a problem.    

- Aaron

Canada Warbler (HY, male)

Canada Warbler

  

NEW BIRDS
1 White-eyed Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
2 Northern Mockingbird
13 Common Yellowthroat
1 Canada Warbler
1 Eastern Towhee
2 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Northern Mockingbird
4 Common Yellowthroat
2 Painted Bunting
1 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Banded Birds:  21
# of Recaptures:  9
# of Species:  8
Effort:  94.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  31.9 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

More Common Yellowthroats . . .

We banded 81 new birds and had 14 recaptures of 12 different species.  Once again, the nets were crawling with Common Yellowthroats.  They made up more than 75% of all banded birds today! 

The wind picked up late in the morning and we ended up shutting the nets down a little bit early.  

- Aaron

NEW BIRDS
1 "Traill's" Flycatcher
4 Red-eyed Vireo
2 Northern Mockingbird
2 Palm Warbler
1 Prairie Warbler
1 American Redstart
62 Common Yellowthroat
4 Northern Waterthrush
4 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
3 White-eyed Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Carolina Chickadee
2 Northern Mockingbird
2 Common Yellowthroat
1 Indigo Bunting
4 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  81
# of Recaptures:  14
# of Species:  12
Effort:  95.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  100.0 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Big Day: 180 Birds Banded!

The first "real" cold front of season brought us a lot of birds this morning.  We banded 180 new birds and had 7 recaptures of 23 different species.  As usual for this time of year, Common Yellowthroats dominated the nets with 127 of them banded.  We had several first of seasons including:  Mourning Dove, Gray Catbird, Indigo Bunting, and Baltimore Oriole.  Both the Gray Catbird and Indigo Buntings seemed a little early to me at first but after looking back at last year, we captured the first Gray Catbird on 9/15/12 and the first Indigo Bunting on 9/13/12.  However, the peak dates for Gray Catbirds and Indigo Buntings are  much later in the season.  Other highlights of the day included at Worm-eating Warbler, two Northern Parulas, and a Great Crested Flycatcher. 

A big kudos goes out to the banding team (Mattie, Josh, Claire, and Vicki) for doing a great job handling all these birds!     

Great Crested Flycatcher (HY, sex unknown)

These Northern Parula are both males.  The one on left is an adult (AHY) and the one on the right is a juvenile (HY).  We were able to sex the HY based on the presence of the some red feathers on the upper breast, which unfortunately is not visible in the photo.  Notice how much more blue edging there is on the wing feathers of the AHY compared to the HY.  



Northern Parula (AHY male - left, HY male - right)

This HY male Baltimore Oriole was not very cooperative and would not pose for a photo.  Orioles can be sexed based on size with males being noticeably bigger (in the hand) than females.  A wing chord measurement can usually separate the sexes.     

- Aaron



Baltimore Oriole (HY, male)

NEW BIRDS
1 Mourning Dove
1 Common Ground-Dove
2 "Traill's" Flycatcher
1 Great Crested Flycatcher
6 White-eyed Vireo
8 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Carolina Wren
1 Veery
1 Gray Catbird
2 Northern Parula
1 Yellow Warbler
3 Black-throated Blue Warbler
12 Prairie Warbler
1 Black-and-white Warbler
2 American Redstart
1 Worm-eating Warbler
127 Common Yellowthroat
2 Northern Waterthrush
3 Indigo Bunting
2 Painted Bunting
2 Baltimore Oriole

RECAPTURES
2 White-eyed Vireo
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Prairie Warbler
2 Painted Bunting
1 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Banded Birds:  180
# of Recaptures:  7
# of Species:  23
Effort:  122.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  153.3 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Friday the 13th . . .

We banded 16 new birds and had 12 recaptures of 12 different species.  Today was pretty much a carbon copy of the last 5 days.   

A nice surprise was a Prothonotary Warbler in Net #21.  Net #21 is set way back in the woods and rarely catches much but when it does it us usually something good such as the Kentucky Warbler earlier this season.  I am hoping that KIBS first Connecticut Warbler finds that net this season! 

- Aaron

Prothonotary Warbler (HY, male)

NEW BIRDS
1 "Traill's" Flycatcher
1 Red-eyed Vireo
2 Carolina Chickadee
1 Veery
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Prairie Warbler
1 Prothonotary Warbler
3 Common Yellowthroat
1 Northern Waterthrush
4 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
3 White-eyed Vireo
1 Carolina Chickadee
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
7 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  16
# of Recaptures:  12
# of Species:  12
Effort:  102.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  27.5 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Still Slow: Brown Thrasher

We banded 18 new birds and had 9 recaptures of 12 different species.  These numbers seems to be the norm so far this season in the absence of a cold front.  I expect bird activity to increase during the second half of September and first half of October when the cold fronts should be stronger and more frequent.  

We banded this adult (AHY) Brown Thrasher today.  Brown Thrashers are year-round residents at KIBS but we also have some migrants that move through as well.  

- Aaron

Brown Thrasher (AHY, sex unknown)

  


NEW BIRDS
2 Common Ground-Dove
1 “Traill’s” Flycatcher
2 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Brown Thrasher
1 Yellow Warbler
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
5 Common Yellowthroat
2 Northern Waterthrush
3 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES 1 Downy Woodpecker
2 White-eyed Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Northern Mockingbird
4 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  18
# of Recaptures:  9
# of Species:  12
Effort:  104.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  26.1 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

We banded 21 new birds and had 5 recaptures of 12 different species.  Despite waking to northerly winds this morning, we did not have that much bird activity.  We banded two Common Ground-Doves;  one adult male and one juvenile male.  The ground-doves at KIBS have been very vocal lately calling almost constantly all morning long.  Common Yellowthroats have been the most common bird banded over the past couple of weeks.  We are still waiting for that first big push of yellowthroats to come through.  We did band 60 of them one day last week but that was not the "big push".  Maybe it will happen this weekend!

