Fall Officially Starts Now

Fall. Finally. Can you feel it? We can. Last week was a crushing weight under humidity. This morning was much more comfortable and we can hear a new change in bird calls. Is that really a Catbird in September? Yes. A weelk ahead of schedule.

Our first birds in the nets, though, were Wrens. Carolina Wrens have been calling but not moving around much. Today we captured 3.



Next up. a newly arrived House Wren. We will see them from now until Spring before they head home.



An aside: Last week, Ranger Cory said there had been Black Bear sightings in the park again for the first time in a while. When Andrew arrived to get the nets set up he found one of our new coolers pulled out from underneath the table and most of the contents were pulled out and left next to it. Net 20's first pole was also bent to the ground. Somethings bears do just for fun.



Connie brought up a Northern Waterthrush later. This mat be the last we see of them before Spring returns, but glad to have one today.



Common Yellowthroats were here today in fewer numbers than a couple weeks ago. The males took the lead this morning with our first being an adult with his full mask.



Later, a juvenile male Common Yellowthroat arrived showing his first signs of black feathers around the chin.



Speaking of that Gray Catbird mentioned up top, we did catch one to prove that our hearing was correct.



Northern Cardinals came out to play. We captured 4. Two males...



...and two females.



Bird-of-the-Day goes to our Red-eyed Vireo. They have been a little sparce this season but we do hear them nearly every Sunday.



Looking forward to a drier week before next week. Moving toward the peak of migration soon!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Common Yellowthroat	6	0	6
Northern Waterthush	1	0	1
Northern Cardinal	2	2	4
Red-eyed Vireo	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	1	0	1
Carolina Wren	1	2	3
House Wren	2	0	2
Totals	14	4	18

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.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 3rd.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Richard

September 22nd we lost one of our own to cancer.
My main mentor, Dr. Richard Poole.

I first met Richard and the Wekiwa Basin Banding crew just after Hurricane Jeanne when I was finding myself in the wrong park while trying to get into the banding life. I found my way to the official banding site the following week and was welcomed in with open arms and never left.

I was just an amature photographer wanting to get closer to birds not often seen up close. I put in work, learning, banding, and helping to update the blog for the original website. Eventually, we ended the project at WSSP in early 2007 and moved to a to a new location at Lake Lotus in September of 2008 because I did not want to let the legacy go.

We opened on my birthday after Tropical Storm Fay flooded the park, delaying our start by a month. The first birds we captured were two Northern Cardinals in Net 4. Richard saw me heading to the banding table with 2 bird bags and shouted: "Andrew! You are a success!" Thus, began our run that lasts until this day.

During the early years at the Lake Lotus site we cleared tons of invasive plants and removed trash from the Little Wekiva when we could reach it and trimmed and knocked down unwanted trees when the birds were few during some days.



Richard also had a passion for building bird boxes which he placed throughout the region and we monitored them every year. Unfortunately, most of our boxes at Lake Lotus ended up being apartments for Flying Squirrels. There are pleanty of snags that attracted other birds, apparently.



Richard made friends in the bird recovery community. We ended up banding raptors before release at the Avian Recovery Center and the Audubon Birds of Prey Center over the years.



Enventually, he retired from the banding level and returned to his true passion: gardening and plants in general. He planned out native speicies all around the net lanes and maintained them as long as he could. Sometimes he was accompanied by his loyal dog, Tanka.



When I was busy at the banding table or repairing net lines, he was out clearing downed limbs after storms and emproving the land on the days that he could.



I am a man of few words, so I was always thankful that Richard was there during our birding festivals to hold court about all things banding, native plants, and trying to preserve the environment in general.



Back at the banding site, Richard taught all of us about native plantings and lead new voluteers through the years in enriching the Lake Lotus area. Always with a cheerful demeanor and helpful hand.



I have spent 17 years of my life with two of the most amazing humans I have known. Richard and Christine helped me learn and grow in many ways and I am forever grateful for their time and patience. And friendship.



The last words Richard said to me were: "Andrew, I am glad you took over. You make people smile."

It wouldn't have been possible without you, sir. And Christine, and all of our volunteers and supporters.

We loved you and will miss you profoundly. Thank you for your guidence, time, and showing me the knot I tie almost every week and smile everytime I do it. Looking after your trees as long as I can.

Rest in peace.

Back to a Normal September

Locals know the weight of humidity during a Florida Summer. This morning it seemed 3 times as oppresive and the wet grass meeting our feet before dawn made it even worse. It was heavy, but we got all the nets up in time and settled in to see if we could find a day as good as last weekend.

Instead, it turned out to be a return to what September is usually.

It can also be noted that we catch fewer birds when the entire sight is dripping with leftover rain after a long downpour last night.

We began with an Ovenbird just after dawn.



A second Ovenbird was soon brought in and the participating crew watched the banding process.



Someone decided to be brave this week to release the Ovenbird.



We had 18 Common Yellowthroats last week but that seems it was the big push for them as we only captured a few today.



Our second juvenile White-eyed Vireo was banded today.



Veery have moved through and now the Swainson's Thrushes are arriving a little early.



As we headed toward the end of the day, we caught our first Black-throated Blue Warbler of the season. Females are very non-descript and a fun bird to learn when seeing them in the wild, as they are so difficult to ID for some.



