That's a Wrap on the 2022 Fall Migration Banding Season

 Captain Sams:

Well, another chapter in the Kiawah Island Banding Station has come to a close.  This has been a record breaking season at Captain Sams shattering the the 10 year average of total birds banded by 1,141 birds!  But more of that in the upcoming season summary post.

After a very good day yesterday, today was pretty much a bust.  The predicted rain arrived earlier than anticipated and I had to rush around to close down the nets before the downpour.  I barely made it but got drenched trying to pack everything up. In the 2.5 hours that the nets were open, I only captured 3 new birds and 6 recaptures.  

I recaptured the same Sharp-shinned Hawk that I recaptured yesterday.  My net must have surprised her as she was cruising around carrying her latest meal - a Brown Thrasher.  The headless thrasher carcass was laying in the net next to her.  Over the years, we have found several potential meals of Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks in our nets.  Some examples that I can think of off the top of my head include Scarlet Tanager, Ovenbird, Black Rail, Common Ground Dove, and a rat.  Most of the time, the hawk gets out of the net before we get there but they drop their prey in the net when they run into it.  

It's been a great season, and I had an awesome crew and wonderful volunteers,  all of whom, helped make this season a success!  I will be preparing the season summary over the next several day and will post here when I get it finished.  Thanks for following along with us all season long.

-Aaron              

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Sharp-shinned Hawk	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	1	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	-	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	3	3	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3	-	-
# of Recaptures	6	-	-
# of Species	4	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	75.0	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	12.0	-	-
# of Nets	30	23	-

2022 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,709	2,955	8,664
# of Recaptures	1,529	700	2,229
# of Species	86	83	100
Effort (net-hours)	15,292.6	6,985.05	22,277.65
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	47.3	52.3	48.9
# of Days	101	76	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Migration Ain't Done Yet

 Captain Sams:

I had a feeling that today was going to be a decent day and it did not disappoint with 80 new birds and 27 recaptures.  It was the first time in a while that I actually heard the nocturnal flight calls of birds overhead while opening nets.  Yellow-rumped Warblers dominated all day long with a steady stream of birds in every net run.  I ended the day with a total of 87 yellow-rumps (76 new, 11 recap).  

Another highlight of the day was recapturing a young female Sharp-shinned Hawk that we banded back on November 1st!    

Tomorrow will be the last day of banding for the 2022 fall season.  The winds have shifted yet again and are now coming from the south.  I am not expecting a lot of birds tomorrow.  There is also a high chance of rain starting around 11:00am so I might be forced to close up shop a little early. 

-Aaron

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Sharp-shinned Hawk	-	1	-	-
Blue-headed Vireo	1	1	-	-
House Wren	-	1	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	2	4	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	6	-	-
Song Sparrow	-	1	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	76	11	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	80	-	-
# of Recaptures	27	-	-
# of Species	10	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	171.05	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	62.6	-	-
# of Nets	30	23	-

2022 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,704	2,955	8,659
# of Recaptures	1,525	701	2,226
# of Species	86	83	100
Effort (net-hours)	15,217.6	6,985.05	22,202.7
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	47.5	52.3	49.0
# of Days	100	76	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

A Pentad of Sparrows

 Captain Sams:

A shift in the winds brought cooler temps and some new birds, and I ended the day with 35 new bird and 14 recaptures.  Species richness was high for late November with a total of 16 species including 5 species of sparrows (Field, White-throated, Savannah, Song, and Swamp).  The Savannah Sparrow was a recapture of a bird that was banded last fall on 11/14/2021.  We don't catch many Savannah Sparrows (only 2 so far this year), so to recap a bird from a previous season is quite unusual. 

The weather is looking good again for tomorrow.  With northwest winds all night long, we'll see if there is any migration left.

-Aaron

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	-	-	-
Downy Woodpecker	1	1	-	-
Blue-headed Vireo	-	1	-	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	1	-	-
House Wren	-	1	-	-
Carolina Wren	-	1	-	-
Northern Mockingbird	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	2	-	-
Field Sparrow	1	-	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Savannah Sparrow	-	1	-	-
Song Sparrow	2	-	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Palm Warbler (Western)	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	27	4	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	35	-	-
# of Recaptures	14	-	-
# of Species	16	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	217.5	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	22.5	-	-
# of Nets	30	23	-

2022 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,624	2,955	8,579
# of Recaptures	1,498	701	2,199
# of Species	86	83	100
Effort (net-hours)	15,046.5	6,985.05	22,031.55
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	47.3	52.3	48.9
# of Days	99	76	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

MODO Molt

 Captain Sams:

We've been experiencing north-ish winds for a while now which has kept temperatures cool but a shift in the wind from the south warmed things up today.  It was nearly 70 degrees this morning at 6:00am!  The rain stayed to the north and west of the coast so I didn't have to worry about that but the wind picked up around 10:00am.  As a result I had to close some of the dunes nets due to the wind whipping off the ocean.  

