CAPTAIN SAMS
Today was another humid, foggy morning at Captain Sams. Our nets were quite wet during our opening run, still soaked from yesterdays rain. We had a fairly productive day today capturing a total of 51 birds (38 newly banded and 13 recaptures). As has been the trend throughout the last several days, Yellow-rumped Warblers have made up the bulk of our daily catch again. Notable species included an Ovenbird and Black-throated Blue Warbler recapture, both of which were originally banded just a few days ago.
- Noah Nei
LITTLE BEAR
Today was a little better than what we have been capturing. We ended our day with a total of 38 birds and only 10 of them were recaptures. To our surprise, we captured a new Northern Cardinal! I figured we have captured all the ones hanging around the station, but this one must have been a traveling friend or a local that has avoided the nets for a decent time. We didn't add any new species but it was nice to see a decent amount of Swamp Sparrows Myrtle Warblers in the net.
Our highlight of the day was before the station was even opened. We arrived to our parking spot with a lovely guest waiting for us. I have not yet seen one in the wild and one has not been recently reported on Kiawah. It was in fact a Barn Owl! I was so excited to watch in sit on an unoccupied nest box. I'm hoping this one sticks around on Kiawah for a while and be a common bird to see. Here is a photo of our wonderful friend.
Fun fact, just this year they split the Barn Owl into 3 species; American Barn Owl (found in the Americas), Eastern Barn Owl (found in South Asia to Australia) and Western Barn Owl (found in Europe, Africa, and western Asia)
-Kristin
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Downy Woodpecker | - | 1 | - | - |
Eastern Phoebe | 1 | - | - | - |
Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 1 | - | 2 | - |
House Wren | - | 1 | - | - |
Carolina Wren | - | - | - | 1 |
Gray Catbird | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Hermit Thrush | 1 | - | - | - |
White-throated Sparrow | 1 | - | - | - |
Song Sparrow | - | - | 2 | 2 |
Swamp Sparrow | - | 1 | 6 | 1 |
Ovenbird | - | 1 | - | - |
Black-throated Blue Warbler | - | 1 | - | - |
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle Subspecies) | 31 | 5 | 12 | 2 |
Northern Cardinal | - | - | 1 | - |
Painted Bunting | 1 | - | 4 | - |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 38 | 28 | 66 |
| # of Recaptures | 13 | 10 | 23 |
| # of Species | 12 | 8 | 15 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 172.8 | 132.6 | 305.4 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 29.5 | 28.65 | 29.1 |
| # of Nets | 32 | 26 | 58 |
| 2024 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 4,990 | 3,220 | 8,210 |
| # of Recaptures | 1,113 | 905 | 2,018 |
| # of Species | 87 | 86 | 101 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 13,626.0 | 8,769.6 | 22,395.6 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 44.8 | 47.0 | 45.7 |
| # of Days | 83 | 73 |
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.
