Migrants Winding Down but Babies All Over

As April winds down, we caught a lot of local birds and some migrants moving North to their breeding grounds. Our first bird of the day was a Gray Catbird.



Next up was a female Northern Cardinal.



A nice surprise for the morning was a female Black-throated Blue Warbler.



Next up was a female Northern Cardinal.



One of the remaining Ovenbirds for the season was captured. A little late for them to be here, but we will take it.



The most surprising catch of the day was a juvenile Northern Cardinal just out of the nest. This is the youngest Cardinal we have ever banded. Its Mom escaped the net as it was being extracted but the caterpillar meant for consumption was in the same net. We took the chick back to the same area as soon as it was banded.



Flowers are abundant now that we are in April. A nice break from the browns of late Spring.



It is kind of hard to see, but Andrew found a Northern Cardinal feeding babies in a nest among dried Skunk Vine by Net 21.



Just below the nest, a Grass Carp was clipping at blades of grass hanging over the river, slowly rising up to take bites.



The day wrapped up nicely with a male Black-throated Blue Warbler.



Rains are moving in so we might miss a week. Then we move into a lot of local birds for the last month of the banding season.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 13th.
All nets will be opened by 6:05 A.M.

Earth Day is April 22nd

With a heavy heart, I have decided to NOT band at the Lake Lotus Earth Day event. Rains are forecast for the majority of the day accompanied by high winds. Chances of catching birds and telling others about it seem low. When folks see a rainy forecast for the day I would bet that most will not venture out to the park in the first place. Oh, well. We will try to be at our regular spot next week.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 29th.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.

Preparing for Earth Day

It was the weekend before our Earth Day demos and Andrew headed over to the park to scout the situation since Hurricane Irma damaged some areas usually used for net sites. It was fairly quiet until a noisy Prothonotary Warbler made an appearance behind the fishing pier.



Mama American Alligator was in front of the pier soaking in the sunlight. Far across the lake, a male was bellowing in search of a mate.



Near the Window on the Lake, a male Anhinga in full breeding plumage takes some time to dry its feathers.



From that point on, the boardwalk is still closed off in a couple of places due to needed repair after Hurricane Irma.



Many large oaks came crashing down in several areas of the boardwalk. The rangers are steadily making progress on fixing the closed sections when they can.



Just before the playground, a nice large Tiger Swallowtail grabs a few rays of light.



We opened the nets for our regular Sunday outing and soon had an Ovenbird in hand. All of the migrants we captured today revealed traces of fat stores, showing that they are bulking up before their trip North.



Gray Catbirds are certainly getting restless and we captured a couple during the morning. Most were staying closer to the river and grabbing Nightshade berries one after another.



Northern Cardinals are out and about, too. This recaptured male was first banded 2 1/2 years ago.



Mock Bishop's Weed (Ptilimnium capillaceum) is spreading all around Net 18 and up the path to Net 10.



Another strikingly colored adult Ovenbird was banded as the winds continued to increase, lowering our chances of catching more birds.



Our final bird of the day was a female Northern Cardinal.



Out in the marsh across from Net 23, baby American Alligators were enjoying their time in the warmth.



We only had Opossums, a ranger, and a few Raccoon trip the trail cam during the week. The only exception was this small-looking Bobcat passing by in the daytime.



We are looking forward to banding during Earth Day next weekend. However, there are some extended forecasts already calling for rain and more wind. Stay tuned...
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 22nd.
All nets will be opened by 7:30 A.M. but the park does not open until 8:30 to the general public.

More Spring Migrants

There was a fair amount of rain on Saturday so the area was soaked by morning and overcast all day. Our first bird of the morning was an Ovenbird. It was just last week that we were wondering when they would turn North. This was a very bright adult.



Lynn, a new visitor, got to release several birds through out the day, including the Ovenbird.



Several Gray Catbirds were heard on the property but we only captured a new one for banding.



Down by the marsh, a Carolina Wren hatched and banded last May stopped by for a visit.



Baby Barred Owl was very vocal today. At one point Mama stopped by to feed it.



It took us a bit of time to figure out what the meal was. Later on we found the remains of a frog beneath the limb.



We had hoped that the Barred Owls were done looking for food. Turns out they were still hungry and took advantage when a Brown Thrasher flew toward Net 12. Poor thing had no chance against such a skilled hunter. Time to post Owl Watch again...



A strong song was rising out near the lake. It took a couple of minutes to locate the singing bird. It was even more difficult to get a photo of our first male American Redstart of Spring.



A little farther on we found a large blooming of this little yellow flower on some sort of ground cover. Anyone have an ID?



Speaking of yellow, a Prairie Warbler was feeding in the willows but would not stay still for a focused portrait.



Nearby, a female Black and White Warbler was more cooperative.



Meanwhile, Mama Barred Owl was looking sleepy after her 2nd breakfast of the morning.



We captured 2 Northern Cardinals today. One was a new bird and the other was banded a couple of years ago. Males were chasing one another all around the table sites.



As most of the crew was roaming the net lanes, Bob, Lynn, and Richard processed another Ovenbird.



Our final bird of the day was the first Northern Waterthrush of the season. A Louisiana Waterthrush was also seen close to the lake.



As for the trail cam, last week was nearly all Raccoons. This week it was strictly Opossum.



More cool air and rain coming. Wonder what will show up next Sunday.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 15th.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Migrants Beginning To Move

Happy April! This is the time the migrants start getting restless and start feeding and gradually start on their way North. Even though we had to deal with some wind, again, it was an interesting mix of birds today, all of them migrants

The first bird of the day was a recaptured Hermit Thrush.



Eric and Hannah were our new visitors today and they both got to release a bird or two.



We should be catching northbound Gray Catbirds for the rest of the month.



Last week we wondered where the Ovenbirds were and this week we got one.



Our bird of the day was a Swainson's Warbler. Several were banded during our stint at Wekiwa Springs but this is the first we have banded here at Lake Lotus.



Out where Net 21 used to be, Golden Aster is now moving in to reclaim some of the area after Hurricane Irma scoured everything out last Fall.



Checking on the trail cam shows that last week was a busy time for the Raccoons. They were the dominate capture whether at night...



...or during the day.



Opossums were also wandering back and forth.



This area also sees and large gathering of Squirrels from Net 10 down toward the lake.



Our final bird of the morning was a Louisiana Waterthrush. With Net 21 out of play it was feared that we would miss them in the Spring but they are traveling up and down the river this year.



Numbers typically ramp up from here into early May. Only a couple weeks from Earth Day!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 8th.
All nets will be opened by 6:35 A.M.