January 25, 2009

I would say it was quiet but there were actually a large amount of birds calling all over the area today. Seems like it is almost Spring for these creatures. However, there were not many birds flying low enough for capture. We only managed to capture 2 birds this morning.

A bird escaped from Net 14 early in the morning but it could have been the first bird we banded just a half an hour later. A beautiful Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Any doubt that this is a male?



Later on, we recaptured a female Northern Cardinal. I almost escaped getting bitten but she did find a piece of my inner pinky finger just before I got her out of the net.



As the morning drew to a close, I noticed a patch of bird droppings along the path. Looking up, I found a Barred Owl roosting in the oak branches fairly high overhead. There is also a lot of scat up and down the net lanes. Maybe we will get to see the suspected Bobcat as we head into the year.



Next Banding Day: Sunday, February 1st.
We will open nets around 6:30 A.M.

January 11, 2009

Cold front is approaching and it seems the number of birds is down a bit from last week. However, we did manage to catch out first Blue Headed Vireo at this new banding location. Hermit Thrushes were out right at dawn. We captured two.

A bit later, though, we caught a new bird for this banding site. Before showing everyone what it is, Andrew weighs the bird in the bag for the records.



Here is the new bird: our first Blue-headed Vireo!



Another view of this beautiful bird.



We recaptured a Ruby-crowned Kinglet banded here a few weeks ago before the morning was over. The totals for the day are listed below.



Next Banding Day: Sunday, January 25th.
We will open nets around 6:30 A.M.

Volume Begins to Increase

Hello!

Our first post on this new site actually containing information about what we banded. The New Year has provided a few new birds as compared to the last few weeks.

We recaptured a number of birds today including our sole banded Brown Thrasher.



We also captured a Hermit Thrush.



Add a Ruby-crowned Kinglet to the mix.



The feistiest of the day was this male Northern Cardinal. Seems he likes to be horizontal!

New Year, New Location

New location for the website, at least. Check back later for the first updates to the Wekiva banding site.

Next banding day is Sunday, January 4th. Nets will be opened beginning approximately 6:30 AM.