The Spark That Lit the Swamp Candle

 Captain Sam's: 

Hello readers! Being that this is my first blog post, introductions are in order. My name is Brendan, one of the newest KIBS team members, and I am super excited to be here.

Today started off relatively cool and cloudy - rather pleasant. The cardinals were waking up as we opened the nets and the cicadas were scream-singing as usual. 

Our first net run yielded several charismatic species, including a personal favorite of mine, a prothonotary warbler. These neotropical migrants breed in the bottomland hardwoods and cypress swamps of the southeast. They get their names from their vibrant golden yellow plumage, mimicked by Roman-Catholic papal clerks, known as prothonotaries, who sported robes of bright yellow. Personally, I prefer their old name - the golden swamp warbler, or their illustrative nickname - Swamp Candle.

I have a special connection to this species for several reasons. I consider it my "spark bird", the bird that captures you, leading you down the steep hill that is birding, until suddenly you are tumbling with no hope of returning to the top. I observed one singing its sweet song in the wetland behind my high school and never looked back. I followed these birds down to their wintering grounds in the mangroves of Panama for my college study abroad. It is the first bird I ever pulled out of a mist net, the first bird I ever held, observed, and released. Quite fitting that it was also my first bird today. This time I observed it as a full-fledged bird bander and field biologist. The swamp candle burns brighter than ever.

- Brendan

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Great Crested Flycatcher	-	2	-	-
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	1	-	-	-
Carolina Wren	-	2	-	-
Northern Waterthrush	4	-	-	-
Black-and-white Warbler	1	-	-	-
Prothonotary Warbler	1	-	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	1	-	-	-
American Redstart	4	-	-	-
Prairie Warbler	5	-	-	-
Northern Cardinal	1	3	-	-
Painted Bunting	4	3	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	22	-	-
# of Recaptures	10	-	-
# of Species	11	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	142.5	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	22.4	-	-
# of Nets	30	21	51

2022 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	81	-	-
# of Recaptures	28	-	-
# of Species	16	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	399	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	27.3	-	-
# of Days	3	-	3

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Kristin Attinger (CS)

Nate Watkins (CS)

Katie Serba (CS)
Brendan Wang (CS) 

Aidan Place 

Maia Nguyen

Nancy Raginski (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)