Saturdays Are For The Saltmarsh Sparrows

CAPTAIN SAMS

We were greeted by the nocturnal flight calls of many thrushes flying overhead this morning.  It was almost a constant stream of calls for about 30 minutes just before dawn.  Most of the calls were Swainson's Thrushes but I was able to pick out a Gray-cheeked Thrush.  With all of that activity in the skies, I thought we were going to be in for a busy morning however that was not the case and only banded 49 birds and had 4 recaptures.  Surprisingly, we only captured two thrushes - a Veery and Wood Thrush.  

We captured the first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the season which seemed a little early for us as their number really start picking up towards the second half of October.  

Ruby-crowned Kinglet (after hatch-year, female)

-Aaron

LITTLE BEAR

Today was a overcast and buggy day out at Little Bear. We caught a good number of birds (46 new and 14 recaptures). Many of the usual characters graced our nets, including Common Yellowthroats (naturally), Gray Catbirds (who are - much to my satisfaction - increasing in number), and Painted Buntings. We had a decent showing of migratory warblers, including a few Cape May Warblers, a Northern Parula, and some Palm Warblers (western subspecies). Notably absent were American Redstarts and Prairie Warblers. While these birds are still around we have started to catch them less frequently as the majority of them have already passed through. We will likely still catch some throughout the month but not at the frequency we were earlier in the season.

In addition to our Western Palm Warblers we also caught the first Yellow Palm Warbler of the season. Western and Yellow Palm Warblers are considered the same species, but the subspecies are separated by their breeding ranges and their plumage characteristics. Yellow Palm Warblers are (as their name suggests) almost completely yellow, whereas the western subspecies is more of a tan/brown color with shadings of yellow in some individuals. We catch a lot less of the yellow subspecies, so it was fun to see one today!

Palm Warbler, yellow subspecies (hatch-year, sex unknown)

We also got our first of the season Saltmarsh Sparrow. These birds breed along the northeastern coast and spend their winters on the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. We usually only catch these birds by target netting them out in the saltmarsh, but Little Bear will occasionally catch them passively as we did today. I really enjoy seeing these birds, especially because I grew up about as far away from the ocean as you can get. 

Saltmarsh Sparrow (hatch-year, sex unknown)

I am excited for the cold front next week! Hopefully in brings in some good birds and chases away these pesky mosquitos!

- Natalie

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Red-Eyed Vireo	1	-	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	2	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	8	3	7	5
Veery	1	-	-	-
Wood Thrush	1	-	-	-
Saltmarsh Sparrow	-	-	1	-
Ovenbird	1	-	-	-
Northern Waterthrush	1	-	-	-
Common Yellowthroat	22	-	16	2
American Redstart	2	-	-	-
Cape May Warbler	-	-	4	-
Northern Parula	-	-	1	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	3	-	-	-
Palm Warbler (western subspecies)	3	-	13	-
Palm Warbler (yellow subspecies)	-	-	1	-
Northern Cardinal	-	-	-	1
Indigo Bunting	2	-	1	-
Painted Bunting	2	1	2	6

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	49	46	95
# of Recaptures	4	14	18
# of Species	13	9	17
Effort (net-hours)	160.0	130.0	290.0
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	33.1	46.15	39.0
# of Nets	32	26	58

2024 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	2,773	1,741	4,513
# of Recaptures	578	446	1,024
# of Species	61	59	75
Effort (net-hours)	8,109.9	4821.85	12,931.75
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	41.3	45.4	42.8
# of Days	50	42

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (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.