One More for the End of the Year. Literally...

No real fun today. Only one bird. 26 species heard or seen, but real quiet.

Our bird today was a recaptured Hermit Thrush first banded almost exactly a year ago. That is info we do like, though. Means this bird is using this patch of ground to hang out for the Winter. Glad to be a safe haven for another life to continue the line.



We will plan on starting the New Year off on a better foot after a slight break. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Hermit Thrush	0	1	1
Totals	0	1	1

______________________________________
NOTE: Due to the new CDC recommendations, if you are fully vaccinated you are not required to wear masks, esp. at outdoor events such as ours. Get your shots and come on out. Otherwise, bring a mask. All current members at Lake Lotus are fully Vac'ed.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 9th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Foggy Start and Another Slow Morning

As we ettle into the Winter months, captures are rather slow. Last year was pretty steady but looking back at the last few years it seems to be about average. Still surprised at the lack of Robin flyovers (though we did have a flock of 30 circle near the lake) and we still have yet to capture a Kinglet or hear a Goldfinch.

As the fog dropped in we started the day with a new Gray Catbird.



We also captured a couple of new House Wrens. The real shock of the day was a Purple Gallinule sighting in the Marsh as we waited for birds to hit the nets. They have nested here for years but have not been seen in person for years.



Connie brought in a new Western Palm Warbler a while later but we spent a lot of the morning removing 'leaf birds' until we closed.



So, what does Andrew do when things are a bit cooler and slow and drier? Carve a path back out to Lake Lotus. First time this path was reopened since last December.



A few fronts are set to drift in over the next week but our weather is much warmer than usual for December. Really not too abnormal, historicaly. Mabye we get our first Yellow-rump? Fingers crossed.

We will head out next week and then take a couple of weeks off for the holidays.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Gray Catbird	1	0	1
House Wren	2	0	2
Western Palm Warbler	1	0	1
Totals	4	0	4

______________________________________
NOTE: Due to the new CDC recommendations, if you are fully vaccinated you are not required to wear masks, esp. at outdoor events such as ours. Get your shots and come on out. Otherwise, bring a mask. All current members at Lake Lotus are fully Vac'ed.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 19th.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

People? Yes. Birds? Not So Much.

We arrived to a light fog and waited for our visitors from the North Shore Birding Festival. It was a good thing that they arrived on time right after sunrise as we only caught 3 birds today and all of them were captured before 8 AM.

Our first bird was a new Gray Catbird.



Just when we were going to do a tour of the property the last two birds were brought to the table. The first one was a recaptured House Wren. This bird was first banded in October and was just recaptured last week and then again today.



With limited birds in hand today, we at least got to let willing visitors release all of them. Even a humble House Wren brings joy to anyone releasing them.



Our final bird was a new adult Hermit Thrush. As we tell ourselves and visitors, the easiest way to ID a Hermit Thrush from similar Thrushes is "Tail, tail, tail!". Hermits have distictive rufus tail coloring instead of other Thrush tails that are more uniform brown overall.



The tour group headed to the Lake Lotus boardwalks to conclude their day as we continued to try for more birds. Not much was happening anywhere today. Super quiet. Birds go where they want to...

As we closed nets, we noticed the first American Alligator we have actually seen since last year after we had the mating pair just past the banding table. Today, the water was very murky for some reason (some construction upstream?) but this younger gator popped up for a bit before we left.



We always hate that we have so few birds during a scheduled event, but it was a very quiet day. Robins should be heard all morning but they were not around at all. We did manage to find few migrants while trying to catch birds such as White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Myrtle Warbler (first of the season), and a very bright Prairie Warbler. Nothing else was moving, though.

Would not be surprised that we have a more interesting day next week. Stay tuned.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Gray Catbird	1	0	1
House Wren	0	1	1
Hermit Thrush	1	0	1
Totals	2	1	3

______________________________________
NOTE: Due to the new CDC recommendations, if you are fully vaccinated you are not required to wear masks, esp. at outdoor events such as ours. Get your shots and come on out. Otherwise, bring a mask. All current members at Lake Lotus are fully Vac'ed.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 12th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.

More Recaps as the Fall Seems Slow

Radar was showing possible rain but the real forecast said 0%. So we headed out to see what we could find. House Wrens were up early and made up a number of recaptures. We had three of them today.



Carolina Wren showed up as well and we got two recaptures.



Northern Cardinals are starting to move about later in the day and we caught one recaptured male.



The volunteers decided that the Bird of the Day was our next bird. A White-eyed Vireo we first banded a while ago.



Western Palm Warblers are the most seen warblers in the area this year and we finally ended the day with one new bird to band.



