8001: A Banding Odyssey

 CAPTAIN SAMS

After the last couple of days, I did not have high hopes that today would be any better.  It wasn't.  We banded 10 new birds and had 15 recaptures of 8 species.  

Last night, I realized that we were really close to banding 8,000 birds between Captain Sams and Little Bear this fall.  To get to 8,000, all I needed to do was band 9 birds today.  Easy, right?  Nope.  In the first 5 hours, we managed to band 5 new birds.  At the 12:00pm net run, we somehow were able to pick up three more new birds: a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Palm Warbler, and a White-throated Sparrow.  The next net run (12:45pm) would have normally been the time when we would close down the nets for the day however with one more bird needed, I decided to wait and close down at 1:30pm just in case we couldn't pull it off.  Thankfully, the 12:45pm run produced a pair of Yellow-rumps in net 31 putting us at 8,001 birds for the fall season!  Just in case you wondering, we got skunked on the 1:30pm net run.  

The Last Bird of the 2023 Fall Season

Yellow-rumped Warbler (after hatch-year, male)

I'd like to thank my cousin, Sean, for helping me out during the last 10 days.  He flew down from Illinois specifically to help me and learn more about birds and bird banding.  He did great and learned how to extract birds from the mist nets and how to band and process the birds.  In fact, he banded and processed all 25 birds that we captured today.

Over the next few days I will be putting together a season summary and will post here.  In addition, there will be periodic posts throughout the winter featuring my winter banding projects.  

-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
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	-	1	-	-
House Wren	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	2	-	-
Northern Mockingbird	-	1	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	4	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	1	1	-	-
Palm Warbler (Western)	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	8	4	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	10	-	-
# of Recaptures	15	-	-
# of Species	8	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	236.8	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	6.3	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	4,621	3,380	8,001
# of Recaptures	1,294	729	2,024
# of Species	85	86	100
Effort (net-hours)	17,247.0	9,293.95	26540.95
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	34.3	44.2	37.8
# of Days	104	78	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Sean Dowd (CS)

One More Day To Go

 CAPTAIN SAMS

We delayed opening the nets by about 45minutes this morning due to cold temperatures.  We hit the freezing point in most areas around Charleston but I don't think we got to freezing at the banding station due to its close proximity (~200 yards) to the ocean.  

Unfortunately, bird activity did not get any better today as I hoped with only 12 new birds and 14 recaptures of 10 species.  We recaptured the female Yellow-breasted Chat that we banded on Saturday which may indicate that she will be overwintering on the site.  We will see if I end up catching her again this winter during my winter banding project.  

Another interesting recapture was a female Orange-crowned Warbler that I banded 1028 days ago on 4 February 2021.  Her other previous captures were on 13 January 2022 and 17 November 2022. 

-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
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	1	-	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	2	-	-
Gray Catbird	1	4	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	1	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	-	1	-	-
Eastern Towhee	-	1	-	-
Yellow-breasted Chat	-	1	-	-
Orange-crowned Warbler	-	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	8	3	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	12	-	-
# of Recaptures	14	-	-
# of Species	10	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	184.0	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	14.1	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	4,611	3,380	7,991
# of Recaptures	1,279	729	2,008
# of Species	85	86	100
Effort (net-hours)	17,010.2	9,293.95	26,304.2
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	34.6	44.2	38.0
# of Days	103	78	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Sean Dowd (CS)

Little Bit Migration

 CAPTAIN SAMS

Even though our nets were not filled with Yellow-rumped Warblers there were a few birds on the move last night as evident by capturing new Blue-headed Vireos, Hermit Thrushes, Swamp Sparrows, and Palm Warblers - all species we haven't banded in a little while.  In addition we banded another late-season Yellow-breasted Chat.

One of our local bobcats was on the prowl last night around the banding station.  It left purr-fect (I'm so sorry for that...) tracks in the soft sand and wet mud along at least a 1/2 mile of our banding trails.  It even had the audacity to leave me a little gift on one of my boardwalks.  Unfortunately, we did not see the bobcat this morning but if it was still around, it probably saw us.  

