New Life Bird for the Site

Finally, a cold front made its way into Florida and we hoped for new birds and cooler temperatures to begin our day. The only concern was that winds were forecast to increase pretty quickly after sunrise. The winds were not too bad, but favorable winds were still carrying birds South overhead. The only constant through the day were multiple Eastern Phoebes calling from one end of the property to the other all day. None favorited us with a visit in a net, however...

Our first bird of the day was another local. A recaptured juvenile Carolina Wren.



Then we had a female Northern Cardinal. Again, just local birds early in the day even while we were hearing migrants.



Some of our volunteers were confused about the next bird as they placed it in the bag but it was a female Painted Bunting. Indigos were still taunting us.



A recaptured male Northern Cardinal was brought back to the table not too long afterward.



A recaptured Carolina Wren hit the nets and added to our growing totals. Juveniles have not learned yet this year.



The day grew a bit quiet as we searched the nets until we got a new Ovenbird in Net 12.



Common Yellowthroats could be heard calling all up and down the lanes. Eventually, we caught a juvenile male who decided to get super tangled up.



Then, the Bird of the Day. Maybe vying for the season. Andrew decided to walk the edge of the river through the grasses since the temperatures were low, reducing gator encounter chances, in hopes of seeing if buntings were hiding out. Instead, he flushed a bird not usually seen at this site. A Grasshopper Sparrow!



Grasshopper Sparrows are usually found in grassy areas near Lake Apopka and Lake Jessup and other rural areas this time of year. We were wondering if we would get any new sparrows around this year. Seems there counts are down. We have had a good number of sparrows over the past 10 years years but it is hard to find sparrows here.



Everyone marveled at the colors of our new capture. Grasshopper Sparrows are beautiful birds and blend into the landscape so easily. Only when you have them in hand do you usually see the yellow markings on their shoulders and the oranges on their lores.



A recaptured juvenile female Northern Cardinal filled in the next few minutes of our day.



Winds were finally picking up and we decided to close up for the morning. Down in Net 9 was a juvenile Gray Catbird. He was extra feisty.



We almost missed the House Wren resting in the bottom of 22 as we were closing up, but it was a nice end to our breezy day.



Forecast for next week shows increasing temperatures and possible rain into the weekend. Keep apprised to this site if we have to ditch next Sunday. Should not be a problem, but you never know in Florida.

NOTE: Time to FALL BACK! Oh, the joy of savings time...
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 4th.
All nets will be opened by 6:10 A.M.

Seminole Audubon Stops By

Odd start to the day. As Andrew was setting nets way before dawn, he was flushing birds out of the grasses and bushes all the way down to the marsh. The dawn chorus was strong including sounds of Indigo Buntings calling in the dark. Once the sunrise hit there were birds moving but it seemed that all of the migrants decided to hit the cold front and take off.

We lost one bunting in the nets early but then all we began to capture were local birds, including a recaptured juvenile Carolina Wren. We were pleased to have several visitors from Seminole Audubon arriving and Leslie got to release our first bird of the morning.



Next up was a new male Northern Cardinal, released at the table so it wouldn't bite visitors.



Then we had a new migrant House Wren that did not want to pose pretty for the cameras. Blink much?



Common Yellowthroats were heard all over today but we only captured one adult male.



Gray Catbirds are finally moving about. Surprisingly, the first we captured was an adult bird. Usually we only get juveniles this time of year.



Some White-eyed Vireo do stick around all year, but this time of the season finds many migrating individuals. This bird was a nice example, showing fat deposits as it was coming through from up North.



We next recaptured another juvenile Carolina Wren born this Spring on property.



Then, our next Gray Catbird. As expected, a juvenile.



While Andrew was checking Net 2, he nearly stumbled upon this Box Turtle making its way up the trail.



Rouge Plant, (Rivina humilis), is now growing on our side of the river. It has always been along the opposite side of the river and we were given permission to bring some over but it has now sprung up on its own. Catbirds, and other fruit loving birds, enjoy the fruiting berries.



As mentioned at the opening, Indigo Buntings were heard calling and being flushed from the grasses before dawn. They were then seen flying over for most of the morning. Eventually, we caught our first bird of the day which was a juvenile female. Note the gape still along the base of the bill.



Gray Catbirds got restless as winds picked up. Most of the area was quiet for much of the morning and we assume most birds were taking advantage of strong winds leading them to there Wintering grounds.



Marguerite was hesitant to release a bird earlier in the morning but she relented for our second White-eyed Vireo. Truth be told, it was the first one we banded earlier in the day that found different net a while later.



An adult female Indigo Bunting was brought in next. Compare it to the juvenile and note the blue on the shoulders, which the juveniles do not show.



Along the lanes, Christine discovered a moth in distress. It was an Imperial Moth, (Eacles imperialis), that was at least extremely tired but then again released to fend for itself.



Alyssa is continuing to add plants to Olivia's Garden. Last week it was a milkweed. Today she brought in several other perennials and plumbago to add into the space. Maria started this space and we are making the dream a reality of a proper garden space. Next up: Porter Weed. Along with the Cedars, this should soon be a lovely bird and pollinator friendly area.



Alyssa also found caterpillar under a leaf. Still trying to figure out which species.



