"Drink Your Tea!" Sang the Towhee

Captain Sam's:

We were greeted by some passing rain showers right before opening this morning, but thankfully the weather cleared up and we were able to run all but one of out nets. We captured 21 birds in total (13 new, 8 recaptures) and had a decent number of species compared to what we've been getting. Some highlights were a late-season Red-eyed Vireo and a Downy Woodpecker! It looks like the island will be getting some fallout from Hurricane Eta mid-week, so we're happy to have at least a few more sunny days at the station before the season ends.

- Sarah S. 

Little Bear:

Our numbers toppled what we caught yesterday! We had six new Myrtle Warblers and a recaptured Swamp Sparrow, Gray Catbird and a beautiful male Eastern Towhee! The weather was definitely more enjoyable as well. The Towhee we recaptured today was a Hatch-Year with a well pronounced molt limit, which you can see in the alulas as well as in the tertial feathers of the wing closest to the body. Note the color difference between brown and black. Of course, the black feathers are the new feathers grown in at the end of summer a part of the pre-formative molt. The brown feathers are the remaining juvenile feathers from when the bird left the nest. The eye color is a useful characteristic for determining age and sometimes subspecies. We encounter three different subspecies here at KIBS. There is a white-eyed (P. rileyi) Towhee, an orange-eyed (P. canaster) and the classic red-eyed (P. erythrophtalmus). The eye color does usually dramatically change from Hatch-Year to After-Hatch-Year. This one displayed an orangish-brown eye, which could either turn more orange or shift towards the deep red we commonly see in adult Eastern Towhees.

Hatch-Year Male Eastern Towhee (JL)

Hatch-Year Male Eastern Towhee

Thanks for tuning in and have a nice day!

-Dan E.

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Downy Woodpecker	-	1	-	-
Red-eyed Vireo	1	-	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	-	-	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	1	-	-
House Wren	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	1	-	1
Eastern Towhee	-	-	-	1
Song Sparrow	-	1	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	-	-	-	1
Orange-crowned Warbler	1	1	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	-	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler	10	-	6	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	13	6	19
# of Recaptures	8	3	11
# of Species	11	4	13
Effort (net-hours)	135.5	70.55	206.05
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	15.5	12.8	14.2
# of Nets	32	18	-

2020 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	4123	2555	6678
# of Recaptures	930	469	1399
# of Species	77	71	89
Effort (net-hours)	10505.48	7063.27	17568.75
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	48.1	42.8	45.5
# of Days	85	72	-

 

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)
Dan Errichetti (LB)
Kristin Attinger (CS)
Sarah Stewart (CS)
Josh Lefever (LB)