Still waiting on the final arrivals of the year. Bird numbers seem to be rather low compared to many recent years. Should be hearing Robins all day but we only saw 3 today. Next week we are expecting visitors from the North Shore Birding Festival and hope to get as many birds as possible to make everyone able to see some migrants and locals up close and the banding process.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
White-eyed Viero	0	1	1
Carolina Wren	0	2	2
House Wren	0	3	3
Western Palm Warbler	1	0	1
Totals	2	6	8

______________________________________
NOTE: Due to the new CDC recommendations, if you are fully vaccinated you are not required to wear masks, esp. at outdoor events such as ours. Get your shots and come on out. Otherwise, bring a mask. All current members at Lake Lotus are fully Vac'ed.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 5th.
All nets will be opened by 6:35 A.M.

No Banding November 21st

Due to certain circumstances, we will not be banding November 21st. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 28th.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Slow, but Steady

Transitioning into the late Fall brings many new birds around the area with a few more to arrive into the end of the month and into December. The one sound we were waiting for was the return of American Robins. They were finally heard overhead. A welcome, happy sound as we headed out after dawn.

We started with a House Wren and captured another before the end to the day.



In Net 10, we had a recaptured Hermit Thrush. Later on we had a new one, too.



Rachel has been here before and spent most of the morning helping to record data for most of the birds today.



Tufted Titmouse are difficult to catch, so it was nice to have a recapture along the way. How the rest of the family resisted flying in is rare but we will take a data point.



We managed to get a couple of recaptured Carolina Wrens. In fact, most of our birds were recaptures.



Typically, Gray Catbirds are heard all over but we only caught one today.



Next up. a recaptured male Northern Cardinal.



Eastern Phoebe are calling all over and we finally were able to get one before we took down the nets.



Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Cardinal	0	1	1
Tufted Titmouse	0	1	1
Carolina Wren	0	2	2
House Wren	1	1	2
Eastern Phoebe	1	0	1
Hermit Thrush	1	1	2
Gray Catbird	1	0	1
Totals	4	6	10

______________________________________
NOTE: Due to the new CDC recommendations, if you are fully vaccinated you are not required to wear masks, esp. at outdoor events such as ours. Get your shots and come on out. Otherwise, bring a mask. All current members at Lake Lotus are fully Vac'ed.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 21st.
All nets will be opened by 6:25 A.M.

Locals and Migrants Beat the Wind

Winds were forecast to be in the area later in the day. Instead, they were blowing at dawn and we wondered how good the day could possibly be. Turned out that it was not that bad, considering.

We bgan the morning off well with three birds right out of the gate. First up was a male Northern Cardinal.



We picked up two new Gray Catbirds but they are starting to move back into the brush more than before.



The first run also included the first Hermit Thrush of the season. They look a lot like Swainson's Thrushes, but we always remind ourselves, and others, "Tail, tail, tail!" Hermit Thrush have reddish tails. Swainson's are uniform brown.



House Wrens are chattering around the property, as usual. We only got one today.



Jenny proclaimed that she had the Bird of the Day next. What could it be? Our second Belted Kingfisher of the month! This was Jenny's view...



This was Connie's.



We had a couple of new visitors today. Robin came along with his partner Michael and got to get some shots with the Kingfisher before its release..



Our one recapture of the morning was an adult Carolina Wren.



As the crew was removing the Kingfisher from the net, they commented on the fact that an owl was watching nearby. 30 minutes later, that Barred Owl hit the same net. We do not band these owls as they live on property and provide no real data. She was released away from the nets shortly after everyone got photos.



We were hoping for more Indigo Buntings today. However, we only got one female.



Robin got to release that bird.



Connie directed our final bird of the day into the nets just before closing up. Palm Warblers are flocking in all over the state right now so it was good to end the day with one of them.



Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Indigo Bunting	1	0	1
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
House Wren	1	0	1
Belted Kingfisher	1	0	1
Barred Owl	1	0	1
Western Palm Warbler	1	0	1
Hermit Thrush	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	2	0	2
Totals	9	1	10

______________________________________
NOTE: Due to the new CDC recommendations, if you are fully vaccinated you are not required to wear masks, esp. at outdoor events such as ours. Get your shots and come on out. Otherwise, bring a mask. All current members at Lake Lotus are fully Vac'ed.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 14th.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.

Fairly Quiet.

The morning set up was very quiet. Oddly quiet, in fact. No bird chips. No insects. No frogs. Just a seldom rush of trucks passing by along the 414. It was almost unsettling, to be honest.

Then, just before dawn, the birds awoke and we began our day with a few new House Wrens to band.



