Trick and/or Treat

Spooky Sams:

Happy Halloween fellow bird nerds! What are y'all dressing up as today? I hope its something creative and you leave us a comment. Bird-themed costumes are unusually easy to create, like I saved a bunch of butter boxes and then put it on my butt. Can you guess what I was? That's right, a yellow-rumped warbler, fondly known as a "butter butt". Which is also fitting because that's what we are primarily catching this time of year:

I can't believe its not butter!

I've also pulled off Bilbo Baggins before, because to be a real wildlife biologist you have to live like a hobbit:

This will be a night to remember

And a couple of years ago, I went as a haunted mist-net:

Look I caught a King Rail and a Red-winged Blackbird!

Spooky, I know!

Well on to the meat and potatoes of today...as I said before, we did catch primarily butter-butts, but we only caught a total of 21 birds. That's a big scary nightmare of a number. Just as the title suggests, we got the trick this Halloween and really just suffered through the heat and mosquitoes so few birds. BUT, and I do mean but, we got treated with an Orange-crowned warbler as the last bird of the day which was my first!

 And obviously, what color do you associate most with Halloween? Orange!!

Hope your kiddos, your friends, and you have a fun night out there!

- Dave Butter-Butt Sandahl

Little Beareaper

Today was an extremely slow day! We had a total of 14 birds, 10 newly banded birds and 4 recaptured. Our trick or treat of the day is a bird that came in a little late. Whether you think it is a photo from earlier this season, this fellow was quite a catch. So, you tell me, is this a trick or a treat?

After-hatch year male Prothonotary Warbler

Protonotary Warblers are one of the warblers that migrate quite early in the fall. We usually capture them during the start of fall banding till about mid to late September. This bird must have gotten its invitation to migration a little late. Hopefully he makes it to his destination with ease!

-Kristin

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Carolina Wren	-	-	-	1
Gray Catbird	2	6	-	1
Prothonotary Warbler	-	-	1	-
Orange-Crowned Warbler	1	-	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	2	1	1	1
Western Palm Warbler	-	-	1	-
Myrtle Warbler	7	2	7	-
Northern Cardinal	-	-	-	1

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	12	10	22
# of Recaptures	9	4	13
# of Species	4	7	8
Effort (net-hours)	119.0	90.0	209.0
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	17.6	15.6	16.7
# of Nets	28	20	48

2019 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3,670	2,355	6,025
# of Recaptures	827	373	1,200
# of Species	80	71	95
Effort (net-hours)	9,016.4	4,219.2	13,235.6
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	49.9	64.7	54.6
# of Days	69	58	-

Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)
Dave Sandahl (CS) 
Dan Errichetti (LB)
Kristin Attinger (LB)

FOS Sedge Wren!

Captain Sam's:

It was a delightful morning out on the spit. A light fog lingered over the river, and several White Ibises flew overhead. On the first net run, I didn't encounter a single bird to extract. This, I took as a bad sign. My next few runs improved, however, and we managed to process a total of 33 birds, 25 of which were new.

The best part of the day, unequivocally, was when Aaron informed us of a couple of Sedge Wrens hanging around net 4. So we planned our attack and successfully flushed not one, but TWO Sedge Wrens into the net! The last time a Sedge Wren was banded at KIBS was in 2014!

Hatch Year, Sedge Wren

Sedge Wrens are very small wrens, comparable in size to Winter Wrens. Our new friends weighed in at 7.6 grams and 8.4 grams! Sedge Wrens breed in sedge marshes and wet meadows. For more information on Sedge Wrens see here.

-Beth



Little Berry:

The Little Bear crew was quite jealous of Captain Sam's Sedge Wrens today! However we captured a few interesting birds of our own. Another Orange-crowned Warbler made its way into our nets, unfortunately without its namesake crown but a fun bird nonetheless! We also banded a late Northern Parula, with the last one being captured over a week ago. The Yellow-rumped Warblers are starting to come through in flocks and we recaptured a female today that was banded in 2015 as an after-hatch year, making her at least five years old! The flocks of yellow rumps are typically followed by Sharp-shinned Hawks, so we're hoping to get our first one in the nets this week.

