Saturday, November 4, 2023

A FISP on the List is Little Bear's 85th!

Captain Sams:

It was once again a chilly morning out at Captain Sams, however this did not stop us from catching 44 birds (14 of which were recaptures)! Several familiar faces graced our nets, including Gray Catbirds (which are becoming increasingly uncommon), Song Sparrows, and Yellow-rumped Warblers (Myrtle). These Yellow-rumps are quickly becoming our most common bird, which is exciting to see. These little "butter butts" are adorable to see while birding, but they are even cuter in the hand!

However, Yellow-rumps do not win the competition for cutest bird of the day. That honor goes to the two Tree Swallows we caught! I have never had the opportunity to hold one of these birds, so it was very cool to see one up close! Their iconic blue color is beautiful and I was glad to get the chance to band one! Flocks of Tree Swallows have been circling near our nets for a few days now, but so far we have only caught 4. I hope to catch more of these adorable little birds before the season is over!

After-hatch year female Tree Swallow

- Natalie



Little Bear:

The cold continued through the early morning today with nets being opened under strong winds and a temperature in the low 50s. It was our hope that once the sun rose higher in the sky, it would warm up and lead to a surge in bird activity. This proved to be false, as we ended the day we a low total of 27 birds; 18 newly banded and 9 recaptures. Usual suspects flew into our nets in low numbers today, with the highest numbers coming from 6 Yellow-rumped Warblers (Myrtle) and 3 Swamp Sparrows. 

In comparison to previous seasons, just two days ago Little Bear tied the record for most species caught. As a result, Kristin has been eagerly awaiting the capture of at least one additional species to break that longstanding milestone. Thankfully, today was indeed the day! At the conclusion of our second net run, Kristin exclaimed proudly to Wentao and I that she had captured the 85th species, leading to a guessing game to determine what the mysterious individual was. Birds were thrown out left and right, but neither of us guessed correctly; the 85th species was a Field Sparrow! 

The individual was an after-hatch-year bird and was quite special to see in hand for the first time. These sparrows are found in areas true to their name; fields and grasslands, lending to them being quite common most of the year across the areas of Illinois where I have birded. Their song is quite reminiscent of a bouncing ball, starting with a series of whistles that accelerate into an intense trill.

After-hatch-year Field Sparrow

There are plenty of birds that could still be caught to bring this already record-breaking total to even more exuberant proportions. We earnestly hope that tomorrow brings with it species number 86, or perhaps 87!

-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 SamsLittle Bear
NewRecapsNewRecaps
Downy Woodpecker
---1
Eastern Phoebe
1---
Tree Swallow
2---
Golden-crowned Kinglet
11--
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
41--
Brown Creeper
-1--
House Wren
--2-
Gray Catbird
3324
Brown Thrasher
--1-
Northern Mockingbird
--1-
Hermit Thrush
11--
Field Sparrow
--1-
Song Sparrow
311-
Swamp Sparrow
313-
Black-and-white Warbler
-1--
Orange-crowned Warbler
--1-
Common Yellowthroat
---2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
836-
Northern Cardinal
-1-2
Painted Bunting
1---



Today's Banding StatsCaptain SamsLittle BearTOTAL
# Birds Banded
30
18
48
# of Recaptures
14
9
23
# of Species
13
12
20
Effort (net-hours)
165.8
100.0
265.8
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)
26.5
27.0
26.7
# of Nets
32
25
57

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats Captain SamsLittle BearTOTAL
# Birds Banded
4003
3102
7105
# of Recaptures
967
648
1615
# of Species
80
85
94
Effort (net-hours)
12984.45
7976.05
20960.50
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)
38.3
47.0
41.6
# of Days7967-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)
Kristin Attinger (LB)
Brittany Holliker (CS)
Matt Hixson (LB)
Camille Blose (CS)
Wentao Yang (LB)
Natalie Miller (CS)

 

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