Nice to be Back

Has it really been a month? So nice to be back out to see what be flying through after all this time. We did stop by to see how the site fared after all this time and the biggest change was that at least one of the bears that were across the river in the park made it over to investigate our area.

We had to collect all of our bird bags that we left at the banding table as one of the bears grabbed it and left a trail of bags leading into the woods. The other main evidence was the abandoned feeder pole project. It was broken with the pole bent over above AND below ground. The rebar supporting the black pole was bent as well.



Though the birds were few throughout the day, we did recapture a Wintering Gray Catbird and a new, very young Hermit Thrush.



The last bird captured was another Wintering bird. This female Ruby-crowned Kinglet.



Toward the lake, the native wild Radish is blooming again.



Looking back up the river the latest cold spell seems to have killed off a lot of invasive species including the abundant Guinea Grass which you can see along the banks beyond the oaks.



Our other chore for the morning was checking the nest boxes before the main breeding seasons kicks in. In box number 1, where the Cuban Treefrog hung out last Fall, was now occupied by Flying Squirrels. If you look closely, you can see that there are 3 of them in this small box.



We let them continue resting and moved on. Nothing else was in any other box today but we are hoping something will use them this Spring.

Next week we close out the month and prepare for the new broods of Carolina Wrens which are sure to follow. The adult wrens are calling like crazy right now.
______________________________________
Next Banding Day: Sunday, January 31st.

We will open nets by 6:45 A.M.