Return of the Blackpolls

 CAPTAIN SAMS

63 birds were banded today and 15 were recaptured. We processed our first of season Bay-breasted Warbler, Myrtle Warbler and Tree Swallows.

No Blackpoll Warblers yesterday, but they emerged again today on our last net round. These birds probably had to circumvent the storms that formed nearby in the Atlantic.

Here are some Blackpoll wing pictures we took from Captain Sam's today and Little Bear 2 days ago.

Top: Blackpoll Warbler (after hatch year, male)
Bottom: Blackpoll Warbler (after hatch year, female)

The above picture shows two after hatch year (1+ year old) Blackpoll Warblers. They do not have any alula limits. Primary coverts look broad, black and dense.

Blackpoll Warbler (after hatch year, male)

As shown above, the outer tail feathers of an after hatch year Blackpoll Warbler can look quite broad with square tips.

Blackpoll Warbler (hatch year, unknown)

In contrast, the above picture shows a hatch year (less than 1 year old) Blackpoll Warbler with a limit between the alula covert (A1) and the other alula feathers. The carpal covert is the same generation as the alula covert, so they share the same dark color. Primary coverts look tapered and more translucent than after hatch year birds.

— Jasmine

LITTLE BEAR

Today was a little slower than yesterday out at Little Bear. We had 44 birds with 37 new and 7 recaptures of 17 species. There were more birds around than were ending up in the nets, with some small flocks of Palm Warblers and more Kingfishers flying around. A lovely adult male American Redstart was hanging out and foraging by the table but unfortunately, he did not make his way into a net. Most of the excitement came in the first round today with another Green Heron! After weeks of patiently waiting, Aiden finally got to band this one!

-Liz 

Species	Captain Sam's		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Green Heron	-	-	1	-
Downy Woodpecker	-	1	-	-
Eastern Wood-Pewee	1	-	-	-
Eastern Phoebe	1	-	-	-
White-eyed Vireo	1	2	1	-
Red-eyed Vireo	1	-	-	-
Carolina Chickadee	-	2	-	1
Tree Swallow	6	-	-	-
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	1	-	1	-
Northern House Wren	3	-	1	-
Gray Catbird	5	4	5	1
Veery	1	-	-	-
Swainson's Thrush	4	-	-	-
Northern Waterthrush	-	-	2	1
Black-and-white Warbler	1	-	1	-
Common Yellowthroat	8	5	7	2
American Redstart	1	1	1	-
Cape May Warbler	1	-	2	-
Northern Parula	5	-	1	-
Bay-breasted Warbler	1	-	-	-
Blackpoll Warbler	3	-	1	-
Black-throated Blue Warbler	9	-	1	-
Western Palm Warbler	6	-	10	-
Myrtle Warbler	1	-	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	-	-	1
Painted Bunting	-	-	2	1

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	63	37	100
# of Recaptures	15	7	22
# of Species	24	17	-
Effort (net-hours)	182.7	134.4	317.1
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	42.7	32.7	38.5
# of Nets	36	28	64

2026 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	3,245	1,768	5,013
# of Recaptures	452	191	643
# of Species	67	60	81
Effort (net-hours)	8,116.5	5,462.6	13,579.1
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	45.5	35.9	41.7
# of Days	54	46

Banding Staff

Aaron Given (CS)

Michael Gamble (CS)

Liz Held (LB)

Olivia DeMarchi (LB)

Jasmine Fu (CS)

Aiden Gifford (LB)

Van Truong (CS)

Nick Schleissmann (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.