The Final Day of the 2013 Fall Season

I woke up at 5:00am and stepped outside to check on the weather.  The wind sounded like a freight train as it howled through the live oaks.  I turned around, shut off my alarm, and went back to bed.  What an uneventful way to end the 2013 fall banding season.     
I will be putting together a summary post sometime in the next couple of days with the season's totals and highlights. Winter banding will begin around December 10th with banding occurring every 10 days through the end of March. In addition, our third season of winter marsh sparrow banding will begin around December 4th to coincide with the higher (> 6 feet) daytime high tides.  If anybody is interested in helping out with marsh sparrow banding let me know - the more the merrier.

Thanks for following along with us during the 2013 fall migration banding season!  I'm already looking forward to next fall. 

- Aaron

Banding Marathon: Another Chat

It was a long day today. . . Blustery winds are predicted for tomorrow (the last day of the fall season) so I decided to take advantage of today's great conditions and pull a sunrise-to-sunset banding marathon.  Bird activity wasn't great but at least it was fairly constant throughout the day.  The bird of the day was a Yellow-breasted Chat - the 2nd one banded in a week!

Yellow-breasted Chat (HY, M)

Other interesting captures included a bunch of returns:

Yellow-rumped Warblers:  11/13/09, 11/18/09, 1/15/10, 11/01/10, 11/13/11, 11/15/11, 12/9/11, 11/4/12, 11/13/12, 11/24/12, 11/24/12.
Gray Catbird:  11/01/12
Northern Cardinal:  11/05/09

By the end of the day I had done the 3/4 mile route to check nets 16 times (not including the opening and closing of nets) plus the 1/2 mile walk in and the 1/2 mile out of the banding station.  My feet were tired but the spectacular view of the sunset over the Kiawah River was well worth it. 

- Aaron
    

  

NEW BIRDS
1 Gray Catbird
22 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
1 Yellow-breasted Chat

RECAPTURES
1 Carolina Chickadee
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 House Wren
4 Gray Catbird
13 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
1 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  24
# of Recaptures:  21
# of Species:  7
Effort:  194.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  23.2 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

A Slow Thanksgiving Morning

The thermometer read 32.3 degrees when I arrived at the banding table this morning. The sand crunched underneath my feet like I was walking on a fresh snow after a hard freeze.  I had to delay opening the nets until around 8:00am due to the cold temperatures.  The wind was fairly calm when I arrived but quickly increased to strong gusts around 20 mph.  This caused me to not open all of the nets as I had planned to do.  The wind then calmed down again around 10:30am but the bird activity continued to be slow and I only banded 5 new bird and had 6 recaptures of 4 different species.

Happy Thanksgiving!

- Aaron 

      
NEW BIRDS
1 Carolina Chickadee
1 Gray Catbird
3 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)

RECAPTURES
1 Carolina Chickadee
1 Gray Catbird
3 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
1 Song Sparrow

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  5
# of Recaptures: 6
# of Species:  4
Effort:  42.9 net-hours
Capture Rate:  25.6 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  11

Rain and Wind - No Banding Today

I was not able to band today due to rain and strong winds.  I'll try again tomorrow.

- Aaron

The Calm Before the Storm

I didn't think there was any chance that I was going to be able band today with a huge weather system barrelling its way towards us.  But when I woke up this morning and checked the wind outside - it was actually calm, not the 20mph gusts that were forecasted.  The rain had not reached us yet but it was looming near. As any of the banding assistants will tell you, if there is a window in which I can band, I will, even if it is only for an hour or two.  This morning I was able to get a little over 3 hours in before the rain started but not before banding 10 new birds and recapturing 10 more of 5 different species.         

The Impending Doom
The left most red pin is KIBS. 

Tomorrow appears to be a wash with rain continuing through the early morning hours and predicted wind speeds between 25-30mph. 

- Aaron

NEW  BIRDS
10 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)

RECAPTURES
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Gray Catbird
4 Yellow-rumped Warbler
3 Northern Cardinal
1 Eastern Towhee

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  10
# of Recaptures:  10
# of Species:  5
Effort:  31.4 net-hours
Capture Rate:  63.7 birds/100 net-hours 
# of Nets:  9

No Banding Again Today

Banding was cancelled today due to cold temperatures and windy conditions.

