Fog and rain threatened to end our day early today, but we were able to hold out long enough to get just about a normal days work in. We started out our morning quite nice with a first of the season capture of an Eastern Whip-Poor-Will!! KIBS has only caught two other Whip-Poor-wills ever, in the history of the station. The breeding range of Whip-Poor-Wills extends into the northern portions of our state, but we typically have to be very lucky to see them here this far south and on the coast during migration!
Grouped in the same Goat suckers family of Caprimulgidae as the Chuck-wills-widow caught earlier this season, this bird is extremely similar in shape and color! These two species can be very difficult to identify in the field without hearing their calls. Some key field marks to look for are color, size, and amount of white in the tail, if any.
In general Whip-Poor-Wills will be much smaller overall. Males will have white patches on the tips of the tail. Lastly, Whip-Poor-Wills will usually be more of a gray color overall, though this can vary. While Chuck-Wills-Widows are larger, usually more rufous, and males will have white patches within the tail not extending to the tips.
-Kristen
Little Bear
Grouped in the same Goat suckers family of Caprimulgidae as the Chuck-wills-widow caught earlier this season, this bird is extremely similar in shape and color! These two species can be very difficult to identify in the field without hearing their calls. Some key field marks to look for are color, size, and amount of white in the tail, if any.
In general Whip-Poor-Wills will be much smaller overall. Males will have white patches on the tips of the tail. Lastly, Whip-Poor-Wills will usually be more of a gray color overall, though this can vary. While Chuck-Wills-Widows are larger, usually more rufous, and males will have white patches within the tail not extending to the tips.
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Little Bear
It was a raw and dreary morning at
Little Bear but thankfully we were able to get a full day of banding before the
rain set in. Similar to the past few
days, we had 25 new birds and 12 recaptures, made up of 9 species. Highlights included a late Northern Parula
and several returns of previous season Yellow-rumped Warblers. One of the recapture Yellow-rumped Warblers
was banded in 2015 and the two others were from 2016, one of which was banded
at Captain Sam’s.
-Mattie
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Eastern Whip-Poor-Will
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Carolina Chickadee
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
Hermit Thrush
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
|
1
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
Gray Catbird
|
6
|
6
|
3
|
7
|
Song Sparrow
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
Swamp Sparrow
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
Common Yellowthroat
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
Northern Parula
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Palm Warbler (western)
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
|
14
|
3
|
17
|
3
|
Prairie Warbler
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
Northern Cardinal
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
| Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded |
27
|
25
|
52
|
| # of Recaptures |
15
|
12
|
27
|
| # of Species |
10
|
9
|
14
|
| Effort (net-hours) |
145.6
|
118.0
|
263.6
|
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) |
28.4
|
31.6
|
30.0
|
| # of Nets |
26
|
20
|
46
|
Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)
Mattie VandenBoom (LB)
Michael Gamble (LB)
Kristen Oliver (CS)
Paul Carroll (CS)
