Fall Migration Increasing

The last hurricane might be out of the way but another tropical low is trying to develop near the state. We will be dodging raindrops all weekend. Peak of Fall migration is upon us so we try to band both days on the weekend. We got set up and had a couple of early birds beginning with a Common Yellowthroat but it seemed pretty quiet at sunrise.

Someone forgot to charge the battery for the point-and-shoot camera so today was a chance to test the quality of our cell phones. Chris assisted and got this shot of our first Ovenbird of the morning. Not too bad.



Shortly afterward, Andrew would have to sit for most of the morning as the bags began to pile up on the line.



Adult Common Yellowthroat males are finally arriving after the females and juvenile males.



Black-throated Blue Warblers are still moving through. Our first capture was an adult female.



A couple yards away, a male Black-throated Blue Warbler was brought in. Perhaps the pair were traveling together?



Veerys came in last week and it was nice to get a Gray-cheeked Thrush early in the day. We typically do not get too many of this species.



House Wrens are bubbling around the area and coming through the lanes. In fact, we saw a few escaping as we approached to extract them. At least we got one.



We also had a couple of escaped Carolina Wrens but this new juvenile ended up banded.



Then, what? Just when we were happy with one Gray-cheeked Thrush we open another bag to find another! This one was caught near the same spot as the first one. They were both juveniles and both LOADED with fat as they headed down to their Wintering grounds.



We were wondering where our migrating White-eyed Vireos were last week. That is when we usually start getting them. Today they made it back. The first captured was a juvenile, noted by the dark eyes, and loaded with fat like the thrushes.



Swainson's Thrushes are the 3rd in line when catching thrushes. Today we got our first of the season. So tan.



Common Yellowthroat males were still filing through. Time to reload the 0 size bands!



Another Ovenbird followed. This one was a little older and showing brighter orange in the head stripe.



A new male Black-throated Blue Warbler was caught near the end of the day. We began to notice the markings on the bird and recalled that we use to spend a lot of time commenting on this in the past at Wekiwa Springs.



"Male Black-throated Blue Warblers nesting in the Appalachian Mountains have black streaks on their backs, not solid blue like other populations, and might be a distinct subspecies.", according to the American Bird Conservancy website. This is an Appalachian version.



We totaled 4 White-eyed Vireos. Their are birds of this species that can be found at other times of the year but these are definitely migrants with all the fat deposits noted on them.



By the way, now that the water has receded a bit, we located the school observation dock. It is wedged under a tree that fell across the river more than a year ago.



Our final bird of the day was a nice Prairie Warbler. We always love a lot of yellow in the nets. If only we could open Net 21... Yellow Warblers are seen there right now. More on Net 21 later.



We will still be jumping around the rain tomorrow. Hope we can get through the entire morning.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Saturday & Sunday, October 7th and October 8th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Surprise, Surprise...

Well. That was kind of a nice surprise. The river level has dropped much quicker this time around. Matthew left us with a slow reduction of water but this next week after Irma has found the property nearly free of standing water all along the net lanes and no real debris to clear afterwards. We'll take it!

Our first bird of the day was a familiar face. The very first bird from last week was recaptured just a few yards from where it was first caught and banded. An Ovenbird.



Our newest volunteer, Melissa, got to release her first bird after helping set the nets before dawn.



Common Yellowthroats are continuing to flow through. Still just females today.



Our next surprise was a Red-Eyed Vireo captured at Net 18, which we never expected to get to today. They are often heard across the river but are rare captures for us. A nice adult bird.



Along with the Vireo was a female American Redstart, another bird that typically hangs higher in the upper story of the trees. We saw several males up and down the river today.



With migration ramping up even the locals are starting to stir. We recaptured an adult Carolina Wren shortly after the migrants.



Then, a recaptured female Northern Cardinal. They have been calling all year but stayed in the woods for most of the time.



If you check last week's blog you can compare this view. Just across the river they have a new beach dredged up from the flood. It use to be a nice mulched path along the river in the park.



Heading down by the newly opened net lanes, we see how much the water has dropped. Photos from last week were made in knee-deep water just down the way from here.



This view at Net 10 is indicative of the washed over grasses along the banks. All of this grass was about shoulder height for the last few years.



As always, Andrew wanted to check the destruction and dragged out a fallen tree branch to make a bridge to cross over the stream to check on Net 21. The poles are still in place but several palettes are washed out, of course, and it may be a few more weeks before we can get those back in place and manage to walk safely around the mud.



The view of the crew walking back from the end of the net lane shows the wash over and mud we have to deal with for now. The best part of banding is how everyone enjoys being out in Nature despite the problems thrown at us. A morning at the banding site is better than running about doing other chores! Mud cleans off.



