Captain Sams:
It's finally come! Our first good push of fall migrants, a small one to start but it's ramping up which is very exciting for us. We knew coming into today that it would produce some birds but I wasn't sure it was going to be as productive as it was. Katie and Aidan both got a little taste of what big days at Captain Sam's will be like. I remember my first big day last year, I was ecstatic (yet nervous) when I walked up to a net that was holding 7 birds in it knowing the nets to follow might be the same. Today was the same, yet different, I have so much more experience under my belt that I kept the excitement but dropped the nervousness.
We picked up a new species for the banding station today which was Northern Parula. I had been expecting them for a few days hoping one would excite us on those days that drew long. Hoping they are more to come! Other notable catches for the day were 3 Traill's Flycatchers, I don't remember a day at all last year where we had so many. I also can't go without mentioning the three Cape May Warblers we caught today! We had after-hatch-year birds today to see how drab but still beautiful these warblers can be.
The most interesting thing about the day to me was the sheer number of Red-eyed Vireos (Banding code: REVI) we caught. It was a great push of them but what really was peculiar about them is the influx of second-year birds we banded. In comparison to last year I remember seeing some but never so many in one day! Very excited to see what tomorrow brings, I'm hoping to will a Swainson's Warbler into existence for the station!
Eager for cold fronts,
Hands for birds, bands in pliers
Today set the mood
- Nate
Little Bear:
Today was my first day at our Little Bear site, and what a day it was. Much like Captain Sam's, we had our first taste of a high-volume day, with several very cool species. We got Little Bear's first Cape May warbler of the season, as well as several black-throated blue warblers, a couple yellow warblers, and the highlight of the day, a pair of hatch-year female Belted Kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon).
| Species | Captain Sams | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Mourning Dove | 1 | - | - | - |
Belted Kingfisher | - | - | 2 | - |
Downy Woodpecker | - | 1 | - | - |
Traill's Flycatcher | 3 | - | - | - |
White-eyed Vireo | - | - | 1 | 1 |
Red-eyed Vireo | 11 | - | - | - |
Carolina Chickadee | - | - | 1 | - |
Blue-gray Flycatcher | 1 | - | - | - |
Veery | 3 | - | - | - |
Ovenbird | - | 1 | 2 | - |
Northern Waterthrush | 7 | - | 15 | 2 |
Black-and-white Warbler | 1 | - | - | - |
Common Yellowthroat | 26 | - | 12 | - |
American Redstart | 19 | - | 5 | - |
Cape May Warbler | 3 | - | 1 | - |
Northern Parula | 1 | - | - | - |
Yellow Warbler | - | - | 2 | - |
Black-throated Blue Warbler | - | - | 4 | - |
Prairie Warbler | 3 | - | 2 | - |
Northern Cardinal | - | 2 | 1 | - |
Painted Bunting | 3 | - | 7 | 2 |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 82 | 60 | 142 |
| # of Recaptures | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| # of Species | 16 | 14 | 18 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 157.5 | 102.5 | 260 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 54.6 | 63.4 | 58.1 |
| # of Nets | 30 | 23 | - |
| 2022 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 460 | 331 | 791 |
| # of Recaptures | 147 | 87 | 234 |
| # of Species | 36 | 28 | 40 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 3134.67 | 1375.75 | 4510.42 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 20.4 | 30.4 | 22.7 |
| # of Days | 22 | 15 | - |
Banding Staff
Brendan Wang (LB)
