What a day for recaptures! In total, we caught 37, as well as 45 new birds of 11 species. 29 of our 37 recaptures were Gray Catbirds, and we also banded 25 new Catbirds during the day. While most of these birds will continue migrating south to their wintering grounds, some will spend the winter on Kiawah Island, so it's likely we will be seeing and catching several individuals for the rest of the banding season. Those that plan to continue their migration will be doing their best to build up their fat stores while on the island, and by recapturing these birds over the next several days, we hope to be able to document that increase in fat. Since fat stores allow birds to overcome the challenges of migration such as poor winds or storms, the more fat reserves a bird has, the better chances they have of making it safely to their wintering grounds.
- Danaé
Little Bear
We continue to be in another “holding pattern” as we
anxiously await the cold front coming tomorrow night. That means one positive
thing: Recaps! We have the opportunity to recapture birds who have decided to
refuel at Little Bear, as they also await the next cold front to migrate south.
Today we had 12 of those individuals, as well as 38 new birds. We can thus
measure important biological data to determine how these birds’ fitness changes
between days and potentially weeks or years. Today we caught an Eastern Towhee
recapture from Oct 18, 2016. This is our first EATO for Little Bear this year, and a likely resident of Kiawah Island. It could potentially be a migrant as well, but either way we get long term data on it's fitness and survival. Our crew enjoyed watching large groups of Tree Swallows move over the site today. They were within feet of our nets, but it was likely a bit too windy to catch one. On a cloudy day with no wind, we likely would have caught one!
-Joel
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Eastern Phoebe
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
White-eyed Vireo
|
-
|
-
|
2
|
2
|
Carolina Chickadee
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
House Wren
|
3
|
4
|
-
|
-
|
Swainson's Thrush
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Gray Catbird
|
25
|
29
|
18
|
7
|
Northern Mockingbird
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
Eastern Towhee
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
Common Yellowthroat
|
8
|
2
|
7
|
-
|
Cape May Warbler
|
-
|
-
|
2
|
-
|
Northern Parula
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Magnolia Warbler
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Yellow Warbler
|
-
|
-
|
2
|
-
|
Northern Cardinal
|
4
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
Painted Bunting
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded |
45
|
38
|
83
|
| # of Recaptures |
37
|
12
|
49
|
| # of Species |
11
|
13
|
16
|
| Effort (net-hours) |
114.05
|
61.0
|
175.05
|
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) |
71.9
|
82
|
75.4
|
| # of Nets |
28
|
20
|
48
|
| 2018 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded |
2,607
|
2,006
|
4,613
|
| # of Recaptures |
504
|
222
|
726
|
| # of Species |
63
|
60
|
75
|
| Effort (net-hours) |
6241.65
|
2555.0
|
8796.65
|
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) |
49.8
|
87.2
|
60.7
|
| # of Days | 55 | 44 | - |
Banding Staff
Michael Gamble (LB)
Meredith Heather (CS)
Danaé Mouton (CS)
Kristin Attinger (LB)
Joanne Hamilton (CS)
Joel Throckmorton (LB)
