31 August 2014

Today at the banding station we had 4 new birds and 7 recaptures making it the slowest day so far this season.  Currently a high pressure system is sitting over the southeast causing unfavorable conditions for migration into our area.  We expect these conditions to remain in place for the next week or so.  Even though migration seems to have stalled a bit, Common Yellowthroats are making their way out to KIBS with 3 of them being banded today.  

Common Yellowthroat (HY, male)

NEW BIRDS
3 Common Yellowthroat

1 Northern Cardinal

RECAPTURES
1 Carolina Wren
1 Common Yellowthroat
5 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  4
# of Recaptures:  7
# of Species:  4
Effort:  102.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  10.8 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Mattie VandenBoom
Matt Zak           

August 30th 2014

Today was another slow day at the banding table. We processed a total of 14 birds including a hatch year Northern Mockingbird which is the first sighting of one of them in over a week. Today was also the first day that the technicians were on their own and we are happy to say that nothing went wrong and we can be trusted on our own. However we did need to request the help of the beach patrol to make our way through the maze of people on the beach. I feel that if more people knew that it was our first time driving a truck that size they might have moved or at least stood up in case they needed to move quickly.

NEW BIRDS
1 Carolina Wren
4 Northern Waterthrush

1 Northern Cardinal
3 Painted Bunting

1 Northern Mockingbird

RECAPTURES
1 Carolina Wren
1 American Redstart
2 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  10
# of Recaptures:  4
# of Species:  6
Effort:  86.6 net-hours
Capture Rate:  16.2 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

BANDING STAFF
Mattie VandenBoom
Libby Natola

Matt Zak

August 29, 2014

We had a few more birds at the banding station today, with 14 new birds and 11 recaptures totaling 25 birds from 7 species. We also recaptured an after second year male painted bunting today, which we originally banded on August 13, 2012 at Camp St. Christopher on nearby Seabrook island. Today was the first time we recaptured this bird since we originally banded him. 

He was a bit scruffy due to his body feather molt, but he still looked handsome, like a balding Orlando Bloom. 

NEW BIRDS
1 Northern Waterthrush
2 Common Yellowthroat3 American Redstart
4 Prairie Warbler
4 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Carolina Wren
1 American Redstart
8 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  14
# of Recaptures:  11
# of Species:  7
Effort:  108.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  23.1 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Libby Natola
Matt Zak

28 August 2014

It was another slow day with only 15 birds banded and 6 recaptures of 8 different species.  We are two weeks into the fall migration season and things appear to be a little better than last year at this same point.  We have banded 390 birds so far this season (103 more birds than last year).  The following is a list of species that that have had a fairly significant change in the number of individuals banded between 2014 and 2013.  Numbers in parentheses indicates the number of birds banded in 2013 up to August 28th.

Northern Mockingbird 3 (34)
Northern Waterthrush 33 (14)
American Redstart 36 (25)
Yellow Warbler 16 (4)
Prairie Warbler 111 (46)
Painted Bunting 78 (70)

-Aaron    

NEW BIRDS
3 Carolina Wren
1 Northern Waterthrush
1 American Redstart
2 Yellow Warbler
5 Prairie Warbler
1 Yellow-breasted Chat
2 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
1 Prairie Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
4 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  15
# of Recaptures:  6
# of Species:  8
Effort:  104.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  20.2 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Mattie VandenBoom
Libby Natola
Matt Zak

New Species for KIBS: Eastern Screech Owl and FOS: Hooded Warbler

Today followed a similar pattern as the last few days with 20 new birds and 9 recaptures.  Although today was not filled with a large quantity of birds it was certainly filled with a couple quality birds.  We started the morning off right with a surprise in net 21, an Eastern Screech-Owl, a first for KIBS.  The Eastern Screech-Owl is a common breeder on the island relying on trees with cavities for nesting.  The owl we had today was a juvenile and was still in the process of molting in its adult feathers.

 

Eastern Screech-Owl (HY)

Later in the day, we had a first of the season Hooded Warbler.    

Hooded Warbler (HY, Female)

NEW BIRDS

1 Eastern Screech-Owl

1 Great Crested Flycatcher

1 Red-eyed Vireo

1 Carolina Chickadee

1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

5 Northern Waterthrush

1 Common Yellowthroat

1 Hooded Warbler

3 American Redstart

1 Yellow Warbler

1 Prairie Warbler

3 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES

4 Painted Bunting

5 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  20
# of Recaptures: 9
# of Species:  13
Effort: 116 net-hours
Capture Rate:  25 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  17

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Mattie VandenBoom
Libby Natola
Matt Zak

FOS Yellow-breasted Chat

Today was another day of beautiful weather at the banding station. We enjoyed temperatures in the mid 70’s for the majority of the day and were able to keep the nets open till 11:45am. Unfortunately the flooding on some of the trails has increased, but luckily the water did not interfere with any of the nets although some of the nets did have to be closed due to the winds. Our day started off with finding a Northern Cardinal fledgling in one of the net lanes before the sunrise. Overall today we banded 14 new birds and were happy to find a Yellow-breasted Chat in the nets which was a first for some of our technicians.

