Son of Super Fog

Last weekend of 2018 and we have another week of heavy fog greeting us as we set nets in the dark. That means fewer birds for the day, in our observations, mainly due to moistures keeping insects down and sunlight making birds stay up in the treetops to grab caterpillars. Overall, though, bird numbers seems way down this year in general.

While setting the last nets of the morning, Andrew was met by a new visitor, Mary, who was asked to hold the first bag of the day which contained an Eastern Screech Owl as he got the remaining nets in place. Back at the table, Mary was tasked with holding the owl's foot as Andrew applied the lock-on band.



Eastern Screech Owls have two different feather colors: Red and gray. This one seems to be more reddish.



Things quickly grew quiet, as expected. Here are our Florida Winter woods.



Nearly 4 hours later, while we were getting ready to head out, we did catch a previously banded Gray Catbird



Mary waited all morning with us and got to release our Gray Catbird. At least there was that.



It has been quite awhile since we have seem many American Alligators in the river. One spot we used to see them was just beneath the table where there used to be a sand bar. That has been taken over by a lot of grasses and there is not much sand there anymore. Still, Christine found Pat, one of our frequent gators, perched just out of the river today.



We are still wondering where all of the birds are this year. Definitely not around here. Very few butter-butts. Very few warblers at all. Cedar Waxwings are only being heard singularly. This is the first week we saw larger flocks of American Robins. Too quiet. Maybe next week?
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 6th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Super Fog

This may have been the foggiest start to any morning in our Lotus history. It was very thick before dawn and getting thicker while setting nets.

Barred Owls were heard calling in the dark near the cars and even by the sunrise, the view was rather bleak.



The dawn chorus was loud enough, but we only caught a Carolina Wren previously banded earlier in the year. One of our new juveniles born here this year.



Our most recent visitor, Cindy, took our advice and arrived just after dawn and got to release our teenage Carolina Wren after records were taken.



The rest of the day was spent searching the area for birds. The fog never burned off, but the Maple still stood out in the gloom. Florida does not have real Fall changes like this, so we enjoy the splash of color when we can.



The only other interesting view of the day was a female Downy Woodpecker digging into a snag by Net 5. Hoping that she is making a nest for the next generation.



Our next banding day will be December 30th to ring in the New Year.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 30th.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

Quiet. Yet, the New Normal.

Colder temps came and went since last week. We were waking to the upper 30s during the week but are back to the mid-80s today. Such is Florida weather. We will dip again some next week and then finally settle into seasonal temperatures for the foreseeable future. We will welcome highs in the 70s for a bit.

Bird-wise, it was slow. Not many birds heard or seen for most of the day. Early on, we did start the morning with an adult male Common Yellowthroat. Many others were heard out in the marsh and near the lake.



Then we spent quite a while waiting for other birds to fly through. The entire Titmouse family had been hanging up below the banding table all morning. Finally, we got one of the recaptured members at Net 15. He was an angry little guy, constantly pecking at Andrew's finger tips.



While watching a Barred Owl, we found a pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers tapping away on their favorite wintering trees.



Along the neighbor's fence, there is still a lot of green popping up unlike the fungus we featured last week. All of those structures have declined, nearly completely.



Christine and Andrew were wandering the lanes and Christine found a new bloom near Net 13. It took them a couple minutes to recall that is was a Mistflower, seen here occasionally over the years.



As the day was winding down, we got our last bird of the day. A Northern Cardinal first banded earlier in the year.



Andrew went home on the search of Hooded Mergansers but only found a few Sandhill Cranes resting at Maitland Center. Two were resting on the lawn but the other was standing on point next to them.



The Sandhill Cranes were right next to the lot and made for nice, close shots. The last shots was more of a "Don't even think about it!" kind of look.



On the way out of the Center, a couple of birds flew up in front of the car. Seems a small flock of American Goldfinch were taking advantage of the puddles to grab a drink before heading off for more feeding opportunities.



We wrapped the day with three birds in hand. Looking at the past data, that is the norm for the past few years. 2015 had 7 birds on this date. Seems the numbers keep going downward. Hmmm...

And, one more thing...KNIGHTS WIN! Orlando's Hometown Team has gone two straight years undefeated and AAC Champions!!! Where is the love, NCAA?



NOTE: No banding this weekend. Forecasts are looking bleak. Going to give them the benefit of the doubt this time. Could be strong at anytime. We will try for the 16th and then take a break for the holidays.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 16th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.