The number of birds using the banding station has dwindled over the past month. Today we only banded 9 new birds! Fortunately, there are still a lot of banded birds hanging around and we had 43 recaptures. The biggest difference appears to be in the local Yellow-rumped Warbler population. During the other 3 banding sessions this winter, yellow-rumps made up a bulk of the captures. Anecdotally, it appears that most of the wax myrtle berries around the banding site have been consumed causing the yellow-rumps to move on to find a new source. Yellow-rumped Warblers are one of a few birds that eat the fruits of the wax myrtle because they are able to digest the waxy coating surrounding the pulp of the berry. This allows them to winter much further north than other warbler species in temperate North America. Tree Swallow are another species that can take advantage of this food source and will feed heavily on wax myrtle berries during the fall and winter during periods when insect activity is low (rain, cold temperatures, high winds).
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| White-eyed Vireo (after second-year, sex unknown) This White-eyed Vireo was originally banded on 21 September 2020 during fall migration banding. Interestingly, this bird was never recaptured again during the fall despite us banding everyday until the end of November but has been captured twice this winter with the first time back in January. |
-Aaron
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
White-eyed Vireo | - | 1 | - | - |
Ruby-crowned Kinglet | - | 2 | - | - |
Carolina Wren | - | 1 | - | - |
Hermit Thrush | - | 1 | - | - |
Gray Catbird | 3 | 18 | - | - |
Field Sparrow | - | 1 | - | - |
Swamp Sparrow | - | 2 | - | - |
Yellow-breasted Chat | - | 1 | - | - |
Orange-crowned Warbler | - | 1 | - | - |
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) | 6 | 12 | - | - |
Northern Cardinal | - | 3 | - | - |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 9 | - | - |
| # of Recaptures | 43 | - | - |
| # of Species | 11 | - | - |
| Effort (net-hours) | 170.8 | - | - |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 30.4 | - | - |
| # of Nets | 28 | - | - |
| 2021 Winter Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 167 | - | - |
| # of Recaptures | 153 | - | - |
| # of Species | 18 | - | - |
| Effort (net-hours) | 502.35 | - | - |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 63.7 | - | - |
| # of Days | 4 | - | - |
Banding Staff
