Saturday, August 29, 2015

Calling off August 30

Calling off banding for the last week of August. Rain forecast says early for the past three days straight. Going to trust this one. Reluctantly...
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 6th.
All nets will be opened by 6:35 A.M.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Another New Species in the Sauna

As much as we love banding, August is almost always rough. Especially after it rains for a few days before the weekend. Everything is wet and it is already in the 80s and our shirts are soaked with sweat after setting nets well before dawn. Still we soldier on...

Drop

The suana was not too kind to our cameras which were constantly fogging while trying to take shots of captured birds like our first of the day, a recaptured male Northern Cardinal.

Northern Cardinal

Next up was a pair of recaptured juvenile Carolina Wrens in Net 2 that we banded just a couple of weeks ago.

Carolina Wren

We usually start catching juveniles in May but they missed the nets a few months ago. Getting them all accounted for now.

Carolina Wren

The moisture often brings the Manatee Tree Snails out this time of year.

Manatee Tree Snail

Sensitive Briar is exploding in different spots along the net lanes this year and their pink flowers punctuate the surrounding green throughout the area.

Sensitive Briar

The water has receded quiet a bit despite the recent additional rains and we could reach Net 21 today. Lynn got a photo of one of the baby American Alligators not long before Susan nearly stepped on it or another. At least Mom is not around. Or is she...?

American Alligator

Did we mention it was wet? Even the Damselflies were dripping with moisture.

Damselfly

The wet is also encouraging the fungus that begins to break down the logs in the woods.

Fungus

The Air Potato Beetles are still quite busy. They are seen mating, eating, and hovering through the vegetation once the sunlight breaks through the morning.

Air Potato Beetle

Their was not a lot of bird activity besides the locals for a lot of the morning but we eventually got our first migrant, a feisty Northern Waterthrush. Others were heard during the day but they stayed on the park side.

Northern Waterthrush

Butterfies were actually coming out pretty early today. Swallowtails were drifting past and Lynn found some Skippers here and there.

Skipper

She has a new magnifying lens attachment and is getting some great shots using it.

Skipper

Ike brought another Carolina Wren back to the table (we had 6 today) and then Lynn returned soon afterward with a 'yellow' bird. Hmmm... Andrew reached into the bag and took a peak before revealing it to the others, put it back and looked up at Lynn. "Really?"

Over the past couple of years we have spotted a desired species in the area and even heard it calling last week. Today we caught it. Our first-ever Prothonotary Warbler banded at Lake Lotus.

Prothonotary Warbler

It was captured right where it should have been. Down among the Cypress trees at the edge of the marsh.

Prothonotary Warbler

Dr. Deborah Green stopped by this morning and got to release several birds, including the Prothonotary Warbler which darted off into the woods just after this shot. Love Deborah's look of awe just before it took off.

Prothonotary Warbler

We took another run down the lanes and found a female Downy Woodpecker in Net 16 where several snags offer nesting areas for these birds.

Downy Woodpecker

Down at Net 21, a female Black-and-White Warbler was resting in one of the net panels adding to our migrant count for the morning.

Black-and-White Warbler

We closed nets around 10:30 and were able to bring back yet another recaptured Carolina Wren before heading home.

Carolina Wren

We headed home to get out of wet clothing and dream of late September when things should get more comfortable. Still, there is rain in the forecast down the road. Storms are trying to make it across the Atlantic and peak season for storms is still 3 weeks away. Onward.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 30th.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Migrants Increasing and a New Species

The Orlando area has had a couple of heavy rain events the past couple of days and the banding site was still dripping with moisture before dawn as we arrived to set nets. In the darkness we could tell the river level was up a bit but had no idea how high the water had risen until later in the morning. Much higher than we expected. At least we had a bright ray of yellow to attach to the day with a new species captured here. More on that bird later.

Just a quick recap from last week. Our visitor from the last two weeks, Carol, sent along photos she took last week. At one point of net checks she and Andrew spent some time in close quarters with a Limpkin that was perched above the river. They typically are feeding in shallow water and you don't get shots of those amazing feet.

Limpkin

Andrew was explaining their diet when they discovered an empty mussel shell along the bank. They dig in the soft mud for them and love Apple Snails, too.

