Shafts of Light Through the Fog as Chucky Returns on Halloween Morn

 Captain Sams:

Fog greeted us this morning as we shook out the moisture from the nets. Being a little cooler today, we got a little pulse of Myrtle Warblers with a total of 19 new individuals, and various other warbler species. There was a total of 38 birds and 11 species, including 1 new for the season. We caught a Yellow-shafted Flicker, who had a molt limit within the greater coverts, characteristic of a Hatch-year bird. In addition, we caught a recaptured Pine Warblers, which is rare for this time of year. We spent our time fixing some more nets today to prepare for the busy days to come.

HY Male Yellow-shafted Flicker

Little Bear:

It was Halloween night, or should I say morning, when mist descended upon Little Bear. After opening all of our nets, we headed out into the marsh to see if we could catch any spooky sparrows. The sparrows eluded us, but we were fortunate enough to be visited by a sweet (and not so spooky!) Marsh Wren. During this endeavor, we saw the perfect Halloween scene- in the distance, eight Boat-tailed Grackles sitting on a tree. What a bone-chilling sight!

Was it a coincidence that on out of all the days of the field season, it was Halloween that Chucky (aka a Chuck-Will's-Widow) returned?? I think not. Luckily, he was not too scary but instead, quite delightful.

We are grateful this fellow graced our nets on this festive day. In addition to Chucky, we also caught a hatch-year Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, three Downy Woodpeckers, and basically a whole flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Once again, a spooky and fun day indeed. We are excited to see what the cold front brings us tomorrow morning! Perhaps more sparrows? Perhaps...an owl? Stay tuned to find out! 

Happy Halloween!

-Brittany and Natalie

 

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
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	-	-	1	-
Chuck-Will's- Widow	-	-	1	-
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	-	-	1	-
Downy Woodpecker	-	-	1	2
Northern Flicker	1	-	-	-
Eastern Phoebe	-	-	1	-
White-eyed Vireo	-	-	-	1
Carolina Chickadee	-	-	1	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	2	-	3	-
Marsh Wren	-	-	1	-
Gray Catbird	1	5	7	6
Hermit Thrush	-	1	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	2	-	-	-
Eastern Towhee	-	1	-	-
Orange-crowned Warbler	-	-	1	-
Common Yellowthroat	1	-	-	-
American Redstart	-	1	-	-
Blackburnian Warbler	-	-	-	1
Pine Warbler	-	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	19	2	22	2
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	2
Painted Bunting	-	-	4	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	26	44	70
# of Recaptures	12	14	26
# of Species	11	14	22
Effort (net-hours)	165.55	167.5	333.05
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	23	34.6	28.82
# of Nets	32	25	57

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3,806	2950	6756
# of Recaptures	910	587	1497
# of Species	77	81	92
Effort (net-hours)	12,286	7522.1	19808.1
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	38.4	47	41.66
# of Days	75	63	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Kristin Attinger (LB)

Brittany Holliker (LB)

Matt Hixson (CS)

Camille Blose (CS)

Wentao Yang (CS)

Natalie Miller (LB)

Change is in the Air

Captain Sams:

Bird activity remained sluggish for the 7th day in a row with 16 new birds and 9 recaptures.  Over the past week, we have only captured 189 birds (128 new, 61 recaps).  The reason for this is that a high pressure system has been sitting over the southeast causing unusually high temperatures and unfavorable conditions for migration.  Things are about to change though as a cold front is making its way across North America, and bringing with it much cooler temperatures starting on Wednesday.  Birds will likely be moving in front of and behind this cold front, and I am expecting a little bit of movement tonight but much more tomorrow night.  Unfortunately for us banders, this cold front is also bringing high winds and we are expecting about 20 mph winds on Wednesday morning.  We still should be able to band but we may not be able to use all of our nets.  

Little Bear:

Little Bear had the day off so the crew could rest and recharge their batteries.  

-Aaron

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
Eastern Phoebe	1	-	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	4	1	-	-
House Wren	1	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	5	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	5	1	-	-
Prairie Warbler	1	-	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-
Painted Bunting	3	-	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	16	-	-
# of Recaptures	9	-	-
# of Species	9	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	162.4	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	15.4	-	-
# of Nets	32	25	57

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3,780	2,906	6,686
# of Recaptures	898	574	1,472
# of Species	76	81	91
Effort (net-hours)	12,120.15	7,356.6	19,476.75
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	38.6	47.3	41.9
# of Days	74	62	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Camille Blose (CS)

RCKI, we caught you RCKI (x14)

 Captain Sams:

We had a nice day out at the split today. The tide was the highest one I had seen at Captain Sams, with water almost reaching the banding table. We ended the day with 24 birds including 4 recaptures. All 4 recaptures were adults that were processed at least a year ago. An Orange-crowned Warbler that was banded last year as a first year bird made it here again this year. Another cool recaptured individual was a two-year-old Myrtle Warbler. She was at first banded on November 2nd as a hatch year bird and she found her way to our net once again this year!

