We Roll With the Blackpoll!

 Captain Sams:

Our day started later than expected this morning due to the presence of a rain cloud seemingly stuck over the banding station. After it parted, we set out under cloudy skies and blowing winds to open the station, and we finished doing so a little after 9:00 a.m. In the 4 hours that followed, we captured 44 total birds; 35 new and 9 recaptures. 

With great surprise, amongst our seemingly endless Common Yellowthroats, was the station's first Blackpoll Warbler of the year! Our individual was an after-hatch-year female, and she gave us good looks at the dramatic change in appearance these birds go through between their basic and alternate plumages!

In the Spring, these warblers sport an achromatic alternate (breeding) plumage, made up of blacks and whites. They also have an incredibly high-pitched call that birders akin to that of a tiny helicopter passing by, how specific! During Fall, individuals show off a completely different, and quite cryptic, basic (non-breeding) plumage made up of greens, greys, and blacks. In fact, so similar is Blackpoll Warbler plumage in Fall to that of another warbler, the Bay-breasted Warbler, that birders must rely on the soles of their feet to distinguish them. The former has soles that are yellow; the latter has soles that are blue-gray. 

After-hatch-year female Blackpoll Warbler

We were also excited to catch another adult warbler, an after-hatch-year female Northern Parula. Breeding males of this species show off a flashy color pattern of yellow, blue, and brown on their throats, but our lady was quite a stunner too! From the bright lemon-yellow of her throat to the rich olive-green on her back, she was all color and all spunk, giving us a great end to our day at the station!

After-hatch-year female Northern Parula

With Northeastern winds to continue over the coming days, we expect more exciting migrants and a whole ton more birds. Hopefully, these predictions come true!

- Matt

Little Bear:

Todays weather was a little off and we started out our morning a little later than normal. With the unpredictable rain and wind, we ended up closing up still a little early. We ended our morning with a total of 37 birds with only 3 of them recaptured. We had a special recapture today with a Carolina Chickadee that was banded from previous years. Usually at LB we don't catch as many recaptures from previous years, so I do enjoy seeing these cuties. This one was banded in 2021 in August as a hatch year bird. I love seeing recaptures coming back and seeing how well they are doing since we banded them!

-Kristin

Note:  All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s BBL

Species	Captain Sams		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Downy Woodpecker	-	-	-	1
White-eyed Vireo	-	2	1	1
Red-eyed Vireo	5	1	-	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	-	-	1
Gray Catbird	6	-	3	-
Swainson's Thrush	1	-	1	-
Black-and-white Warbler	2	-	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	14	2	11	-
American Redstart	5	1	1	-
Northern Parula	1	-	1	-
Yellow Warbler	-	-	1	-
Blackpoll Warbler	1	-	-	-
Palm Warbler (western subspecies)	-	-	12	-
Prairie Warbler	-	-	2	-
Northern Cardinal	-	3	-	-
Painted Bunting	-	-	1	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	35	34	69
# of Recaptures	9	3	12
# of Species	10	12	16
Effort (net-hours)	126.6	50.4	177.0
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	34.8	67.5	45.8
# of Nets	32	25	57

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	1270	860	2130
# of Recaptures	356	176	532
# of Species	47	48	59
Effort (net-hours)	6459.35	3572	10031.35
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	25.2	28.9	26.5
# of Days	43	32	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Kristin Attinger (LB)

Brittany Holliker (LB)

Matt Hixson (CS)

Camille Blose 

Wentao Yang (LB)

Natalie Miller (CS)