Back from the holidays and it seems we had a visitor while we were gone. Andrew arrived at the wee hours and found our book cooler strewn all over the place. Books were everywhere. Luckily, there was no rain lately so we just packed things up before setting nets.
We thought things might be disrupted farther down and, indeed, Net 11 had a pole down. Bear has been here lately. When Connie and Lynn arrived they found one of our books down another strech of lanes with bite marks on it. Need to get a shot of that for the next time.
Carrying on, our first bird was a Gray Catbird. Keep in mind that we forgot our point-and-shoot camera, so all of todays shots are from phones.
Next up was a recaptured House Wren.
This is the time of year when we start getting Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Not too cold out, so it was a nice band and release of this pretty female.
Then came a recaptured Hermit Thrush.
Vistors began to arrived and one was coaxed to release this Hermit Thrush.
As we navigated the lanes in the daylight, we discovered where our Black Bear chose to sleep overnight. Angela laid down in the bed for scale. Later on, Connie called to say Net 10 was comprminsed. The end of one pole was on the ground and the conduate connector was snapped to shreads with the net on the ground. This bear is still here close! We set that an hour ago.
Yellow-rumped Warblers are returning in bigger numbers and we got one after the bear incident. A nice male about to change into Spring plummage.
Northern Cardinals are always expected. Nice to have a male today.
Andrew and Angela made their way to the lake's edge. After hurricanes, it is easier to get close to the lake and the cold weather keeps the alligators at bay. Here is the shot of the Window-on-the-Lake across the way.
More Yellow-rumped Warblers flew in as we scoped the nets. Another male.
Nelida was releasing the Yellow-rumped Warbler and it sat in her hand for good minute or so before deciding to head off into the woods.
Our last Yellow-rumped Warbler of the day.
As we were closing up nets, Jenny was very proud to get the last bird of the day. No one else really seemed to care...
One more shot before the reveal.
Yes, it was a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. They are hard to capture as they see the nets often and usually avoid them. A nice catch for the end of the day.
Not a bad morning. Cold weather is heading our way and we may take the next weekend off. Stay tuned.
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Today's Totals
| Birds Processed |
New |
Recaptured |
Total |
| Northern Cardinal |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| House Wren |
0 |
3 |
3 |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Gray Catbird |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Hermit Thrush |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Myrtle Warbler |
3 |
0 |
3 |
| Totals |
6 |
5 |
11 |
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 15th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.
