Cuckoo for Rain!

 CAPTAIN SAMS

Another slow and steady morning, but despite the rain we had a good species turnout! Today Captain Sams caught its FOS great crested flycatcher and (my personal favorite) a yellow-billed cuckoo! 

Yellow-billed Cuckoo (hatch year, unknown sex)

When they are referenced in literature, often the first thought that comes up may have something to do with clocks (or you know, going "cuckoo" for something), but you may be surprised to know that the yellow-billed cuckoo is also colloquially known as the "rain crow"! Yellow-billed cuckoos will generally let out a "croak" call in response to loud noises, but in Southern folklore they were believed to predict or indicate a storm, as they are often preceded by thunder.

-Lisa Viviano

LITTLE BEAR

It was a bit of a slower day out at Little Bear, with 13 new birds and 9 recaptures. The day started out cloudy and it wasn't long before a light drizzle came down upon the station. Luckily it didn't last long and was very light! We had most of the usual species today, including northern cardinals, painted buntings, and Carolina wrens. 

We did have one new species for the season, an eastern kingbird! It is always exciting to catch these guys because they are early migrants and will soon be on their way to their wintering grounds down in South America. This particular individual was a hatch year. These guys can actually be aged by the presence or absence of orange feathers in their crown. Adults of both sexes will have this orange splotch on their head when you blow on the feathers, but young birds won't get them until their second year. 

I am excited to see what else we catch this season! I have seen several herons hanging around the station so hopefully we catch one soon.  

Eastern Kingbird (hatch year, unknown sex)

-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	-	-	-
Great Crested Flycatcher	1	-	-	-
Eastern Kingbird	-	-	1	-
White-eyed Vireo	-	1	-	-
Red-eyed Vireo	1	-	-	-
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	3	1	-	-
Carolina Wren	-	-	1	2
Ovenbird	-	-	1	-
Northern Waterthrush	3	-	2	-
Black-and-white Warbler	1	-	2	-
Common Yellowthroat	1	-	-	-
American Redstart	2	-	-	-
Prairie Warbler	3	-	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	-	3	1
Painted Bunting	1	5	3	6

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	17	13	30
# of Recaptures	7	9	16
# of Species	11	7	15
Effort (net-hours)	153.6	106.65	260.25
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	15.6	20.6	17.7
# of Nets	32	26	58

2024 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	225	127	352
# of Recaptures	102	43	145
# of Species	27	19	32
Effort (net-hours)	1,546.4	510.8	2,057.2
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	21.1	33.3	24.2
# of Days	9	4	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble

Kristin Attinger (LB)

Natalie Miller (LB)

Lisa Viviano (CS)

Noah Nei