Final Spruce Up

Richard, Christine, Tanka, and Andrew headed out today to put the finishing touches on the nets lanes before next week for the opening of Session 4. No bears. Frank managed to get the mower in and did a great job clearing the net lanes for us. Then we got to business in the heat and humidity.

Richard and Christine head to the end to begin the next watering rounds. We now have nearly 60 native plants which are all doing well so far.



Summer flowers are blooming. Near Net 8 there are a bunch of St. Andrew's Cross (left) and St. John's Wort.



The never-ending process of weed control continued. Frank brought over some spray and we hit the unwanted plants hard.



Meanwhile, Andrew hacked away at any plants that would interfere with the nets by clearing things out from between the net poles.



A good find by Net 10. One of the Wax Myrtles is loaded with berries already! Maybe we can get some Myrtle Warblers this year.



The only dangerous part of the day was when Andrew nearly stepped on a Coral Snake on the way out. Cute but deadly.

A lot of birds around. More than 2 weeks ago. A good sign. Reports are already filtering of migrating warblers entering the state. Hope we can get off to a great start next week. Time to oil up the pliers!!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 7th.

All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

A Checkup of the Lanes

We stopped by the site today to see how things were going. Since the rain has returned the plants have taken advantage. River is very high. Two days ago, Richard and Christine watched Tanka tree a Momma and two cubs of the Black Bear variety! No bears today.

Looks like we will need a bigger mower. The lanes are grown up all the way to the end.



Richard planted a few more Elderberry around Net 11 and we all pulled some Ceasar Weed and Air Potato. While assessing the thought of what might happen if the county actually comes in to clear some fallen trees from the river we also cleared some areas of dead and broken palm fronds (most likely from the bears looking for food).



As Richard cleared some grass from the edge of the river he discovered what appeared to be a burrow. Perhaps a den for some furry mammal?



Three more weeks until the new session begins!
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 7th.

All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.