CAPTAIN SAMS
It was a slower morning but we had a good diversity of species. We captured 84 new birds and 6 recaptures of 23 species, which included 13 species of warbler. The highlights of the morning were a first-of-the-season Brown Thrasher, Pine Warbler, and Summer Tanager. We also captured a first for Captain Sams Wilson's Warbler, which is not a common capture during the fall.
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| Summer Tanager (hatch year, male) |
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| Pine Warbler (hatch year, male) |
-Michael
LITTLE BEAR
This was our busiest day of the season so far! We banded 88 new birds and had 3 recaptures, with an awesome diversity of 20 different species. For the first time this season, Little Bear managed to catch one more bird than Captain Sams. A definite highlight for the day was catching a Bobolink! They are incredible birds!! Bobolinks are one of only two North American species that undergo two complete definitive molts (the other being the Franklin's gull); one reason for this being that Bobolinks migrate incredibly long distances. Male Bobolinks molt out of their striking dark alternate plumage (sort of resembling a backwards tuxedo), into a lighter Buffy brownish with streaking, looking just like the females. Bobolinks used to be called Ricebirds because of their diet of rice and other grains during migration and on their wintering grounds; they used to be considered pests because of their foraging of these grain fields.
The Scarlet Tanager was a lovely highlight for me too, as well as enjoying another Worm-eating Warbler! We also finally had an adult male Painted Bunting that was a bit farther along in its molt and didn't look quite as disheveled.
- Camille
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| After hatch year male Bobolink |
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| After hatch year male Painted Bunting |
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Downy Woodpecker | - | - | 1 | - |
Eastern Wood-Pewee | - | - | 1 | - |
Acadian Flycatcher | - | - | 1 | - |
Traill's Flycatcher | 1 | - | - | - |
White-eyed Vireo | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Red-eyed Vireo | 8 | - | 5 | - |
Carolina Chickadee | - | - | - | 1 |
Brown Thrasher | 1 | - | - | - |
Gray Catbird | - | 1 | - | - |
Veery | - | - | 2 | - |
Swainson's Thrush | 1 | - | - | - |
Yellow-breasted Chat | 1 | - | 1 | - |
Bobolink | - | - | 1 | - |
Ovenbird | 1 | - | 1 | - |
Worm-eating Warbler | - | - | 1 | - |
Northern Waterthrush | 1 | - | 5 | - |
Black-and-white Warbler | 1 | - | - | - |
Common Yellowthroat | 37 | 1 | 50 | - |
American Redstart | 8 | 1 | 3 | - |
| Cape May Warbler | 2 | - | - | - |
| Magnolia Warbler | 2 | - | - | - |
| Yellow Warbler | - | - | 2 | - |
| Chestnut-sided Warbler | 2 | - | - | - |
| Black-throated Blue Warbler | 3 | - | - | - |
| Western Palm Warbler | 3 | - | 3 | - |
| Pine Warbler | 1 | - | - | - |
| Prairie Warbler | 2 | - | 1 | - |
| Wilson's Warbler | 1 | - | - | - |
| Summer Tanager | 1 | - | - | - |
| Scarlet Tanager | - | - | 1 | - |
| Northern Cardinal | - | 1 | 1 | - |
| Painted Bunting | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 84 | 88 | 172 |
| # of Recaptures | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| # of Species | 23 | 20 | 32 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 192.0 | 159.6 | 351.6 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 46.9 | 57.1 | 51.5 |
| # of Nets | 32 | 28 | 60 |
| 2025 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 1,206 | 701 | 1,907 |
| # of Recaptures | 197 | 158 | 355 |
| # of Species | 49 | 43 | 57 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 4,713.3 | 3,012.8 | 7,726.1 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 29.8 | 28.5 | 29.3 |
| # of Days | 32 | 25 |
Banding Staff
Aaron Given (LB)Michael Gamble (CS)
Liz Held (LB)
Arden Schneider (CS)
Camille Beckwith (LB)
Jeremiah Sullivan (CS)
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.
