Hopes were high as the radar showed migrating birds were splitting around Tropical Storm Lee to the East and West. By the early hours, however, the storm had closed the door on the East and pushed everything West, as shown in this screen grab.
So, what to do? Patrol and let Maria take photos. Like this beautiful shot of an opening leaf along the trail.
Humidity was still high as seen in this shot of a Skipper on a grass blade.
One of the sights that captured Maria's attention the most was a fly on some other grasses. Still more curious about what those little red bugs are...
Nearby, a Lubber Grasshopper tries to hide in the Red Cedar we planted earlier in the year.
Not giving up, the rest of the team walked the lanes and Andrew hacked through the growing grass and weeds.
Growing along the riverside, Wild Balsam Apple, considered an invasive weed, opens its pods to reveal seeds ready to continue the next generation.
Oh, yeah. We are out trying to catch birds. Sadly, as the radar reference indicated, we had next to none. Even the local birds were quiet for much of the day. Then, as we were closing up for the morning and reached the very last net to gather, Richard called out if any of us would like to remove a bird from the remaining net. Well, sure! Our one bird of the day was a Red-eyed Vireo.
We gathered the remaining net and headed to the table to band our catch. A nice adult as told by the bright red eye. Younger birds have a brownish eye.
Another point of interest was the very high level of fat on our new arrival. Loaded to the brim!
Another week of waiting for the wave of migrants!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 11th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.
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