Newly captured birds today were mainly made up by Ruby-crowned Kinglets. It was exciting that Matt finally got the chance to band a new Brown Thrasher after two and a half month here. It was also a nice looking adult bird with truncate tips on tail feathers and a complete skull as well. 

-Wentao

Little Bear:

We had a productive day today at our beloved Little Bear, with a grand total of 44 birds. We began our day out in the marsh, setting up nets during high tide to try our luck with some marsh birds. To our surprise, not only did we capture two Saltmarsh Sparrows, but also a Marsh Wren! We saw three sneaky Clapper Rails running about, and hopefully they'll visit our nets soon. How wonderful would that be!

We were delighted to capture a new Eastern Towhee, a male Black-throated Blue Warbler, two sassy and snappy Eastern Phoebes, and five Ruby-crowned Kinglets! And, as I must mention, we had lots of Gray Catbirds. 

-Brittany

"Meows filled the air as we traversed Little Bear." 

        - Natalie Miller, 2023

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
Eastern Phoebe	1	-	2	-
White-eyed Vireo	-	-	-	1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	8	1	5	-
House Wren	-	-	1	2
Marsh Wren	-	-	1	-
Gray Catbird	3	-	7	12
Brown Thrasher	1	-	-	-
Northern Mockingbird	1	-	-	-
Saltmarsh Sparrow	1	-	2	-
Song Sparrow	-	1	-	-
Eastern Towhee	-	-	1	-
Orange-crowned Warbler	-	1	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	-	-	1	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	-	-	1	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler	4	1	3	-
Northern Cardinal	-	-	-	2
Painted Bunting	1	-	3	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	20	27	47
# of Recaptures	4	17	21
# of Species	10	9	17
Effort (net-hours)	141.5	105	246.5
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	17	41.9	29.5
# of Nets	32	25	57

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3764	2906	6670
# of Recaptures	889	574	1463
# of Species	76	81	91
Effort (net-hours)	11954.85	7379.6	19334.45
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	38.9	47.2	43.1
# of Days	73	62	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Kristin Attinger (LB)

Brittany Holliker (LB)

Matt Hixson (CS)

Camille Blose (CS)

Wentao Yang (CS)

Natalie Miller (LB)

Sparrow Saturday

 Captain Sams:

We were slightly busier today as compared to yesterday, with 29 newly banded birds and 4 recaptures. With the tides increasing in height each day, we had water covering a good majority of our trails throughout the morning making net runs take longer than usual. However,  this negative has been offset greatly by our successful marsh sparrow banding attempts yesterday, as well as an influx of White Ibis foraging near the banding table. They've been becoming more comfortable with our presence over the past few days to the point where many have started roosting in the trees above our heads as we band birds. It is our hope that in the coming days, we may be able to capitalize on these close encounters, and possibly catch one of them in a net!

Captured birds today were made up mostly of late-fall migrants such as Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Myrtle Warblers. Excitingly we also captured an Eastern Wood-pewee, a species of great interest currently as many reports of its' counterpart, Western Wood-pewee, have been made in areas outside their range. Additional measurements and photos were taken with the hopes that our species was one of these vagrants. Unfortunately, our hopes were dashed almost immediately, as the individual began calling the moment after release, solidifying its' identity as an Eastern Wood-pewee. Darn!

We further await the arrival of the cold front next week and are excited for what it may bring with it!

- Matt

Little Bear: 

Today was a slow but exciting day out at Little Bear! We started the day strong by heading out to the ocean and setting up some nets to do some marsh sparrow banding! To our delight we managed to snag an adorable little Saltmarsh Sparrow, which is the 2nd for Little Bear this season! 

In fact, today was what one could call a sparrow bonanza! In addition to the saltmarsh sparrow we also caught a White-crowned sparrow, a Savannah sparrow, a Song sparrow, a recaptured Swamp sparrow, and not one but two Eastern Towhees! To our surprise, one of these towhees was a male that was banded all the way back in 2021! It is great to see him again, and we hope he continues to have a great life!

We are excited to see what birds come with the upcoming cold front on Halloween! Until then, we will enjoy our time with the birds that are here.

