FOS: Scarlet Tanager

It was a good day at the banding station with 60 new birds and 8 recaptures made up of 17 species.  The best bird of the day was our First of the Season Scarlet Tanager which we had the opportunity to share with Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission's Master Naturalist Class.  During this part of the year, there are no scarlet Scarlet Tanagers.  Unlike Summer Tanagers, Scarlet Tanagers lose their bright red plumage during their prebasic molt and grow in the more camouflaged yellowish green plumage for the non-breeding season.  However, males will still have their jet black wings or some black wing feathers for young males that contrast markedly with the yellowish green body.    Before they return in the spring, Scarlet Tanagers will go through and extensive prealternate molt and replace all their body feathers allowing the males to return to their scarlet color.  The individual we had today was a female based on her lack of black in the wing.   

     

Scarlet Tanager (hatch year, female)

NEW BIRDS
7 Red-eyed Vireo
1 House Wren

1 Veery

9 Gray Catbird
1 Worm-eating Warbler
1 Northern Waterthrush
25 Common Yellowthroat
3 American Redstart

1 Magnolia Warbler
2 Black-throated Blue Warbler

2 Yellow Warbler

3 Palm Warbler (Western)

1 Scarlet Tanager
1 Indigo Bunting

2 Painted Bunting

RECAPTURES
1 White-eyed Vireo
3 Gray Catbird

1 Common Yellowthroat
2 American Redstart
1 Northern Cardinal


BANDING STATS
# of New Birds:  60
# of Recaptures:  8
# of Species:  17
Effort:  115.0 net-hours
Capture Rate:  59.1 birds/100 net-hours
# of Nets:  20

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