Wrapped with 10 birds today which is average for our September days throughout the years. A cold front is teasing us (but might not get here) and Fall is now upon us. Bring on the migration!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Common Yellowthroat	4	0	4
Ovenbird	2	0	2
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
White-eyed Vireo	1	0	1
Swainson's Thrush	1	0	1
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	0	1
Totals	10	0	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, September 26th.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

Common Yellowthroats, Anyone?

Humidity was heavy this morning before dawn. Pressing down like a weight after a comfortable morning last week. A lot of rainfall all week caused the river to rise and keep the grasses nice and wet, soaking shoes on the walk in and as we set nets. The rewards, however, would reveal themselves as we went through the morning.

Nets were set before dawn, as usual, and we hit the lanes to check nets right at dawn and birds were showing up in the gloom of the soft light. The first bird up was a bit of a surprise. An Eastern Wood Pewee was in the bottom fold of Net 15. Flycatchers are mostly found higher in the trees when they are around and this was the second Pewee we have ever banded here.



Then came the first of the Common Yellowthroats. In the past, we would often catch them this time of year during migration but they have been fewer and fewer in the past years. Today they seemed to be back. First up was a female.



The next few birds that showed up were juvenile birds. Females and young males are always the first to arrive in Fall migration before the adult males show up in a while. You can tell this is a young male by the black feathers beginning to show on his cheeks and the brighter yellow breast feathers.



Next, we began to capture young Carolina Wrens. If we would have opened in early August as we did in the past, they would have been one of our most captured birds as the young leave the nests. We caught 5 Wrens which included 3 new birds and a couple of recaptures like this adult.



The Common Yellowthroats kept pouring in and were pleased to welcome back Nelida and her boys to join in recording birds. It has been about a year since some of our volunteers have been out. This was a great Sunday to return as the boys got to release a good number of birds.



This is also the time of year that White-eyed Vireo begin to show up in the area. Most are migrants, but we also managed to get a local juveline. Young birds are identified by their gray iris instead of their name-sake of white eyes shown as adults. See below for that photo in a bit.



Ovenbirds have been moving in since August and they will remain through the Spring. We caught 2 today.



Northern Waterthrush begin to migrate in late August and we had feared that we had missed them by taking that month off. Good to get one today.



Most Woodpecker species were eventually heard this morning and it was a nice surprise to get a female Downy Woodpecker during our outing. She was the first bird to draw blood on a banders finger in a long time. Sharp claws and beak.



As mentioned, we did get an adult White-eyed Vireo later in the day. You can see the difference between the eye color from our earlier bird.



We mentioned that most of the Common Yellowthroats at this time of year are females and juvenile males. Surprise! One of the last we captured was an adult male.



Red-Eyed Vireos are often heard from August and into the Fall. We could hear them here today and eventually got one before we closed the nets.



31 birds are a great day this time of year. Being a bit short staffed kept us on our toes and we thank all of the added unexpected help, including Ranger Corey hanging around for support. Hoping that this early rush of birds early is a good sign that the peak into October might return to normal captures we have not experienced in a number of years.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Common Yellowthroat	18	0	18
Carolina Wren	3	2	5
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	2	0	2
Eastern Wood Pewee	1	0	1
White-eyed Vireo	2	0	2
Red-eyed Vireo	1	0	1
Downy Woodpecker	1	0	1
Totals	29	2	31

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, September 19th.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

Session 14 Begins

Session 14 began today and it went pretty well. Filled with September migrants and some local birds. The morning was surprisingly pleasent with low humidity and a barely there breeze. We got nets set before 7 AM and proceded to walk the lanes. The rangers did a great job of clearing the lanes a few days ago, though we did have to replace seveal pole lines. Better that than have to clear brush. No complaints.

We found our first bird soon after 7 and it was a Veery, right on time for this time of year. Veery are the first thrushes that move through the South in this early migration period before Fall.



A decision was made to forego August this year (and maybe for the upcoming years) but we feared we might have missed Waterthushes in thier early passes through the area. Luckily, we caught a Northern Waterthrush for our second bird of the morning.



It is also the time for Common Yellowthroats to increase, and we did get one adult female today. Males will follow soon.



Next up was a new male Northern Cardinal. Still getting a few new Cardinals but we also captured another recaptured male local later on.



Several Ovenbirds were banded today and many more were seen and heard all over the property.



A Brown Thrasher was watched feeding on the ground for a while and it eventually hit the nets for a new band. It was a new juvenile bird. Later on, we had an adult hit Net 3, too.



Bird of the Day was a Worm-eating Warbler. We don't get them too often, but the encounters are growing in the past few years.



Several Carolina Wrens were processed this morning. Two adults and a juvenile.



Connie had a Red-shouldered Hawk hit Net 24. She almost decided to bring it in...until she worried more about the talons. It was tossed out of the net and released without banding.

We headed out to the warming morning with some good birds under out belts and felt great about the upcoming season. Fall is right over there and we cannot wait for the finds as we head into the future.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	2	1	3
Northern Cardinal	1	1	2
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	3	0	3
Common Yellowthroat	1	0	1
Veery	1	0	1
Brown Thrasher	1	1	2
Worm-eating Warbler	1	0	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	0	1
Totals	12	3	15

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, September 12th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.