CAPTAIN SAMS
As predicted, we had an uptick of migration activity last night. We were greeted by the sounds of many migrants (mainly Yellow-rumped Warblers) flying over the banding station as we opened the nets in the dark. Not surprisingly, Yellow-rumped Warblers made up a huge percentage of our catch today with 63 of them. In addition, we captured two returning yellow-rumps that were banded last fall.
We ended the day with 89 new birds and 13 recaptures of 19 different species. The highlight of the day was a Black-throated Green Warbler (BTNW). We don't band that many BTNWs. In fact, in the 16 year history of KIBS, we have only banded 18 prior to today.
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| Black-throated Green Warbler (hatch-year, male) |
Armadillos are a fairly new addition to the fauna of Kiawah Island. They arrived on Kiawah about 10-12 years ago and now are very common and have expanded across the entire island. Because they are mostly nocturnal, you don't see them very often but one was out and about today rooting around the banding area between net 15 and 25 in search of food. It was oblivious to my presence and walked right up to me as it nosed it way though the leaf litter. To compensate for poor vision, armadillos have an excellent sense of smell which they use to help navigate them through their surroundings.
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| Nine-banded Armadillo |
-Aaron
LITTLE BEAR
Today was a slower day than yesterday with only a total of 48 birds banded. We definitely have seen a drop in the amount of Gray Catbirds that are captured. It is nice to see more of our wintering birds show up. We didn't add any new species, but our highlight species for the day was a nice young Cape May Warbler and also an Indigo Bunting. I think overall it was a good day. We watched a bunch of Tree Swallows fly over us, taunting us by just skimming over the tops of our nets but it was still a sight to see.
-Kristin
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Eastern Phoebe | 2 | - | - | - |
Golden-crowned Kinglet | 1 | - | - | - |
Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 1 | - | 4 | - |
White-eyed Vireo | - | 1 | - | - |
House Wren | 1 | - | 3 | - |
Carolina Wren | - | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Gray Catbird | 3 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
Hermit Thrush | 2 | - | 3 | - |
Song Sparrow | 2 | - | 3 | - |
Swamp Sparrow | 4 | - | 3 | 1 |
Northern Waterthrush | - | - | 1 | - |
Orange-crowned Warbler | 2 | - | - | - |
Nashville Warbler | 1 | - | - | - |
Common Yellowthroat | 4 | 1 | 4 | - |
American Redstart | - | - | 1 | - |
Cape May Warbler | - | - | 1 | - |
Northern Parula | - | - | 1 | 1 |
Palm Warbler (Western) | 1 | - | - | - |
Black-throated Blue Warbler | - | 1 | - | - |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) | 63 | 2 | 9 | - |
| Black-throated Green Warbler | 1 | - | - | - |
| Indigo Bunting | 1 | - | 1 | - |
| Painted Bunting | - | - | 1 | - |
| Northern Cardinal | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 89 | 38 | 127 |
| # of Recaptures | 13 | 10 | 23 |
| # of Species | 19 | 16 | 24 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 156.8 | 135.2 | 292.0 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 65.1 | 35.5 | 51.4 |
| # of Nets | 32 | 26 | 58 |
| 2024 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 4,481 | 2,903 | 7,384 |
| # of Recaptures | 966 | 791 | 1,757 |
| # of Species | 85 | 81 | 99 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 11,547.1 | 7,160.8 | 18,707.9 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 47.2 | 51.6 | 48.9 |
| # of Days | 70 | 60 |
Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)Michael Gamble (CS)
Kristin Attinger (LB)
Natalie Miller (CS)
Lisa Viviano (LB)
Noah Nei (LB)
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.
