Captain Sam's:
Today was a windless day. The branches did not sway, the nets laid still; the sounds of the morning insects of the marsh were pure.
We had a group of visitors at the banding station. We enjoyed showing off our banding skills and talking shop with them, and they seemed to enjoy their time there as well.
We caught our second common ground dove of the season, a species that we are hoping is mounting a resurgence on Kiawah Island. Their population on the island has been gradually decreasing, so it has seemed. We are hopeful that these pink and blue doves with magenta eyes settle into our dunes once again.
We also had our first blue-headed vireo of the season today. These vireos are adorned by brilliant white feathers around the eye, forming a spectacled look. Their hooked bills make them a menace for any insect unfortunate enough to be pretty much anywhere near them.
We have been loving the cool mornings for lessening the mosquitos and allowing us to warm up with the sun. Here's to tomorrow and the next day and some days after that of doing it all over again.
-Brendan
Little Bear:
Cold temps continued and so did the good birds! We ended the day with 76 birds of 20 species. Birdcast predicted slower migration today, but with continuing northwest winds we were able to still get a decent amount of birds. Some highlights included a very late-season Prothonotary Warbler, three Blackpoll Warblers, two handsome Eastern Towhees, and another Connecticut Warbler! The Prothonotary Warbler was a nice surprise, since most of their population have already moved south for the winter.
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| Prothonotary Warbler |
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| male (left) and female (right) Eastern Towhees |
Whilst closing the nets, I found a large, olive-yellow warbler walking down the net trail. I've never seen a warbler like this before, so I immediately started going through the list of possible suspects, and I believed it to be Mourning Warbler and Connecticut Warbler. To confirm the ID, I inched closer and closer towards it (it didn't seem to mind me being there whatsoever) and saw a faint buffy-light eyering. To further confirm the ID I played a few chip notes, and it actually responded to the flight call with its own squeaky "pwit". Although it did respond to the chip calls, it seemed more focused on the moths and grasshoppers it was eating off the ground. So, I followed it from net 16 all the way to 3. Earlier I had radioed Kristin and Katie to try and flush this bird into the net together. Our first attempt was unsuccessful, the bird bounced out of the net, and I thought it was gone for good. However, the bird came walking back, and the second time around we were able to pish it into the net!
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| Hatch-year female Connecticut Warbler |
While processing, we determined this bird to be a female, based on the olive-green appearance and lighter-beige of the eyering. Overall, this was such a memorable and exciting way to nab a new lifebird—huge thanks to Kristin and Katie for making this happen!
-Maia
| Species | Captain Sams | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Common Ground Dove | 1 | - | - | - |
Yellow-billed Cuckoo | - | - | 1 | - |
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | - | - | 1 | - |
Eastern Phoebe | 2 | - | - | - |
White-eyed Vireo | - | 1 | - | - |
Blue-headed Vireo | 1 | - | - | - |
Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 2 | 1 | 7 | - |
House Wren | 5 | 2 | 4 | - |
Gray Catbird | 36 | 9 | 23 | 12 |
Brown Thrasher | - | 1 | - | - |
Swainson's Thrush | - | - | - | 1 |
House Finch | 1 | - | - | - |
Song Sparrow | 2 | - | - | - |
Swamp Sparrow | 1 | - | - | - |
Eastern Towhee | - | - | 2 | - |
Yellow-breasted Chat | - | - | - | 1 |
Ovenbird | - | 1 | - | - |
Northern Waterthrush | - | - | - | 2 |
Prothonotary Warbler | - | - | 1 | - |
Connecticut Warbler | - | - | 1 | - |
Common Yellowthroat | 10 | - | 6 | 1 |
American Redstart | 1 | - | 1 | - |
Cape May Warbler | - | - | 1 | - |
Blackpoll Warbler | - | - | 3 | - |
Black-throated Blue Warbler | 2 | - | - | - |
Palm Warbler (Western) | - | - | 1 | - |
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) | 7 | - | 5 | - |
Prairie Warbler | 1 | - | - | - |
Northern Cardinal | - | - | - | 2 |
Painted Bunting | - | - | 1 | - |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 72 | 57 | 129 |
| # of Recaptures | 15 | 19 | 34 |
| # of Species | 17 | 20 | 30 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 159 | 105.8 | 264.8 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 54.7 | 71.8 | 61.6 |
| # of Nets | 30 | 23 | - |
| 2022 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 4,026 | 2,564 | 6,590 |
| # of Recaptures | 976 | 525 | 1,501 |
| # of Species | 78 | 74 | 91 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 9,339.3 | 4,705.05 | 14,044.35 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 53.6 | 65.65 | 57.6 |
| # of Days | 61 | 53 | - |
Banding Staff
Brendan Wang (CS)
