CAPTAIN SAMS
It has been pretty consistent on the spit, capturing 50-60 birds per day. Today, we captured 57 new birds and 11 recaptures of 11 species. There were small flocks of Yellow-rumped Warblers foraging on wax myrtle berries, not as many as previous days, but new individuals continue to show up each morning. A major cold front arrives this weekend, which should bring more Yellow-rumped Warblers and additional wintering species to the Southeast.
-Michael
LITTLE BEAR
We had the same number of total birds out at Little Bear, but today we had 31 new and 10 recaps of 8 species. Bird activity was highest in the two hours after sunrise and then dropped off significantly after 9am. While yellow-rumps were still our most numerous bird, today we also captured a handful of sparrows! I think you know you're a true bird nerd when you get really excited to see sparrows, and dear readers, we were pretty thrilled to see the sparrows today. 😂 Hopefully they keep coming!
We also had a few interesting recaps today: two older Northern Cardinals, one banded in 2020 and the other in 2021, and a Gray Catbird that was banded out at Captain Sam's on October 29th.
-Liz
| Species | Captain Sams | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Eastern Phoebe | 1 | - | - | - |
Carolina Chickadee | - | 1 | - | - |
Golden-crowned Kinglet | 1 | - | - | - |
Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 3 | 2 | 3 | - |
Northern House Wren | 2 | 1 | - | - |
Gray Catbird | - | - | 3 | 3 |
Hermit Thrush | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
White-throated Sparrow | - | - | 1 | - |
Song Sparrow | 1 | - | 3 | - |
Swamp Sparrow | 1 | - | 1 | 1 |
Western Palm Warbler | 1 | - | - | - |
Myrtle (yellow-rumped) Warbler | 43 | 6 | 19 | 2 |
Northern Cardinal | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| - | - | - | - | |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 57 | 31 | 88 |
| # of Recaptures | 11 | 10 | 21 |
| # of Species | 11 | 8 | 13 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 207.9 | 137.7 | 345.6 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 32.7 | 29.8 | 31.5 |
| # of Nets | 33 | 27 | - |
| 2026 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 4,980 | 2,838 | 7,818 |
| # of Recaptures | 776 | 503 | 1,279 |
| # of Species | 86 | 79 | 101 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 13,221.2 | 9,392.9 | 22,614.1 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 43.5 | 35.6 | 40.2 |
| # of Days | 86 | 79 |
Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)