Apparently, it rained hard overnight in the Lake Lotus area. Morning skies were completely clear before dawn but the property was saturated and did not really dry out all morning. Not a good situation for banding in our experience. Birds tend to stay tucked away, unless they are rubbing against the soaked leaves to bathe like Hummingbirds were doing. Otherwise, we were soggy.
We did not hear many birds throughout the morning. Our one (!) banded bird was a super worn molting female Northern Cardinal. She has seen better dresses but is coming out of Mommy mode so she will be much prettier soon.
Then things got quiet. We did catch a juvenile Carolina Wren, but it escaped the bag on the way back to the table. However, it flew up to a snag nearby and made Andrew notice something up in the vegetation above. A large Air Potato vine was reaching up about 40 feet high and it seemed to be trailing something underneath. Andrew hauled it out of the tree and was surprised to find it was flowers hanging there.
We have observed Air Potato in the area for more than a decade and none of us have ever seen one blooming. Seemed they only spread by tubers, which is mainly true, but those had to start from somewhere, right. Chicken and egg thing. Potatoes come from somewhere and the ones you get in the store do bloom.
Time for research! According to the IFAS Extension of the University of Florida: "Although air potato rarely flowers in Florida, the plant can produce small, fragrant flowers that arise from the leaf axils and grow in loose clusters up to four inches long. Male and female flowers are found on separate plants. No fruits or male flowers have ever been observed in Florida."
Interesting.
The Air Potato Beetles are appearing in larger numbers in many areas of the property. They need to catch up!
One of our resident Limpkin was near the marsh just across the fence and wandering to and fro. No calling this morning.
There were many Grasshoppers hanging out on the wet grasses waiting to dry out, like this brown one. So many species, so little time for research this week...
The wooded area behind the net lanes have undergone big changes over the Summer. Grape vines have covered vast swathes of the forest floor and many old snags and branches have fallen during the many storms in the past few months. Where you find downed tree material, you soon find fungus feeding on it.
Nearby, an Orb weaver (probably a Tropical Orb weaver) was enjoying a late morning meal. Closer inspection revealed it to be the last of some dragonfly species.
There are several patches of Sensitive Briar spreading throughout the lanes and back in the pine flat woods. This one was being visited by a metallic green bee.
We are going to end with a great collection of Kate's macro work this morning among the grasses. Not a ton of time to track down exact species, so if anyone knows then we can update later.
We do recognize Earwigs. Don't see them all the time as they shuffle around in the leaf litter, but we remember being terrified by them as children while exploring in the woods. Not dangerous. So they say...
Another spider for the morning. Looks related to Long-jawed Orb-weavers but hard to tell from this angle. Nice droplet web, though.
A two-fer! A Grasshopper and Leaf Hopper having a chat. Possibly a Rosemary Grasshopper?
Beetle time! There are a lot of beetles in the state in all colors and shapes. Most of them are overlooked. Kate did not miss them. We could take insect portraits all day, if we chose to.
Ok, maybe a hopper? Too cute to pass up despite those spines!
Beetles have to start somewhere. This one is in the larval stage which looks a lot like Ladybugs before they form their round, spotted carapace.
So...not skunked, but perplexed. Migrants should be in the nets by now. Winds are odd to the North and the Pacific is super stormy while the Atlantic sleeps. Just need one more big gust to shift toward the southeast. Hoping tomorrow starts the more interesting part of the early season.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 19th.
All nets will be opened by 6:25 A.M.
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