Finger-lickin' Good

 CAPTAIN SAMS

The temperature dipped below 70 degrees this morning and there was a "chill" in the air that I have not felt yet this season.  I don't want to jinx it but it sort of felt like fall.  Unfortunately, bird activity slowed way down and we only captured 30 new birds along with 17 recaptures of 14 species.  

Yesterday, we captured a Worm-eating Warbler that had an unfamiliar band sequence and after a long day in the field, I forgot to investigate it.  When I got back to the office today, I submitted the band number to the BBL (Bird Banding Laboratory) and learned that the Worm-eating Warbler was originally banded on Key Biscayne, FL at Bill Baggs State Park on 9/20/2020 by the Cape Florida Banding Station.  The bird was a hatch-year back then which makes this bird 4 years old.  

If you ever find a bird with a band on it, you can report it a www.reportband.gov. 

-Aaron   

LITTLE BEAR

It seems that the big push of birds that have been the theme for the last few days has come to an end. Today we only caught 34 birds (23 new and 11 recaptures). Despite the low numbers out at the station, we still caught some very cool birds! 

We got our first Baltimore oriole of the season. We don't catch a lot of these birds so it is always nice to see them while we can. This particular individual was very pretty hatch-year male. This guy was a bit brighter than most of the hatch-years we catch, so it was fun to see! This was Noah's first time seeing one in the hand, so it was great to get this bird for him!

Baltimore Oriole (hatch-year, male)

Our other special bird of the day (and arguably the best bird we've gotten at Little Bear for the season so far) was a Kentucky warbler! The last time either station caught a Kentucky warbler was way back in 2017. This was only the 2nd Kentucky that Little Bear has ever caught, which is very cool! This individual was a pretty hatch-year male. Kristin has been working here since 2018 and this is the first time she's seen one caught at either station. This is my first time ever seeing one, and I was lucky enough to get to band it. This little guy will soon be on his way south to his wintering grounds in the Caribbean and Central/South America, but we are very glad he stopped by today!

Kentucky Warbler (hatch-year, male)

- Natalie

Species	Captain Sams		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	1	-	-	-
Traill's Flycatcher	-	-	1	-
Eastern Kingbird	-	-	1	-
White-eyed Vireo	1	3	-	-
Red-eyed Vireo	4	2	1	-
Carolina Wren	-	1	1	1
Gray Catbird	-	-	1	-
Baltimore Oriole	-	-	1	-
Ovenbird	2	2	-	-
Northern Waterthrush	1	-	1	4
Black-and-white Warbler	1	-	-	-
Kentucky Warbler	-	-	1	-
Common Yellowthroat	7	2	4	1
American Redstart	6	2	2	1
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	-	-	-
Prairie Warbler	2	-	2	-
Summer Tanager	1	-	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	1
Painted Bunting	3	4	7	4

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	30	23	53
# of Recaptures	17	12	29
# of Species	14	13	19
Effort (net-hours)	163.2	110.5	273.7
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	28.8	31.7	29.95
# of Nets	32	26	58

2024 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	799	629	1,428
# of Recaptures	223	166	389
# of Species	37	43	52
Effort (net-hours)	4054.6	2101.2	6,155.8
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	25.2	37.8	29.52
# of Days	26	19

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Kristin Attinger (LB)

Natalie Miller (LB)

Lisa Viviano (CS)

Noah Nei (LB)

Nancy Raginski (CS)

Note:  All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab.