Captain Sam's:
Today's tides were a bit better today. Not as high, yet still fun to try to catch some more Saltmarsh Sparrows. We managed to get 2 today! We also added another first of the season, a Red-breasted Nuthatch. This little cutie was hanging around the banding station for a few days and we finally caught one. I always forget how little and sweet they look. As shown below you can see how tiny this little man is.
-Kristin
Little Bear:
It felt good to be open again at Little Bear, but we encountered similar problems as yesterday with the tides. Although not as bad, it still forced us to shut down half our nets early. Bird activity was fairly good around the station, but we didn't have quite the numbers as Captain Sam's. Predictably, Yellow-rumped Warblers made up the bulk of our day, with recap catbirds coming in second.
Our most notable captures today were a few "old timers". That is to say that we caught a few birds previously banded a long time ago. One Gray Catbird we caught was banded as a HY in 2016, making it 5 years old (approximately). Not to be outdone, a Yellow-rumped Warbler recapture today was dated back to 2015, where this female was banded as an After-Hatch-Year. Truly incredible, that makes this small songbird a minimum of 7 years old with the possibility of being even older. Each of these 2 birds highlight the incredible power and insight that banding stations can provide. For example, not only do we get to see that these small migratory birds are living this long, but we find out that they return to the same exact areas year after year. I am continually astonished by these birds.
We did attempt photos of the elder catbird, but it was less than photogenic. Interestingly, the Yellow-rumped Warbler female was getting some very nice slate blue lesser coverts on her wing, typically a male trait, but not too uncommon in older adult females.
With a little bit of luck, we can help add to the season species total tomorrow.
-Ben
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | - | 1 | - | - |
Eastern Phoebe | 2 | - | 1 | - |
Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 8 | 2 | 4 | - |
Golden-crowned Kinglet | 1 | - | - | - |
House Wren | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Marsh Wren | 1 | - | - | - |
Red-breasted Nuthatch | 1 | - | - | - |
Hermit Thrush | 2 | 1 | 1 | - |
Brown Thrasher | - | 1 | - | 1 |
Gray Catbird | - | 6 | - | 7 |
Swamp Sparrow | 3 | 1 | - | - |
Song Sparrow | 2 | 1 | 1 | - |
Lincoln Sparrow | 1 | - | - | - |
Saltmarsh Sparrow | 2 | - | - | - |
White-throated Sparrow | - | - | 1 | - |
Orange-crowned Warbler | - | - | 1 | - |
Common Yellowthroat | 1 | - | - | - |
Palm Warbler (western) | - | - | 1 | - |
Yellow-rumped Warbler (myrtle) | 20 | 5 | 12 | 1 |
Northern Cardinal | - | 2 | - | - |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 45 | 23 | 68 |
| # of Recaptures | 22 | 10 | 32 |
| # of Species | 17 | 11 | 20 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 202.5 | 125.95 | 328.45 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 33.1 | 26.2 | 30.4 |
| # of Nets | 30 | 23 | 53 |
| 2021 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 4,143 | 2972 | 7115 |
| # of Recaptures | 971 | 537 | 1508 |
| # of Species | 90 | 79 | 102 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 11,323.5 | 7642.2 | 18965 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 45.2 | 45.9 | 45.5 |
| # of Days | 81 | 72 | - |
Banding Staff