Because of the weather, I didn't expect to have many birds today and that hypothesis proved to be correct ending the day with only 15 new birds and 9 recaptures.  A couple of highlights from today include our 5th Blue-headed Vireo of the season and our 4th Mourning Dove. 

Blue-headed Vireo (Hatch-year, sex unknown)

   

Mourning Dove (Hatch-year)

Mourning Doves have a prolonged or protracted molt that can last several weeks to several months.  Today's bird still had a few juvenile feathers remaining including the outer two primary coverts (upper arrow) and the outer 3 primaries (lower bracket).  The juvenile primary coverts are brown with a buffy tip compared to darker replaced primary coverts.

-Aaron        

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Mourning Dove	1	-	-	-
Blue-headed Vireo	1	-	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	-	3	-	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	1	-	-
House Wren	-	1	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	-	1	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	1	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	12	2	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	15	-	-
# of Recaptures	9	-	-
# of Species	8	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	138.5	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	17.3	-	-
# of Nets	30	23	-

2022 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,589	2,955	8,544
# of Recaptures	1,484	701	2,185
# of Species	86	83	100
Effort (net-hours)	14,829.0	6,985.05	21,814.05
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	47.7	52.3	49.2
# of Days	98	76	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

A Couple of Lingering Birds : One is a Warbler, One is a Former Warbler

 Captain Sams:

I had another decent day of banding with 41 new birds and 11 recaptures of 10 species.  The Ovenbird made an appearance again today along with a Yellow-breasted Chat.  The chat was originally banded 11/17 so it appears both of them might overwinter on the spit.  Hopefully, both of them can be relocated during the Sea Islands Christmas Bird Count on January 3rd, 2023.  

The weather for tomorrow is not looking good.  Rain is predicted for mid-morning and high winds all day long.  Hopefully, I can squeeze in a couple of hours of banding early before the rain starts.  

-Aaron

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	2	-	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	2	-	-
Northern Mockingbird	1	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	1	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Song Sparrow	1	1	-	-
Yellow-breasted Chat	-	1	-	-
Ovenbird	-	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	35	5	-	-
Northern Cardinal	1	-	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	41	-	-
# of Recaptures	11	-	-
# of Species	6	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	164.65	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	31.6	-	-
# of Nets	30	23	-

2022 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,574	2,955	8,529
# of Recaptures	1,475	701	2,176
# of Species	86	83	100
Effort (net-hours)	14,690.5	6,985.05	21,675.6
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	48.0	52.3	49.4
# of Days	97	76	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Rain in the AM, Banding in the PM

 Captain Sams:

There were scattered showers all along the coast this morning and instead opening the nets up early and risk having to close them down, I decided to wait until the rain passed.  I opened the nets around 11am to very overcast skies and light winds.  Normally, afternoon banding is not very productive but to my surprise, I captured 48 new birds and 19 recaptures of 6 species.  A majority  of the birds (86%) today were Yellow-rumped Warblers. With north winds predicted for most of the night, maybe more yellow-rumps will show up tomorrow.  Unfortunately, the wind speed appears to be increasing for tomorrow too which sometimes reduces our capture rate.  

-Aaron

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	3	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	1	-	-
Song Sparrow	-	1	-	-
House Finch	1	-	-	-
Orange-crowned Warbler	1	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	45	13	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	48	-	-
# of Recaptures	19	-	-
# of Species	6	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	134.7	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	49.7	-	-
# of Nets	30	23	-

2022 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,533	2,955	8,488
# of Recaptures	1,464	701	2,165
# of Species	86	83	100
Effort (net-hours)	14,525.87	6,985.05	21,510.92
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	48.2	52.3	49.5
# of Days	96	76	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

The Birds Don't Stop For a Holiday

 Captain Sams:

As expected, it was a relatively slow day of banding with 19 new birds and 15 recaptures of 6 species.  Today's catch was made up of the normal cast of characters for late November - catbirds, sparrows, kinglets, and of course, Yellow-rumped Warblers.  We did recapture a lingering Common Yellowthroat that was banded on November 15th.  At this point, this bird is probably going to spend the winter on Kiawah rather than continue to migrate south.  

Thanks to Chris for spending part of his Thanksgiving hanging out on The Spit banding birds.  

