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.

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

______________________________________
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

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