- Aaron

No Banding Today

I was not able to band today due to 25 mph winds.  Tomorrow's predicted winds are forecasted to be around 20 mph with temperatures around the freezing mark.  If I do make it out in the morning, it probably won't be until after 8:00am.   

- Aaron 

Late Yellow-breasted Chat

With the approaching cold front, bird activity picked up a little bit today with 32 new birds and 11 recaptures of 8 different species.  The biggest surprise of the morning was a Yellow-breasted Chat!  A majority of the chats move through KIBS in August/early September but occasionally there will be a late one.  In fact, there are a few that overwinter along the South Carolina coast every year.  Last year, I banded one on December 20th.  Today's bird had a moderate amount of fat so I bet this one will not be sticking around.    



Yellow-breasted Chat (HY, male)

Snakes are not commonly seen around KIBS but today I saw two beautiful corn snakes.  The first, a 4 footer, was on the ground sunning itself in the trail between net 16 and 20.  It was very cooperative and allowed me to pick it up for a quick photo.  I walked right by the 2nd corn snake as I was checking net 3.  As I was returning from the far end of the net, I noticed it about head high in the wax myrtle about midway down the net.    



Corn Snake #1

Corn Snake #2

 
The weather over the next several days is not looking good for banding.  Wind is going to be an issue again on Sunday and Monday with predicted winds from 20-25 mph.  Rain is in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday.    

- Aaron 


NEW BIRDS
1 Gray Catbird
30 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
1 Yellow-breasted Chat

RECAPTURES
1 Carolina Chickadee
1 House Wren
2 Gray Catbird

2 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
2 Northern Cardinal
1 Eastern Towhee
2 White-throated Sparrow

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  32
# of Recaptures:  11
# of Species:  8
Effort:  116.5 net-hours
Capture Rate:  36.9 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Friday's Results: 11/22/13

The weather finally cooperated and I got back out to the banding station today.  Unfortunately, the birds did not. . . I only banded 12 new birds and had 15 recaptures of 7 different species.  Often this time of year recaptures outnumber new birds - as was the case today.  Among the recaptures today were several interesting returns:

White-throated Sparrow:  3/20/13
White-throated Sparrow:  11/13/12
Song Sparrow:  11/28/12
Yellow-rumped Warbler:  11/24/09
Yellow-rumped Warbler:  11/09/11

- Aaron

NEW BIRDS
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Brown Thrasher
9 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)

RECAPTURES
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
3 Gray Catbird
1 Brown Thrasher
3 Yellow-rumped Warbler
4 Northern Cardinal
1 Song Sparrow
2 White-throated Sparrow

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  12
# of Recaptures:  15
# of Species:  7
Effort:  112.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  24.1 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Still Too Windy - No Banding

The wind was still too strong to open the nets this morning.  Tomorrow's forecast is looking much improved with fairly calm winds.  It's been three months since I spent an entire 8 hours in the office in front of a computer, so it will be nice to get back to my "other office" tomorrow. 

- Aaron 

My view for the past two days

No Banding Today - Too Windy

The wind this morning was just as strong, if not stronger than yesterday so I did not even bother to try banding today.  Tomorrow is not looking much better but I hope to get for a little while.

Sadly, all of the banding assistants have left KIBS.  I would like to thank them all again for a successful fall migration season!  Their passion and enthusiasm for birds and bird banding was unmatched, and I appreciate all the tireless hours and effort they put into the project.  Their hardwork will not be forgotten.  Good luck Mattie, Claire, Vicki, and Josh! 

- Aaron     

Top row:  Aaron, Vicki, Josh
Bottom row:  Mattie, Claire

"American Robin, Listen What I Say, Hey"

Strong northeast winds forced us to close down the nets a little after 9:00am but not before banding 7 new birds and recapturing 2 others of 6 different species. 

Today was Mattie's last day at the Kiawah Island Banding Station.  I would like to thank her for making this a very successful season (and for staying a few extra days to help me out).  She and her expertise will be surely be missed.  I learned a lot from her this season and the contributions that she made during her time at KIBS will not be forgotten.  I wish her all of the luck in the future!

