Wind, Wind, Go Away

The following morning after a very windy Birdapalooza found us back in the wind (not as steady, though) as an approaching cold front was set to bring nasty weather by the evening. Some of our volunteers decided to stay home after a long Saturday but a few of us decided to see how much time we could have nets open this Sunday.

As soon as the Sun rose the scene pretty much resembled this view with scudding clouds and an occasional spritz for a couple of seconds. The woods kept a lot of the wind buffered from us.



Andrew was unloading gear from Birdapalooza when he was asked to grab gloves from the table. Down at Net 4 was a recaptured Hermit Thrush.



In the same net just a few feet down was a dead Hermit Thrush. It had been attacked and killed, a rare thing while banding. At the end of the net was the murderer. A Red-tailed Hawk! We have never caught this species before and they are a rather uncommon sight where the Red-shouldered Hawk rule.



It was a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk told by the pale eye and light brown tail. Once we got our photos it was released in the direction of the park across the river where it soared and banked into the trees.



A bit later, we captured a new female Northern Cardinal. Always a surprise to get an unbanded Cardinal.



Our last bird of the day was a Brown Thrasher.



Brown Thrashers are beautiful birds. The light yellow eyes and buffy coloring on the breast and wing bars show it is a juvenile bird. In fact, we first banded this bird last Summer as a hatchling.



Our new visitor, Filiki (who sat with us the day before at Magnolia Park for the festival) got to release the bird. Her only response was a wide smile and "I...am...holding...a...Brown...Thrasher!" Birds have that effect on a lot of people.



We need some good weather for this New Year. Will it be calm or stormy next Sunday. Only time will tell. If we need to cancel it will be posted here.

NOTE: No banding January 29th due to weather.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, February 5th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.

Birdapalooza, 2017

The 5th Annual Birdapalooza was held this weekend. It was filled with high, steady winds meaning empty nets for us for the most part of 8 hours. THere was a faint hope of attracting American Robins down if we could. They were streaming into the park as we unloaded to set poles and nets before the festival was officially open for the day.



The inflatable Gator was prepared. Open the gates!



A couple of Pileated Woodpeckers made a noisy entrance and Lynn got some close-up shots.



There were a lot of berries around for all the treetop feeders but not too much for the mi-story and lower.



Becki got a bird in the net just after a couple of large groups were stopping by. This female Northern Cardinal was a recapture. We first banded her here at a festival 3 eyars ago as a hatch year bird. Still doing quite well.



Then we settled in for most of the day pacing the net lane and listening to the roar of airboats as they tore up and down the shore scaring up feeding birds throughout the day. Not too good for attracting birds...



Meanwhile, Richard spent much of the day discussing tips for the landscape and about bird boxes that he makes.



The American Robins were taunting us as they continued to swarm just past the northern fence line 30 yards from the table.



At the table, Becki, Killian, Susan, and Christine took turns explaining bird banding to a steady stream of guest while Andrew stalked the nets.



Other than the airboats, a Bluegrass band occasionally burst into song.



Tanka had no trouble make friend no matter while she sat during the day.



Watching American Robins feeding all day made Andrew make an executive decision to move the end net and place it next to the fence in hopes of catching one. It took about 20 minutes but we did manage to capture one Robin which was excitedly brought back to the table for processing.



Hey, two birds for the day is better than one!



It was not a surprise that there would be fewer birds to catch as the festival is moved deeper into Winter. The excessive winds put the cork on for good. Visitor numbers seem to be pretty good but this might be our last Birdapalooza. Especially if the current plans for the park come to pass. THere will be no where for us to set up nets. We shall see.

For now, we head back to Lake Lotus in the morning.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 22nd.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

New Year Begins

It was good to be back out to begin the year after the holidays and a very cold week following them. Warm blankets were mush better than spending a morning at freezing plus 12 MPH winds making it well below freezing. If there were any birds around, I am sure we would not have caught too many of them. Now we are back to start the New Year and we began with a lot of recaptures including Gray Catbirds.



A couple of Hermit Thrushes were also caught on the first run, both recaptures also.



The most surprising start to the morning was a pair of Ruby-crowned Kinglets before dawn. These tiny birds usually wait until the day is bright and insects are moving more freely. However, both were in the tandem of nets 9 and 13 right before 7:15 AM. Here is the male, showing streaks of ruby in the head feathers.



Just after 8, things grew completely quiet. A trip out to the lake did not even reveal too many sightings save for a Great Blue Heron hunting on the edge of the vegetation in the water. Little Green and Little Blues were out there later, too. A Common Gallinule called between the Limpkin squawks but nothing else was evident unless you had binoculars to spy a distant Forster's Tern on the very far side of the lake.



Kate found a cocoon next to Net 10. We find them from time to time and are pretty sure that they are the cocoons of Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus). They are very large and found in the area and are a type of silk moth. If you see one hanging out on a wall they are spectacular.



We had a couple from Minnesota visit us today. They get to band up North and wanted to stop by while they were here on their trip to Central Florida. We got out to Net 21 later in the morning and Susan was extracting a House Wren (as scores of warblers flew over the net). Andrew was disappointed it was only a wren with all the other birds flying through but our visitors were more than happy with a close-up view of a fairly common bird to us in the Winter.



Chris got to release the House Wren after the bird was banded and the data recorded.



We were all hoping that the Titmice we were hearing would be coming closer to the table as they usually do as Chris and his wife, Laurie don't get them up North. Here they are regulars at feeders and we have banded many of them. They stayed over in the park today, though. There was another surprise waiting below. Christine walked to the river side below the table and noticed something in the water. One of our American Alligators had moved upstream. The first time in quite a while.



Just before we left for the day the American Alligator came up onto the sandy bank to catch more sunlight. Last year was so wet this spot was not often exposed. After some observation, it appears that this gator was smaller than the one in the past that used to claim this spot, dubbed Pat. It was definitely much smaller than Leslie that lurked near the lake. We present to you Adrian. Andrew is crazy. He names the gators...



As we rolled up the nets, there was one more Ruby-crowned Kinglet waiting in Net 9. Another new male.



Laurie got the release our last banded bird of the day. It seemed slow but records show it was a typical January day here in Florida. We hope you had fun and glad to have had you out!



On a final note, my friend Todd Bernhardt has a new book out about the music of XTC, one of my fav bands. It is called Complicated Game. Check it out if you like some great new wave music from the 80s and how the lead singer, Andy Partridge, came up with most of it.



Time for Birdapalooza. See the note below. If we are not too tired, we will still head out to banding Sunday.

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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: Saturday, January 21st at Birdapalooza and Sunday, January 22nd back at Lake Lotus.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.