Winter? What Winter?

We arrive on the second day of Winter to another pink sunrise and projected high temperature of...87 F (30.5 C) degrees! What Winter? It was feeling like is should be a birdy day but it was not to be.



The morning began promisingly enough with a couple new Hermit Thrushes. First an adult.



Next up was a juvenile Hermit Thrush. By now we usually only recapture birds that have arrived and are staying through the season so it was actually a surprise to get two new birds of this species.



We also recaptured an adult Carolina Wren. Unfortunately, that was the extent of our captures for the rest of the morning.



Which leaves time to explore. Christine found a discarded snake skin near Net 22. Probably a Black Racer and about 4 feet long.



Waiting for the warmth of the Sun, a Green Anole rests on some Blackberry leaves.



Primrose Willow are very hardy, attractive plants but they are also very invasive. They are spreading into many areas along the river and near the lake so we are removing some just to keep the lanes clear.



Lynn found a nice spider's web being illuminated by the rising Sun. If you can get situated properly you can often get some nice patterns of light on them and, at times, full rainbow patterns.



Lynn also seems to trip over a Marsh Rabbit or two during the day.



Susan captured a nice display of Lichen. There are numerous species in Central Florida in a wide variety of colors.



There were many warblers down at the mouth of the river leading into Lake Lotus but they never strayed close enough to Net 21 as hoped. However, Lynn managed to find an interesting bird feeding in the willows.

This Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler might be someone we know. Note the band! Probably a bird we have captured in the past returning to its Wintering grounds. We do know that Andrew always bands them on the right leg. If only we could make out that number from here. Perhaps next time.



So, that is a wrap on the 2013 portion of Session 6. We will take a week off for the holidays and current weather might include rain next weekend, anyway. Now we catch what we can as the run-up to Spring migration nears.

We never know what to expect, weather-wise, for the next couple of months. In Florida our coldest times are actually in late January into February before Spring. Could bring rain, frost, or more heat.

In the meantime, we wish all a very Happy New Year. 2013 was on the slow side and we hope to turn that around next year.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 5th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.