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.
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