It was a perfect morning for banding with light winds and overcast skies. Unfortunately, the birds did not think so, and I only banded 9 new birds and had 8 recaptures of 8 different species.
We have talked a lot about ageing Gray Catbirds over the years and have illustrated a number of different ageing techniques such as molt limits within the wing coverts, eye color, and the color of the mouth. Another ageing technique that has received much less study is the color of the undertail coverts. Contrary to some of the information that exists out there, the color of the undertail coverts appears to have more gray in older birds than younger ones. Juveniles Gray Catbirds generally have more uniformly rusty undertail coverts with very little gray while older birds have more gray on average.
 |
| Gray Catbird (4 year old adult with gray centered undertail coverts) |
 |
| Gray Catbird (juvenile with mostly rusty undertail coverts) |
We also had some interesting recaptures with 7 of the 8 being from previous years.
1. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (11/24/15)
2. Blue-headed Vireo (11/18/15)
3. Yellow-rumped Warbler (11/22/15)
4. Yellow-rumped Warbler (11/11/15)
5. Gray Catbird (10/01/12)
6. Northern Cardinal (10/21/13)
7. Northern Cardinal (8/30/14)
There is only two days left in the 2016 fall banding season and the weather looks bad for both of them. There is a chance for rain but wind is going to be the main issue. South winds from 15-20 mph are predicted for the the morning, and Wednesday's going to be even stronger.
-Aaron
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Blue-headed Vireo
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
Gray Catbird
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
Palm Warbler (Western)
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
|
5
|
3
|
-
|
-
|
Swamp Sparrow
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
White-throated Sparrow
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Northern Cardinal
|
-
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
| Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded |
9
|
-
|
9
|
| # of Recaptures |
8
|
-
|
8
|
| # of Species |
8
|
-
|
8
|
| Effort (net-hours) |
138.6
|
-
|
138.6
|
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) |
12.3
|
-
|
12.3
|
| # of Nets |
26
|
-
|
26
|
Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)
