Strange low lying clouds surrounded the station today at Captain Sam's, creating a very quiet slow morning. The sun didn't poke through the clouds until we were packing up the equipment and table at the very end of our day around 12:30pm. Managing only a handful of birds each net run we ended up with a total of 33 captures for the entire day. One fun capture was an adult male Eastern Towhee recapture. This bird was originally banded on October 31st, 2014 and recaptured for the first time this year on Oct 31st then recaptured again today. This guy was originally banded as an After-hatch year bird which means today he is at least 4 years old this year, but could be older than that!
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|
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| After-hatch year Male Eastern Towhee |
This striking bird had nice a vibrant red eye color. At the beginning of our season on Kiawah we typically see Eastern Towhees in a mixture of red-eyed individuals as well as yellow-eyed individuals. By the winter they are all typically red-eyed Eastern Towhees. This individual is probably part of this red-eyed migrant group that moves in and spends the winter here or even further south.
-Kristen Oliver
Little Bear
A bit of wind and a lack of birds made for a fairly slow morning at the eastern end of Kiawah Island. We finished the day with 17 new birds and 8 recaps of 10 different species. Highlights included a Blue-headed Vireo (personal favorite!) and a recap Yellow-rumped warbler that we banded last year. This after hatch-year male Yellow-rumped Warbler was banded as a hatch-year on November 16th, 2016. It is always interesting to recapture a migrant, especially one that has undoubtedly traveled a great distance. This individual likely bred in the Northern United States or Canada and is migrating to the lower half of the continent. On his way south, he has not only followed the same route, but is using the same location to stop, rest, and replenish it's fat storages. Very Cool!
-Brandon
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Blue-headed Vireo
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Carolina Chickadee
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
| Carolina Wren |
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher |
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Ruby-crowned Kingled
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
Gray Catbird
|
1
|
4
|
-
|
3
|
Northern Mockingbird
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
Eastern Towhee
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
Song Sparrow
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
-
|
Swamp Sparrow
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
White-throated Sparrow
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Common Yellowthroat
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
Palm Warbler (Western)
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
|
15
|
1
|
11
|
2
|
Painted Bunting
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
| Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded |
22
|
17
|
39
|
| # of Recaptures |
11
|
8
|
19
|
| # of Species |
9
|
10
|
15
|
| Effort (net-hours) |
167.4
|
98.8
| 266.2 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) |
19.7
|
25.3
|
21.8
|
| # of Nets |
27
|
16-19
|
43-46
|
Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)
Michael Gamble (LB)
Kristen Oliver (CS)
Brandon Connare (LB)
Hannah Conley (CS)
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