FOS Northern House Wren

CAPTAIN SAMS

Today was "slow" compared to yesterday, but we still enjoyed a very solid day of 90 birds! We banded 73 birds and had 17 recaptures, from 12 different species. We also caught a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, though we don't actually put bands on them at KIBS. We had one first of season: House Wren! Otherwise, today was heavy on the Common Yellowthroats, which seem to be old reliable at this point! I am really enjoying the Palm Warblers (from the Western subspecies) that we have been getting lately, as I have only banded the Yellow more eastern subspecies before and generally only see the Yellow Palm Warblers in my area. The Western birds may be considered more drab than their Yellow counterparts, but I think they are really beautiful with their more subtle yellow feathers! 

Western Palm Warbler, hatch year

- Camille 

LITTLE BEAR

Today was much slower than yesterday even though the weather conditions and coastal bird movement were similar. However, the northeast winds were slightly stronger last night, which could have pushed birds further inland. We ended the morning with 47 new birds and 9 recaptures of 10 different species. 

The highlight of the morning was Little Bear's first Blackpoll Warbler. Blackpoll Warblers are transatlantic migrants, and we usually catch them when there are storms off the coast that push them onto land. They hold the record for the longest overwater flight for a songbird, flying nonstop for up to 3 days covering over 1,800 miles over the Atlantic Ocean to reach their nonbreeding grounds in Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles, and northern South America. Blackpoll Warblers breed from eastern to western Canada. The western Canadian birds have longer wings since they have to fly the farthest from western Canada to their nonbreeding grounds. Longer wings may allow them to fly faster and more efficiently to reach their nonbreeding grounds. 

Blackpoll Warbler (after hatch year, female)

-Michael

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Traill's Flycatcher	1	-	-	-
White-eyed Vireo	-	2	-	-
Red-eyed Vireo	2	1	1	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	-	-	1
House Wren	1	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	2	-	1	-
Common Yellowthroat	53	7	21	2
American Redstart	4	1	1	2
Yellow Warbler	1	-	3	1
Blackpoll Warbler	-	-	1	-
Western Palm Warbler	6	-	11	-
Prairie Warbler	1	1	2	-
Northern Cardinal	-	1	-	-
Painted Bunting	2	4	6	3

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	73	47	120
# of Recaptures	17	10	27
# of Species	12	10	14
Effort (net-hours)	182.4	140.0	322.4
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	49.3	40.7	45.6
# of Nets	32	28	60

2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	1,665	956	2,621
# of Recaptures	239	210	449
# of Species	51	48	61
Effort (net-hours)	5542.1	3736.8	9278.8
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	34.4	31.2	33.1
# of Days	37	30

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (LB)

Arden Schneider (CS)

Camille Beckwith (CS)

Jeremiah Sullivan (LB)

Amy Nickerson (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.