You can tell migration is coming when the volunteers start showing up in larger numbers. Glad to have everyone out today to see some awesome birds up close.



We were hearing the bubbling of House Wrens most of the morning and it was great to confirm that they were back by capturing our first of Session 10 today.



We caught another new Ovenbird a bit later in the morning and they are calling loudly around the property.



Don't forget the Common Yellowthroats. Still more banded today. Some may call them drab, but they are pretty in their own right.



We were expecting Veerys last week but a week later is OK. We caught two today. They are the first thrushes that migrate through the area. Catbirds cannot be too far behind. We should get them next week.



Susan woke up the Brown Thrashers this morning while setting nets and we knew we would probably snag one along the way. Sure enough, we got a recapture of one of our local birds later in the day.



Everyone was pleased with the female American Redstart banded earlier in the morning but seeing a male tends to bring more gasps. The Orange and Black just pops more and male warblers are so much more showy. They have to. This guy joined us as the day waned.



Wrapping up the day, we captured a new male Northern Cardinal. Haven't we banded all of them by now? He was very feisty so we had to give him a cigar to keep him from biting us even more than he did.



Nearby, in Net 17, yet another surprise for the day. A Prairie Warbler. We used to catch more at Wekiwa Springs, but here at Lake Lotus they stay up in the oak canopy. Calling and feeding, but rarely flying low enough to band. Glad this one made the list!



Migration peak is approaching us. We will be banding all weekend for at least the next two weeks. Our highest capture rates begin next Saturday and can fluctuate depending on weather patterns. Stay tuned to the site blog for updates. As of this typing it could be raining next weekend. We will update when needed but plan on both days.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Saturday & Sunday, September 30th and October 1st.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Migrants and Muck

Hurricane Irma certainly made her mark on all of Florida and at Lake Lotus. Most of us in Central Florida suffered mainly minor damage, small debris piles, and a loss of power for various durations. Then, you could round a corner and see massive trees blocking roads and driveways. All in all, it could have been worse.

This is our first chance to get back to banding in a month. Either rain each Sunday and then Irma thwarted our efforts. Although we really didn't miss the sauna that is that time of year, really.

We could only set just over half our nets today. A large tree blocked our path by Net 12 and the river was still up to that spot meaning that our other net poles were in the water and muck. Our first bird of the day was heard calling loudly near Net 2. Andrew pished once and the bird flew right into the net. It was our first banded Ovenbird of the Session.



Bird of the Day goes to our next bird. A Worm-eating Warbler. We have been capturing more of these in recent years.



One of the most frequently captured species this time of year is the Common Yellowthroat and they are right on time. If we had all nets open, we would be catching loads more up and down the river.



Speaking of the river... Though we weren't there just after the storm you can see that the water levels were pretty high. The flattened vegetation is on the highest part of the park side river bank meaning it was much higher than that.



The observation deck that was used by school visits is completely gone. I was at least 8 feet above the river bed.



Looking behind Net 20 shows the water flowing INTO the park. It always does flow in there when heavy rains arrive but you can also see the roots of a huge oak that has fallen this time around.



The couple of trees that fell at Net 12 were a live tree and a snag. Our intrepid volunteers did a great job carving out a door to the other side.



A nice new gateway to the other side. Hopefully, it will be a little drier next week. It took several weeks to get the paths dried after Hurricane Matthew and this is a lot more water and just before peak migration. Fingers crossed.



Andrew peered across the river to survey the damage across the river in the park.



A large group of fallen trees could be seen. Every Earth Day we would set a couple of nets among those oaks. Going to be a completely different landscape over there. Rangers report highest water levels ever and many, many downed trees. They will be busy.



Andrew waded out knee-deep in the water by Nets 9 and 13 (silly Human!) and saw that the water is still up to the boardwalk in the park. Water is deeper and deeper from this point. Can't even imaging how the area around Net 21 will look once the water subsides. The Trail Cam was not visible and possibly has washed away or at least under water for a considerable time. At least we got to document some wildlife for a while.



Net 14 is surrounded by shallow water and muck right now. Olivia's Garden survived, for the most part. The sign nearby also survived and marked how high the water got. The yellow line marks the top of the muddy water before is drained away later. That shows the water was close to 3 feet deep up here on the high side of the Little Wekiva. Wow.



As the morning was winding down we caught another Ovenbird. In fact, all we caught were migrants today.



More Common Yellowthroats rounded out the day.



Hurricane Maria is swirling in the Atlantic making a lot of folks nervous. She seems to be a threat to the islands and is forecast to trek North before giving Florida another punch. Hoping for that track. Otherwise, we would be in jeopardy of having the best banding ruined this Session.

"Nets are half-full." is a slogan used around here. Looking forward to the best case scenario.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 24th.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.