Shell

A female Northern Cardinal was heard waking early as Andrew set nets at numbers 9 and 13. He could also begin to hear the rush of water behind him. How far had the river gotten? Not long after dawn the female Cardinal was recaptured. We first banded her three weeks ago and continue to catch her early in the day in the same spot every week.

Northern Cardinal

Our shoes were already soaked by 7 AM and after Andrew placed a new palette to cross some flooding Christine captured a pair of Carolina Wrens in Net 5. The first was a recaptured female.

Carolina Wren

With her was a juvenile, most likely one of her new brood.

Carolina Wren

Hearing warbler chips in the woods reminded Andrew that he had to get his binoculars. Once he returned he was watching the skies and glanced over to Net 15. Was that a leaf? Nope. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird was in the net. She stayed in our care fora while. Hummingbirds tend to sit for awhile after being retrieved to recoup but this gal sat longer than usual. We worried over her and she was very responsive, blinking and raising her head but would not fly off.

Eventually, Andrew head back to the car again and brought back some Gatorade (we had no actual sugar water mixture). Adrianna dipped her bill into the fluid and after a short time she flew off into the woods.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

We were tending to the hummingbird when Christine brought in the Bird-of-the-Day but let's take a tour of the river first, saving the best for last.

Once the light was up and we could assess the water situation (we already knew Net 21 was out of the line-up for the day) we got some shots of the area. If you are new to the blog, we band along the Little Wekiva River that runs into Lake Lotus before heading off to the main Wekiva. When it rains, all of the water in the area from the South from the Orlando region flow into the Little Wekiva. We din't think that there was that much rain but the river is up 4-5 feet now.

If you look back in the archives (click on American Alligator in the right-hand sidebar) you will see that we often see Alligators sunning in this spot below the banding table. No chance for that now.

River

Still trying to convey the amount of water flowing through right now. Picture this scene on a 'normal' day. The bottom of that dock in 6 feet above the river bed then.

River

Earlier, Christine noticed that one of Richard's nest boxes was knocked over. Since we were busy with birds it just seemed like something that had happened for some reason. Just not the reasons we speculated.

River

Later we noticed that the nearby bat box was also stressed by some fallen limbs.

River

It turns out that a large oak from the opposite side of the river had fallen over since last week and smashed into out Net 19 area. This was always a tree we spotted swarms of warblers feeding in. Now the entire top of that tree is resting next to our net lane.

River

Behind Net 14, the 'restored' observation area that was crushed in the last flood is back under water again.

River

The water behind Net 18 had dropped greatly over the past few weeks but is now bloated along the Cypress line. We spotted a Prothonatary Warbler out here later in the morning.

River

Looking back along the river, the boardwalk is to the right. In a dry Winter season we can hop across the bank here. Again, it is now 4-5 feet higher.

River

We heard a noisy 'waterfall' sound while setting nets in the dark and figured Net 21 was out of reach. The first sign after dawn was a small breach before the turn in the path leading to the marsh.

River

The waterfall sound was actually coming from a spot that breached during the last flood. We lined the area with fallen limbs to try to staunch the water flow and now the water is cascading over the top of those branches.

River

The palette placed here is still hanging tough in the flow. Perhaps one of the vines we usually clear is clinging to it. Thankful for any help. We have lost several palettes in this area over the years.

River

Any thoughts of checking Net 21 are summed up here. That is the path leading to the site. Will we have a new beach or a total washout? Time will tell. We hoped to get that net back open since we saw Yellow Warblers there last week. Oh, well.

River

Noticed along the river was this interesting Caterpillar. We are checking on the ID.

Caterpillar

The Beautyberry plants are coming into ripe fruit. Can't wait for the migrants to find them soon.

Beautyberry

OK, back to birds. Christine and Susan returned with a few bags and Becki got the banding duties. First up was another Northern Cardinal.

Northern Cardinal

All hands were on deck to get reading of the new birds. In case you are interested, Octavia, our Golden Silk Spider, weathered the storms and is getting larger just beyond Becki here.

Table

The other two birds were Black-and-White Warblers. An adult and juvenile female.

