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

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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

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

Migrants are on the Way

Nearing peak migration today, and we started kind of busy and things died down for the rest of the day. Not the big bang we were expecting. With a smaller crew, that was OK.

Will be gathering photos from the volunteers and banders through the week so they will not be loaded until, probably Friday. Andrew is off to Maine for a much needed vacation until then.

Here is a total for today and it looks like next Sunday should get things hopping. Our Tropical storm looks to be turning East, so no worrys for that. We hope to get going Sunday for the main event of full-on migration. Stay tuned!.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	1	2
Common Yellowthroat	4	0	4
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
Northern Parula	2	0	2
Veery	1	0	1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	1	0	1
Totals	10	2	12

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sudayday, October 5th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Quiet, Not Quiet.

Humidity is picking up and the tropics are heating up. Most thinking is that most of the storms will stay way East of us here in Florida. Some rain chances go upby the weekend, but souldn't take away our next day out. Which, BTW, is Saturday for once since Andrew leaves for Maine Sunday.

The day began pretty quiet. Birds in the area were staying in the upper story. We all heard birds flying by early. This is the best weather we have had for a long time. Seems like most migrants were flying by insteading of landing for food. Common Yelowthroats are moving through more now. They usually come through earliler. We had several by the end of the day.



Carolina Wrens are getting active again. Northern Cardinals are loud, but not flying through much.



White-eyed Vireos are local here, but migrants of that species come through right now on their way to the Carribean. You can tell them apart by how much fat they have built up on their trip. All 4 Vireos had a fat score of 3 (the top score) and were all caught in the last hour of the day. We had 3 adults and one juvenile today.



Net 12 was busier than usual today and got us a female Black-and-White Warbler.



There was a real quiet stretch for a bit and then, as Andrew was going to call for closing nets, he hit net 21 and found 6 birds there with others trying to get caught. We ended up with a couple of Tufted Titmice, another White-eyed Vireo, A Carlonia Wren, and another Common Yellowthroat.



Going to band on a rare Saturday since Andrew has to be headed to Maine on Sunday. Migration is picking up and we don't want to miss some good birds. Saturday forecast looks like it will be a good day. Then we will band the next Sunday as usual.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Black and White Warbler	1	0	1
Ovenbird	0	1	1
White-eyed Vireo	4	0	4
Carolina Wren	0	3	3
Tufted Titmouse	2	0	2
Common Yellowthroat	4	0	4
Totals	11	4	15

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Saturday, September 27th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Migrants Picking Up and...SNAKE!

Not a bad September morning. A few good migrants and several visitors. Still waiting for the waters to receed at the end of the lanes, but it might take another week or two before can get out by the lake. We started the morning with an Ovenbird. One of the most seen/heard species this time of year. We caughtt two today. Also hearing Red-eyed Vireos and other migrants.



Common Yellowthroats should have been showing up the last week or so. We did not get any last week. Now, they are beginning to trickle in. This is a juvenile male. We also had an adult female later in the day.



One of our visitors got to release that bird.



Carolina Wrens were hitting the nets, some escaping, and we did get one recapture near the end of the lanes. Another visitor got to release that wriggling bird.



Then our snake. Don't worry. It was not a danger. Someone pulled a folding chair from beneath the table and when it was opened, it contained a rather large Ring-necked Snake. These non-vemonous snakes are common in Florida and are usally found as 1-2 foot individuals. This was closer to 3 feet. Everyone held it for a bit and then released it back into the woods.



We were kind of expecting this bird a week ago, but it is always fun to have our first Thrushes of the year like this Veery. They come through in September and usher in the other Thrushes though the next months.



Our final capture of the day was a Northern Cardinal. As it was brought to the table, some worried it was in some heavy molt. Nope. Just a juvenile male hatched here in the Spring and making its way to adulthood.



No rain on the radar for next Sunday. More migrants should arrive. Fall starts the day after. Yay!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	1	2
Verery	1	0	1
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
Common Yellowthroat	3	0	3
Totals	6	2	8

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 21st.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Session 18 Begins

Welome to the sauna!

Wide spread and hours-long rains last night brought us cooler weather but very wet and drippy conditions as we began our 18th banding session. Damp mornings lead to a quiet few hours before birds want to move around. It gave us some time to spruce up the needed net lane fixes and some trimming. Thanks to the rangers for mowing and removing certain blockages before we got back in business.

We only caught migrants today (not complaining) but the first 'capture' of the morning was a shock. And one of our nightmere thoughts.

Connie called in to report a Great Blue Heron was in the net at the end of the lanes. BTW, that was Net 24. The rains got the river so high, we could not get out to Nets 21 and 26. Might be weeks before we can get out there.

The heron was trapped by its bill. Connie did not want to get too close, opting for a photo before calling for help.



Andrew arrived soon afterward and as he an Connie advanced toward the bird, it began to get aggitated and freed itself and headed for the swamp uninjured. Whew. Can't think of dealing with that deadly bill close up. Great Blues are a formitable predator, eating everything they can catch. Fish, snakes, rats, and even baby alligators. Glad we didn't have to try getting it all the way out.

Soon, we began to get some migrants as the day dried a bit. The most captured species were Ovenbirds. We caught 3 new birds and one recapture.



Our one other migrant was a Northern Waterthrush.



More Fall-like weather is moving in and we hope to get a lot more migrants next week. Thankfully, we have no hurricanes on the horizon during the peak season. Lets get more fun birds from here on out!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	3	1	4
Totals	4	1	5

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 14th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Session 17 Ends

Andrew here. Yep. We are not banding for the month of May. I have 30 days to get all of our stuff out of our house of over 30 years into our new place. Don't feel like I can give up most of Sundays when I should be hauling stuff with the family. So, we will start Session 18 on August 31st. But, we did have some fun birds on our final Sunday.

It was starting slow but then we had a nice surprise. A Great-crested Flycatcher! Better yet, it was a recapture from last year.



Next up were a couple of Carolina Wrens.



Then, a migrant. A female Common Yellowthroat.



Northern Parula are not calling as much these days but they are here mostly feeding their chicks. A pretty male.



Then another female Common Yellowthroat.



As the day wound down we got a very vocal female Downy Woodpecker.



Finally, a female Northern Cardinal.



Thanks to everyone who volunteered and to those who joined us to release some birds and gain some knowledge of banding. See you all on August 31st! Enjoy the toasty, toasty Summer.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Carolina Wren	0	2	2
Downy Woodpecker	1	0	1
Common Yellowthroat	2	0	2
Great-crested Flycatcher	0	1	1
Northern Parula	1	0	1
Totals	5	3	8

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 7th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.