As the sun rose, groups of Yellow-rumped Warblers continued to move overhead today. We didn't have too many land at Captain Sam's today and only caught 6 of this species. It was a slow day and we only caught 21 new birds and 10 recaps of 12 species. We continue to recapture our lone Wilson's Warbler. Banding ceased early as we left to attempt marsh sparrow banding at high tide in the coastal marshes. We set up mist nets in the water around areas of high elevation that the sparrows concentrate on during high tide. Our team walked through these areas and attempted to flush birds into the mist nets. Many individuals haven't arrived from the north, but we did end up catching a decent number of Nelson's Sparrows, Seaside Sparrows, and several Marsh Wrens. Several of us got lifers, and we were all thrilled to see these coastal sparrows and learn about the different subspecies.
-Joel
Little Bear
Little Bear did a bit better than Captain Sam's today, with 28 new birds banded and 14 recaptures of 16 species total. Our highlight of the day was definitely the Eastern Screech Owl we caught during our first net run! This sleepy guy/gal decided to perch right next to one of our nets and was very easy to flush in, making for the perfect Halloween catch. The Little Bear crew closed up nets early along with Captain Sam's to spend some time marsh sparrow banding on the island during high tide. We had a blast sloshing through water, capturing marsh sparrows and wrens, and getting to see a Clapper Rail flush only feet from us! Pictures of several of the species we captured are shown below.
 |
| "Grey Morph" Eastern Screech Owl (hatch year) |
 |
| After hatch-year Marsh Wren |
 |
| After hatch-year Nelson's Sparrow (altera subspecies) |
 |
| After hatch-year Seaside Sparrow (maritimus subspecies) |
- Danaé
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Eastern Screech Owl
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
House Wren
|
3
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
Carolina Wren
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
|
2
|
-
|
2
|
-
|
Hermit Thrush
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
Gray Catbird
|
4
|
6
|
9
|
10
|
Northern Mockingbird
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Eastern Towhee
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Song Sparrow
|
1
|
-
|
3
|
-
|
Swamp Sparrow
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
Yellow-breasted Chat
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Orange-crowned Warbler
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
| Common Yellowthroat |
1
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
Blackpoll Warbler
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Western Palm Warbler
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
Yellow-rumped Warbler
|
6
|
-
|
4
|
-
|
Wilson's Warbler
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
Northern Cardinal
| - | 1 | - | - |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded |
21
|
28
|
49
|
| # of Recaptures |
10
|
14
|
24
|
| # of Species |
12
|
16
|
19
|
| Effort (net-hours) |
128.8
|
95
|
223.8
|
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) |
24.1
|
44.2
|
32.6
|
| # of Nets |
28
|
20
|
48
|
| 2018 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded |
3,150
|
2,444
|
5,594
|
| # of Recaptures |
853
|
411
|
1,264
|
| # of Species |
71
|
69
|
85
|
| Effort (net-hours) |
8,224.1
|
3,716.9
|
11,941
|
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) |
48.7
|
76.8
|
57.4
|
| # of Days | 70 | 58 | - |
Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)
Michael Gamble (LB)
Meredith Heather (LB)
Kristin Attinger (CS)
Joel Throckmorton (CS)
Danaé Mouton (LB)
