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