COVID-19 couldn't stop us, but...
Andrew here.
While I was hoping to finish out the session this year, it is with a heavy heart that I have to report that my Mom fell and fractured a bunch of bones in her hand last night. She lives alone after Dad died 4 years ago and we have to go help her out on the Gulf coast for a while. Family first. Even after a great April.
We will schedule some clean ups during the Summer and get back to Session 13 in September. Hope everyone is well and staying clean during the reopening of our country. See you in the Summer and looking forward toward some great birding later on. You can always find birds on your own and prepare for Fall migration.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 6th.
All nets will be opened by 6:35 A.M.
Friday, May 15, 2020
Saturday, May 9, 2020
No Banding May 10th.
We will not be banding this Sunday. Weather trends are not drifting toward favorable conditions and better safe than sorry.
Enjoy Mother's Day and hope for better skies for the following week. Good news is that we can get back to a regular start now that the curfew will be lifted Monday.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 17th.
All nets will be opened by 6:00 A.M.
Enjoy Mother's Day and hope for better skies for the following week. Good news is that we can get back to a regular start now that the curfew will be lifted Monday.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 17th.
All nets will be opened by 6:00 A.M.
Sunday, May 3, 2020
Quiet Start to May
The first weekend of May and things got suddenly quiet after our best April in the records. Still thinking that the reduced human traffic is helping us get larger numbers of birds this past month. We only found one Gray Catbird feeding on native Wild Cherry along with the Brown Thrashers but the rest have seem to have moved on.
Our first bird of the day was an adult male Common Yellowthroat. Not too old as he is still sporting some younger feathers but still considered an adult at this point.
Next up was an adult male Northern Parula that was interrupted in its feeding schedule for a few minutes.
Things grew a bit quiet so we took time to explore the flora and fauna. Connie found a Black and White Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) out in the sunlight.
Andrew was checking nets and discovered a strange ring of flags behind Net 22. Wha...?
The rest of the crew had noticed a blooming Rhexia that we saw last Fall. It was mowed over by the rangers and we were trying to relocate where the patch was and now there is one bloom emerging again. We hope it rains around for a while in our native habitat plantings.
Christine found a River Otter, Lontra canadensis, out by Net 21 and Lisa got a photo of it a little later in the morning. There are a lot of fish in the river bend and the Otters are filling their bellies here. We have always seen signs of otter scat down in this area for years.
We always check the Red-shouldered Hawk nest during our travels and today we spotted three chicks in the nest. By the time this photo was taken, the smallest was hunkering down in the nest but the other two are about to begin branching, when they start venturing out to begin trying their flight abilities. Adults were flying in with food from time to time and, fortunately, this species feeds mostly on lizards, snakes, and frogs instead of birds so they are not a real threat to birds in nets.
Meanwhile, back below the banding table, a 1st year Red-shouldered Hawk was hunting just across the river where we watched the Alligator love last Sunday.
As the day was winding down, we caught a couple more Common Yellowthroat. Both were juvenile males.Little black specks are showing in their feathers and they have very bright yellow throats indicating their age and sex.
Our final Common Yellowthroat juvenile.
The last bird of the day was a female Black-throated Blue Warbler. We have banded many of this species and the color and eye line definitely ID it as that species. Typically, the easiest ID is a white patch in the wings sometimes referred to as a 'pocket handkerchief'. However, this bird does not show this at all. Checking the books, this makes this a juvenile female which do not get that white patch until they are an adult. The youngest of this species we have ever captured.
A slow but beautiful morning and we wind down toward the last few weeks of the Session and watching the weather for next week.
Today's Totals
NOTE: To ensure the safety of our volunteers and the general public, new visitors are discouraged from attending banding at this time. The few of us who remain will update the blog as long as we can and hope to see new faces in the future. Thank you for your understanding during this unprecedented time.
NOTE Number 2: Current forecast is showing rain for Sunday all day so please check back before deciding to head out next Sunday.
Stay clean and safe!
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 10th.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.
Our first bird of the day was an adult male Common Yellowthroat. Not too old as he is still sporting some younger feathers but still considered an adult at this point.
Next up was an adult male Northern Parula that was interrupted in its feeding schedule for a few minutes.
Things grew a bit quiet so we took time to explore the flora and fauna. Connie found a Black and White Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) out in the sunlight.
Andrew was checking nets and discovered a strange ring of flags behind Net 22. Wha...?
The rest of the crew had noticed a blooming Rhexia that we saw last Fall. It was mowed over by the rangers and we were trying to relocate where the patch was and now there is one bloom emerging again. We hope it rains around for a while in our native habitat plantings.
Christine found a River Otter, Lontra canadensis, out by Net 21 and Lisa got a photo of it a little later in the morning. There are a lot of fish in the river bend and the Otters are filling their bellies here. We have always seen signs of otter scat down in this area for years.
We always check the Red-shouldered Hawk nest during our travels and today we spotted three chicks in the nest. By the time this photo was taken, the smallest was hunkering down in the nest but the other two are about to begin branching, when they start venturing out to begin trying their flight abilities. Adults were flying in with food from time to time and, fortunately, this species feeds mostly on lizards, snakes, and frogs instead of birds so they are not a real threat to birds in nets.
Meanwhile, back below the banding table, a 1st year Red-shouldered Hawk was hunting just across the river where we watched the Alligator love last Sunday.
As the day was winding down, we caught a couple more Common Yellowthroat. Both were juvenile males.Little black specks are showing in their feathers and they have very bright yellow throats indicating their age and sex.
Our final Common Yellowthroat juvenile.
The last bird of the day was a female Black-throated Blue Warbler. We have banded many of this species and the color and eye line definitely ID it as that species. Typically, the easiest ID is a white patch in the wings sometimes referred to as a 'pocket handkerchief'. However, this bird does not show this at all. Checking the books, this makes this a juvenile female which do not get that white patch until they are an adult. The youngest of this species we have ever captured.
A slow but beautiful morning and we wind down toward the last few weeks of the Session and watching the weather for next week.
Today's Totals
| Birds Processed | New | Recaptured | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common Yellowthroat | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Northern Parula | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Black-throated Blue Warbler | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 5 | 0 | 5 |
NOTE: To ensure the safety of our volunteers and the general public, new visitors are discouraged from attending banding at this time. The few of us who remain will update the blog as long as we can and hope to see new faces in the future. Thank you for your understanding during this unprecedented time.
NOTE Number 2: Current forecast is showing rain for Sunday all day so please check back before deciding to head out next Sunday.
Stay clean and safe!
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 10th.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.
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