-Arcata

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	-	-	1	-
Downy Woodpecker	-	1	-	-
Eastern Phoebe	1	-	1	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	-	-	2
House Wren	3	-	1	-
Sedge Wren	2	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	4	4	1	2
Swamp Sparrow	-	-	-	1
Orange-crowned Warbler	-	-	1	-
Common Yellowthroat	3	1	1	1
Cape May Warbler	-	-	1	-
Northern Parula	-	-	1	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	-	-	-	1
Palm Warbler (Western)	2	1	3	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	9	-	5	1
Northern Cardinal	-	-	-	1
Indigo Bunting	-	-	1	-
Painted Bunting	1	-	1	1

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	25	18	43
# of Recaptures	7	10	17
# of Species	9	16	19
Effort (net-hours)	145.6	100	245.6
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	22.0	28.0	24.8
# of Nets	28	20	48

2019 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3,658	2,345	6,003
# of Recaptures	817	369	1,186
# of Species	80	71	95
Effort (net-hours)	8,897.4	4,129.2	13,026.6
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	50.3	65.7	55.1
# of Days	68	57	-

Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)
Bethany Darby (CS)
Dan Errichetti (CS)
Dave Sandahl (CS) 
Bill Kee (CS)
Josh Lefever (LB)
Kristin Attinger (LB)
Arcata Leavitt (LB)

What Else is New?

Captain Sams-

The theme of the week persists. Relatively low numbers and the feeling of the day dragging on, but in all honesty, I think we have all a been bit spoiled by what KIBS has already provided. There are many less well known migratory banding stations around the country that don't see the numbers we experience. So, our 39 bird day would be considered a great day by others. Nonetheless, banding birds is always a splendid experience. The most special bird of the day for me was another Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. The strength in their feet is incredible to feel. Anyways, we will see what tomorrow brings!

--Dan

Little Bear-

It was a pleasantly average morning at Little Bear. We enjoyed consistently overcast skies, a humid and heavy gust from the northeast, and a steady flow of birds both observed and in the nets. Double-crested Cormorant migration was in full swing, with large flocks in near constant south-bound motion. I tallied well over 600 cormorants moving past this morning and sighted 5 Common Loons making a beeline for the ocean. As for the mist nets, they offered up 40 birds of 14 different species. The highlights were a late push of 5 Painted Buntings, a particularly colorful young male Orange-crowned Warbler, and our 3rd Savannah Sparrow of the season. Given that the station has caught zero to one Savannah Sparrows in past seasons, we're really on a roll with them this year. 

--Josh

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	-	-	1	-
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	1	-	-	-
White-eyed Vireo	-	1	-	-
House Wren	1	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	3	3	2	-
Hermit Thrush	1	-	1	-
Savannah Sparrow	-	-	1	-
Song Sparrow	-	-	1	1
Swamp Sparrow	-	-	3	-
Orange-crowned Warbler	-	-	1	-
Common Yellowthroat	6	2	3	1
American Redstart	-	1	-	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	-	-	1	-
Palm Warbler	2	3	3	-
'Myrtle' Yellow-rumped Warbler	10	-	12	-
Northern Cardinal	1	-	1	2
Indigo Bunting	-	-	-	1
Painted Bunting	2	1	5	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	27	35	62
# of Recaptures	11	5	16
# of Species	11	14	18
Effort (net-hours)	142.8	109.7	252.5
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	27.3	36.5	30.9
# of Nets	28	19	47

2019 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3,514	2,327	5,841
# of Recaptures	823	359	1,182
# of Species	79	71	94
Effort (net-hours)	8,751.8	4,029.2	12,781
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	49.6	66.6	54.9
# of Days	67	56	-

Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)
Dan Errichetti (CS)
Arcata Leavitt (CS)
Bill Kee (CS)
Kristin Attinger (LB)
Josh Lefever (LB)

Mondays are for the Banders 10/28/2019

Captain Sam's:

Black-throated Green, Hatch Year Male (Photo: Dave Sandahl)

We had a great day at Captain Sam's today! We processed a total of 71 birds, 54 of which were new captures. I was excited to stumble on my first mini flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers- 15 in one net. We haven't gotten our big push of "Butter Butts" yet this season, so it was a nice preview of what is to come. We banded our second Bay-breasted Warbler of the season, as well as our second Blue-headed Vireo of the season, and our second Black-throated Green of the season! Last years winds only carried one Black-throated Green to the station, so we feel twice as lucky this year!

Black-throated Green (Photo: Dave Sandahl)

Not to mention, we made a new friend:

Corn Snake (Photo: Dave Sandahl)

Aaron found this corn snake on the trail between nets 1 and 20. Naturally, as wildlife biologists, we all had to examine him. Hopefully his musky scent will wash out of our clothes soon!


-Beth


Little Bear:
Things picked up a bit today with 23 new birds banded and 12 recaps of 13 species. The highlight was a first-of-season Lincoln's Sparrow. In 2015 both Captain Sam's and Little Bear caught one each, and one from each site in 2018, making the hatch year below the fifth ever Lincoln's Sparrow caught at KIBS!

-Arcata

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	2	-	-	-
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	1	-	-	-
Blue-headed Vireo	1	-	-	-
Red-eyed Vireo	1	-	-	-
Carolina Wren	-	1	1	1
Swainson's Thrush	1	-	-	-
Hermit Thrush	6	-	4	-
Gray Catbird	4	10	2	6
Eastern Towhee	-	1	-	-
Song Sparrow	1	-	-	1
Lincoln's Sparrow	-	-	1	-
Swamp Sparrow	2	1	2	-
Yellow-breasted Chat	-	1	-	-
Northern Waterthrush	-	-	-	1
Common Yellowthroat	1	1	5	2
American Redstart	2	-	-	-
Cape May Warbler	-	-	1	-
Bay-breasted Warbler	1	-	-	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	5	-	2	-
Palm Warbler (Western)	1	-	1	2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	22	1	3	-
Black-throated Green Warbler	1	-	-	-
Northern Cardinal	1	-	-	-
Painted Bunting	1	-	1	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	54	23	77
# of Recaptures	16	12	28
# of Species	21	13	24
Effort (net-hours)	168	102	270
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	41.7	34.3	39.26
# of Nets	28	20	48

2019 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3,487	2,292	5,779
# of Recaptures	811	354	1,165
# of Species	79	71	94
Effort (net-hours)	8,609	3,919.55	12,528.55
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	49.9	67.5	55.4
# of Days	66	55	-

Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)
Dave Sandahl (CS)
Bethany Darby (CS)
Josh Lefever (LB)
Arcata Leavitt (LB)
Kristin Attinger (LB)

Slow Days Don't Stop the Birds

Captain Sam's:

Yet another slow day for us, but I did get the opportunity to band and enjoy the intricacies of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. We did also catch a first of the season bird for KIBS. A Saltmarsh Sparrow was flushed into net 30 out by the river. They are one of my favorite sparrows and seeing them up close is always quite special for me.

Female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Second Year)

Saltmarsh Sparrow (Hatch Year)

Little Bear:

Today was a slow day. Very little movement today with the south west winds. With a total of 16 birds with a total of 8 species. Our highlight of the day was an Eastern Screech Owl. It showed up right after we opened our nets. I'm hoping the winds tomorrow might bring in some more birds.

