Ask-a-bander: how often do you recapture birds?

Almost all the birds we recapture at CFMS were originally banded here at the station. About 1% of birds from the current season are recaptured the next year (or later!) at CFMS; those species typically include Black-capped Chickadees, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Hammond’s Flycatchers, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Yellow-rumped Warblers. We’re the farthest north station in North American and it’s very rare that we capture a bird that was originally banded elsewhere; the last time that happened it was a Sharp-shinned Hawk that was originally banded in Nebraska!