Trying to get back out there soon.

While we were waitng for the site to be cleared, there was an unexpected event in my Life. My Mother passed of sudden but Natural Causes on October 21st. Spent a month an a half traveling between Largo and Jacksonville seeing her before she passed and clearing out here belongings. It has been a rough 2 months.

We definitely missed the best banding of the year. The rangers have cleared almost all of the Milton mess and the floooding is gone. We just need to tidy up a few things like new strings and resetting a couple of poles. We are planning our next banding morning on December 8th. With the holidays falling in the middle of the weeks we should have 4 Sundays in the next month to get some fresh air and see what birds have stuck around for the Winter.

We look forward to seeing one another after a long Fall of grief.

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 8th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

No Banding October 13th...or Ever?

Milton did a number on the banding site. Will post photos later. Many trees are blockng the lanes and it may take weeks for things to be put back in order.

No banding this Sunday or into the foreseeable future. Rangers will be required to clear lanes but the park is surely flooded and they will have things to clear on their side first.

Disappointed to miss a lot of this season. Is what it is.

Feels sad to hear a lot of migrating birds as I walk the swamped site knowing we could be catching birds and doing citizen science. Nothing we can do. Just keeping us safe for the time being.

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, Whenever.
All nets will be opened by Sometime A.M.

No Banding October 6th. Storms Before the Hurricane.

Weather patterns are very unstable and could bring rain as early as dawn and through the day. Humidity is still very high and migrants do not seem to be in the area much.

No banding this Sunday.

Be very prepared for a possible major hurricane mid-week. Major is Cat 3 and beyond coming through Tampa to Orlando as of tonight's report.

Depending on the damage, we could be out of commition for a bit. Stay tuned and stay safe!

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 13th.
All nets will be opened by 7:10 A.M.

Wow. That was Quiet...

Humdid and quiet this typical migration push. Felt more like July!

No time for photos this week. Will update soon.

It was a very non-event. Hurricane Helene pushed all birds to the West. Catbirds are being heard so maybe they can all make it Sunday.

Rain will be approaching so be sure to check before heading out Sunday morning in case we have to cancel.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
Northern Cardinal	2	2	4
Common Yellowthroat	2	0	2
Totals	4	3	7

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 6th.
All nets will be opened by 7:05 A.M.

We're Back!

Several of us arrived at 6 AM and headed in to assess the condition of the lanes and poles. We haven't been back for a couple months. There were the few poles we knew the bears already bent back then but a survey crew came through at some point and removed some of our other sets.

90 minutes later we had everything back in shape.

As some of us were reparing the poles, we began to capture Common Yellowthroats, mainly juvenile males.



We did get one adult male Common Yellowthroat.



Kimberly, one of our visitors, got to release some birds today.



Several Carolina Wrens were also captured.



Another migrant joined us. An Ovenbird.



Later on, we recaptured a female Northern Cardinal.



Finally, we captured a species we thought we missed by starting so late. A Northern Waterthrush.



Typically, the 1st of October is the big push of migrating birds. We will see if Hurricane Helene disrupts that this Sunday.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	0	3	3
Northern Cardinal	0	1	1
Common Yellowthroat	5	0	1
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Totals	7	4	11

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 29th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Session 16 Comes to an End

Our final Sunday of Session 16 is in the books! As expected, it was all locals.

We started up getting all of the Northern Cardinals. First up was a male adult.



Then, a female Northern Cardinal.



THEN, our first newly fledged Northern Cardinal.



Species switched over after that. Now we were catching mainly recaptured Carolina Wrens. We ended up with 6 today.



Our final bird of the day was a Brown Thrasher.



Thanks to all of our volunteers and visitors this past Session. We plan to be back the first Sunday of September.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	0	6	6
Northern Cardinal	2	1	3
Brown Thrasher	1	0	1
Totals	4	7	11

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 22nd.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

No Banding 5/19-Rains Are On the Way

Thunder is on the menu. No banding this Sunday.

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 26th.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.

What Are You Doing Here?

May is typically a month of local adult birds and thier newly hatched chicks leaving the nests. This Sunday, however, we captured several birds still migrating North. Really running late!

The day started normally with a recaptured adult Carolina Wren. By the end to the day we recaptured a total of 3.



Then the surprises began with a Northern Waterthrush. It should be the last one we see until the Fall. We also banded 3 of this species today.



We managed to pick up a couple of male Northern Parulas who were out looking for food for their chicks.



Great-crested Flycatchers are as elusive as ever, but we did get a female today.



There was a family of Tufted Titmice around Net 15. They kind of dispursed and the one bird lagging behind as a fledgling. It was exploring the trees right next to Andrew as he stood and observed. After a few minutes it couldn't get past the end of the net and was captured.



