Wekiva Basin Bird Banding: December 2016

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Fog an Wind

It was a foggy start before dawn and took a while to clear. However, that was helped along due to higher and higher winds. So the day was fairly quiet but typical for this time of year. Our first bird of the day was a new Hermit Thrush.

Gray Catbirds are being a bit quiet lately but we are still catching them.

We are having to keep a close eye on one of our resident Barred Owls who is trying to take advantage of our work. It is looking a little shabby and trying to grab easy snacks.

It was prowling around the river and then up in the branches before moving on. Stay outta our nets!

Barred Owl

A new fence has gone up across the river. This replaced the older one which was being eroded away after Matthew and other flooding events.

Fence

We banded this Northern Cardinal three years ago. Oddly, it still have some black on its bill. Should be solid orange by now.

There were not a lot of Kinglets calling today but we managed to get one female Ruby-crowned Kinglet as the winds increased.

The Earth Smoke blooms are just beginning. It won't be long until the area is carpeted with them.

Andrew stopped by his favorite little pond looking for ducks but was more surprised to find a pair of Sandhill Cranes grazing by the water.

The main target, however, is always the Hooded Mergansers. There were several there and many photos were taken. The light was cooperative for once. The males didn't get as spooked, either.

A pair of female Hooded Mergansers were even more in a posing mood. Andrew will post a lot more photos soon on his blog and share a link.

We will be taking a couple weeks of to enjoy the season with family and friends. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Before we go, our friends a the upcoming Birdapalooza Fest requested we post a message about the event where we will be presenting a banding demo for the 5th year.

Lake Apopka Wildlife Festival and Birdapalooza, January 21, 2017 On Saturday January 21, 2017 join Orange County and partners at the 5th annual FREE family-oriented Lake Apopka Wildlife Festival and Birdapalooza at Orange County’s Magnolia Park, 2929 S Binion Rd, Apopka, FL 32703. Enjoy guided bus tours (limited first-come seating), and guided walking and biking nature tours for children and adults on the Lake Apopka Loop Trail. For the entire family there are live animal demonstrations, bird banding, tree giveaways, music, airboat rides (for a fee), owl pellet dissections, entertainment by IBEX Puppetry, bounce houses, face painting, exhibitors, nature-oriented merchandise vendors and food trucks. Schedule is at http://www.birdapalooza.com and updates are on FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/Birdapalooza/. In addition to this free festival, Orange Audubon Society offers birding and photo trips and keynote speakers on Friday and Sunday. See www.orangeaudubonfl.org/birdapalooza for details. If any questions, call 407-637-2525.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 15th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Picking up a bit

The weather is warming again and a fast moving front is approaching for later in the day. But it was a better day for us. In the first round at dawn we tied last week's capture total including the bird of the day right off the bat. Our first ever Chipping Sparrow! These little guys are not rare in the winter but they seem to prefer other areas, typically a bit more urban and at feeders.

We captured a few Hermit Thrushes today, including one recently banded a couple of months ago.

We caught three Gray Catbirds today. Oddly, they were all captured in Net 4 at different times. One of them was our white-chinned bird we first banded two years ago and it has been returning every year since.

We recaptured a striking male Northern Cardinal and managed to keep from getting a bite.

Across the fence at the 'neighbors', a Little-blue Heron was resting in the trees by the pond.

Out across from the pier, a Tricolored Heron was kind enough to pose in the morning light.

Then, suddenly, one of our Limpkins flew in to take the perch usually occupied by the cranky Anhinga.

Limpkin

Later, we recaptured a White-eyed Vireo first banded a couple of years ago.

Finally, a recaptured Carolina Wren rounded our the day.

One more week of banding before the holidays so we are looking to finish the year as strongly as possible.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Recaptures Only

It was another quiet morning with winds kicking up around 9 AM which stopped all activity except for leaves which we were busy extracting for the next hour or so before closing up. All of our bird today were recaptures beginning with this House Wren.

Net 2 held a pair of birds shortly after the House wren. One was a very feisty Carolina Wren first banded earlier in the year.

The other was an equally feisty Ovenbird also banded this year.

As the Limpkin move further up the lowering river, an odd little Pied-billed Grebe has been following them. This bird was most of the way up the river feeding in the shadows when we got a photo. Typically, these Grebes remain in lakes and retention ponds.

Down by the river, our resident cranky male Anhinga stood guard over the mouth of the river.

Anhinga

The final catch of the day was a Gray Catbird. Probably the best data of the day as we found this bird was first banded here 5 years ago.

We leave you with our version of Fall views here in Central Florida. Browning Cypress, mellow Maples and yellow flowers surround the Window on the Lake. A large view of this shot also reveals an Osprey, Anhinga, and Great Egret as American Robins travel far overhead.

A cold front will get here by next weekend. Maybe it will bring a few more birds out feeding and flying.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 11th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.