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.