Migrant Numbers Climbing

Still having to deal with wet shoes. Sigh. Bird numbers are on the increase though, so we can deal with it. Common Yellowthroats were the most numerous captures today, starting with a female at dawn.



Another migrant flew in. A very fluffy Ovenbird.



Brown Thrashers have been teasing us for months. The adults have been flying and landing on branches just over the nets and they breed here. Finally, we caught one of the new kids.



An adult male Common Yellowthroat hit the nets after a few females.



Our new visitor, Connie, got the job of releasing most of our birds today and was thrilled to let our Common Yellowthroat and others back into the woods.



Northern Waterthrush are still moving through and this bird was beautiful from top to tail.



Carolina Wrens are calling all morning but not moving too much. This bird was very clingy but eventually joined our data.



This female Northern Cardinal is actually a hatch-year bird. You can't see the black specks all over the bill in this shot but she was definitely born here earlier in the year.



White-eyed Vireos began calling soon after sunrise. This bird was full of fat and a definite migrant.



We knew it was just a matter of time. Our first of the season Gray Catbird hit the net today. Now we get ready for the onslaught in the next couple of weeks.



We were surprised that our day was full of new birds with new recaptures. Eventually, we recaptured a male Northern Cardinal as the morning wore on.



Just like last week, the young male Common Yellowthroats seemed to be sleeping in today. Our final birds we young males. This one was very young.



The final Common Yellowthroat juvenile had more of the 5 o' clock shadow.



NOTE: We will be running all weekend for the next two weeks for peak of season. We are close to getting more varied species including Indigo Buntings, Eastern Phoebes, Thrushes, and other migrants for the rest of the month.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Saturday, October 1st.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Ramping Up to Fall

Fall cannot get here quick enough. It was another warm and humid morning and the cicadas were loud early on and into the afternoon.

Topping our list today was the Carolina Wren. Oddly, all were recaptures dating from as early as last month to two years ago.



Veerys are still moving through the property and it shouldn't be long before we begin getting other species of Thrush.



Ovenbirds also continue to migrate in. Many of them stay here through the Winter.



It was very evident that Common Yellowthroats are on the move South. We captured five this morning and managed to cover all three plumage variations from adult male,...



...juvenile and adult females...



...and immature male. Even though a few remain year round here, you can tell when the migrants are streaming through.



Red-eyed Vireos are flooding back into the property and we see them up and down the river. A few are captured but most stay high in the canopy.



Chris also spotted a lingering Great-crested Flycatcher. We still hear a couple but they won't be around too much longer.



Another species on the move is the White-eyed Vireo. They were calling right after dawn and we captured three of them today.



We can share one more cute Ovenbird to finish our day.



Capture rates are on the increase and should continue well into October. Hopefully, a little cooler weather will return, too.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 25th.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

Quieter Than Hoped

Despite a busy set of radar images suggesting that birds are on their way, it was pretty quiet on the ground today. There were no animal sounds while setting nets. Not even frogs. However, Andrew captured our first bird while opening Net 16. A feisty (and stinky) red morph Eastern Screech Owl. Need to order new size 5 bands since we seem to be catching more of these little owls lately.



Our last couple of Screech Owls captured were rather sluggish upon release. This bird was super alert, tuning into every sound in the woods and flew off after a gentle push into the air. It flew towards Net 2 but perched on some branches instead of being trapped again. Maria got a shot of it resting before heading off again.



This is the 3rd week in a row that we have captured 5 Carolina Wrens. Most of them juveniles and some are the same birds we banded back in early August but there are adults being caught, too. This is one of the juveniles told by the buffer brown eye bow and missing spots on the wings.



All sorts discarded items appear after heavy rains. We found a cassette tape in the area we know a Porsche was chopped long ago since we have found a lot of the ancillary pieces left over. What were you listening to in 1985?



It could be a migrant of a secretive resident. Either way, it is nice to have a female Common Yellowthroat at Net 21.



One of our adult Carolina Wrens was originally banded over 3 years ago as a juvenile. As Chris said, "Good data!".



Nets 16 & 17 saw most of the action today and the crew found a Veery in Net 16.



Veerys and other thrushes show tan edges on their coverts during their first year, making this a juvenile bird. The feather become a continuous brown once they get their adult molt the following year.



Banders become birders the moment it is slow. One of the best spots to search this time of year is the marsh at the edge of the lake.



During this search, the gang spied a Prothonotary Warbler in the distance. Wonder if it was one we have banded in the past?



Foraging in the branches was another Carolina Wren sporting a band from an earlier encounter.



We did find a Prairie Warbler in the area today but Chris got a great shot of one on his trip out to Lake Apopka later in the morning.



A couple of Cardinals and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher were also captured today. Unfortunately, the camera battery ran out of power before those close-ups could happen.

We are nearing migration peak in a couple weeks. Now it is all up to the weather.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 18th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.

Migrants on the Uptick

Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hermine landed in the Big Bend this week and left us with a lot of extra rain this week but we were all cleared out for the weekend. Still left us with wet shoes all morning as we wait to Hopefully dry out in the next month. A promising start to the morning was Chris finding a small flock of Eastern Kingbirds along the river. A fairly rare sight here but they are migrating through.



Our first bird of the day was an Ovenbird. Nice to start with a migrant in the nets first thing.



Then we began to get the locals. We caught 5 Carolina Wrens including this new bird just by the banding table.



Just behind the table, we caught our first thrush of the season. A Veery. These are the first thrushes to move through and the earliest we have have on site in many years.



Our next migrant was a Northern Waterthrush. They are showing up all over the area right now.



We had a couple of visitors today and Angela and her mom Rori got to see a few birds banded before they left and Angela got to release the morning birds.



Another Veery was brought in soon afterwards.



We were literally stepping over a number of baby American Alligators today. With the waters on the rise, the baby gators were hanging close to the edge of the net lanes in the duck weed and out by the river. At one point, Andrew stepped on one palette bridge only to find a tail sticking out before the gator backed out and scurried into the marsh. Fortunately, no adult gator were nearby.



Just on time, Common Yellowthroats are beginning to move through and Christine got a beautiful adult male in Net 16.



A new capture from the nets. A Cicada was extracted and brought back to the table. We were not sure if this bug was truly dead or just beginning to molt but we placed it back into the woods letting it continue on in any case. With this high humidity, Cicadas are calling most of the morning.



We tried to lure in a Yellow Warbler down at Net 21. It was foraging in the willows but it would not get close enough for capture. Except for a nice photo.



Despite not getting that yellow bird we were greeted with another. A Prothonotary Warbler was waiting in Net 18.



Large flocks of Tufted Titmice were up and down the lanes today. Eventually, we captured a single bird behind the banding table.



As we began plans to close up for the morning, Chris returned to the table walking with a purpose to report a Carolina Wren in Net 16. We retrieved the recaptured juvenile and rolled up nets for the day.



Capture rates are on the upswing and we hope for bigger numbers in the coming weeks. If we can keep the tropics off of our backs.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 11th.
All nets will be opened by 6:25 A.M.