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)