CAPTAIN SAMS
It was a humid and foggy morning at Captain Sams and our nets were covered with dew. After shaking them off and opening for the day, we managed to capture 36 birds in total, 7 of which were recaps. Yellow-rumped Warblers continue to make up the majority of our captures with 20 banded today. Although it was slightly slower than yesterday, we had a couple interesting birds. First was a hatch year male Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds winter in coastal South Carolina in small numbers, but November 6th marks the latest date one has been captured at KIBS. We're unable to band hummingbirds because we don't have the special permit and equipment, so we took some measurements and set this guy free.
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| Ruby-throated Hummingbird (hatch year male) |
Another exciting bird was a hatch year male Sharp-shinned Hawk. We can tell this bird is young because it is especially bug-eyed and adorable... just kidding. It has a brown back with rusty-tipped feathers and brown streaking to the breast instead of the dusky blue-gray upperparts and orange breast of adult Sharp-shinned Hawks. It also has a yellow eye instead of the deep red eye that adults have. We can tell its a male because of its small size. Don't be fooled by its dainty nature, however- this bird is a certified bird murderer. This young fella is extra exciting because he is the 100th species of the season captured between both stations.
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| Sharp-shinned Hawk (hatch year male) |
-Olivia
LITTLE BEAR
Today was slightly slower out at Little Bear. We caught a total of 18 birds with 16 new birds and 2 recaps of 8 species. Most of our captures were also Yellow-rumps, just not quite as many as Captain Sams. We also banded 3 Eastern Phoebes and saw a few more hanging around the station and actually heard them singing. It was pretty hot and humid out in the dunes, but a few clouds and a cool breeze helped for some of the morning. Despite it being pretty slow lately, the Yellow-rumps are starting to add up. Last year we ended with 98 for the season, and so far we're up to 147. With a couple of small cold fronts coming up I'm hoping we'll get a small push of birds in our last week and a half maybe with some more yellow-rumps, kinglets, and sparrows.
-Liz
| Species | Captain Sams | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | - | - | - |
Eastern Phoebe | 3 | - | 3 | - |
Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 1 | 1 | - | - |
Gray Catbird | 1 | 1 | - | - |
Northern House Wren | - | - | - | 1 |
House Finch | 2 | - | - | - |
Song Sparrow | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
Swamp Sparrow | - | - | 2 | - |
Common Yellowthroat | - | 1 | 1 | - |
Blackpoll Warbler | - | - | - | 1 |
Western Palm Warbler | - | - | 1 | - |
Yellow Palm Warbler | - | - | 1 | - |
Myrtle (yellow-rumped) Warbler | 20 | 2 | 7 | - |
Northern Cardinal | - | 1 | - | - |
| - | - | - | - | |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 29 | 16 | 45 |
| # of Recaptures | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| # of Species | 9 | 8 | 14 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 167.9 | 134.4 | 302.3 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 19.7 | 13.4 | 17.9 |
| # of Nets | 33 | 28 | - |
| 2026 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 4,594 | 2,666 | 7,260 |
| # of Recaptures | 713 | 462 | 1,175 |
| # of Species | 86 | 76 | 100 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 12,238.5 | 8,683.2 | 20,921.7 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 43.4 | 36.0 | 40.3 |
| # of Days | 81 | 74 |
Banding Staff