Next up was a female Indigo Bunting.



Other Buntings were being heard, including Painteds, but we only ended our streak with a male captured near the spot where the female was netted.



Common Yellowthroats were very vocal today. Unfortunately, most were just across the river and feeding on the banks.



The Ovenbirds are getting more and more scarce, but we did manage to get one today. Still a favorite among all to witness.



Throw in a Carolina Wren and we called it a day. Overall, a nice October for us.

A major cold front is on the way (in Florida terms) and we should be seeing much cooler weather in November. Can't wait to start hearing Robins, Goldfinches, and Butterbutts on the property.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Common Yellowthroat	1	0	1
Indigo Bunting	2	0	2
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
House Wren	4	0	4
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Totals	8	1	9

NOTE: Fall Back! Daylight saving time (is this still a thing?) happens Sunday in the AM. Set those clocks back one hour.
______________________________________
NOTE: Due to the new CDC recommendations, if you are fully vaccinated you are not required to wear masks, esp. at outdoor events such as ours. Get your shots and come on out. Otherwise, bring a mask. All current members at Lake Lotus are fully Vac'ed.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 7th.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.

A Bunch of Recaps

Warm weather winds are flowing back into the area with a strong bright moon overhead for the past few days. Seems like most migrating birds are taking advantage of the conditions and moving on. Which probably explains why we did not have too many new birds arriving. Almost all of our captured birds were recaptures.

One of the first new birds was a Gray Catbird and later followed up by a recapture.



Next up was a Northern Cardinal Jenny banded earlier in the Spring.



Then we got a juvenile male Common Yellowthroat.



Not including photos of the few House wrens, but you know what they look like, right?

We did get a few Carolina Wrens as we walked the lanes and wondered where all of the warblers were.



Eastern Phoebes were calling up and down the area all day and we finally got a new one today.



Our final bird of the day was a recaptured Ovenbird actually banded several years ago. Nice to have you back again! This is one of the things we are recording with site fidelity research.



Though the numbers were less than the past few weeks, it was a nice mix.

It wil be the 2nd time we have banded on a Halloween morning in 13 years. Lets see what tricks or treats we get as a cold front moves in Thursday and drops temperatures lasting into next week. Bring your jackets Sunday.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Common Yellowthroat	1	0	1
Eastern Phoebe	1	0	1
Northern Cardinal	0	1	1
Gray Catbird	1	1	2
Carolina Wren	2	1	3
House Wren	1	1	2
Ovenbird	0	1	1
Totals	6	5	11

NOTE: Due to the new CDC recommendations, if you are fully vaccinated you are not required to wear masks, esp. at outdoor events such as ours. Get your shots and come on out. Otherwise, bring a mask. All current members at Lake Lotus are fully Vac'ed.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 31st.
All nets will be opened by 7:05 A.M.

Ahhhh...No Humidity.

The forecast was for a beautiful morning with winds increasing later into the morning. However, winds were starting up well before dawn. Could this knock down our count today? Actually, no. A nice surprising set of birds before we left.

We started getting birds early and usually we would have a ton of photos. Except, some dum dum forgot his point and shoot on the charger. So, there were no photos of the early birds. We did catch a lot of Common Yellowthoats and House Wrens, but our first photo was a nice Swainson's Thrush.



Other birds were brought in before Connie got a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. We tried to get a photo before we released it (we do not have a permit to band them) but it took off as sson as she opened her hands. Oh, well. Search the sidebar for Hummingbird photos in the past.

We captured a few Catbirds and then had a nice migrant.
A female Black-and-White Warbler.



Kate was returning with a bird and reported a bird in Net 7. She did not want to try to extract it (do it, Kate!) and it turned out to be a Northern Waterthrush.



We got a new Ovenbird just as time was running down for the session. Then we began to take down nets. Reaching Net 14, we found a new male Downy Woodpecker waiting for some new jewlery.



Just down the lane, Connie was closing Net 17 and discovered a new Black-throated Blue Warbler.



Weather is getting drier for a bit. Maybe a little more moisture by next weekend, but it does not look like any kind of a washout. Mayby more Buntings? Stay tuned.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Common Yellowthroat	5	0	5
Painted Bunting	1	0	1
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
Downy Woodpecker	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	3	0	3
Carolina Wren	0	2	2
House Wren	4	1	5
Swainson's Thrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	0	1
Totals	19	3	22

NOTE: Due to the new CDC recommendations, if you are fully vaccinated you are not required to wear masks, esp. at outdoor events such as ours. Get your shots and come on out. Otherwise, bring a mask. All current members at Lake Lotus are fully Vac'ed.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 24th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.