-Aaron

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	2	2	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	1	1	-	-
Song Sparrow	2	1	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	-	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	14	9	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	19	-	-
# of Recaptures	15	-	-
# of Species	6	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	153.0	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	22.2	-	-
# of Nets	30	23	-

2022 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,485	2,955	8,440
# of Recaptures	1,445	701	2,146
# of Species	86	83	100
Effort (net-hours)	14,391.2	6,985.05	21,376.25
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	48.2	52.3	49.5
# of Days	95	76	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Chris Snook (CS)

11/23/2022

 Captain Sams:

Today was a little warmer and a little windier than yesterday, and as a result bird activity slowed way down with only 21 new birds and 18 recaptures of 14 species.  Tomorrow looks to be a carbon copy of today so I don't have much hope of it getting any better.  The next few days, we'll be dealing with large tides as well.  Tomorrow's high tide is predicted to crest at 6.5ft, however, with moderate NE winds, the tides have been running almost a foot above predicted.  If we get a 7.5ft tide tomorrow, that'll be enough water to flood many of the net lanes making walking around the station quite difficult.    

-Aaron

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Downy Woodpecker	-	1	-	-
White-eyed Vireo	-	1	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	-	1	-	-
House Wren	-	1	-	-
Hermit Thrush	1	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	2	-	-
Song Sparrow	-	1	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	-	1	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	-	1	-	-
Ovenbird	-	1	-	-
Orange-crowned Warbler	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	18	8	-	-
Painted Bunting	1	-	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	21	-	-
# of Recaptures	18	-	-
# of Species	14	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	166.5	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	23.4	-	-
# of Nets	30	23	-

2022 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,466	2,955	8,421
# of Recaptures	1429	701	2,130
# of Species	86	83	100
Effort (net-hours)	14,019.5	6,985.05	21,004.6
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	49.2	52.3	50.2
# of Days	94	76	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

More Swallows...FOS Chipping Sparrow...Late Ovenbird

 Captain Sams:

 Alas, all the KIBS banders have left, and I am left to run the station solo for the last 9 days of the season.  It was a busy day (for one person) and one that kept me out until 3:30pm. It would have not been too bad if not for a flock of Tree Swallows that was captured around 9:45am.  A total of 43 swallows were captured included one that was already banded.  I figured that it was one of the birds that we had banded earlier this season but when I read the number I realized that it was not a familiar number.  It was also banded on the left leg and most of the birds at KIBS are banded on the right leg (except Kristin sometimes forgets).  After submitting the band number to the Bird Banding Lab, I learned that the Tree Swallow was banded on 6/26/2015 as a nestling near Lido Beach, Nassau County, NY!  

Tree Swallow (After hatch-year - 7 years, 5 months old, Male)

Another interesting catch today was a late recaptured Ovenbird.  This bird was originally banded on September 4th and has been recaptured 6 times since.  A majority of Ovenbirds spend the winter much further south in Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and Florida but it appears that this bird might be spending the winter on Kiawah.  

Captain Sams also got its 86th species today - a Chipping Sparrow. 

Chipping Sparrow (Hatch-year, sex unknown)

  

-Aaron

     

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	6	-	-
Tree Swallow	42	1	-	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	1	-	-
House Wren	-	1	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	1	2	-	-
Chipping Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Song Sparrow	-	1	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	1	1	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	1	1	-	-
Ovenbird	-	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	34	11	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	81	-	-
# of Recaptures	28	-	-
# of Species	13	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	259.2	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	42.1	-	-
# of Nets	30	23	-

2022 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,445	2,955	8,400
# of Recaptures	1,408	701	2,102
# of Species	86	83	100
Effort (net-hours)	13,853.0	6,985.05	20,838.1
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	49.5	52.3	50.4
# of Days	93	76	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Return of the Swallow-nado (mini version)

 Captain Sams:

We had another chilly start to the morning with temps in the low 40's.   The cool temps coupled with 12 mph NE winds caused our Tree Swallow flock to head for the wax myrtles in search of energy.  The flock has reduced in size to only a few hundred individuals which lessens our chances of catching large numbers at one time.  Today the swallows were feeding on the far wax myrtle where our 2nd swallow net is located.  In between feedings,  I ran out and opened the net, and we managed to catch 3 of them.  After that, the swallows moved to another historical feeding spot right behind net 14, but I don't have a net there this year so they gorged themselves on berries for a while, then flew off and out of sight.    

-Aaron       

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	2	-	-
Tree Swallow	3	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	3	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Orange-crowned Warbler	1	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	26	10	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	32	-	-
# of Recaptures	17	-	-
# of Species	7	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	172.5	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	28.4	-	-
# of Nets	30	23	-

2022 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sam's	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,364	2,955	8319
# of Recaptures	1,380	701	2081
# of Species	86	83	99
Effort (net-hours)	13,593.8	6,985.05	20,578.9
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	49.6	52.3	50.5
# of Days	92	76	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Kristin Attinger (CS)