Yellow-breasted Chat (AHY, Female)

  

NEW BIRDS

1 Northern Waterthrush

5 Common Yellowthroat

3 American Redstart

1 Yellow Warbler

1 Yellow-breasted Chat

1 Northern Cardinal

2 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES

1 Northern Waterthrush

1 Black-and-white Warbler

2 Painted Bunting

1 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  14
# of Recaptures: 5
# of Species:  9
Effort: 79.4 net-hours
Capture Rate:  23.9 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  17

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Mattie VandenBoom
Libby Natola
Matt Zak
Will Oakley

Prairie Warbler Centennial

To the great relief of our banding assistants who all come to Kiawah from the Northeast, the weather was much milder today with low humidity and temperatures in the mid-70s, but the wind picked up causing us to close the nets before noon. Several of our pathways were also flooded with a couple inches of water due to last night's tides. Nevertheless, we managed to band several more birds than yesterday, with 22 new birds and 5 recaptures spanning 10 species. Among these birds was the 100th prairie warbler we have banded this season! We also caught a blue jay going through an interesting molt. 

No, that's not a small, blue vulture.

NEW BIRDS

1 Blue Jay

1 Worm-eating Warbler

2 Northern Waterthrush

1 Black-and-White Warbler

1 Common Yellowthroat

3 American Redstart

2 Yellow Warbler

6 Prairie Warbler

1 Northern Cardinal

4 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES

1 Tufted Titmouse

1 Carolina Wren

3 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  22
# of Recaptures: 5
# of Species:  10
Effort: 67.2 net-hours
Capture Rate:  40.2 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  18

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Mattie VandenBoom
Libby Natola
Matt Zak

While the Migrants are Away the Residents Will Play

It was another slow day at the banding station today.  The cold front that passed through overnight brought cooler temps but was lacking in migrants.  We had 12 new birds and 9 recaptures comprised of 11 species.  A majority of the captures this morning were resident species including 4 Carolina Chickadees and a Northern Cardinal.  We expect the next few days to be about the same bird number wise.      

NEW BIRDS

1 Red-eyed Vireo

1 Carolina Chickadee

1 Ovenbird

1 Northern Waterthrush

1 Black and White Warbler

3 Common Yellowthroat

1 American Redstart

1 Prairie Warbler

2 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES

3 Carolina Chickadee

1 Carolina Wren

1 Prairie Warbler

1 Northern Cardinal

3 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  12
# of Recaptures:  9
# of Species:  11
Effort:  86.1 net-hours
Capture Rate:  24.4 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Mattie VandenBoom
Libby Natola
Matt Zak

FOS Acadian Flycatcher

Another heat shortened day but at least there was a little bit of a breeze.  We banded 16 new birds and had 9 recaptures of 8 different species.  We banded the first Acadian Flycatcher of the season this morning!  We don't band many Acadians during the fall; "Traill's" Flycatcher usually outnumber them 10-fold.  Acadian Flycatchers are usually much greener than Traill's Flycatchers however I have seen very pale Acadians and very green Traill's.  Its always good to take a look at their legs.  Acadians have grayer legs and "Traill's" have blackish legs.  Hoping for some cooler weather tomorrow morning.  A cold front is supposed to move in around midnight.  Unfortunately, it may bring some wind and rain with it.  Hopefully, we can make it out as I'd expect that we might have a good number of birds.

-Aaron
 

Acadian Flycatcher (Hatch-year, sex unknown)

NEW BIRDS
1 Acadian Flycatcher
1 Northern Waterthrush
4 American Redstart
7 Prairie Warbler
3 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
2 Carolina Wren
1 American Redstart
1 Eastern Towhee
1 Northern Cardinal
4 Painted Buntings

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  16
# of Recaptures:  9
# of Species:  8
Effort:  75.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  33.3 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Mattie VandenBoom
Libby Natola
Matt Zak

Hot! Hot! HOT!

Bird activity slowed way down today despite some moderate bird movements detected on the radar over the Carolinas last night.  We only banded 13 new birds and had 4 recaptures of 8 different species.  We had to close the nets down around 9:30 am because it just got too hot.  This extreme heat we are experiencing right now should only last another day or two.  "Cooler" temperatures are on the way - it may be in the mid-80's by Monday!

