KIBS First: Black-headed Grosbeak!!

 CAPTAIN SAMS

It was another cold morning but it warmed up quickly, and we were lucky to receive a break from the wind of the past week. These weather conditions, along with new migrants filtering into the site, increased our capture rate compared to the past week. We captured 45 new birds and had 22 recaptures of 15 different species. 

With only a week left in the season, we did not expect any more surprises in our nets. However, on the closing net run of the day I found a Black-headed Grosbeak in the last net I had to close. This is the first record of Black-headed Grosbeak on Kiawah Island and a second record for Charleston County! Black-headed Grosbeaks breed in western North America but are occasional vagrants in the East, and they spend the nonbreeding season in Mexico. 

Black-headed Grosbeak (hatch-year, male)

We infrequently catch the more common Blue and Rose-breasted Grosbeak that both breed in the East. Young Black-headed Grosbeaks look very similar to Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, but they can be differentiated by the bright yellow underwings and orange wash to the breast. Like our bird, young males show more orange in the breast and black mottling on the face and wing. 

Black-headed Grosbeak showing the bright yellow under the wing

Black-headed Grosbeak (hatch-year, male)

Black-headed Grosbeak (hatch-year, male)

-Michael

Species	Captain Sams		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	1	-	-	-
Eastern Phoebe	1	1	-	-
Blue-headed Vireo	1	-	-	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	1	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	2	3	-	-
House Wren	-	1	-	-
Gray Catbird	-	3	-	-
Hermit Thrush	-	3	-	-
American Robin	2	-	-	-
Song Sparrow	1	3	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	3	1	-	-
Orange-crowned Warbler	1	-	-	-
Palm Warbler (Western)	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler	31	6	-	-
Black-headed Grosbeak	1	-	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	45	-	-
# of Recaptures	22	-	-
# of Species	15	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	200.0	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	33.5	-	-
# of Nets	32	-	-

2024 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	5,601	3,345	8,946
# of Recaptures	1,420	941	2,361
# of Species	90	87	104
Effort (net-hours)	16,462.4	9,541.6	26,004.0
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	42.6	44.9	43.5
# of Days	99	80

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (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.