- Aaron     

NEW BIRDS
2 Common Ground-Dove
2 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Carolina Chickadee
1 Prairie Warbler
1 Yellow Warbler
1 Black-and-White Warbler
8 Common Yellowthroat
1 Northern Waterthrush
1 Ovenbird
2 Northern Cardinal
1 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Carolina Chickadee
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Northern Cardinal
1 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  21
# of Recaptures:  5
# of Species:  12
Effort:  96.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  27.1 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Another Slow Day

We had a slow day with only 15 new birds and 10 recaptures of 11 different species.  There were no rarities like yesterday just typical early September migrant species.  I don't see any changes coming until maybe the weekend when temperatures are expected to fall a bit.   

- Aaron

NEW BIRDS
1 White-eyed Vireo
3 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Carolina Chickadee
8 Common Yellowthroat
1 American Redstart
1 Northern Waterthrush

RECAPTURES
3 White-eyed vireo
2 Carolina Wren
1 Veery
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Northern Cardinal
2 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  15
# of Recaptures:  10
# of Species:  11
Effort:  100.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  25 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

BELL'S VIREO and Chestnut-sided Warbler

We had a good day of banding with 21 new birds and 15 recaptures of 14 different species.  We did not catch a lot of birds but we got some really interesting species. 

We banded our first Chestnut-sided Warbler of season!  We don't band many these - only 1 each fall since 2011.  Today's bird was a juvenile (hatch-year) but we were not able to assign a sex as some hatch-year males can lack the chestnut coloration on the flanks.  

Chestnut-sided Warbler (HY, sex unknown)

       
The best bird today was a Bell's Vireo!  This is the third BEVI captured in as many fall seasons.  The first one was banded on 9/17/11 and was the first Bell's Vireo ever banded in South Carolina.  The second was banded last fall on 9/06/12.  When I captured the first Bell's Vireo in 2011, I figured it was probably just a vagrant that wandered off course a bit.  But now after banding one in the last three fall seasons, I'm wondering if they are more common along the east coast in fall than the range maps depict.  These birds tend to stick to dense cover and are probably mostly overlooked or misidentified. 

Bell's Vireo (HY, sex unknown)

 



Bell's Vireo (left), White-eyed Vireo (right)

 
Despite being a common breeder on Kiawah Island, we rarely catch Orchard Orioles at KIBS.  However, we did band one today!  We have never banded one during the fall - only in the spring (a couple of times).  Hatch-year Orchard Orioles do not undergo their first prebasic molt until they reach their wintering grounds.  Therefore, in the fall, Orchard Orioles that look like photo below cannot be sexed in the field as males and females look similar.  We were able to identify this individual as a male based on the wing chord measurement.     

- Aaron

Orchard Oriole (HY, male)

NEW BIRDS
1 White-eyed Vireo
1 Bell's Vireo
3 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Veery
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Yellow Warbler
1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
2 Prairie Warbler
1 Black-and-White Warbler
4 Common Yellowthroat
4 Painted Bunting
1 Orchard Oriole

RECAPTURES
3 White-eyed Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Veery
2 Common Yellowthroat
1 Wilson's Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
6 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  21
# of Recaptures:  15
# of Species:  14
Effort:  104.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:    34.6 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Typical Early September Banding

We banded 17 new birds and had 12 recaptures of 13 different species.  Unlike most mornings bird activity seemed to increase after 9:00am.  Usually, the first two hours after sunrise are the most productive but not today.  There was a pretty good "dew load"  on the vegetation this morning making everything wet.  Maybe the birds were waiting to things to dry out a bit before they started foraging for food.

- Aaron      

NEW BIRDS
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 "Traill's" Flycatcher
4 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Yellow Warbler
1 Prothonotary Warbler
1 Prairie Warbler
2 Common Yellowthroat
1 American Redstart
4 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
1 Common Ground-Dove
3 White-eyed Vireo
1 Veery
2 Northern Mockingbird
2 Common Yellowthroat
3 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  17
# of Recaptures:  12
# of Species:  13
Effort:  100.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  29.0 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Least Flycatcher and Palm Warbler: FOS

With northeast winds blowing all night, I was expecting more bird activity than we had today.  I heard lots of flight calls in the sky as I walked to my truck this morning before work but we only banded 36 new birds and had 5 recaptures of 11 different species.  We banded our first Least Flycatcher and Palm Warbler of the season.  I thought this was kind of early for Palm Warblers but after looking back at last fall, I found that we started catching them during the second week of September.  

- Aaron

Least Flycatcher (AHY, sex unknown)

      

NEW BIRDS
1 Least Flycatcher
1 "Traill's" Flycatcher
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Veery
2 Northern Mockingbird
2 Prairie Warbler
1 Palm Warbler (Western)
24 Common Yellowthroat
3 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
1 White-eyed Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Veery
1 Wilson's Warbler
1 Common Yellowthroat

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  36
# of Recaptures:  5
# of Species:  11
Effort:  90.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  45.6 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20