-Natalie

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
Eastern Wood-pewee	1	-	-	-
White-eyed Vireo	-	1	-	1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	10	-	1	-
House Wren	1	1	2	-
Carolina Wren	-	-	-	1
Gray Catbird	5	1	4	12
Hermit Thrush	1	-	-	-
White-crowned Sparrow	-	-	1	-
Saltmarsh Sparrow	-	-	1	-
Savannah Sparrow	-	-	1	-
Song Sparrow	-	-	1	-
Swamp Sparrow	1	-	-	1
Eastern Towhee	-	-	1	1
Ovenbird	-	-	1	-
Orange-crowned Warbler	-	-	1	-
American Redstart	-	1	-	-
Myrtle Warbler	8	-	3	-
Northern Cardinal	1	-	-	-
Painted Bunting	1	-	1	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	29	18	47
# of Recaptures	4	16	20
# of Species	11	15	19
Effort (net-hours)	147.4	105	252.4
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	22.4	32.4	26.5
# of Nets	32	25	57

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3744	2879	6623
# of Recaptures	885	557	1442
# of Species	76	81	91
Effort (net-hours)	11,835.75	7274.6	19,110.35
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	39.1	47.2	42.2
# of Days	72	61	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Kristin Attinger (LB)

Brittany Holliker (LB)

Matt Hixson (CS)

Camille Blose (CS)

Wentao Yang (CS)

Natalie Miller (LB)

Golden Crowns and Golden Hearts

 Captain Sams:

Another hot and slow day was upon us. We were able to use the time in between net runs in the morning to catch some Saltmarsh Sparrows next to the Kiawah River behind the banding station. We were able to corral 2 recaptured and 2 new individuals by making multiple passes, flushing birds toward the net we set up near the beach. After that exciting adventure, we returned to fixing nets for the rest of the day.

AHY Saltmarsh Sparrow

HY Saltmarsh Sparrow on the top and ASY Saltmarsh Sparrow on the bottom. This picture shows the slight difference in shade of the flight feathers that discern an adult from a juvenile.

Little Bear:

Today was a lot slow day. We finished the day with a total of 22 birds and only 8 of the birds were newly banded. After a few runs this morning, I heard a Golden-crowned Kinglet singing around the nets. I was excited, since we heard one about a week ago. It was such a treat to see such a little cutie in the hand. This one was an adult female and I am hoping to catch a lovely male soon.

During our last few net runs, we had a Snowy Egret that was hanging around our nets. With the water levels finally going down, maybe more herons will want to explore the site.

-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	-
Golden-crowned Kinglet	-	-	1	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	2	-	-	-
House Wren	-	-	-	1
Carolina Wren	-	-	-	1
Gray Catbird	6	2	5	10
Saltmarsh Sparrow	2	2	-	-
Song Sparrow	-	-	1	-
Common Yellowthroat	-	1	-	1
American Redstart	-	1	-	-
Myrtle Warbler	3	-	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	2	1	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	13	8	21
# of Recaptures	8	14	22
# of Species	7	8	12
Effort (net-hours)	157.45	90	247.45
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	13.3	24.4	17.38
# of Nets	32	25	57

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3,715	2,861	6576
# of Recaptures	881	541	1,422
# of Species	76	81	91
Effort (net-hours)	11,689	7,169.6	18,858.65
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	39.3	47.5	42.41
# of Days	71	60	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Kristin Attinger (LB)

Brittany Holliker (LB)

Matt Hixson (CS)

Camille Blose (CS)

Wentao Yang (CS)

Natalie Miller (LB)

Slow Days Ahead

 Captain Sams:

We had a slowish day ending with a total of 25 birds including 13 recaptures. Compared to yesterday, we had way less new Catbirds showing up at the station, but a lot of banded individuals were still hanging around at the station. After our first net run, we were dispersed to continue on nets repair duty. The tide was getting high again with water covering the path from the table to net 14. With higher tides in marshes, we hope we could take advantage of these slow days to capture some marsh sparrows, Clapper Rails, or even White Ibis between net runs! 

-Wentao

Little Bear:

'Twas a slow day at our beloved Little Bear, with a total of 25 birds. We had more recaptures than new birds, but to our delight, we were visited once again by a handsome recap Blackburnian Warbler. A friendly Downy Woodpecker made an appearance along with a perfectly precious Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Once again, Gray Catbirds dominated our nets. Gray Catbird in your first net. Bam! Gray Catbird in your second net. Bam! The Gray Catbirds quite simply are everywhere, and we will most definitely be greeted by their meows again tomorrow morning.

