The Common Yellowthroat Push

 CAPTAIN SAMS

Although paling in comparison to yesterday's historic numbers today managed to be another eventful day at Captain Sams. We captured 192 birds in total, 165 new and 27 recaptures, and had a fairly busy first few net runs before the numbers started to taper off. Common yellowthroats continue to dominate the bulk of our catch, but gray catbird numbers appear to be picking up. Although we will continue to catch common yellowthroats throughout the season, eventually their numbers will start to dwindle. By that time, it is almost certain that gray catbird numbers will have taken over the majority of our catch. Until that time comes, we will likely continue to see common yellowthroats make up the majority of our captured birds. With north winds continuing tomorrow and Monday, it is almost certain we will continue to catch large quantities of these abundant warblers. It has been an exhausting but extremely rewarding few days for the crew and we hope to continue to catch large quantities of birds before the winds shift and migratory conditions become less favorable. 

-Noah Nei

LITTLE BEAR

As the tide makes more of a presence at Little Bear, a variety of water-loving birds are being seen periodically by our crew! Today at sunrise, we began to hear the familiar rattle of a belted kingfisher close by. Sure enough, after a few net runs we caught one! 

Belted Kingfisher (hatch year)

This shaggy-crested bird is fairly conspicuous when present. If it isn't flying around its waterside habitat emitting the aforementioned distinct rattle call, belted kingfishers can be found on conspicuous perches close to the water, keeping watch for prey. They hunt for small fish by diving headfirst into the water, and grasping (or even piercing) one at a time with their long thick bill. Powder-blue upperparts, white underparts and a blue breast band are features that may help distinguish from similar species. Due to the power of this bird's wings in combination to particularly small legs, bander's grip (pictured above) is the recommended hold for processing as well as photographing this bird to ensure its safety.

-Lisa Viviano

Species	Captain Sams		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Belted Kingfisher	-	-	1	-
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher	1	-	-	-
Traill's Flycatcher	2	-	-	-
White-eyed Vireo	11	3	11	-
Red-eyed Vireo	6	-	5	-
Carolina Chickadee	1	1	-	-
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	1	-	-	-
House Wren	-	-	1	-
Gray Catbird	29	1	12	1
Veery	1	1	1	-
Swainson's Thrush	1	-	-	-
Northern Waterthrush	3	-	1	-
Black-and-white Warbler	1	-	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	89	17	55	3
American Redstart	6	2	9	-
Cape May Warbler	1	-	-	-
Northern Parula	-	-	1	-
Magnolia Warbler	-	-	1	-
Yellow Warbler	4	-	3	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	-	-	-
Palm Warbler (western)	3	-	1	-
Pine Warbler	-	-	1	-
Prairie Warbler	1	1	1	-
Painted Bunting	3	1	3	4

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	165	107	272
# of Recaptures	27	8	35
# of Species	19	16	24
Effort (net-hours)	192	109.2	301.2
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	100.0	105.3	101.9
# of Nets	32	26	58

2024 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	1,672	1,059	2,731
# of Recaptures	347	274	621
# of Species	52	51	65
Effort (net-hours)	5,862.8	3,281.6	9,144.4
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	34.4	40.6	36.7
# of Days	37	28

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Nancy Raginski (CS)

Kristin Attinger (LB)

Natalie Miller (LB)

Lisa Viviano (LB)

Noah Nei (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.