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.
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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, 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.
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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.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 24th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

A Bit of Migration

It was a beautifully cooler morning as we headed out to see what the winds would bring us. Birdcast predicted a large migration for the overnight, but you have to add in that a lot of birds on the move are probably waterfowl and not necessarily all of the land birds we look forward to. However, it was a pretty good migrant day today.

Things started well as Connie brought in a female Painted Bunting.



Next up was one of our first Common Yellowthroats today. This was an adult male.



We caught few House Wrens throughout the morning.



Despite the number of species, we only got one Ovenbird.



Indigo Buntings are arriving in larger numbers. We got 3 today.



Gray Catbirds were heard around the property but we only got one of them.



Next up was another adult male Common Yellowthroat.



Carolina Wrens are emerging from the brush again and we caught adults and juveniles banded earlier in the year.



A big suprise today was a fairly late juvenile Veery. Typically, this species is the first Thrushes to arrive a month or so earlier. This guy is moving through a little late.



An adult Carolina Wren was finally captured after a few juvenile recaps.



Bird of the Day was reserved for the first Belted Kingfisher we have caught since 2015. We also caught 4 the year before.



We did recapture a juvenile White-eyed Vireo as the morning began to wear down. It was a bird we first banded in September.



The rest of the day was filled with Northern Cardinals. First up was a juvenile, noted by the black still remaining on the bill.



The next two birds were unbanded adults. Like this male...



...and a female just after that. Where are these new birds from? Been around for a year or so or new residents?



Hoping we can keep these numbers up for a while. Of course, it depends on the weather. We are ready for any scenario.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Common Yellowthroat	5	0	5
Painted Bunting	1	0	1
Northern Cardinal	2	1	3
White-eyed Vireo	0	1	1
Indigo Bunting	3	0	3
Gray Catbird	4	1	5
Carolina Wren	2	2	4
House Wren	4	0	4
Veery	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Belted Kingfisher	1	0	1
Totals	24	5	29

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 17th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Nice October Start

Wondering if the first of the month might yeild our peak numbers as they use to many years ago. The past few have been rather hit or miss and lately arriving late. Today was kind of a mix. First bird of the day was an Ovenbird, so at least we started with a migrant.



Later, we recaptuered another Ovenbird, too. The next bird up was one of our recaptured Carolina Wrens.



A few weeks ago we had a slew of Common Yellowthroats and then they dispursed for a couple of weeks. Today, we had the next wave. The first was an adult male.



It was soon followed up by an adult female.



Another adult female was next. This one had an interesting reddish wash to the breast.



Andrew was heading down the lanes and approached Connie as she was signaling him to come closer to Net 10. She did not want to try to extract the Barred Owl that had flown in. We got that bird out and prepared to release it.



Jenny heard the news and ran down for an opportunity to hold the bird, too. She enjoys the smells of raptors (don't ask) and we all agreed it smelled of the woods. She released it toward the far side of the property.



The Common Yellowthroats kept coming in and the next one was another adult male.



Next, was a second year male. Notice the difference between the previous bird and this one and look at the not completely formed mask.



A recaptuered Tufted Titmouse was brought in soon. This bird was first banded 3 1/2 years ago when we captured the entire family at once..



Gray Catbirds were heard again early, but it took several hours before we caught 2 today.



One more Common Yellowthroat got jewerly as we headed toward shut down.



We were wondering where the House Wrens were when we finally got one as we began to ponder closing up.



We had been seeing several Painted Buntings flying about today. Especially after Connie saw a male bounce out of Net 13 earlier. We saw more near the table and the grasses are prime for feeding buntings heading into the month. Then we got a female as our last bird to end the morning.



So, birds are beginning to stream through as migration ramps up and we can't wait until next weekend to see the birds that show up next.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Common Yellowthroat	10	0	10
Ovenbird	1	1	2
Tufted Titmouse	0	1	1
House Wren	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	2	0	2
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
Barred Owl	1	0	1
Painted Bunting	1	0	1
Totals	16	3	19

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 10th.
All nets will be opened by 6:55 A.M.