CAPTAIN SAMS
The radar look pretty decent last night and we heard some migrants flying over as we opened nets but I wasn't quite sure how that would translate to "birds-on-the-ground" as the weather conditions were not in the traditional fashion of a true cold front. We were pleasantly surprised to find many birds in the nets during the first net run and it turned out to be our first big push of migrants of the season. We ended the day with 89 new birds and 6 recaptures of 17 different species. The highlights included our first Veery (2) and Hooded Warbler of the fall. In addition we had good numbers of Common Yellowthroats and Red-eyed Vireos.
Aiden's parents visited the banding station the last two days and they were super helpful especially today when we have almost of 100 birds to extract and process. I'd like to thank them both for helping open and close nets, scribing data, and extract some birds. It made today go very smoothly.
-Aaron
Hooded Warbler (After hatch year, male)
LITTLE BEAR
While not quite as busy as Captain Sams, Little Bear still had its fair share of new arrivals this morning. We ended the day with 48 newly banded birds and 5 recaptures of 14 species. Most of these birds were captured in the first two net runs and then the heat and sun caused a steep drop off in numbers and we closed the nets a little early, as we have been doing lately. Common Yellowthroats made up the bulk of our numbers and after the practice today, Jasmine and I are on our way to becoming COYE aging experts. We were also delighted by a handful of first-of-the-season birds this morning, including a hatch-year female Black-throated Blue Warbler, an after hatch-year male Prothonotary Warbler, three hatch-year Baltimore Orioles, a hatch-year White-eyed Vireo, and a hatch-year Veery. Pictured below is the Veery from today, which we can age as a hatch-year by the presence of buffy tips along the shafts of the greater coverts, which is visible even with the wing closed.
 |
| Veery (Hatch year, sex unknown |
Tomorrow's forecast calls for rain, but we're hoping we can get a window in the morning to get some banding in and hopefully capture more migrants making their way down the coast.
-Olivia
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Downy Woodpecker | - | 2 | - | - |
"Traill's" Flycatcher | 2 | - | - | - |
Great Crested Flycatcher | 1 | - | - | - |
White-eyed Vireo | 4 | - | 1 | - |
Red-eyed Vireo | 18 | - | 2 | - |
Carolina Chickadee | 1 | - | - | - |
Tufted Titmouse | - | 1 | - | - |
Carolina Wren | - | - | - | 1 |
Veery | 2 | - | 1 | - |
Baltimore Oriole | - | - | 3 | - |
Ovenbird | 1 | - | 1 | - |
Worm-eating Warbler | 1 | - | - | - |
Northern Waterthrush | 7 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
Black-and-white Warbler | 1 | - | 2 | - |
Prothonotary Warbler | - | - | 1 | - |
Common Yellowthroat | 37 | - | 26 | - |
Hooded Warbler | 1 | - | - | - |
American Redstart | 7 | - | 2 | - |
Black-throated Blue Warbler | - | - | 1 | - |
Prairie Warbler | - | - | 1 | - |
Northern Cardinal | - | 1 | - | - |
Painted Bunting | 6 | - | 1 | 3 |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 89 | 48 | 137 |
| # of Recaptures | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| # of Species | 17 | 14 | 22 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 155.1 | 91 | 246.1 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 61.3 | 58.2 | 59.75 |
| # of Nets | 33 | 28 | 61 |
| 2026 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 399 | 226 | 625 |
| # of Recaptures | 123 | 80 | 203 |
| # of Species | 30 | 26 | 35 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 2883.7 | 1522.2 | 4405.9 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 18.1 | 20.1 | 19.1 |
| # of Days | 22 | 15 |
Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)