Slow Days Continue

 CAPTAIN SAMS

We captured 11 new birds and 4 recaptures of 7 different species. We received a small rain shower before opening, but it cleared out in time for banding. I thought we would be able to band a full morning but after the storms dissipated, it became hotter than predicted so we shut down early. Our new birds were mostly warblers, with the exception of the usual painted buntings. Over the past week, we have recaptured the same ovenbird with no fat accumulation, which we would expect to put on fat if it was going to continue its migration south to Florida or the Caribbean. However, the weather is not particularly conducive to migration this week. We have had different ovenbirds overwinter on the Spit the past few years, so we will have to wait and see if this individual does as well. 

-Michael

LITTLE BEAR

Things seem to be picking up ever so slightly, at least at Little Bear, but we are still awaiting a more major push of migratory birds. Until then, we have taken time to better prepare Little Bear and finish doing some cleaning between and around net lanes during the slower parts of the day. Today we banded 24 new individuals and recaptured 8 birds. 

One of my personal favorite birds of the day was a hatch year, female black-throated blue warbler. Oftentimes, especially when observing birds in the field, females are described and appear dull in comparison to their male counterparts. One of the most fulfilling things about banding is being able to observe and study the subtle beauties within plumages that one cannot appreciate fully in the field through binoculars. The female black-throated blue is an incredible example of this as you can see in full detail the mixes of subtle blue tinges interspersed within the olive body plumage as well as the beautiful blue hue of the tail. I could go on, but I figured I'd share a few photos with you so you can see what we get to see! As we wait for the arrival of a large push of migratory songbirds it's nice to take the time to examine the subtle beauties and to really study the plumage of each and every bird while things are slow. 

-Noah Nei

 

Black-throated Blue Warbler (hatch year, female)

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
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	-	1	-	-
Carolina Wren	-	-	-	1
Gray Catbird	-	-	-	1
Northern Mockingbird	-	-	1	-
Ovenbird	1	1	-	-
Northern Waterthrush	-	-	1	-
Black-and-white Warbler	-	-	1	-
Common Yellowthroat	1	-	1	-
American Redstart	2	-	-	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	-	-	1	-
Prairie Warbler	3	-	7	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	2
Painted Bunting	4	1	12	4

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	11	24	35
# of Recaptures	4	8	12
# of Species	7	10	13
Effort (net-hours)	147.2	104.0	251.2
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	10.2	30.8	18.7
# of Nets	32	26	58

2024 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	323	261	584
# of Recaptures	151	104	255
# of Species	28	30	40
Effort (net-hours)	2,874.4	1,301.5	4,175.9
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	16.5	28.0	20.1
# of Days	19	12	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given 

Michael Gamble (CS)

Kristin Attinger (LB)

Natalie Miller (CS)

Lisa Viviano (LB)

Noah Nei (LB)

Nancy Raginski