Where Did Everyone Go?

Birds are still flowing through Texas and not so much here. It was a very quiet day, but we had a couple of nice birds join us today.

We started off with a couple of Carolina Wrens. One new bird and one recapture.



A Green Heron has been hanging around the end of the lanes for a couple weeks and finally hit the nets. We don't band waders (our permit does not include them) so we release them unharmed back into the marsh.



Our only other bird of the day was a female Black-and-White Warbler.



Our new visitor, Michelle, got to release the warbler. Even though it was slow day for us, but it was a thrill for her to make contact with a couple of birds. It felt disapointing to us due the lack of birds, she was in awe of handling a live wild bird. Sometimes we forget how special it is to interact with Nature. She made us remember how this connection is so amazing.



Weather is wandering back and forth right now. Chilly to back to warmer Florida next weekend. Hoping for more catches.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Black-and-White Warbler	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	1	0	1
Green Heron	1	0	1
Carolina Wren	1	1	2
Totals	4	1	5

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 16th.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

Pretty Quiet, but a Couple of Birds of Note

A very quiet morning. Nothing but locals calling for a while. Did all the migrants fly right past us? Feels like it.

As we waited for sunrise, several people wondered about the next bird to arrive. On schedule, it did.

Our first Hermit Thrush of the season was captured a bit later. "Tail, tail, tail." The rufus tail feather confirm this bird.



Only a couple of Gray Catbirds were calling and we only ended up with two.



Two House Wrens, also. Some are still singing.



Two Common Yellowthroats, an adult male and an adult female.



We haven't caught Swamp Sparrows since we first set up Net 26 since last December. We caught two today in Net 14, much farther up the river than usual.



Weather and migration has been weird this year. Who knows what we catch next week as cold fronts shift in and out for a while.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Hermit Thrush	1	0	1
Swamp Sparrow	2	0	2
House Wren	2	0	2
Common Yellowthroat	2	0	2
Gray Catbird	2	0	2
Totals	9	0	9

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 9th.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

Oddly Quiet, But a Nice Variety

Something seemed off. Traffic was really busy at 6 AM. Not normalfor a Sunday anytime. Things were too quiet in the lanes for most of the morning. There was a front approaching, but that was not to get to us until the afternoon. Just felt...weird. However, we did have an OK day with some variety along the way.

Common Yellowthroats are still moving through, like this juvenile male.



Finally got a Black-throated Blue Warbler today. This is a juvenile male. You can tell by the white specks on its throat.



Eastern Phoebes were heard around this morning and we were fortunate to catch one of them as the winds picked up.



We were really surprised that we got a Wood Thrush. It was smack in the middle of the lanes at Net 1.



Another Common Yellowthroat of the 5 caught today. This is an adult male.



House Wrens are actually singing their Spring songs for some reason. We got 2 of them this day.



Western Palm Warblers have been seen all over the Central Florida lately. Now, we are starting to see them here at the banding area.



Rounding out the morning was a late-ish Swainson's Thrush. They usually come in before the other Thrushes. Will take it.



Going to be a bit chillier this weekend for the first weekend of November (!). Hope the Buntings swing back. Should be hearing Robins soon!

Note: Daylight Saving Time ends! Set your clocks BACK an hour to be sure you arrive on time.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Swainson's Thrush	1	0	1
Wood Thrush	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	1	0	1
House Wren	2	0	2
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	0	1
Common Yellowthroat	5	0	5
Eastern Phoebe	1	0	1
Western Palm Warbler	1	0	1
Totals	13	0	13

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 2nd.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

A Couple of Interesting Catches

A cool morning. Still wearing light jackets as we set up. We were hoping for a wave of Indigo Bunting, but that never really turnded up. We did get 2 feamles and they were calling up and down the river. Maybe next week.

Gray Catbirds were still present in good numbers, yeilding 7 of them.

We finally caught a late arrival of a Black-throated Blue Warbler. Usually get them a bit earlier.



A couple of House Wrens were caught today.



Finally, a new Swainson's Thrush arrived a bit later than usual.



Several Common Yellowthroats were caught. One adult and two juvenile males.



Northern Cardinals have been very vocal but evading nets. Until this ragged male was caught in Net 7.



A few other birds were processed. An Ovenbird and an Eastern Phoebe that was calling all morning and finally hit a net.

