Kind of Quiet, But a Steady Variety

I was nice to not have wind to deal with today. The air was a little chilly (in the 40s) but the day turned out to be beautiful. There were plenty of fly-over birds today including American Robins, American Goldfinches, Grackles, Hooded Mergansers, and a return of Forster's Terns over the lake. Down at ground level things were a little more quiet. We didn't catch a lot of birds but there was a nice variety. Our first bird of the morning was a recaptured male Common Yellowthroat.



Soon, Becky had a House Wren caught near the banding table.



Meanwhile, just behind the banding table, Susan got a Hermit Thrush.



Down near the tangerine tree, we recaptured a male Northern Cardinal that we seem to catch every 2 or 3 weeks. Seems his territory is set.



We also recaptured a White-eyed Vireo. Strange thing is how we tend to get so many recaptures this time of year. Last year and this year, all but 2 of the birds caught were recaps. Guess it illustrates how migration is over for the most part.



Right next to where the Cardinal was captured, Greg extracted a female Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Many were around. We kept hoping to talk down one of the Carolina Chickadees that were flying back and forth but it was not to be today.



Out near the lake, we caught yet another female Painted Bunting. Where are those males?



Also out at the lake, a Tricolored Heron flew in to check out the banders as they scanned the open water.



We saw several Hooded Mergansers flying over the lake. They may have been on their way to the ponds nearby where other Mergansers have been for little while. Andrew stopped by those ponds on the way home and got a photo of one of the females after the banding session.



We also recaptured a Brown Thrasher. Several feeding flocks were seen today but they stayed high in the treetops. Perhaps we can have them swoop lower next week.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 2nd.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Another Windy Day

We had good spirits going into the weekend. Weather should have been pleasant and sunny. Instead, we arrived to discover clouds and ever-increasing winds through the morning. This gave us a day of nearly wide-open nets so we would have to get what we could in more difficult conditions.

We did get a Northern Cardinal before dawn. He was a recaptured bird from our banding site. In fact, most birds caught today were recaptures which happened last year at this time. Mid-November sees the main migration behind us and then a brief wait for the remaining birds to trickle down to Florida by mid-December.

Two more recaptured followed. We caught a male Common-yellowthroat we first banded in September and a Swamp Sparrow we also banded earlier in the year.



It is always a treat to capture a Tufted Titmouse. Some times we can capture several at a time as they travel as a family group. Just one new Titmouse today but a beauty.



A bit later our volunteers brought back wohat would be the last birds of the day. First up, a recaptured White-eyed Vireo.



The biggest surprise of the morning was a new male American Redstart. We have not noticed Redstarts around for a while and those were mainly females so the black, orange, and white (so soon after Halloween!) certainly brightened our day. Just as the Sun was breaking through, too.



Here's hoping we get a return of nice weather next week.

We do aim for the highest safety standards for our birds but, I am afraid some birds may meet their demise before we return next Sunday.



Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 25th.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Main Migration Over

Now we settle in for the upcoming Winter. Most of our migrating birds have passed through and the rest are finding their way down for the season. We still have a large number of House Wrens around and we captured 3 today.



The buzz of Ruby-crowned Kinglets has neared their peak and they will be around into the Spring. One of our early birds was a male, told apart from the females by the namesake ruby crown atop their heads.



Today was a bit of a departure for Ruby-crowned Kinglets for us. We typically catch more females than males but we actually caught only males today.



Bird counts were lower than the week before. Radar and ground-truthing over the past few days foresaw this and the trend continued into the weekend. Fortunately, we still managed to get a Hermit Thrush during our outing.



David, an occasional vistor to our site along with his Mom, Kathy released our Hermit Thrush after banding. They have visited several times over the years and David shows a good knowledge of the birds we watch and band.



Eastern Phoebes continue to rule the air and soundscape this year. So many were heard and we did band yet another this weekend. Might be the largest number to Phoebes banded this season than in any other year here.



While making a final check of the nets, Greg and Andrew headed to the end of the trail and took a look out over Lake Lotus. A few birds were around. Limpkins, Pied-billed Grebes, Swamp Sparrows, and Common Yellowthroats made brief appearances. However, the most exciting moment was when an Otter suddenly appeared. It checked out the guys and tried to decide if a trip up the river was a good idea. Instead, it turned back and caught a fish and headed back into the lake.



Time to begin more plant maintenance and dig in for the Winter. The following weeks will either give us a lot of birds or nearly none. Weather and other factors will determine our fortunes through the end of the year. Always something to do no matter what!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 18th.
All nets will be opened by 6:10 A.M.

Surprises

With the bunting numbers on the decline we waited for what the day would bring. It turned out to be a pretty exciting morning. Much variety and a couple of surprises welcomed us today. Our Bird-of-the-Day (BOTD) will be at the end but was actually captured first, before dawn. The second-place BOTD was our first Swamp Sparrow of the season. We captured two today.



Our usual suspects were still around including several House Wrens.



Indigo Buntings are still here but in lower numbers, which is expected. The grasses seem to be holding them around for a bit longer. We had two birds of that species this morning including a young female and an older male.



Another local was caught. A female Northern Cardinal we first banded a while ago. We provide a stick to avoid being bitten during the banding process.



A bird that has been on Greg's list to see up close was captured. An Ovenbird.



Our other new volunteer, Becky, was hoping for a Painting Bunting today. Near the end of the day we got a female near the end of the river. We first banded her a year and a half ago.



A White-eyed Vireo joined the stats today. A younger bird.



Eastern Phoebes have been very numerous this year. Their calls can be heard nearly anywhere there is open space.



Of course, Gray Catbirds can also be heard all over, too.



Always nice to see a returning bird from year to year. Today we captured a Hermit Thrush we first banded last January.



Finally, our BOTD. The very first bird we caught this morning was a gray-morph Eastern Screech Owl!



This is the second Screech Owl we have banded at Lake Lotus. The first was nearly 2 years ago and it was a red-morph. We released the owl by placing it gently on a stump. To our surprise, it didn't fly off for while. This provided many good photo opportunities before it eventually did return to the woods.



Andrew has another shot of the owl over at his bird photo blog: Drew's Birds.

You never know what will show up on any given morning. Today showed us many of the various species that use this space for migration and as their home.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 11th.
All nets will be opened by 6:10 A.M.