Waterthrush Comparison and Prothonotary Sex Differences

 Captain Sam's: 

It was yet another humid and cloudy morning out at Captain Sam's spit. After opening our nets, we enjoyed a lovely sunrise while watching the flocks of shorebirds cruise along the river. Hues of peach and lavender adorned the overcast sky.

The flow of birds was slow and steady while the buzz and bite of mosquitoes were constant and irritating.

The highlight of the day came in the form of a Louisiana Waterthrush. We band this species much less than Northern Waterthrush, its close relative (Genus Parkesia) and doppelganger. Having these two species side-by-side, however, really sheds light on their morphological differences.

The Northern Waterthrush (right) is noticeably smaller and has more buffy coloring in its supercilium and flanks than the Louisiana Waterthrush (left). Lousiana's also have bright pink legs, more vibrant than those of the Northern's. Look out for these warblers along streams or within wetlands; both species constantly bob their tails while foraging along the ground, which is unique among warblers.

-Brendan

Little Bear:

Today was a good day at Little Bear, with 38 new birds and 11 recaps of 12 species! Lots of Northern Waterthrush (16) today, but no Louisiana. We also had our first Common Yellowthroats, Prairie Warbler, American Redstart, and Prothonotary Warblers for Little Bear. 

The two Prothonotary Warblers were caught in the same net run and allowed us to see the side-by-side difference between male and female. The male on the left is much more bright and orangey-yellow in comparison to the female on the right. The female also has more olive-green on the crown and back. 

- Maia

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
White-eyed Vireo	-	1	1	-
Red-eyed Vireo	2	1	1	-
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	1	-	-	-
Brown Thrasher	-	1	-	-
Prairie Warbler	7	-	-	-
American Redstart	2	-	3	-
Worm-eating Warbler	1	-	-	-
Louisiana Waterthrush	1	-	-	-
Northern Waterthrush	3	-	16	-
Painted Bunting	2	2	10	2
Carolina Wren	-	-	1	2
Prothonotary Warbler	-	-	2	-
Ovenbird	-	-	1	-
Northern Cardinal	-	-	-	1
Common Yellowthroat	-	-	2	-
Black-and-white Warbler	-	-	1	-
Prairie Warbler	7	-	1	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	19	39	58
# of Recaptures	5	5	10
# of Species	10	12	17
Effort (net-hours)	159	103.5	262.5
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	15.1	42.5	25.9
# of Nets	30	21	51

2022 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	196	90	286
# of Recaptures	81	15	96
# of Species	31	17	32
Effort (net-hours)	1378.2	319.7	1697.7
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	20.1	32.8	22.5
# of Days	10	3	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Kristin Attinger (LB)

Nate Watkins (CS)

Katie Serba
Brendan Wang (CS) 

Aidan Place (CS)

Maia Nguyen (LB)