February, 01, 2009

Well, we more than doubled last weeks haul with 5 birds captured. Better than going backwards. I had been predicting that we might get an increase in birds now that everything is singing like it is Spring.

The Carolina Wrens obliged with 2 recaptures. We also had a recaptured and one new Cardinal and a recapture House Wren.

We weren't particularly worried about today's banding as we had bigger plans on our minds. Placing nest boxes. We set up 7 boxes of differing sizes along the trail and will monitor then as the years roll on. There are currently 4 boxes right near the banding table for some easy observation.



Just down the net lane is a nest box in what we think is a Hickory tree.



A rather large box has been placed near the river. Richard calls this a "Raccoon Box".



This box is next to net 12. I have seen many Great-crested Flycatchers in this area during the end of last Summer so maybe we can attract a family of these gregarious birds.



Near the end of the net lane we have a box near the orange trees. It will be interesting to see what shows up here.



When I was first shown this site I knew that I wanted nets right here. There was an existing old nest box on this young oak tree and several Carolina Wrens were all around it as I walked through. We capture many Wrens in this area and there is nesting material in the box already!



The other fun part of monitoring nets in quiet times is discovering plants along the trail and next to the river. Currently blooming just past the net lane is a lot of these plants which I am sure is a Wild Radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) which is a member of the mustard family.



Next weekend we will be giving a banding demonstration at the Orlando Wetland Festival which should be a lot of fun.

Next Banding Day: Sunday, February 8th.
We will open nets around 6:30 A.M.