The final bird of the day was another House Wren. This is the perfect time to get acquainted with them and they will stick around until late Spring.



Still wondering if the warmer weather up North will release bigger migrants flows differently than previous years. The next cold front moves down just before the weekend. Should be a very pleasant Sunday.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 28th.
All nets will be opened by 7:05 A.M.

At Least Some Migrants Are On Time

We mentioned that the first two weeks of October paled in numbers compared to...ever..in our banding history. Checking on our records, Indigo Buntings arrive this week. They did! Also seen were the first Palm Warblers and Eastern Phoebes even though we did not band them today.

The dawn chorus was loud but all we managed to capture was a single House Wren once the singing subsided just after sunrise.



Megan was one of our new visitors and she got to release a few birds, including the new House Wren.



Next up was a somber Common Yellowthroat. It was a juvenile male.



Our other early visitor was Sandy, got to get up close and personal as she released other birds, including the Common Yellowthroat.



An early Ovenbird appeared in the nets, not long afterwards. We were having a good start to the morning as migrants began to flow in.



With all of the grass seeds around, it was not unexpected to begin catching buntings. The first one of the morning was a female Painted Bunting.



Our records have always shown that Indigo Buntings arrive in mid-October. The past two years we were hobbled by hurricanes and did not get a lot of them. Today they arrived right on time. Our first bird was an adult female.



That birds was followed shortly in the same net and was a juvenile female. Once they were both banded, they were heard calling to one another for a while right behind the banding table before heading back toward the food along the river.



Gray Catbirds are starting to flow back in and we watched many of them feeding across the river on Beauty Berries.



We got a second Ovenbird as the day worn on and we always love to see them in the nets.



Our final visitor of the morning got to release the Ovenbird.



The next Common Yellowthroat was an adult male.



Then, we got an adult male Indigo Bunting in Winter plumage. A nice contrast to the earlier females. In late Spring, they are molting into full breeding mode and totally bright electric blue as they head back North.



A second House Wren was captured as the day began to wind down.



Yet another adult male Common Yellowthroat flew in near 10 AM.



Our final bird of the day was a recaptured juvenile Carolina Wren first banded in August.



Things are getting back on track but we should have had Swanson's Thrushes today. Weather is all over the place and we are still forecast to be in the low 90s for the next week. Hotter than ever this late in the year. Whispers are that is will drop 10 degrees the following week. Fingers are crossed that it is so.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 21st.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Quality Over Quantity

The low numbers continue here as we should be having the biggest push of the migration hitting us. However, counts are way down. For example, last year, we had 80 captures during the first two weekend days in October. This year we had a total of 35. Birds are just not here this year. Should be having birds like Swanson's Thrush but no thrushes this weekend. Overall, we decided to be content to have quality birds over the mass quantity of birds.

Saturday:

Our first bird today was a Common Yellowthroat. This juvenile male did not feel like posing for us at all.



It was nice to have a female Painted Bunting early on. It was probably a migrant instead of our suspected breeding birds on the property.



Usually we catch several Tufted Titmice at the same time but today it was just a single bird. Angry little birds. Like to bite banners before they are released.



Another Common Yellowthroat headed our way before too long. This time it was a female trailing behind the incoming males.



In Net 19, the same net we caught the first bunting, we had a second female for the day.



Things were really quiet and then there was a bright glow in the shade at Net 12. The bright yellow of a Hooded Warbler hanging in the shade was a sudden nice end to our slow morning.



We also recaptured a couple of Carolina Wrens and that at least added to the final total for the day.

There was an alligator encounter during the day but we cannot discuss that without having Andrew's wife banning him from returning to the site again. Note: Always watch for predators in the marsh...

On the way out of the site we encountered and fun moment. A Black Racer was sunning along the path and allowed a very close cell phone photo before eventually slithering into the weeds.



Sunday: It took a little while but we finally got our first Gray Catbird of the season. A juvenile recently arriving.



We should have been capturing more Black-throated Blue Warblers, so it was nice to get our first Black-throated Blue Warbler female today.



Still recapturing juvenile Carolina Wrens like this little bird first banded a few weeks ago. Mostly catching all the babies all over again.



More Common Yellowthroats are moving through like this adult male.



We were missing Ovenbirds for a bit until we got this new bird mid-morning.



Next up was a female Common Yellowthroat. There were many more heard but only a few were flying through the lanes as they decided to hang near the marsh and lake.



White-eyed Vireos were heard as early as dawn and we finally got one before the day was done.



Another recaptured Carolina Wren was processed next.



We also recaptured our newly fledged Northern Cardinal we banded couple of weeks ago.



The native Scarlet Morning Glory that was waning over the years has now emerged again and is reaching for the skies near Net 14.



A second Black-throated Blue Warbler female hit the nets as the day wore on.



One of the last runs down the lanes found our second Gray Catbird in Net 9.



To round out the day we had the rainbow of the day to wrap up. We had a couple of females yesterday and today we ended with a male Painted Bunting. Nice to have the day wrap up with beautiful colors.



Hurricane Micheal is approaching. Hoping it clears through to allow more migrants headed our way next week.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 14th.
All nets will be opened by 6:55 A.M.