A Sparrow a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

 CAPTAIN SAMS

Today was another busy day at Captain Sams with a total catch of 198 birds, which included almost exclusively newly banded birds (191). We finally are starting to see more Gray Catbirds in the nets, as we managed to catch 45 newly banded catbirds. Common Yellowthroats are still abundant and remain the most captured species. However, things will soon start to change as the majority of yellowthroats pass through coastal South Carolina and their numbers will inevitably be replaced by catbirds. Captain Sams also had an exciting first for the year, a young male Nashville Warbler. This species was notably absent from Captain Sams totals last year but was previously caught in 2022. Since Nashville Warblers do not typically migrate through coastal South Carolina, this capture was an exciting bird for everyone at the station to see.

Nashville Warbler (hatch year, male)

- Noah Nei

LITTLE BEAR

Today was a great day out at Little Bear with 94 total birds (84 new, 14 recaptures). Today was the first day that we caught a substantial number of Gray Catbirds (27 new). Common Yellowthroats still beat them out with 34 new birds, but this is a sign that the composition of species we catch is slowly changing. Within a few weeks catbirds will likely be our most common catch daily while yellowthroats slowly taper off. As a catbird lover I am thrilled to see these birds making more of an appearance, and I am excited for more of them to come through soon!

We also captured a first of the season Savannah Sparrow today. This is a bit early for this bird to be here, but as we creep into October sparrows will soon start to make an appearance. I personally am a huge fan of sparrows so I am excited to see the first sparrow of the season, even if this individual is a bit early! Savannah Sparrows will winter in Mexico, the Caribbean, and the lower half of the United States. These birds do winter in South Carolina, and we will likely catch a few more later in the season.

-Natalie

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	1	-	-	-
Downy Woodpecker	-	1	-	-
White-eyed Vireo	3	-	1	-
Red-eyed Vireo	7	-	3	-
Carolina Wren	-	-	-	1
Gray Catbird	45	-	27	1
Brown Thrasher	-	-	1	1
Veery	1	-	1	-
Swainson's Thrush	6	-	1	-
Savannah Sparrow	-	-	1	-
Ovenbird	-	-	2	-
Northern Waterthrush	2	-	-	1
Black-and-white Warbler	1	-	-	-
Nashville Warbler	1	-	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	80	2	34	1
American Redstart	15	-	5	-
Northern Parula	2	-	-	-
Yellow Warbler	-	-	1	1
Black-throated Blue Warbler	8	-	1	-
Palm Warbler (western)	14	-	-	-
Prairie Warbler	1	-	1	-
Northern Cardinal	-	-	1	1
Blue Grosbeak	1	-	-	-
Indigo Bunting	1	-	-	-
Painted Bunting	1	4	4	4

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	191	84	275
# of Recaptures	7	14	21
# of Species	19	17	22
Effort (net-hours)	179.9	136.5	316.4
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	110.1	71.8	93.6
# of Nets	32	26	58

2024 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	2,660	1,664	4,325
# of Recaptures	555	420	975
# of Species	60	58	73
Effort (net-hours)	7,780.3	4,571.85	12,352.2
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	41.3	45.6	42.9
# of Days	48	40

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Kristin Attinger (LB)

Natalie Miller (LB)

Lisa Viviano (LB)

Noah Nei (CS)

David McLean (CS)

Ann McLean (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.