No Banding 01/19/25

Suppose to rain all day. Weird weather this Winter...

Will try again next week.

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 26th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

No Banding 01/12/25

Wind chills are going to feel in the 30s. Getting old and intolerant of cold.

Next Sunday is forecast to be warmer.

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 19th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Happy New Year!

Our fisrt Sunday of 2025 was greeted by chilly temperatures and a bunch of recaptures. The sounds of American Robins filled the air until they were briefly replaced by a huge flock of American and Fish Crows.

Our first bird of the morning was a Hermit Thrush. A second one was brought in later in the day.



Gray Catbirds are pretty scarce right now so it was nice to get a recaptured one that was first banded a couple years ago.



Surprisingly, our only new bird was a male Northern Cardinal. Thought we caught them all already!



Checking the nets by the lake got us a nice sighting of a family of Otters. They were very curious of us and played around in the river for a while.



The day also got us a couple recaptured Carolina Wrens.



Next Sunday is suppose to be cold as well. We may just sleep in. Stay tuned.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	0	2	2
Gray Catbird	0	1	1
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Hermit Thrush	0	2	2
Totals	4	8	12

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 29th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

No Banding December 29th

Storms in the forecast. And I need sleep...

Permit is extended through 2028. More work to do.

Happy New Year!

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

Odd Day

There can be mornings where we will catch birds all in the first couple of hours or have them spread out throughout the morning. Today was odd as we had half our birds right at dawn and then the other half as we were preparing to close up.

The other odd thing was that the first half of birds were all recaptures, like the 3 Carolina Wrens we processed.



Two recap Northern Cardinals joined the tally.



Then a recaptured Hermit Thrush.



The juvenile White-eyed Vireo that we first banded last week decided to drop in for another visit.



Then things grew way too quiet for the next 2 plus hours until, out at the newly placed Net 26 near the lake, a female Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler joined the crew.



Next, we got a female Ruby-crowned Kinglet.



Just as we were preparing to close up, a family of Tufted Titmice swarmed Net 15 and 3 were brought in. There was one recaptured and two new birds.



So, fun then boring then fun. Never know how these Winter weekends will go. We do plan to be out next Sunday but there is a chance we could get rained out. Be sure to check the blog before you decide to join us on the 29th.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	0	3	3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	0	1
Tufted Titmouse	2	1	3
Northern Cardinal	0	2	2
Hermit Thrush	0	1	1
Yellow-rump (Myrtle) Warbler	1	0	1
White-eyed Vireo	0	1	1
Totals	4	8	12

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 29th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Picked up Before Christmas.

A little busier today. Hope it stays that way since this is going to be the first December we can band all Sundays since the holidays happen in the middle of the week.

Our first bird was a recaptured Northern Cardinal. In the poor light it was difficult to read the band numbers. We all need new glasses...



We caught a couple of Hermit Thrushes today.



Eastern Phoebes were very active this morning. We ended up with three of them.



A fiesty male Common Yellowthroat was next. He kept nipping at fingers and trying to get the camera lenses.



It has been a while since we have had a White-eyed Vireo. This one is a juvenile. You can tell because the iris is not white yet.



House Wrens are moving around a little more right now.



We caught Carolina Wrens, too.



Two Yellow-rumped Warblers were chasing one another near the lake and both were caught. One was a bird we banded just last week.



Andrew decided to set a new net closer to the lake along the river. It was not long before we caught a Swamp Sparrow. A bit later we also had one of the 3 Phoebes.



Now that the new net will be up the same time as the others at dawn, hopefully we can get even more birds out by the lake.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	1	1	2
House Wren	1	0	1
Eastern Phoebe	3	0	3
Northern Cardinal	0	1	1
Hermit Thrush	2	0	2
Yellow-rump (Myrtle) Warbler	1	1	2
White-eyed Vireo	1	0	1
Swamp Sparrow	1	0	1
Common Yellow-throat	1	0	1
Totals	11	3	14

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 15th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Back After Our Unexpected Delay

We were finally able to get back out and band again. This time of year is fairly quiet and instead of getting most of our birds right after dawn, they were spread out until the end.

Our first bird of the day was a recaptured Carolina Wren. We caught another unbaded one later in the morning.



Then we got our first migrant, a new Hermit Thrush.



Next, a female Northern Cardinal



Mid-morning, we captured a House Wren.



The ladies were checking nets and saw what they thought was a leaf in one. Nope. A female Ruby-crowned Kinglet.



As we were closing nets, we captured two more migrants. A male Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle sub-species)...



...and a Western Palm Warbler.



Hearing other species around the property so perhaps next Sunday we can get some of them. Flicker would be nice...

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	1	1	2
House Wren	1	0	1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	0	1
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Hermit Thrush	1	0	1
Yellow-rump (Myrtle)Warbler	1	0	1
Western Palm Warbler	1	0	1
Totals	7	1	8

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 15th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Trying to get back out there soon.

While we were waitng for the site to be cleared, there was an unexpected event in my Life. My Mother passed of sudden but Natural Causes on October 21st. Spent a month an a half traveling between Largo and Jacksonville seeing her before she passed and clearing out here belongings. It has been a rough 2 months.

We definitely missed the best banding of the year. The rangers have cleared almost all of the Milton mess and the floooding is gone. We just need to tidy up a few things like new strings and resetting a couple of poles. We are planning our next banding morning on December 8th. With the holidays falling in the middle of the weeks we should have 4 Sundays in the next month to get some fresh air and see what birds have stuck around for the Winter.

We look forward to seeing one another after a long Fall of grief.

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 8th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

No Banding October 13th...or Ever?

Milton did a number on the banding site. Will post photos later. Many trees are blockng the lanes and it may take weeks for things to be put back in order.

No banding this Sunday or into the foreseeable future. Rangers will be required to clear lanes but the park is surely flooded and they will have things to clear on their side first.

Disappointed to miss a lot of this season. Is what it is.

Feels sad to hear a lot of migrating birds as I walk the swamped site knowing we could be catching birds and doing citizen science. Nothing we can do. Just keeping us safe for the time being.

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, Whenever.
All nets will be opened by Sometime A.M.

No Banding October 6th. Storms Before the Hurricane.

Weather patterns are very unstable and could bring rain as early as dawn and through the day. Humidity is still very high and migrants do not seem to be in the area much.

No banding this Sunday.

Be very prepared for a possible major hurricane mid-week. Major is Cat 3 and beyond coming through Tampa to Orlando as of tonight's report.

Depending on the damage, we could be out of commition for a bit. Stay tuned and stay safe!

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 13th.
All nets will be opened by 7:10 A.M.