Slow but Interesting

Super hot week for February and then we had a front drive in a bit of a cool down. Fog was projected but it never emerged. So, we head out...

Right a dawn we had 2 Gray Catbird recaptures.



A little later, we had a male Northern Cardinal capture who was molting tail feathers. Cardinals are calling and chasing one another all over. Nests and chicks should be around very soon.



Things got quiet, and after a bit, Lynn was shouting for Connie or Andrew to head toward Net 13. We had a bird in the net we had been hearing for the past few weeks and a lot this morning. It was brought back to the table for weighing.



Our new bird? A Cooper's Hawk! Someone might be happy about it. We didn't have the proper sized bands so we got a lot of shots and released her.



Cooper's Hawk ready for a close up.



Next up, a recaptured Carolina Wren.



We began to clse up for the morning and then had a couple more birds in the nets, starting with a new White-eyed Vireo. They have been scarce this season.



Finally, we got a Myrtle Warbler (Yellow-rumped Warbler). Nice to have them back around with more regularity this Winter.



Another round of heat and then to a front to make it a nice day next weekend. See you then.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carilina Wren	0	1	1
Cooper's Hawk	1	0	1
Northern Cardinal	-	1	1
Gray Catbird	0	2	2
White-eyed Vireo	1	0	1
Myrtle Warbler	1	0	1
Totals	3	4	7

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, March 5th.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.

Beautiful Day

After a very windy day at the Orlando Wetlads Festival, we had a beautiful day today. Ended up with a nice bird we rarely catch.

To start the day, we had a female Northern Cardinal. They are calling like crazy as they begin to start building nests and starting a new brood.



Missed one Hermit Thrush in the net, but we did get one recapture before that.



A Western Palm Warbler was captured in the middle of the lanes where we usually don't get them. Fine with us wherever we get them.



Gray Catbirds are spread out but we did one of them as they begin to get restless before they move on.



Yellow-rumped Warblers are starting to show up and we got 7 today. The males are beginning to shift into their alterative plumage,



As Andrew was checking nets on the last run there was a weird sound out by Net 21. It was short and loud but didn't make a recognizable sound to his ears. But it kept repeating. By the time he got to the net, there it was...a female Belted Kingfisher with her bill caught in the net, all of the notches of its bill tangled in nylon. It was soon extracted and brought in for banding.



A great end to the day and Jennifer released it across the river.

We did have a day before this one at the Orlando Wetlands Festival but there are so many pictures to process that it will have to wait for its own post in the near future. Photos from several photographers make a longer post and story. Want to let everyone when the next outing will be first. Trust us, you will enjoy that post. It was super windy but yeilded a great result!

When we can, we add videos and other photos to our Instagram page. Check back from time to time.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carilina Wren	0	1	1
House Wren	0	2	2
Northern Cardinal	1	3	4
Gray Catbird	2	0	4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	0	1
Hermit Thrush	0	1	1
Myrtle Warbler	6	0	6
Totals	10	7	18

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, February 26th.
All nets will be opened by 6:25 A.M.

Windy

The day began a bit breezy, but as the morning wore on we knew in advance that the wind was going to be an issue. It did by the time we ended up the day. Not a bad day of captures despite the circumstances.

Our first bird was an adult male Northern Cardinal.



The was followed by a Gray Catbird. This bird was remarkable in that it had a white throat. In the past, we had another Catbird that had this white throat and recaptured it a few times. This is a totally different bird so it must be some trait in the species. Interesting.



Yellow-rumped Warblers are returning to the site after a long spate of low numbers in the past few years.



Spring is right around the corner as evident of many blooming plants, including the return of Wild Radish along the river banks.



There are a couple of spots that have beds of purple Spider Wort.



Cherry Laurel are nearing full bloom and the trees are sporting thier bright white flowers.



Western Palm Warblers are slimming out. We still see and hear some near the marsh so it was nice to get one today.



A spider was crawling up the chair as Jenny was recording info. Lynn warned her and knocked it to the ground and then picked it up for some photos. Turns out to be a False Huntsman which was soon released to go about its business safely.



Northern Parula are back! They are calling and we caught our first one as the day began to wind down.



We were wondering where the Eastern Phoebes were most of the morning. Then there were several congregating near the lake. As we were closing up, we got one.



Not a bad day and now we get ready to head to the Orlando Wetlands Festival next Saturday. Should be fun after a three year absence.
For extra pictures and videos, please visit our Instagram page by clicking the logo.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carilina Wren	0	1	1
House Wren	0	2	2
Northern Cardinal	0	1	1
Gray Catbird	1	0	1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	0	1
Northern Parula	1	0	1
Myrtle Warbler	2	0	2
Totals	5	4	9

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, February 19th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

A Nice Start to February

February is typically fairly quiet, so it was nice to have a bunch of birds right of the gate. Connie had a hard time getting to the end of the lanes without having birds in nets to bring back to the table.

First up, a recaptured House Wren.



Next to it in the same net was our first Northern Cardinal of the morning. A female.



The next recaptured bird was a Carolina Wren.



We caught 4 Gray Catbirds today. They are starting to get wrestless as Spring gets ever closer.



Then a nice change of pace. A Hermit Thrush.



Several more Northern Cardinals were brought in, including this male.



Down at Net 19, a female Ruby-crowned Kinglet was hanging quietly while doing her impression of a leaf.



As the day wound down we began catching Yellow-rumped Warblers, like this female.



And then, a few males.



Forecasts are trending toward rising winds on Sunday after a late week cold front passing through.

For extra pictures and videos, please visit our Instagram page by clicking the logo.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carilina Wren	0	1	1
House Wren	0	2	2
Northern Cardinal	1	3	4
Gray Catbird	2	0	4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	0	1
Hermit Thrush	0	1	1
Myrtle Warbler	6	0	6
Totals	10	7	18

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, February 12th.
All nets will be opened by 6:35 A.M.