Sunday, October 29, 2017

First of the Season Sharp-shinned Hawk

CAPTAIN SAM'S

It was quite slow at Captain Sam's this morning with only 3 new birds and 10 recaptures.  Winds increased substantially during the morning and by 10:15am we had to close the nets.  The highlight of morning came when Paul returned with a Sharp-shinned Hawk in his hand.  We were able to sex the bird as a female based on wing chord.  As in most raptors, females Sharp-shinned Hawks are larger than males. 

There is a cold front moving through which should send temperatures plummeting into the 40's tonight.  Coupled with a 10-15 mph wind, we could experience wind chills in the mid 30's.  I guess I need to find my gloves.    

   

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Hatch-year, female)
   


LITTLE BEAR

It was an uneventful morning at Little Bear with only 16 new birds being banded and 11 being recaptured.  The day started overcast, warm, and calm but the arrival of a cold front quickly cleared the skies and kicked the wind up a couple notches.  By the end of the banding day, the temperature had dropped several degrees too.  This cold front should hopefully cause birds to move overnight and cause us to have a more exciting day tomorrow. 

-Mattie   

  Species Captain Sam's Little Bear
New Recaps New Recaps
Sharp-shinned Hawk
1
-
-
-
House Wren
-
3
-
1
Carolina Wren
-
-
-
2
Gray Catbird
1
5
7
3
Brown Thrasher
-
-
-
1
Song Sparrow
-
-
1
1
Swamp Sparrow
1
-
3
-
Northern Waterthrush
-
-
-
1
Common Yellowthroat
-
1
-
-
Yellow-rumped Warbler
-
1
5
1
Northern Cardinal
-
-
-
1



 Banding Stats Captain Sam's Little Bear TOTAL
# Birds Banded
3
16
19
# of Recaptures
10
11
21
# of Species
6
9
11
Effort (net-hours)
85.8
93.1
178.9
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)
15.2
29.0
22.6
# of Nets
26
20
46


Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)
Mattie VandenBoom (LB)
Michael Gamble (LB)
Paul Carroll (CS)