Today was the last day of the 2019 fall migration banding season. We ended up banding 15 new birds and had 23 recaptures of 10 different species. The most exciting birds of the day included 3 Field Sparrows (2 new, 1 recap) and a Carolina Wren. A Carolina Wren? Why would that be exciting? Okay maybe not so much exciting but kind of interesting because it was NOT banded. Carolina Wrens are non-migratory and are most likely year-round residents out on the spit. In August and early September we catch a good number of Carolina Wrens which are almost always young birds that were hatched locally on site, and we recapture those birds often. We haven't banded a Carolina Wren since September 15th so today's bird has either been evading our nets all fall or ventured into the banding station from another area. I would bet on the latter.
Another interesting bird that was captured but not banded was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (special permits are required to band hummingbirds which I do not have). We occasionally get hummingbirds in our nets (3-5 each fall) but never this late in the season. We do have a some Ruby-throats that overwinter in South Carolina but those birds are usually found in areas where people have feeders. With a lack a nectar producing plants on site, I guess this bird was just passing through or taking advantage of some flying insects that it may have found out there.
I will post a summary of the 2019 fall season in a few days after I had a chance to do a quick proof of the last few weeks of data.
-Aaron
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Carolina Wren
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
Hermit Thrush
|
1
|
4
|
-
|
-
|
Gray Catbird
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
Eastern Towhee
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
Field Sparrow
|
2
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
Song Sparrow
|
2
|
3
|
-
|
-
|
Swamp Sparrow
|
1
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
Palm Warbler (Western)
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
|
7
|
10
|
-
|
-
|
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded |
15
|
-
|
15
|
| # of Recaptures |
23
|
-
|
23
|
| # of Species |
38
|
-
|
38
|
| Effort (net-hours) |
179.9
|
-
|
179.9
|
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) |
21.1
|
-
|
21.1
|
| # of Nets |
28
|
-
|
28
|
| 2019 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded |
4,586
|
2,560
|
7,146
|
| # of Recaptures |
1,207
|
463
|
1,670
|
| # of Species |
86
|
79
|
104
|
| Effort (net-hours) |
13,103.7
|
5,462.4
|
18,566.1
|
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) |
44.2
|
55.3
|
47.5
|
| # of Days | 97 | 75 | - |
Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)
Katie Rainwater (CS)