Bobcat scat

 

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
Blue-headed Vireo	2	-	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	4	-	-
Hermit Thrush	2	3	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	1	1	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	3	-	-	-
Yellow-breasted Chat	1	-	-	-
Palm Warbler (Western)	2	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	8	10	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	20	-	-
# of Recaptures	18	-	-
# of Species	9	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	201.1	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	18.9	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	4,599	3,380	7,979
# of Recaptures	1,265	729	1,994
# of Species	85	86	100
Effort (net-hours)	16,826.2	9,293.95	26,120.2
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	34.9	44.2	38.2
# of Days	102	78	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Sean Dowd (CS)

One Hundred and One Days of Banding

 CAPTAIN SAMS

It was another slow day of banding on "The Spit" with 4 new birds and 11 recaptures.  The morning started out with a stiff northwest wind which continued for most of the morning.  

Northwest winds continue for tomorrow but it shouldn't be as blustery with winds predicted to be around 8-10 mph.  It will be chilly with the temperature dropping into the low 40's.  

-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
Northern Flicker	-	1	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	3	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	1	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	-	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	4	4	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	4	-	-
# of Recaptures	11	-	-
# of Species	6	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	154.9	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	9.7	-	-
# of Nets	31	-	-

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	4,579	3,380	7,959
# of Recaptures	1,247	729	1,976
# of Species	85	86	100
Effort (net-hours)	16,625.1	9,293.95	25,919.1
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	35.0	44.2	38.3
# of Days	101	78	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Sean Dowd (CS)

Where Have All the Yellow-rumps Gone?

 CAPTAIN SAMS

We banded 14 new birds and had 30 recaptures of 9 species.  Yellow-rumped Warbler numbers are way down compared to last fall.  Last season, we banded 1,047 of them with 510 coming in the last two weeks.  So far this season we've only banded 497 of them  with 4 day left in the season, and over the last two weeks have banded 155.  We have had a relatively mild fall, and wonder if they just haven't made it down this far south yet.  Banding conditions were nearly perfect today (cool, low winds, overcast) and I would have expected that the banding station would have been crawling with Yellow-rumps.  A wind shift to the northwest will occur tonight and continue for the next couple of day, so hopefully if there are still Yellow-rumps up north they will ride the winds south down to KIBS. 

-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
Downy Woodpecker	-	1	-	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	1	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	-	4	-	-
House Wren	-	2	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	1	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	3	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	13	17	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	14	-	-
# of Recaptures	30	-	-
# of Species	9	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	192.5	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	22.9	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	4,575	3,380	7,955
# of Recaptures	1,236	729	1,965
# of Species	85	86	100
Effort (net-hours)	16,470.2	9,293.95	25,764.2
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	35.3	44.2	38.5
# of Days	100	78	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Sean Dowd (CS)

Late Season Chat

CAPTAIN SAMS

We had an unexpectedly slow day today with only 14 new birds and 6 recaptures.  With the cooler temps and north winds, I was thought we would have captured more Yellow-rumped Warblers, at least.  The wind was blowing around 12-15mph which certainly could have affected the capture rate at some of nets but a lot of the nets were sheltered from the wind.  There was just not that many birds around today.  

A nice late season surprise was a Yellow-breasted Chat.  A small proportion of the Yellow-breasted Chat population will overwinter in SC, therefore it is possible that this bird may decide to spend its winter on Kiawah.  

Yellow-breasted Chat (Hatch-year, female)

  -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	2	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	1	1	-	-
Hermit Thrush	1	-	-	-
Yellow-breasted Chat	1	-	-	-
Black-and-white Warbler	-	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	9	1	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	14	-	-
# of Recaptures	6	-	-
# of Species	8	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	171.4	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	11.7	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	4,561	3,380	7,941
# of Recaptures	1,206	729	1,935
# of Species	85	86	100
Effort (net-hours)	16,277.7	9,293.95	25,571.65
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	35.3	44.2	38.6
# of Days	99	78	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Sean Dowd (CS)

Aidan Given (CS)

Dodging Drizzle, Catching Myrtles

 CAPTAIN SAMS

Despite dodging rain showers most of the morning, we did pretty well with 34 new birds and 25 recaptures of 10 different species.  We had to shut down all 32 nets shortly after opening them due to a rain shower.  Luckily, the rain was light and didn't last very long and we were able to open the nets back up after about an hour.  

Yellow-rumped Warblers were the most abundant bird of the day with 35 (26 new, 9 recaps).  We also had 25 total recaptures, 9 of which were returning birds from previous seasons.  Some of these included a Hermit Thrush, Song Sparrow, and Yellow-rumped Warbler that were banded in 2021. The other 6 birds were all banded last year.   

