Buntings Are Back!

After thanking Karl last week we had to suffer the capping of the next weather front which pretty much shut us down bird-wise for the weekend. It was initially predicted that the Gulf weather would form into a storm and thump us but instead we got just a shield of clouds keeping things quiet for us.

As usual, the birds woke before sunrise. We recaptured a Carolina Wren which was born earlier this year and is almost into its full adult looking plumage. We have been recapturing it since just after it was born so it is nice to see the progression into a more mature look.

That capture was our first and Maria got a shot of the Moon opposite the sunrise as we finished setting nets not long before.



Things grew quite soon afterwards and we worried if the strange front had shut us out for the day. However, another Ovenbird was captured. This time an adult. Always a good looking species.



Near the end of the day we had a nice recapture of a female Cardinal. It appears it is the largest Cardinal ever captured as...wait. It is being held by Maggie.



And here she is in the bigger view.



One of the more interesting captures was that of a Northern Waterthrush. Not because of it being captured but for being captured way up near the table. They have been prevalent near the pier every week so it was more exciting to get one captured close to the table.



One great change was that we finally caught an adult male Common Yellowthroat. Younger males and females head here first so it was nice to finally get the adult males about now. A good looking boy, too.



Making our day, though, was the capture of a Painted Bunting.



This young female is the youngest we have ever banded in the basin. We have had a few adult females and males over the years but it is very rare that we catch a very young bird. She was very tired.



She was set free after being banded and headed off into the park. Soon, however, she found her way back into the same net where she was first captured. We extracted her and set her free back toward the park proper.



This let us get some photos before it was released, again.

Maria was around as we set out to make decisions of where to put new plants this year. We are close to making the net lanes a birders visual hangout. One change this year was letting the Guineagrass grow to see if we could bring back some buntings. It seems to be helping as the crew had great earlier looks at a male Painting Bunting feeding on the seeds near the river.



Good enough birds on a tough day to band (weather was not too helpful today) but we did find something interesting on the way out of the area. Hanging in the edges of the Guineagrass along the net lanes was a bunch of eggs laid by Lady bugs.



They seem to be as enticing as the seeds along the stalks all around the lanes.

Peak is peaking soon...
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Next Banding Day: Sunday, October 3rd.

All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Thanks, Karl!

They're baaaaaack!

Hopes were up after watching the radar which showed Hurricane Karl making landfall to the West and spinning the birds our way. Texas routes were blocked and winds were perfect for directing the migration to our clear skies. Would it be enough? Well, our 5th bird of the morning gave us hope.



Yep. Common Yellowthroats (COYE) are back! This adult female was caught near the pier at dawn. Several others flew around the nets but they were there and more were yet to come. Also caught right at dawn were 4 other birds. The first was a Carolina Wren. This was recapture we first banded earlier in the year as a hatch year. Its feathers are getting nice and bright and almost into the adult mode. Note the emerging secondaries which will bring in the adult style spots.



In the net right next to the Wren was holding a new Brown Thrasher.



Farther down the lane, moments later, we found an Ovenbird in Net 12.



Looking good. On to the rest of the nets. In Net 13: a recaptured Cardinal was squawking like crazy. The early morning light really brings out the red in our big male.



Next, another COYE. This time a juvenile male.



Then another...



Andrew checks for fat. All but one COYE had fat on its breast.



Then a surprise. Our first Veery finally arrived. 2 weeks late.



Again, we check for any fat deposits.



But back to COYEs! Fully half our our captured birds today were young male or adult female Common Yellow throat. The flood gates are opening!



However, as fast as the morning began a few birds were remaining at their roosts. Having the Yellowthroats made the morning a success.



One more for the day. Another young male.



Our last interesting find of the morning as we folded up nets. Maria found a leaf with odd discs stuck to it.



Thanks, again, to Randy and Mary who were excited to see this shot as the had never seen a leaf covered on both edges with these Katydid eggs. Looking closer you can see tiny holes which indicate thatsome young bugs have already emerged. Very interesting indeed.


This weekend may prove more difficult. A front is moving toward us and could dampen the upward trend. Catbirds should be about here, though.
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Next Banding Day: Sunday, September 19th.

All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

More of the Same. Not Much.

At least we got one more bird than last week. Another fly-over night left us with few birds on the ground. Lots of local birds calling but not a bunch of activity at net level.

We did recapture our Cardinal with the messed up left eye from a couple weeks ago. At least it is surviving for now despite the swollen lid.



We did manage to capture 2 more Ovenbirds. Other warblers stayed high above us all morning. Our first young Ovenbird was complete except for the missing tail!



Charles brought his grandson, Grayson, out this morning. He was a very enthusiastic volunteer and got to bring our second Ovenbird back to the table with Andrew in tow.



Our bird gets a new band and a close-up...



...then is given to our young helper for release back into the woods to head on towards its migration goals.



Grayson helped with his young eyes to spot a Ring-necked Snake as we headed back up the trail. These tiny, non-venomous snakes are often seen scurrying through the leaf litter this time of year.



With a lack of birds there was a lot of invasive clearing still to do. Especially now that the Skunk Vine is finally blooming. We will have to clear as much as possible before the birds start dispersing the seeds in the Spring.



A large number of bugs were viewed today. Like this Assassin Bug.



However, it should probably watch out for the lizards! Green Anoles are being displaced by Cuban Anoles in our state so it is always nice to see some of the natives during our travels up and down the net lanes.



Oh, yeah. Maria killed a Damselfly today. How could she? It was so cute...



Closer and closer to full-tilt migration!
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Next Banding Day: Sunday, September 19th.

All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

Birds Make a Break For It

Saturday night showed a ton of birds moving into the area. Hurricane Earl had pulled away from the Atlantic coast and opened the skies for the first time in a while. Birds took advantage of this and winged South. NEXRAD radar looked like this at 9:30 PM Saturday night.



We got to the banding site at our usual time (before dawn) and set nets and hoped for the best. Then, next to nothing. All morning. Not even fly overs of any good numbers or feeding flocks that we had been observing for the past couple of weeks. Where were the birds?

Here is the NEXRAD at 11:00 AM Sunday morning. That is where the birds are. Already all down by the Keys and launching into the Gulf.



Oh, well. Birds go where they wanna.

We did recapture a young Carolina Wren fairly early and did hear the Barred Owls calling for the first time in a while.



A bit later, Andrew was staring at the trees trying to ID the birds flying up high. There was yellow up there but he couldn't pin it down to any particular species.



Soon afterward, he did find our first Ovenbird of the season nearby. Ovenbirds have been seen and heard for the past 3 weeks but this is our first catch this Summer.



I would apologize to our visitor, Dennis, for the lack of birds (though we did view a good array of species in the trees) but, again, as I say, "Birds go where they wanna go".

Still a lot of good reports coming in from around the state so we hope to capture some more interesting birds as we ease toward peak Fall migration. Nets are always half-full!

NOTE: A Palm Warbler was captured at Tomoka so they are finally here!
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Next Banding Day: Sunday, September 12th.

All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.