Eastern Screech Owl

-Kristin

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Eastern Screech-Owl	-	-	1	-
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	1	-	-	-
White-eyed Vireo	-	-	-	1
Gray Catbird	3	5	2	5
Saltmarsh Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	1	1	1	1
Blackpoll Warbler	-	-	-	1
Black-throated Blue Warbler	-	1	-	-
Palm Warbler	2	1	2	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	1
Indigo Bunting	-	-	1	-
Painted Bunting	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	9	7	16
# of Recaptures	10	9	19
# of Species	9	8	13
Effort (net-hours)	95.2	77.25	172.45
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	20.0	20.7	20.3
# of Nets	28	20	48

2019 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3,433	2,269	5,702
# of Recaptures	795	342	1,137
# of Species	79	69	93
Effort (net-hours)	8,441	3,817.55	12,258.6
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	50.1	68.4	55.8
# of Days	65	54	-

Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)
Dan Errichetti (CS)
Arcata Leavitt (LB)
Dave Sandahl (LB) 
Kristin Attinger (LB)
Bethany Darby (CS)
Lydia Moore (CS)

Slower than a Sleeping Snail

CAPTAIN SAM'S

Today was extremely slow out on the Spit.  We only banded 6 birds and had an additional 18 recaptures.  I am anticipating that the next 6 days will be just as slow.  Warm and humid weather conditions coupled with south winds are not ideal migrating conditions.  

I did get a notice this evening from the Bird Banding Lab that a Common Yellowthroat that we banded last fall on October 16th was found dead at a residence in North Kingston, Rhode Island on 5/8/2019.  The notification did not say how the bird died but I would bet that it was a window strike.  Countless numbers of birds are killed each year, especially during migration, after striking windows.  There are some simple and easy ways that homeowners and business owners can do to prevent this.  The easiest is to install bird friendly decals to window where bird strikes are a problem.  The following is an article highlighting several options that are available to protect birds from striking windows.  

https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/gear/preventing-bird-window-collisions/15-products-prevent-birds-hitting-windows/

I forgot the datasheets in the banding bag - they are currently residing in the garage at Kiawah Island's Town Hall so the numbers in the table below are all from memory.  I think I got most of it right.

-Aaron

LITTLE BEAR

Uffda! What a molasses-slow day at Little Bear. We managed to snag only 18 total birds today, which is less birds than amount of states I've been to this year.

We (I) spent our (my) time measuring bill lengths of catbirds because I was noticing some differences and turns out we've had a breakthrough! Turns out after-hatch-year catbirds have shorter bills than hatch-year catbirds. We're going to publish our findings in the Journal of Science. A sample of four birds is sufficient right?

Hoping for more birds soon, but the next few days are going looking slow for numbers. Cross your fingers, toes, and eyes for us that we at least get some rarities to post about!

Tonight we are carving pumpkins and getting into the fall spirit. Spooooooooky!!

- Dave

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Carolina Chickadee	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	3	10	1	5
Eastern Towhee	-	2	-	-
American Redstart	-	1	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	-	3	2	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	1	-	-	-
Palm Warbler (Western)	1	1	1	1
Indigo Bunting	1	-	-	-
House Wren	-	-	2	-
Song Sparrow	-	-	2	-
White-eyed Vireo	-	-	-	1
Northern Mockingbird	-	-	-	1
Northern Waterthrush	-	-	-	1
Northern Cardinal	-	-	-	1

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	6	8	14
# of Recaptures	18	10	28
# of Species	8	9	14
Effort (net-hours)	114.8	80.0	194.8
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	20.9	22.5	21.6
# of Nets	28	20	48

2019 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3,424	2,262	5,686
# of Recaptures	785	333	1,118
# of Species	78	69	92
Effort (net-hours)	8,345.8	3,740.3	12,086.1
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	50.4	69.4	56.3
# of Days	65	53	-

Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)
Dan Errichetti (CS)
Dave Sandahl (LB) 
Josh Lefever (LB)
Bethany Darby (CS)