Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The missing link...bobolink!

CAPTAIN SAMS

Based on the overnight northerly winds and a radar image which "showed" lots of birds in the air along the east coast, I had a feeling that we would have a good day.  That prediction became evident after the first couple nets runs and by the end of the day we had banded 150 new birds and had 9 recaptures of 17 species.  Common Yellowthroats were by far the most common species with 97 of them banded.  We also had a couple of first-of-the-seasons such as Swainson's Thrush, Cape May Warbler, and Baltimore Oriole.  We missed Baltimore Oriole at Captain Sam's last year so it was good to get one this year. 

Radar Image from the night of 9/16/2019
Cape May Warbler (after hatch-year, male)


The winds have shifted to the east which means tomorrow will be slower but we have a cold front coming through tomorrow night which will bring a whole new suite of birds to our area.  Unfortunately, the wind is predicted to be quite strong which will limit our ability to catch the birds in our mist nets.

-Aaron

LITTLE BEAR

If we thought yesterday was a good day, then today was mahhhvelous. Things seem to keep getting better since our two day lull. We nearly doubled our captures from yesterday with 69 birds and we even caught two first-of-the-season species for Little Bear (more like Big Bear). One being a Magnolia Warbler, which we expect more of throughout the season, and the other being a very special treat for everyone; a charismatic Bobolink. A bobo-what!? That's right folks, a Bobolink. These beautiful birds belong to the blackbird family and are close relatives to our friends the Red-winged Blackbird, Boat-tailed Grackles and even Baltimore Orioles. This ground foraging, seed eating bird was once called the Rice Bird due to its propensity to feed on cultivated grains. Unfortunately, this creature joins the ranks of other declining avian species across the Americas, which calls for action to help birds like the bobolink from further degradation!

-- Dan E.
Adult male Bobolink in non-breeding plumage. Adult male breeding plumage here!

Displaying the newly molted, crisp feathers of our Bobolink's non-breeding plumage.







  SpeciesCaptain Sam'sLittle Bear
NewRecapsNewRecaps
Downy Woodpecker
-
2
-
-
Traill's Flycatcher
-
-
1
-
White-eyed Vireo
12
1
7
-
Red-eyed Vireo
17
-
5
-
Veery
1
-
-
-
Swainson's Thrush
1
-
-
-
Gray Catbird
2
-
1
-
Brown Thrasher
-
1
-
-
Eastern Towhee
-
1
-
-
Yellow-breasted Chat
1
-
-
-
Bobolink
-
-
1
-
Baltimore Oriole
1
-
1
-
Northern Waterthrush
2
2
-
1
Black-and-white Warbler
-
-
1
-
Common Yellowthroat
97
-
38
-
American Redstart
10
-
5
-
Cape May Warbler
1
-
1
-
Magnolia Warbler
-
-
1
-
Yellow Warbler
-
-
1
-
Black-throated Blue Warbler2---
Prairie Warbler113-
Painted Bunting21-2




Today's Banding StatsCaptain Sam'sLittle BearTOTAL
# Birds Banded
150
66
216
# of Recaptures
9
3
12
# of Species
17
15
22
Effort (net-hours)
151.2
78.8
230
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)
105.2
87.6
99.1
# of Nets
28
20
48



2019 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats Captain Sam'sLittle BearTOTAL
# Birds Banded
822
413
1235
# of Recaptures
249
109
358
# of Species
42
33
48
Effort (net-hours)
3,358.15
1078.4
4,436.55
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)
31.9
48.4
35.9
# of Days2718-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)
Dan Errichetti (LB)
Arcata Leavitt (CS)
Dave Sandahl (LB) 
Josh Lefever (LB)
Kristin Attinger (CS)
David McLean (CS)
Bill Kee (CS)




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