-Brittany

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
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	-	1	-
Carolina Wren	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	4	10	6	11
Swamp Sparrow	-	-	1	-
Common Yellowthroat	-	-	1	-
Blackburnian Warbler	-	-	-	1
Palm Warbler (Western Subspecies)	1	-	-	-
Myrtle Warbler	5	-	2	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	1
Painted Bunting	1	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	12	11	23
# of Recaptures	13	14	27
# of Species	7	8	11
Effort (net-hours)	154.5	82.5	237
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	16.2	30.3	23.3
# of Nets	32	25	57

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3702	2853	6555
# of Recaptures	873	513	1386
# of Species	75	80	90
Effort (net-hours)	11531.6	7079.6	18611.2
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	39.7	47.6	43.7
# of Days	70	59	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Kristin Attinger (LB)

Brittany Holliker (LB)

Matt Hixson (CS)

Camille Blose (CS)

Wentao Yang (CS)

Natalie Miller (LB)

Savannah Saturday (On a Wednesday)

 Captain Sams:

Today was a much slower day out at Captain Sams, with us ending the day with only 26 birds captured (13 of which were recaptures). Among the birds we caught were many familiar faces, including the fan favorite Prairie Warbler, the classic Gray Catbirds, and a very adorable little Ruby-crowned Kinglet. We also were lucky to recapture a Northern Cardinal who was originally banded in 2021! We are glad this little lady is doing well and we hope to catch her again in the future! 

Hatch-year male Prairie Warbler (a fan favorite bird of many here at the station)

The slower day meant we had a little more time on our hands, and we filled this time doing some much needed net repairs! We will likely be working on these repairs for the next few days so that we are ready for another busy day! With most of the neotropical birds gone we are preparing ourselves for the upcoming wave of Yellow-rumped Warblers, and we are very excited to catch more of these cuties as the season progresses.

- Natalie

Little Bear:

Windy conditions greeted us this morning as we opened our nets, forecasting a slow day. We ended with 39 birds; 25 were newly banded and 14 were recaptured. Amongst captured birds were a variety of warbler species including Cape May Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Myrtle Warbler, Western Palm Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, and Little Bear's second Black-throated Green Warbler! This last bird was especially exciting as they are seldom caught at the station and not often seen in this area during this late in Fall migration. The individual was an after-hatch-year female, sporting colors of yellow, green, black, and white!

After-hatch-year Black-throated Green Warbler

Photo by Kristin

Each day it seems as though were are catching more sparrows, with many species having been already caught so far this season. Today did not challenge that pattern, as we caught a new Song Sparrow, a new Swamp Sparrow, and another species of sparrow not yet caught! This third species was a Savannah Sparrow, a charismatic sparrow of grasslands and meadows. Identified by its' distinct yellow patch in front of the eye and extensively streaked flanks and chest, the individual was a joy to observe up close and personal!

After-hatch-year Savannah Sparrow

Photo by Kristin

The end of Fall migration is officially here and many neotropical species are already beginning to dwindle in number. We welcome the sparrows, thrushes, kinglets, and Myrtle Warblers that are taking their place, and are excited for what is in store for the weeks to come!

- Matt

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
Carolina Chickadee	-	1	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	-	-	-
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	-	-	1	-
Carolina Wren	-	-	-	1
Gray Catbird	8	5	12	8
Swainson's Thrush	-	1	-	-
Savannah Sparrow	-	-	1	-
Song Sparrow	-	-	1	-
Swamp Sparrow	-	-	1	1
Worm-eating Warbler	-	1	-	-
Tennessee Warbler	-	-	-	1
American Redstart	-	2	-	-
Cape May Warbler	-	-	1	-
Blackpoll Warbler	-	-	2	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	-	-	-	1
Palm Warbler (western subspecies)	-	-	1	-
Palm Warbler (eastern subspecies)	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (myrtle)	1	1	3	1
Prairie Warbler	1	-	1	-
Black-throated Green Warbler	-	-	1	-
Northern Cardinal	-	2	-	1
Painted Bunting	1	-	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	13	25	38
# of Recaptures	13	14	27
# of Species	11	15	21
Effort (net-hours)	158	105	263
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	16.5	37.1	24.7
# of Nets	32	25	57

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3690	2842	6532
# of Recaptures	860	513	1373
# of Species	75	80	90
Effort (net-hours)	11377.1	6997.1	18374.2
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	40.0	47.9	43.0
# of Days	69	58	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Kristin Attinger (LB)

Brittany Holliker (LB)

Matt Hixson (LB)

Camille Blose (CS)

Wentao Yang (CS)

Natalie Miller (CS)