Peak of the Season has Passed

It is always disappointing when the Fall migration rush subsides but we know it is coming and we had a couple of good weekends this year so it is not so bad. Especially when you get to set the nets under a blazing sunrise.



Just after sunrise we began our day with a recaptured Ovenbird.



House Wrens are still streaming in and we captured several this morning.



Gray Catbirds, too, are remaining active and adding to our daily count.



Common Yellowthroats are calling from the river's edge but few were flying about today. In fact, there were not a lot of birds seen in flight aside from a few flocks of Indigo Buntings popping in and out of the grasses from time to time. Tufted Titmice and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were seen in small feeding flocks, as well.



We finally began hearing Ruby-crowned Kinglets calling from the treetops. Just when we wondering if we would get one we did in Net #16. Her traveling companion also hit the net but escaped.



A Brown Thrasher and a couple of Palm warblers also escaped before we could reach them but our final bird of the day made up for it. A juvenile male Black-throated Blue Warbler. Usually we only catch adult males so this youngster was a nice surprise. You can tell younger males by the white feathers on the throat which will become fully black before too long.



Checking for new Wintering ducks on the way home Andrew noticed some bubbles in the retention pond. Instead of a diving duck surfacing he was greeted to a pair of Otters! This is the first time they were seen here but otters actually roam all over the area moving from lake to lake.



A slower but pleasant morning in Altamonte Springs. We should be hearing Robins returning any day now which leads to the return of Hermit Thrushes and Cedar Waxwings with American Goldfinches, ducks, and Yellow-rumped Warblers bringing up the rear during migration.

NOTE: Daylight Savings happens next weekend! Remember to "Fall Back" one hour Sunday morning.
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Next (planned) Banding Days: Sunday, November 1st.
All nets will be opened by 6:10 A.M.

A Wave of Buntings

The Indigo Bunting wave arrived right after sunrise today just as expected. There may be more days in the future that we catch the same or more but this is the first big push for them to head South.



The bags were stacking up quickly and it took a little over an hour to get through the first morning rush. We will take it!



House Wrens are still arriving in good numbers and we captured 5 of them this morning.



No surprise, either, that Common Yellowthroats are representing on a nice cool day. Finally. Dry feet!



Last week we caught just a few female Indigo Buntings but now the males are also arriving sporting more of their name sake color.



Our 2nd Black-and-White Warbler in as many weeks is always a nice surprise.



Western Palm Warblers are also showing up in good numbers this weekend and we managed to band two of them today.



Even though the area is getting a break from the rain, there is still enough moisture around to make many species of fungus grow quite well.



Brown Thrashers are still moving about and getting jewelry from us.



Before she had to leave for the day, Becki got to band her related bird. A Belted Kingfisher (their alpha-numeric code is BEKI) made our 4th ever banded here.



All previous birds were females but this one was a male.



Once the data for the Belted Kingfisher was recorded Palmer got the privilege of releasing him along the river.



Did we mention that we caught a lot of Indigo Buntings today?



We only netted a single White-eyed Vireo this Sunday but it, like all the previous birds this month, was loaded with fat put on for migration.



Somehow we still catch new Northern Cardinals. Thought we had banded all the locals by now.



We captured 3 Ovenbirds including this recapture from a couple of years ago.



If not for other commitments we could have stayed longer but all good things must come to an end. On the way home looking for arriving ducks, Andrew spotted a pair of Sandhill Cranes a couple miles from the banding site. Not totally rare around here but still a surprise.



We had an excellent day. The birds were plentiful, the weather was perfect, and the company a joy. Hopefully we can wind down October with another fantastic Sunday.
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Next (planned) Banding Days: Sunday, October 25th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

A Good Time to Peak

The strong front that was draped above Florida for quite awhile finally cleared on Saturday and promised winds from the North. That usually means we see more birds and the day didn't disappoint. However, instead of clear skies a light fog formed through most of the morning.



We had been contacted by the Culbertson family a couple days ago and they arrived in time to see most birds captured today. Our first Gray Catbird hit the nets before dawn. A good sign. After the bird was banded Andrew demonstrated how to release a bird to our new visitors.



Brown Thrashers have been teasing us for weeks with adults flying next to a couple of nets. Today we started catching the new young birds.



Common Yellowthroats are still streaming through in good numbers.



Another species arrived right on schedule. We captured a lot of House Wrens today. More than is typical for us.



A nice adult male Black-throated Blue Warbler started the oohs and ahhs fairly early on.



We caught the two juveniles and later we caught one of the adult Brown Thrashers.



Releasing a big Brown Thrasher is a lot different than the smaller birds but it still brings smiles.



Christine extracted a thrush but wasn't sure which species she had brought back. Turned out to be a Gray-cheeked Thrush. We see very few of this species making it a very pleasant surprise.