Black-and-White Warbler

Still wondering about the Bird-of-the-Day? Our first-ever Kentucky Warbler. Net 2 was initially set where it is in the hopes that we would catch them and Hooded Warblers in a proper habitat but we had caught both of these species now down around the middle of the net lanes.

Kentucky Warbler

Fine by us that we catch them at all. This Kentucky Warbler seems to be a bit early for predicted migration and has added yet another species of warbler to our ranks.

Kentucky Warbler

Despite a lot of moisture we are having a good start to the banding season. Now we move into seeing Ovenbirds, Common Yellowthroats, and soon afterwards some Thrushes. Can't wait. To get these wet shoes off...
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 23rd.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Week 2 of Session 8

We began the latest Session last week and were at least pleased that we caught some local birds and a migrant and had relatively nice weather until the rain blew in early. Today was a reminder of the sauna that truly is August. Once your shirt is soaked with sweat before dawn and mosquitoes begin to find you you remember we are still a bit far away from Fall. Still we push on and see what we can find through this breezeless morning.

The first run was quiet but on the next pass we recaptured one of the juvenile Carolina Wrens we banded last week. This was the one that was molting in a new set of tail feathers and was caught much farther down the lane than when it was first caught near the banding table.

Carolina Wren

Nearby, one of the Northern Cardinals we banded last week was caught in the same net as last week.

Northern Cardinal

Christine removed the other Wren we banded last week and then rescued a beetle from Net 3.

Beetle

Another recaptured Carolina Wren soon followed. More were heard but only a few were flying about. In fact, most of the morning found the birds as lethargic as we were in the heat.

Carolina Wren

We then recaptured another female Northern Cardinal and a new male down at Net 9.

Northern Cardinal

With the rains comes new growth of fungus including these mushrooms sprouting on the edge of a log. Interesting to note that even as diminutive as these bunches are that there are an even smaller version located at the lower bottom left of the photo.

Mushrooms

We made a large dent in the push of Caesar Weed while we still gave thanks to the Air Potato Beetles for making their own dent in their food.

Air Potato Beetle

There has been a Marsh Rabbit hanging around Net 13 for weeks and Christine found it wandering around and resting, briefly, on a log. Can you spot it?

Marsh Rabbit

She also found what we think is an Orange Barred Sulphur hanging in the Guinea Grass which have returned in force despite the efforts of folks to kill it off. You can't really get rid of this stuff and we don't really mind. Buntings love the seeds and we are looking forward to October to bring in the Indigos.

Orange Barred Sulphur

The water level is dropping and the baby American Alligators were found moved over to the small pond on the neighbor's property just across the Lake Lotus property line.

American Alligator

While checking Net 21, Andrew noticed a flash of color across the river in the willows. Prothonotary? Nope. A male Yellow Warbler! The first any of us has witnessed in the park. Later, a female was also seen. A clear sign that migration is in full swing.

Yellow Warbler

We checked for views of our usual alligators in the river but did not find them. Instead, a Raccoon clambered through the scrub and shimmied up a Cypress across the river, stirring up the Tufted Titmice resting up in the tree tops.

Raccoon

Octavia, the Golden Silk Spider who has taken up residence behind the banding table, was spotted trapping a Bottle Fly and wrapping it up before devouring it. Her web is now taking over most of our rope that we hang bird bags on and we are trying to be respectful of her space.

Golden Silk Spider

Today, we noticed 3 males in the web. They are easy to tell apart. The female Golden Silk Spider can grow to huge sizes but the males are usually a very smaller version and often overlooked.

Golden Silk Spider

We trudged out at the end of the morning and hope for the return of new migrants soon. Ovenbirds should begin to show up any time and them the needles keeps rising into September. For now, we have to cool down.

On a sad note, our visitor for the past two weeks, Carol, sent us a photo she took after leaving us for the day. Out at the Window by the Lake on the Lotus boardwalk she spotted a dead bird in the water below. It was a Belted Kingfisher which would be the first of the season for this area. Hopefully it wasn't one that we banded last year but collision with windows is very common for birds all over the world.

Belted Kingfisher

Time to rejuvenate and prepare for another warm morning next week.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 16th.
All nets will be opened by 6:25 A.M.