We were closing up for the day and got our best bird right at the end. An adult Red-bellied Woodpecker! We usually catch juvenile woodpeckers out of the nests in the Spring, so this was a nice surprise to get an adult here in the Fall.



Birds are going to move back and forth through the country as a high closes in. At least it should push Melissa back away from us. How many new birds show up in Orlando? We shall see.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Swainson's Thrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	6	1	7
House Wren	2	0	2
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
House Wren	2	0	2
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	0	1
Northern Cardinal	0	1	1
Common Yellowthroat	3	0	3
Indigo Bunting	2	0	2
Eastern Phoebe	1	0	1
Red-bellid Woodpecker	1	0	1
Totals	19	1	20

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 26th.
All nets will be opened by 7:15 A.M.

Peak Happening Late

Peak Migration is happening a couple weeks late. Climate Change? I am no expert. Catbirds used to hit in force on Octoboer 1st. Now we are back to the 12th. A few were coming through in small numbers, but today was as if they were everywhere. They joined other migrants and locals as you will see below.

We had a nice cool blast to start the morning. Low 60s. We started the day with our first Indigo Bunting of the season. A young female. We also caught another adult female later.



Gray Catbirds ruled the count today with 9 birds. They typically hit on the 1st. We have been hearing a couple hear and there, but this is the first big rush through the area. One new volunteer showed up to release one of them.



House Wrens are showing up in bigger numbers, too.



It has been quite a while since we captured a Belted Kingfisher. This lady found Net 18 early on. Warning: they bite. HARD.



One of our 2 recaps was a female Northern Cardinal.



The second recap was a Common Yellowthroat and another new one.



We thought all of the Northern Waterthrushes were gone. Still got one and heard several during the day.



It is always nice to get a Gray-cheeked Thrush. This is the brief time in the season to find them here as they migrate through quickly



Ovenbirds are always a cute addition to the day.



Finally, we caught a recap Carolina Wren. They have been calling like crazy, but not moving through the lanes much.



Looks like the fronts are shifting. The bigger flow of birds might head down Texas instead of the East coast. We shall see what happens next Sunday.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Gray-Cheeked Thrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	2	0	2
Gray Catbird	9	0	9
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
House Wren	2	0	2
Belted Kingfisher	1	0	1
Northern Cardinal	0	1	1
Common Yellowthroat	2	0	2
Indigo Bunting	2	0	2
Totals	21	2	23

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 19th.
All nets will be opened by 7:15 A.M.

Peak? Maybe not.

Rain was supposed to happen then it fell apart. So, we headed out to see what the situation was. It was a steady day. Not spectacular. Ranger Julian finnaly made it out with a couple of friends and we got to show them the workings of banding through the day. Only one Catbird on peak Catbird day. Oh, well. Climate is definitely changing migration, no matter what some are saying. Should have 20 Catbirds on the first week of October.

Still some action. Mostly Yellowthroats, but some nice surpizes. We did start with a female Common Yellowthroat

.

Through the day we caught others. Like an adult male Common Yellowthroat



And close out witha juvenile male Common Yellowthroat



White-eyed Vireos are local but they also come through as migrants. When they do, they are full of stored fat and keep moving down to the Carribian. This was the case for this brid and another we will show in a bit.



Gray Catbirds are usually very common this time of year. It used to signal the peak of migration for us. However, we only caught one today. Next week looks better for migration.



Another White-eyed Vireo, again, loaded up with fat to make the journey to the South.



Got an Ovenbird along the way.



Julian made it over today with a couple of friends and they got to release few birds during the morning.



We caught our first returning House Wren of the season, This bird was first banded in the Spring of this year. Coming back to stay for the Winter.



American Redstarts are calling in the upper story of the trees and we caught a beautiful feamle today.



An unexpected Brown Thrasher was caught at Net 24. They usually stay near the table, but this juvenile was down by the marsh.



A nice day with 18 birds. Next week looks to be the big day, accordinging to the projections. Let's do it!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Brown Thrasher	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	1	0	1
White-eyed Vireo	2	0	2
American Restart	1	0	1
House Wren	0	1	1
Common Yellowthroat	10	1	11
Totals	17	1	18

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 12th.
All nets will be opened by 7:10 A.M.