This was a young bird which can be told by seeing the light tip on the wing coverts.



The Gray-cheeked Thrush was a Life Bird for many gathered around the table and Avery was more than happy to have the duty of releasing it back into the woods.



A juvenile Indigo Bunting was up next but we have not seen the peak of them yet.



A cigar smoking Northern Cardinal? No. It is just holding a stick to keep it from pinching fingers.



We managed to capture only one Ovenbird this morning.



All of the White-eyed Vireos we have captured in the past couple of weeks have had a fat rating of 3 which is the highest. These little birds are full of fat for their journey South.



Even if they are a little heavier from that fat they are still fast enough to escape the click of a camera.



We also had a very interesting recapture. We recognized this bird right away since it is the only Gray Catbird we have seen with a white chin! We first banded it a year and a half ago.



This House Wren was also a recapture from about the same time.



No recaptures of Common Yellowthroats. They are just zooming through.



Our 2nd Red-Eyed Vireo of the season was brought in from the end of the net lanes where most of the birds were congregating.



An American Redstart was a first for us this Fall. The bright orange under the wing indicate this is not a female but a juvenile male.



Our visitors had already left before our final few birds were brought in. Next up was a female Downy Woodpecker.



Bird-of-the-Day was awarded to this female Hooded Warbler. A nice splash of yellow at the end of the day.



On our final walk as we closed up for the day revealed an adult female Indigo Bunting in Net 13. We are hoping we get a lot of buntings in the next few weeks, especially since we have a lot of grass seed awaiting them.



A fun morning and glad to have a bunch of birds to show first time visitors. Next weekend are forecast to be a little windy so who knows what we will get.
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Next (planned) Banding Days: Sunday, October 18th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Waiting for Joaquin to Go Away

The end of the week had all eyes to the East as Hurricane Joaquin churned next to the Bahamas. Forecast was that it would take a sudden turn to the North but it was so close that even if it did turn, which it did starting Friday night, it would impact our weather. In our specific case, it ended up stalling the migrating birds we were expecting during this weekend.

Common Yellowthroats did make it through and they made up the highest count, species-wise, today.



Most of the Common Yellowthroats were female but an adult male flew through early on.



Killian watched on as Becki banded yet another Common Yellowthroat early in the morning.



Our last featured Common Yellowthroat was a juvenile male showing its black mask just starting to appear.



Christine's friend Anne was in the States for a while and joined us from Gloucestershire and got to release some of our banded birds this weekend.



Our second highest species count today was the local Northern Cardinals.



As expected, we captured our first of the season Gray Catbird. They will be here through next April.



Unexpected was a Black-and-White Warbler captured in Net 12. Not the usual spot for them but we will take it.



Richard and Anne recored another adult male Northern Cardinal soon afterward.



As we closed the nets this Saturday we captured one more Northern Cardinal. This time a female.



With the skies overcast and misty/sprinking we were glad for the birds we did get today but not many migrants in yet. The next day was our usual planned Sunday and the skies were expected to clear as Joaquin moved out to sea. Maybe more birds would arrive...?

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Alas, Sunday was not much better. The trailing storms breaking away from Joaquin settled in South Carolina and blocked other migration routes to the South. Most migrating birds veered to the West, instead. But, we did have some interesting captures today. Please forgive some of the shots. The camera was acting up today.

Our first bird of the morning was our first of the season Indigo Bunting. We expect a lot more of them as the month continues.



More Gray Catbirds are arriving right on time and we saw them flying overhead most of the morning.



Common Yellowthroats are also still arriving. All that we banded today were new so the others we banded yesterday most have already moved farther South.



Females young and old are following through with the adult males.



We heard one Ovenbird yesterday but caught none but today we did manage a single bird.



Migrating White-eyed Vireos are increasing in numbers and we caught a pair of new ones this morning.



Carolina Wrens are calling all around us but not many are coming out of the woods. Probably because they are molting right now as evidenced in this bird which is growing in an entire tail right now.



Not as many Northern Cardinals were caught today but a few made it into nets including this juvenile female. Note the dark splotches on the bill. Cardinal bills are black when they first hatch and soon turn into the familiar orange as they age.



Nearby, a male Northern Cardinal was captured, maybe the father of the younger bird. The nets they hit were next to one another.



Though not our last bird of the day, this Belted Kingfisher is voted Bird-of-the-Day.



Back at the table, Andrew needed both scales to weigh the bird.



Since this is only our third Belted Kingfishers we still use the band gauge to make sure we are applying the proper size. Here, Andrew secures the band to the birds short leg.



Time for your close-up! We released the bird next to the river and it silently flew to the park side before resuming its foraging.



So, no record numbers today but the front should clear before next weekend and the migration should be making its way in our direction for a while. We shall see!
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Next (planned) Banding Days: Sunday, October 11th.
All nets will be opened by 6:55 A.M.