The baby Tufted Titmouse gave Andrew one last bite before flying back towards its parents.



Our final bird of the day was a nice surprise. Another late migrant: a female Black-throated Blue Warbler!



Can't wait to see what awaits us before the end of our banding season.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	0	3	3
Northern Parula	1	1	2
Great-crested Flycatcher	1	0	1
Northern Waterthrush	3	0	3
Tufted Titmouse	1	0	1
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	0	1
Totals	7	4	11

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 19th.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.

Now We Settle in for Locals

By May our migrants are pretty much gone and we prepare for locals to breed and unleash thier young upon us by the end of the month. At least the wind left us alone.

Our first bird of the day was an adult Carolina Wren, with a brood patch. We first banded this bird as a juvenile last year.



Next up, we caught a male Northern Parula. He was busy gathering food for their chicks and can be heard up and down the lanes. This was a newly banded bird.



You can easily tell a male Northern Parula from the female by the 'necklace' on their breast.



Northern Parulas are typically seen from below. If you do see them from above you notice the yellow-green on their backs.



In the same net, another male Northern Parula was captured. This one was a recapture, first banded in March.



We were wondering where all the birds have gone from the marsh. Net 21 has been fairly quiet this year. But, on the last net check we found an adult male Downy Woodpecker in the net.



With just a few weeks in the season we will probably get some babies and usually more reckless adults trying to feed them and not paying attention. They will all be treated with great care as the bird population at Lake Lotus continues to thrive.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	1	1	2
Northern Parula	1	1	2
Downey Woodpecker	1	0	1
Totals	3	2	5

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 12th.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.

Wind is Not Our Friend

As we end April we hope to get a few migrants. The day looked promising early on , then the wind changed our fortunes. Mostly locals for the rest of the day.

The same Painted Bunting we banded last week is still sticking around.



Four Northern Cardinals were captured. Some new, some recaptured.



Our first baby Carolina Wren was banded along with its parent.



We sometimes get a surprise or two in our final month in the season, but is mostly baby birds and other locals. 4 weeks to go!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	1	1	2
Northern Cardinal	2	2	4
Painted Bunting	0	1	1
Totals	3	4	7

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 5th.
All nets will be opened by 6:25 A.M.

Migrants and More

We bagan with low wind and some slightly humid air as a front was pushing in. Winds began to kick up around 9 AM. Mostly cloudy by mid-morning and we wnded up with some interesting captures.

After a large move of Gray Catbirds last week we thought they must be about out of here. But, they are still around and we caught 3 of them. Should be gone in a week or so.



Walking the lanes, there was a little shadow at Net 5. Turned out to be a junenile male Painted Bunting. Wish we had better lighting at dawn, but...



Our newest visitor, Sarah, got to release the Painted Bunting.



Ovenbirds are moving through. We captured 2 new ones and saw others moving through the woods.



We then caught a Mom Cardinal out hunting for food for her chicks. A bit later we caught a male.



Then things got quiet. Real quiet. We walked the lanes for over an hour without any real sound of birds. Eventually, we recaptured the Common Grackle we first banded a couple of weeks ago out by the marsh in the same net back then. Nearing the end of the day, we caught another Grackle not far away.

Blackbirds and Grackels don't usual get captured as they are a bit bigger for the mist nets to haul in. They can usually get out so it is a pleasure to have them in hand.



We also processed a couple of Carolina Wrens and believed the day was over when we caught the Bird-of-the-Day. A Hooded Warbler.



Hooded Warblers are rare in our woods. They usually come North along the Gulf, but when they are here they glow so bright in the low light of the net lanes are alway a joy to discover.



We processed the bird and Alex was releasing the bird. It was a little tired and stayed in his hands for a minute befor flying off at full speed.



Our final bird of the day was a male Common Yellowthroat. More yellow to end the day. Other warblers were heard and seen. Wish we could have got them. Maybe next week before the push finishes up.



Should have another pretty good week heading toward May. Weather looks good for the last migrants.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	1	1	2
Gray-catbird	3	0	3
Northern Cardinal	1	1	2
Ovenbird	2	0	2
Common Grackel	1	1	2
Painted Bunting	1	0	1
Common Yellowthroat	1	0	1
Hooded Warbler	1	0	1
Totals	11	3	14

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 28th.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Holy Cats...

Looks like everything is about to head out soon. Lots of birds sound around but we only captured two species today.

Gray Catbirds were hitting about every netand the ones they didn't hit they were still on one side or the other. They are very active and about to head North. We captured 13 new birds and one we banded last year.



We captured 3 Carolina Wrens along the way. Most with brood patches. Babies are on the way!



We usually get our last warblers and buntings around Earth Day. Hopefully that remains the same this next Sunday.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	1	2	3
Gray-catbird	13	1	14
Totals	14	3	17

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 21st.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.