The most interesting capture of the day was the recaptured Prothonotary Warbler which was originally banded last fall on 08/19/13.  Additionally, it was recaptured in the exact same net as it was captured in last year.  It always amazes me when a bird can find its way back to the exact same 12m x 2.5m area on a small spit of land on the west end of Kiawah Island.

-Aaron    

NEW BIRDS
1 Willow Flycatcher
3 Northern Waterthrush
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 American Redstart
1 Northern Cardinal
6 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
1 Prothonotary Warbler
1 Prairie Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
1 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of New Birds:  13
# of Recaptures:  4
# of Species:  8
Effort:  68.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  25.0 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Mattie VandenBoom
Libby Natola
Matt Zak

21 August 2014

Another very good August day of banding with 55 new birds and 9 recaptures of 12 different species.  We continue to get a lot of Prairie Warblers with another 25 banded today.  Today's first-of-the season species included Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, and Northern Parula.
- Aaron

Northern Parula (Hatch year, female)

NEW BIRDS
3 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Carolina Wren
1 Ovenbird
4 Northern Waterthrush
2 Black-and-White Warbler
3 Common Yellowthroat
4 American Redstart
1 Northern Parula
2 Yellow Warbler
25 Prairie Warbler
2 Northern Cardinal
7 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
2 Carolina Wren
1 Black-and-White Warbler
1 American Restart
1 Prairie Warbler
2 Northern Cardinal
2 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of New Birds:  55
# of Recaptures:  9
# of Species:  12
Effort:  116.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  55.2 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Mattie VandenBoom
Libby Natola
Matt Zak

Northern Waterthrush vs. Louisiana Waterthrush

An unexpected wave of migrants greeted us in the nets this morning with 69 new birds and 7 recaptures of 12 different species.  Prairie Warblers were out in force with 28 of them banded.  It is looking like a good year for them as we have already banded more than half the total from last fall in the first 6 days of the season.  Other notable species include first-of-the-season Willow Flycatcher, Black-throated Blue Warbler, and Worm-eating Warbler.

We captured a decent number of Northern Waterthrushes today and I as able to capture an okay photo of one so that I can explain some of the differences between Northern Waterthrushes and Louisiana Waterthrushes.  The most obvious field mark in separating the two is the color of the supercilium (eye-stripe).  In Northern Waterthrushes the supercilium is narrow and yellowish while the Louisiana Waterthrush has a broad, white supercilium.  Notice in the photos below that the Louisiana Waterthrush's supercilium is about as wide as the Northern Waterthrushes and but is a little whiter in color.

Northern Waterthrush from 08/20/14

Louisiana Waterthrush from 08/17/14

 Another area that we look at is in the throat.  Northern Waterthushes have a speckled throat opposed to the unspeckled throat of the Louisiana Waterthrush.

Northern Waterthush:  note the speckled throat

Louisiana Waterthrush:  note the lack of markings on the throat

A third characteristic that is not visible in the field is the pattern of the undertail coverts.  Northern Waterthrushes have a dark bases with lighter tips while the undertail coverts of Louisiana Waterthrushes largely unmarked or with a pale gray center.

Undertail coverts of a Northern Waterthrush

Undertail coverts of a Louisiana Waterthrush

A final characteristic that is sort of visible if you compare the first two photos is the length of the bill from the nares to the tip.  Louisiana Waterthushes  on average have larger bills (10.2-12.2mm) than Northern Waterthrushes (9.0-10.7mm).

-Aaron

NEW BIRDS
1 Willow Flycatcher
11 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Carolina Wren
1 Worming-eating Warbler
5 Northern Waterthrush
1 Black-and-White Warbler
9 American Redstart
4 Yellow Warbler
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
28 Prairie Warbler
7 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
1 Prairie Warbler
3 Northern Cardinal
3 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  69
# of Recaptures:  7
# of Species:  12
Effort:  118.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  64.4 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Mattie VandenBoom
Libby Natola
Matt Zak


 

Second Tufted Titmouse Ever Banded

Today we banded 17 new birds and had 7 recaptures of 10 different species.  We banded our 3rd Common Ground-Dove of season and two more got out of the net before we could our hands on them.  We also banded a Tufted Titmouse which is extremely common to Kiawah but very rarely seen at the banding station.  This was only the second Tufted Titmouse ever banded at KIBS!

