Fall Must Be Near

Something changes in the mind once certain birds begin their arrival here in Florida. It triggers certain expectations and realizations about the world around us. Especially once one understands different patterns such as bird migration.

One of these triggers is the arrival of migratory thrushes. The first non-resident species to arrive at the end of Summer is the Veery. Today we banded our first of the new season and it definitely now is starting to feel more like Fall is almost in reach.



We also got our first Common Yellowthroat of the season. Both of these new migrants were captured in the same net but at different times. This is a net that seems to catch migrants for the most part so it must be in the seasonal travel lane.



There was also a big commotion among the feeding Titmice. We were discussing how we hardly catch any as they are so good at spotting the nets and flying over them. Minutes later we caught THREE in the same net!



We captured our 3rd Louisiana Waterthrush today. At the end of the day we also caught a Northern Waterthrush for a good comparison between the two for all of the volunteers. Check last week's entry for a shot of a Louisiana Waterthrush.



Last banded bird of the day was another migrant. A Red-Eyed Vireo. This bird had recently finished some breakfast and was busy pooping it out all over the place. Most likely Poke Berry. You can see some purple on the feathers of this bird.



Andrew heads up the trail, pruners in hand, to cut some invasives and haul a tire out of the woods. Folks used to dump all sorts of things out here before the property was fenced off years ago and we often find interesting bits of jetsam as we make our rounds.



This set of plants have been clinging onto the river bank for quite some time. We wondered what they were and finally they bloomed. Swamp Lily!



Never noticed any Primrose Willow around here before. Especially unexpected along the dry net lanes.



One more bird as we headed home. Up on a dead tree trunk near the front gate, a juvenile Wood Stork posed for a while before headed off toward the lake.



Definitely a fun day with new species showing up along the way. Time to rest up for next week.

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Next Banding Day: Sunday, September 13th.

We will open nets by 6:30 A.M.