-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
Carolina Chickadee	-	1	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	5	1	-	-
House Wren	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	1	3	-	-
Northern Mockingbird	-	1	-	-
Hermit Thrush	1	3	-	-
Song Sparrow	-	1	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	1	2	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	26	9	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	3	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	34	-	-
# of Recaptures	25	-	-
# of Species	10	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	155.2	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	38.0	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	4,547	3,380	7,927
# of Recaptures	1,200	729	1,929
# of Species	85	86	100
Effort (net-hours)	16,146.2	9,293.95	25,440.15
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	35.6	44.2	38.7
# of Days	98	78	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Sean Dowd (CS)

Happy Turkey Day

 CAPTAIN SAMS

As expected, bird activity picked up a bit today however it was much slower than I had anticipated.  I thought that the cold front would have brought many more Yellow-rumped Warblers to us but we only captured 16 of them (11 new, 5 recaptures).  The most exciting thing that happened today was walking up to net #12 during the first net run and finding 3 Northern Flickers in the net!  Unfortunately, one of them got of the net before I could get to it.  

Male and female Northern Flickers look similar except the male has a black cheek patch that the female is lacking (see below).  

  

Northern Flicker (after hatch-year, male)

Northern Flicker (hatch-year, female)

The other excitement came during the last net run when we caught our 3rd Sharp-shinned Hawk of the season.  This one was an adult based on the orangish colored eye, slatey blue back, and orange breast streaking.

Aidan holding his first Sharp-shinned Hawk (After hatch-year, male)

-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
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	-	-	-
Northern Flicker	2	-	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	3	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	4	-	-
Hermit Thrush	1	1	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	4	-	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	-	1	-	-
Eastern Towhee	-	1	-	-
Ovenbird	-	1	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	11	5	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	23	-	-
# of Recaptures	14	-	-
# of Species	12	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	176.0	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	21.0	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	4,513	3,380	7,893
# of Recaptures	1,175	729	1,904
# of Species	85	86	100
Effort (net-hours)	15,951.15	9,293.95	25,245.1
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	35.7	44.2	38.8
# of Days	97	78	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Sean Dowd (CS)

Chris Snook (CS)

Aidan Given (CS)

Rain Day

 CAPTAIN SAMS

No banding occurred today due to rain.  Weather looks good for tomorrow.

-Aaron

Blustery Winds + Scattered Showers = 5 Birds

 CAPTAIN SAMS

Well, there's not much to talk about today.  Strong south winds and scattered showers blocked any migration that might have occurred last night.  As a result, we only banded 1 new bird and had 4 recaptures of 5 different species.  There is a high probability (currently 100%) of rain tomorrow and it does not look like I will be able to open up the nets.  A wind shift to the north following the passage of a cold front on Wednesday evening promises to bring new migrants to KIBS on Thanksgiving Day.  I for one will be thankful after a day like today!    

-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
Hermit Thrush	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	1	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	-	1	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	1	-	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	1	-	-
# of Recaptures	4	-	-
# of Species	5	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	136.3	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	3.7	-	-
# of Nets	29	-	-

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	4,490	3,380	7,870
# of Recaptures	1,161	729	1,890
# of Species	85	86	100
Effort (net-hours)	15,775.15	9,293.95	25,069.1
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	35.8	44.2	38.9
# of Days	96	78	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Sean Dowd (CS)

Color Variation in House Finches

CAPTAIN SAMS

It was a slow day of banding out on the spit today with 14 new birds and 11 recaptures of only 5 species.  The most interesting bird of the day was the last bird that I captured - a male House Finch.  What made this bird unique was that it had orange coloration on the head, breast, and rump instead of the typical red coloration.  So what caused this?  When birds are molting their feathers, the pigments they ingest from their food are deposited in the feather.  Red, yellow, and orange colors are produced by carotenoid pigments.  There are several different types of carotenoids each responsible for producing a certain color.  When this bird was molting in late summer/early fall, the carotenoids that produces the normal red coloration was lacking it its food but high in the carotenoid(s) that produces orange and/or yellow.  This bird may not always be "orange".  Next year when it molts, if its food source is high in carotenoids that produce red colors in the feathers, he will be red.   

House Finch "orange" variant (hatch-year, male)

normal House Finch (hatch-year, male)

-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
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	2	4	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	2	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	-	1	-	-
House Finch	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	10	4	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	14	-	-
# of Recaptures	11	-	-
# of Species	5	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	182.4	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	13.7	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	4,489	3,380	7,869
# of Recaptures	1,157	729	1,886
# of Species	85	86	100
Effort (net-hours)	15,638.85	9,293.95	24,932.8
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	36.1	44.2	39.1
# of Days	95	78	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)