Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Still surprised by all of the cloudy days and we headed into building fog this morning.

First bird up was a new female Northern Cardinal.



Next up, a juvenile Hermit Thrush that we banded a bit earlier in the Fall.



We had 3 Carolina Wren recaptures. Where are the other migrants?



Ah, one more. A Hermit Thrush we first banded as an adult 4 years ago, making this bird at least 5 years old. Site fidelity is one of our main research points here.



Hearing Ruby-crowned Kinglets for the past couple of weeks and hoped we could get one today. We did, right at the end of the morning. A female.



Still drying out and the banks are shifting. Hearing Waxwings now and wait for Yellow-rumps to arrive anytime. Maybe we can reach 21 again next weekend, but it almost seems that the river wants to divert into the marsh first. Stay tuned.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Ruby-crowned Kinlet	1	0	1
Hermit Thrush	0	2	2
Carolina Wren	0	3	3
Totals	2	5	7

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 4th.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

No Banding November 20th

Rain is on the horizon.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 27th.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

Nicole Flooded Half the Site

Hurricane Nicole rolled through last week and we were interested in how the flooding would occure and how it would hinder our efforts today. Most of the storm was to the East and it was not as bad as Ian. However, all of the rain that hits our area flows down into the Wekiwa Basin from Orlando and our way. It turns out that half of the banding nets were washed out by high waters, again. More on that later in the post.

Gray Catbirds are calling and finally hitting the nets again.



We had a little flurry of Hermit Thrushes right after.



Another view of the second Hermit Thrush.



House Wrens were skittering about. We caught 3 today.



As mentioned in the title, Hurricane Nicole moved through and flooded half of the lanes. This view is from Net 17 but we could not get nets up from 13 through 21.



Time for Lynn's Micro Corner! The Cassias are bringing in the Sulfer butterflies and we found a caterpillar there today.



Closer inspections finds a Leaf Hopper on the same plant.



The stuggle of Life finds a larger fly caught by a spider which can feast upon it.



A young Cuban treefrog rests among the branches. They are invasive but we are kind, to a point.



A juvenille female Northern Cardinal was next in the bag.



A group of students from UCF with the Conservation Leadership and Climate Initiatives (CLI) joined us today and got to witness banding and were able to release a couple of birds.



Everyone gathers around the banding table for a demonstration.



After banding the Western Palm Warbler, Jenny holds it up for others to get photographs.



A lucky CLI member gets to release the Western Palm Warbler.



The final bird of the day was another Hermit Thrush. Always notice the rufus tail feathers to distinguish from a Swainson's Thrush.



Another guest got to release the Hermit Thrush.



Looking forward to next week, though we are keeping an eye on the weather as a front is moving through. Maybe rain will chase us away? Check this spot before heading out.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Gray Catbird	2	0	2
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Western Palm Wabler	1	0	1
Hermit Thrush	3	0	3
House Wren	2	1	3
Totals	9	1	10

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 20th.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

That Was Close

A little more humid today. Lets see what birds we can find after last weeks nice haul.

When Andrew arrived at the table this morning he was met with a lot of tree debris all around. Once that was cleared out of the way he looked to the left. A tree had fallen since we were gone and hit part of the supply table and blocked the path to Net 2. But where did this tree come from?



So, he headed out to set the other nets and...OH...that tree. Guess the rangers will have another chore after they take care of the parks proper.



Hermit Thrushes hit in a small flurry as we started to check the lanes.



Followed by an Ovenbird. We neglected to get a good shot of the House Wrens brought in after that.



We hear Brown Thrashers every week (they breed here) and this is the first new one we have captured in quite a while.



Western Palm Warblers were in force again.



We see a lot of Carolina Wrens but rarely get a chance to stare down that scary throat.



Next up, a female Northern Cardinal.



The day wrapped with a lovely female Black-and-White Warbler.



We currently are expecting Hurricane Nicole. The area does NOT need more water and we will see if more trees fall and how high the river will get this round. Stay safe.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
Western Palm Wabler	4	0	4
Brown Thrasher	1	0	1
Hermit Thrush	2	0	2
Black and White Warbler	1	0	1
House Wren	2	0	2
Totals	11	1	12

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 13th.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.

Net 21 Gone Again. Still Plenty of Fun

We were greeted by thickening fog and pleasent temperatures. Seems like we get at least one really foggy morning during the Fall. There were also a few rounds of rain the past couple of days. Since the water is still receding from Ian, that is all it took to cut us off from Net 21 again.

Starting off, we caught a House wren and then we were pleasently surprised by our first Wood Thrush in six years. Back then it was also a very foggy day.



That was soon followed by our first Ovenbird of the day.



A bit later we got a nice male Black-throated Blue Warbler.



The Western Palm Warblers finally started hitting the nets even though they have been in the Central Florida area for weeks. Flood gates have opened and we ended up with six by the time we wrapped up.



Got our second Ovenbird next.



There is nothing more heartwarming than seeing the joy on a childs face as they release a newly banded bird.



We got a recaptured Carolina Wren and Jenny got a close up with those impressive talons.



Giant Swallowtail pupa were found in a nearby tree getting ready to change.



We can't get to Net 21, but the Great Egret can as it forages along the flooded river.



Just under the water, a Water Beetle settles in between feedings.



At Net 19, a sneaky Anole peeks out of the top of the pole. Pete?



A smaller thrush was captured in that same net a bit later. Turned out to be our first Hermit Thrush of Fall.



Another House Wren was brought in.



Then the feeding flock of 5 Western Palm Warblers hit the nets at the same time.



Surprisingly, it has been two years since we have captured a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. They are heard every year but somehow they evaded us during the pandemic.



We closed out the day with a final House Wren and we took a closer look at their interested feathers around the eye.



Now we move into November and hope the water drops some more and we can have all of the nets open.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Ovenbird	2	1	3
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
Western Palm Wabler	6	0	6
Wood Thrush	1	0	1
Hermit Thrush	1	0	1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	0	1
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	0	1
House Wren	3	0	3
Totals	15	2	17

______________________________________
NOTE: Next Sunday is time to Fall BACK! Plan accordingly.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 6th.
All nets will be opened by 6:10 A.M.