Mattie measuring the wind chord of a Yellow-rumped Warbler


I will be flying solo (unless I get any volunteers) for the last 11 days of the season.  I set a goal at the beginning of  the season to band 5,000 birds this fall.  With 11 days left, I need to average 52 birds a day to get there.  It's going to be a tall order to fill (especially since tomorrow is going to another windy day) but I think it's attainable, if (and only if) we get another strong push of Yellow-rumped Warblers.  If the yellow-rumps don't show up, then I'm toast.    

The following sentence is one that I will probably never type again when writing about KIBS.  The most common species banded today was the American Robin.  Four were captured during the first net round representing all of the age/sex classes except a hatch year/female.  



American Robin (AHY, M)

The photo below shows a good comparison between an adult male and an adult female American Robin.  The male (left) has a blackish head with a bright orange breast with very little pale edging.  In contrast, the female (right) has a brownish head and a pale orange breast with extensive pale edging.  Not shown in the photo, but males will also have a blackish tail compared to the duller/brownish tail of females.       


American Robin -  AHY, M (left); AHY, F (right)

The next photo compares a hatch-year male (left) with the same adult male (right) from above.  Notice that both of these have blackish heads but the hatch-year bird has much more extensive pale edging in its breast feathers.  In addition to the edging on the breast, there was a molt limit within the greater coverts of the hatch-year bird which is what we used to initially age that individual. 



American Robin - HY, M (left); AHY, M (right)

 - Aaron

NEW BIRDS
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
4 American Robin
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
1 Song Sparrow

RECAPTURES
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk (the same old guy from yesterday)
1 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  7
# of Recaptures:  2
# of Species:  6
Effort:  41.75 net-hours
Capture Rate:  21.6 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  18 (6 others closed down early)  

The return of a couple old friends

We had a pretty good day with 47 new birds and 16 recaptures of 8 different species.  I had to bail after the 2nd net run for a prior appointment but I left the station in the capable hands of Mattie and Will.  A steady stream of new Yellow-rumped Warblers mixed with a various assortment of recaptures kept them busy most of the morning. 

We had a couple of very neat recaptures today:

1.  A Sharp-shinned Hawk that was originally banded on 4/21/10.      
2.  A Yellow-rumped Warbler that was banded exactly 4 years ago today on 11/18/09.  Today was the only time this individual has been captured since its banding date.  Either he is very good at evading the nets or he is just passing through to a wintering site further south.

-Aaron

Will with AHY/M Sharp-shinned Hawk

     

 

NEW BIRDS
46 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
1 Swamp Sparrow

RECAPTURES
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet

3 Gray Catbird
6 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)

2 Song Sparrow
2 Northern Cardinal
1 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS # of Birds Banded:  47
# of Recaptures:  16
# of Species:  8
Effort:  115.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  54.8 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Yellow-rumps, Yellow-rumps, Yellow-rumps

Eighteen birds captured on the first net round made Mattie and I think that we may be in for a good morning.  Well . . . the 2nd net round yielded only 2 birds and the 3rd only one.  But, we ended up the day with 32 new birds and 8 recaptures of 7 different species.  Of the 32 new birds banded 31 of them were Yellow-rumped Warblers.  Yellow-rumps will be the majority for the remainder of the season. 

Last year I did a post on how we age and sex Yellow-rumped Warblers.  Rather than reinventing the wheel and replicating that post I will just provide a link to it.  It shows a very detailed description on molt limits used in ageing and the plumage characteristics that we look at in order to determine the sex of individuals.

- Aaron

NEW BIRDS
31 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
1 White-throated Sparrow

RECAPTURES
1 Hermit Thrush:  return from 11/21/12
1 Gray Catbird
1 Northern Mockingbird
3 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle):  returns from 10/24/11, 1/9/13
1 Northern Cardinal
1 Eastern Towhee

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  32
# of Recaptures:  8
# of Species:  7
Effort:  100.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  40 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

  

And we are now down to two . . .

This past week has felt like a scene out the movie Groundhog Day - everyday is pretty much the same.  Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Gray Catbird, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow . . .

And so it repeated itself again today with 26 new birds and 14 recaptures of 9 different species.  

Today was Vicki's last day at the Kiawah Island Banding Station.  Vicki's contribution this season was essential and I thank her for all of the hard work she put in during the past 3 months.  I wish her the best of luck on the next leg of her journey. 