-Aaron

NEW BIRDS
1 Common Ground-Dove
2 Downy Woodpecker
1 Tufted Titmouse
5 Prairie Warbler
1 Black-and-White Warbler
5 Painted Bunting
2 Northern Cardinal

RECAPTURES
2 Carolina Chickadee
1 Carolina Wren
1 Northern Waterthrush
1 Painted Bunting
2 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of New Birds:  17
# of Recaptures:  7
# of Species:  10
Effort:  92.9 net-hours
Capture Rate:  25.8 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20 (5 shut down early due to wind)

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Mattie VandenBoom
Libby Natola
Jill Midgett


      

18 August 2014

Much slower day today with only 16 new birds and 2 recaptures.  It looks like this trend may continue for a while.  Painted Buntings and Prairie Warblers are the predominate species right now.  Most of the Prairie Warblers are full of fat and on-the-go.  While the Painted Buntings still have to start and/or finish their prebasic molt, so they will be with us for a while longer.  The highlight today was a first-of-the-season Brown Thrasher.

-Aaron

NEW BIRDS
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Brown Thrasher
5 Prairie Warbler
1 American Redstart
1 Prothonotary Warbler
7 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
1 Carolina Wren
1 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  16
# of Recaptures:  2
# of Species:  7
Effort:  120.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  15.0 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Mattie VandenBoom
Libby Natola

Louisiana Waterthrush

Conditions  were very similar to yesterday (hot and humid with southerly winds) and as a consequence, we had very similar banding results.  We banded 26 new birds and had 9 recaptures of 9 different species.  We banded the first Brown Thrasher of the season, and the first (and quite possibly the last) Louisiana Waterthrush of the season!  I was hoping to catch a Northern Waterthrush to show the differences between these two look-a-like waterthrush species, but they just were not around today.  Next time I get Northern Waterthrush, I will do a post of their differences.

-Aaron

Louisiana Waterthrush (HY, sex unknown)

Great Crested Flycatcher (AHY, sex unknown)

  

NEW BIRDS
1 Great Crested Flycatcher
1 Carolina Chickadee
1 Carolina Wren
1 Brown Thrasher
7 Prairie Warbler
1 Yellow Warbler
1 Louisiana Waterthrush
6 Painted Bunting
7 Northern Cardinal

RECAPTURES
2 Carolina Chickadee
1 Carolina Wren
2 Painted Bunting
4 Northern Cardinal

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  26
# of Recaptures:  9
# of Species:  9
Effort:  115.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  30.4 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given

16 August 2014

Bird activity slowed down a bit today with only 26 new birds and 5 recaptures of 9 different species.  The humidity was extremely high which made for a very uncomfortable morning.  We captured many of the same species as yesterday but just in much lower numbers.  A first-of-the-season Red-eyed Vireo did manage to make its way into one of our nets.  We also banded another Common Ground-Dove (see photo below).  We capture a fair number of Common Ground-Doves at KIBS during a fall, unfortunately this species is not doing so well across much of its range in the South Carolina.    

-Aaron

Common Ground-Dove (AHY, male)

Yellow Warbler (AHY, female)      

NEW BIRDS
1 Common Ground-Dove
2 Carolina Wren
1 Red-eyed Vireo
4 Prairie Warbler
2 Yellow Warbler
3 Northern Waterthrush
5 Northern Cardinal
8 Painted Bunting

NEW BIRDS
1 Carolina Wren
1 Prothonotary Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
2 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  26
# of Recaptures:  5
Effort:  112.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  27.7 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Jill Midgett

First Day of the 2014 Fall Banding Season

The 2014 fall banding season is underway and it started out with bang!  We banded 69 new birds and had 4 recaptures of 15 different species.  This is by far the best "first day" we have had in the 6 years of banding during fall migration.  We had many of the usual suspects for this time of year - lots of hatch-year Painted Buntings and Northern Cardinals along with a smattering of Carolina Chickadees, Carolina Wrens, and Northern Mockingbirds.  Neotropical migrants made a good showing as well with many Prairie Warblers, Northern Waterthrushes, and American Restarts.

-Aaron

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Northern Waterthrush

Prothonotary Warbler

NEW BIRDS
1 Common Ground-Dove
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Great Crested Flycatcher
3 Carolina Chickadee
2 Carolina Wren
2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
2 Northern Mockingbird
16 Prairie Warbler
6 American Redstart
1 Yellow Warbler
1 Prothonotary Warbler
1 Black-and-White Warbler
7 Northern Waterthrush
9 Northern Cardinal
16 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
1 Northern Cardinal
3 Painted Bunting

BANDING STATS
# of Birds Banded:  69
# of Recaptures: 4
# of Species:  15
Effort:  134.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  54.5 birds/100 net-hours

BANDING STAFF
Aaron Given
Jill Midgett