CAPTAIN SAMS
First time blog author Jasmine Fu here. This is my first season at the Kiawah Island Banding Station, and I am eager for what the season will bring.
Overall, it was a slow and hot day at Captain Sam's. However, a Louisiana Waterthrush visited one of our mist nets. This species is an early migrant, and we do not anticipate catching many more this season, so it was a definitely an exciting bird of the day.
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| Louisiana Waterthrush (after hatch year, sex unknown) |
One of the datapoints we collect on each bird is fat. Bird skin is see-through, so we are able to look at how much fat it has in its furcular hollow (just above the wishbone). Migrant birds will load up on their fat reserves at stopover sites such as Kiawah Island in preparation for their journey to their wintering grounds, which could be as far as South America.
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| Fat deposits on a Prairie Warbler. You can see the yellowish fat forming a V-shape in the furcular hollow of the bird. |
-- Jasmine
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Great-crested Flycatcher | - | 2 | - | - |
White-eyed Vireo | - | 1 | - | - |
Red-eyed Vireo | 2 | - | - | - |
Carolina Chickadee | - | 1 | - | - |
Tufted Titmouse | - | 1 | - | - |
Carolina Wren | - | 1 | - | - |
Louisiana Waterthrush | 1 | - | - | - |
Northern Waterthrush | 4 | - | - | - |
American Redstart | 4 | - | - | - |
Prairie Warbler | 5 | 1 | - | - |
Northern Cardinal | - | 3 | - | - |
Painted Bunting | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 17 | - | 17 |
| # of Recaptures | 11 | - | 11 |
| # of Species | 12 | - | 12 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 141.4 | - | 141.4 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 19.8 | - | 19.8 |
| # of Nets | 33 | - | 33 |
| 2026 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 112 | - | 112 |
| # of Recaptures | 42 | - | 42 |
| # of Species | 20 | - | 20 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 573.7 | - | 573.7 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 26.8 | - | 26.8 |
| # of Days | 4 | - | 4 |
Banding Staff