Vicki assessing the age of a Seaside Sparrow

 

NEW BIRDS
1 Hermit Thrush
1 Gray Catbird
21 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
1 Song Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow
1 White-throated Sparrow

RECAPTURES
3 House Wren
3 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
2 Gray Catbird
4 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
1 Eastern Towhee
1 Song Sparrow

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  26
# of Recaptures:  14
# of Species:  9
Effort:  101.2 net-hours
Capture Rate:  39.5 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

And then there were three . . .

It's still slow out there . . . We only banded 19 new birds and had 20 recaptures of 7 different species.  

Today was Josh and Claire's last day at the Kiawah Island Banding Station.  It was a pleasure to have them aboard this season!  They were an integral part of banding team and I wish them the best in their all of their future plans.     

-Aaron



Josh checking the fat on a Yellow-rumped Warbler

Claire posing a with Carolina Chickadee

NEW BIRDS
1 Carolina Chickadee
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
15 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
1 Song Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow

RECAPTURES
8 Gray Catbird
6 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
2 Northern Cardinal
1 Song Sparrow
3 Swamp Sparrow

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  19
# of Recaptures:  20
# of Species:  7
Effort:  99.5 net-hours
Capture Rate:  39.2 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

Slow day despite improved weather conditions

We experienced improved weather conditions over yesterday but it still did not produce as many birds as we had hoped for.  The wind chill registered below freezing temperatures at sunrise which prompted us to delay opening the nets for about 1 hour.  The most interesting bird of the day was a somewhat late Painted Bunting.  Most Painted Buntings have left the area by this time of year but we usually catch one or two in November, and it is not unheard of for a few to overwinter along the coast.   

-Aaron

NEW BIRDS
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
2 Hermit Thrush
2 Gray Catbird
2 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
1 Painted Bunting
1 Song Sparrow

RECAPTURES
1 House Wren
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
5 Gray Catbird
1 Northern Mockingbird
2 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  9
# of Recaptures:  11
# of Species:  9
Effort:  71.8 net-hours
Capture Rate:  27.9 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  19

Episode 2: Fowl Weather

No banding was conducted today due to extremely high winds . . .

From the creators of yesterday’s “Real TALONt”, the next installment of life at the Kiawah Island Banding Station has hit the screens. Nominated for six and one-half Golden Globes, this real life production will surely make your day.

- Claire, Mattie, Vicki and Josh

NEW BIRDS

1 Henry the Connecticut Warbler (not a real bird)

RECAPTURES

0 Recaptured birds

BANDING STATS

# of Birds Banded:  0

# of Recaptures:  0

# of Species:  0

Effort: 0 net-hours

Capture Rate:  0 demonstration-birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets:  0

Episode 1: Real TALONt

We experienced a remarkable difference in bird numbers and diversity relative to yesterday. Cool, sunny weather and the increase in bird numbers seemed to make the morning pass very quickly. We did pause for a special migrant that comes from as far as Canada to winter here. Instead of showing you pictures, we decided to share this fantastic bird with you in a whole new way. After you visit the concession stand, sit back, turn your phone off or to silent, quiet small children, and enjoy the show!

                                                             

A point of clarification: I mention projections on the wing of the Sharp-shinned Hawk in the video above. Raptors have several wing adaptions that vary among species that aid them in very particular ways. The short wing of the Sharp-shinned helps it to navigate through dense vegetation that longer-winged counterparts would have difficulty maneuvering through. The shape of the outer primary feathers in raptors also provides additional maneuverability through creation of a more controllable surface area. A final adaption that I mention as projections in the video above, are the additional fine hairlike structures on the flight feathers that serve to quiet flight, much like that of an owls wing. While similar in function, this adaptation is not as pronounced as those on an owls wing and come at a cost.  These structures also slow the bird down. Speed reduction is not desirable in a species such as a Sharp-shinned Hawk that is a pursuit hunter and needs to attain high speeds to catch prey.

- Claire

NEW BIRDS

1 House Wren

1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet

1 Hermit Thrush

1 Gray Catbird

41 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)

5 Song Sparrow

2 Swamp Sparrow

RECAPTURES

1 Sharp-shinned Hawk

1 Carolina Wren

2 Gray Catbird

3 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)

1 Song Sparrow

1 Swamp Sparrow

1 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS

# of Birds Banded:  52

# of Recaptures:  10

# of Species:  10

Effort:  99.4 net-hours

Capture Rate:  62.4 birds/100 net-hours

# of Nets:  20