Thursday, September 19, 2019

One in Four Birds Have Died Since 1970

Captain Sam's and Little Bear:

Today was like any other day, no new species for the station list. At Captain Sam's we caught a total of 115 birds, with Yellowthroats, Waterthrushes, and Redstarts being our top species. At Little Bear we caught 29 birds and Yellowthroats dominated that list.

But what really captured us today was the one unified report that was published by the journal of Science - one of the foremost journals in the field - that since the year 1970, we have lost 2.9 BILLION birds. That number is NOT worldwide, it is literally from only TWO countries - Canada and the United States of America. So in less than one generation, we've lost one in four birds

(Courtesy of Cornell lab of Ornithology)
Luckily places like Kiawah Island promote biodiversity and emphasize the continuation of research and work with birds and the initiative to grow native plants - which provide crucial habitat and food for birds.

With such devastating news, we were left with one final thought from Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring:

“On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and scores of other bird voices, there was now no sound.”


- Dave

  SpeciesCaptain Sam'sLittle Bear
NewRecapsNewRecaps
White-eyed Vireo
3
-
-
-
Red-eyed Vireo
3
-
-
-
Carolina Chickadee
-
1
-
-
Veery
1
-
-
-
Gray Catbird
2
-
-
-
Brown Thrasher
2
1
-
-
Ovenbird
1
-
-
-
Northern Waterthrush
4
-
1
2
Black and White Warbler
2
-
-
-
Prothonotary Warbler
-
-
1
-
Common Yellowthroat
86
2
22
-
American Redstart
4
-
-
-
Palm Warbler
-
-
1
-
Prairie Warbler
2
-
2
-
Painted Bunting
1---




Today's Banding StatsCaptain Sam'sLittle BearTOTAL
# Birds Banded
111
27
138
# of Recaptures
4
2
6
# of Species
13
5
17
Effort (net-hours)
126.3
45.65
171.9
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)
91.1
63.5
83.8
# of Nets
28
16
44



2019 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats Captain Sam'sLittle BearTOTAL
# Birds Banded
963
443
1,406
# of Recaptures
260
112
372
# of Species
42
33
48
Effort (net-hours)
3,612.25
1,145.95
4,758.2
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)
33.8
48.4
37.4
# of Days2920-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)
Dan Errichetti (LB)
Arcata Leavitt (CS)
Dave Sandahl (LB) 
Katie Doherty (CS)
Josh Lefever (LB)
Kristin Attinger (CS)
Bethany Darby (CS)

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