Peak has been during the 1st week of October forever. However, last year, it slipped back a couple of weeks later. We had an OK catch last Sunday and today was a greater uptick. Are we hitting the peak this year or is there more to follow. Forecasts (Birdcast, etc.) really seem to show that the big push might be early next week. We had planned to band all weekend, but the forecast was for rain all Saturday. Wrong. Should have come out in spite of the 'professionals' call.
We headed out Sunday, instead, and had some wet grass waiting for us. It had rained sometime overnight, but the day was looking clear for the most part. Our first bird was an Ovenbird.
Andrew handled the recording and let Jenny handle the Hot Seat as birds began to hit nets and the crew settled in for a couple of hours processing birds as they streamed to the table in pairs. Next up was a female Painted Bunting.
Common Yellowthroats should have been arriving in the last couple of weeks but they have been scarce. This week they are back with seven captured this morning, including this adult male.
The next Ovenbird popped up quickly.
The following Common Yellowthroat was a (blinking) juvenile male.
Carolina Wrens live here year-round and occasionally we still capture an unbanded adult.
It took several years until we ever caught a Gray-cheeked Thrush. We usually get at least one in October now. Today we had three! No other thrush species was captured, unless you want to say Catbirds are close enough. Gray-cheeked Thrush are very rare for us, overall.
We finally started to get some Northern Cardinals eventhough they have been streaking across the lanes for weeks.
Gray Catbirds are loading up the scrub and surrounding areas and it is even more evident by beginning to band them as they fly about in search of breakfast.
Just as Jenny was about to finish the Catbird, 4 more birds arrived. It is a good morning when a bander cannot get away from the table.
Connie brought in a bird from Net 18. In fact, it is surprising we never caught it in the past couple of weeks since she was seen feeding right there over and over. It was a Black-and-White Warbler that has been creeping all over the Cyress trees.
The second Gray-cheeked Thrush was just a bit prettier than the last. Just an opinion. Perhaps since we had never caught two on the same day before...
Another Ovenbird. The 3rd of four banded today.
The final Gray-cheeked Thrush. Yep. They keep getting more attractive.
House Wrens are streaming in. This was the first of the morning.
Only two Gray Catbirds today, but they are getting here in larger numbers. Will probably get a lot more next week.
Still seems early, but we got another female Indigo Bunting. The weather might work out right that we have a good year for them for once in a few years. The last few years have had us flooded due to hurricanes during their travels. This year is much drier.
Another male Northern Cardinal got some jewelry.
Maybe the most regal looking House Wren in our history?
Another female Painted Bunting showed up along the way. Both Bunting species were being heard all morning.
If it wasn't for the three Gray-cheeked Thrushes, this female American Redstart might have been the Bird-of-the-Day.
She is still very pretty and several more American Redstarts were heard in the trees late in our stay.
Final bird of the morning. One more House Wren.
A great morning and we know of at least three other birds that escaped as we attempted to get to them. So we know we could have had 30 or more birds for the morning. We are sure some other birds escape unseen on any banding day. Best rate in many years and the forecasts show a bigger flow of migrants are headed our way. Fingers crossed for an exciting day next week.
Today's Totals
| Birds Processed |
New |
Recaptured |
Total |
| Ovenbird |
4 |
0 |
4 |
| Gray-cheeked Thrush |
3 |
0 |
3 |
| Carolina Wren |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| House Wren |
3 |
0 |
3 |
| Common Yellowthroat |
7 |
0 |
7 |
| Northern Cardinal |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Gray Catbird |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| Painted Bunting |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| Indigo Bunting |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Black-and-White Warbler |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| American Restart |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Totals |
26 |
1 |
27 |
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.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 18th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.
