To The Polls We Go

  CAPTAIN SAMS

This morning, Captain Sams was met with strong winds and cooler temperatures. Despite having a relatively slow day with a total of 20 new birds banded and 5 recaptures, we processed a good variety of species including a Blackpoll Warbler, Hermit Thrush, Cape May Warbler, and two White-throated Sparrows!

Blackpoll Warbler (Hatch Year, Unknown sex)

Each year, Blackpoll Warblers migrate an astounding distance to their wintering grounds. Starting from as far North as Alaska, these birds will work their way to the East Coast of the U.S. and make a direct flight  to South America! It can be hard to conceptualize how these small birds manage, flying over the Atlantic Ocean for about 3 days and around 1,800 miles. Luckily, the individual we caught today had a fat score of 5 (highest fat score), so this bird is preparing well for the journey to come.

-Lisa Viviano

LITTLE BEAR

Today started out as another slow and windy day but as soon as the sun burned away the dreary skies we picked up slightly and ended our day with a total of 32 birds (24 new and 8 recaptures). We had many of the common winter species, including an Eastern Phoebe, 15 Yellow-rumped Warblers, and 2 new Swamp Sparrows. We did have 3 new Palm Warblers (western) and 1 new Common Yellowthroat. These species used to be common catches earlier in the season but have since dwindled down drastically.

We also caught another new Painted Bunting today, putting our total for the season at 280! This is a record bunting year for Little Bear and I am excited to see how many we will end up with at the end of the season!

-Natalie

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Eastern Phoebe	-	-	1	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	-	-	-
House Wren	-	1	-	-
Carolina Wren	-	-	-	1
Gray Catbird	6	1	1	4
Hermit Thrush	1	-	-	-
White-throated Sparrow	2	-	-	-
Swamp Sparrow	-	1	2	1
Common Yellowthroat	-	-	1	-
Cape May Warbler	-	1	-	-
Blackpoll Warbler	1	-	-	-
Palm Warbler (western)	-	-	3	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (myrtle)	9	1	15	-
Painted Bunting	-	-	1	2

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	20	24	44
# of Recaptures	5	8	14
# of Species	9	8	14
Effort (net-hours)	176	140.8	316.8
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	14.2	22.7	18.3
# of Nets	32	26	58

2024 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	4,912	3,169	8,081
# of Recaptures	1,073	882	1,955
# of Species	87	86	101
Effort (net-hours)	13,153.4	8,414.6	21,568.0
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	45.5	48.1	46.5
# of Days	80	70

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Kristin Attinger (LB)

Natalie Miller (LB)

Lisa Viviano (CS)

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.