Session 18 Begins

Welome to the sauna!

Wide spread and hours-long rains last night brought us cooler weather but very wet and drippy conditions as we began our 18th banding session. Damp mornings lead to a quiet few hours before birds want to move around. It gave us some time to spruce up the needed net lane fixes and some trimming. Thanks to the rangers for mowing and removing certain blockages before we got back in business.

We only caught migrants today (not complaining) but the first 'capture' of the morning was a shock. And one of our nightmere thoughts.

Connie called in to report a Great Blue Heron was in the net at the end of the lanes. BTW, that was Net 24. The rains got the river so high, we could not get out to Nets 21 and 26. Might be weeks before we can get out there.

The heron was trapped by its bill. Connie did not want to get too close, opting for a photo before calling for help.



Andrew arrived soon afterward and as he an Connie advanced toward the bird, it began to get aggitated and freed itself and headed for the swamp uninjured. Whew. Can't think of dealing with that deadly bill close up. Great Blues are a formitable predator, eating everything they can catch. Fish, snakes, rats, and even baby alligators. Glad we didn't have to try getting it all the way out.

Soon, we began to get some migrants as the day dried a bit. The most captured species were Ovenbirds. We caught 3 new birds and one recapture.



Our one other migrant was a Northern Waterthrush.



More Fall-like weather is moving in and we hope to get a lot more migrants next week. Thankfully, we have no hurricanes on the horizon during the peak season. Lets get more fun birds from here on out!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	3	1	4
Totals	4	1	5

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 14th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Session 17 Ends

Andrew here. Yep. We are not banding for the month of May. I have 30 days to get all of our stuff out of our house of over 30 years into our new place. Don't feel like I can give up most of Sundays when I should be hauling stuff with the family. So, we will start Session 18 on August 31st. But, we did have some fun birds on our final Sunday.

It was starting slow but then we had a nice surprise. A Great-crested Flycatcher! Better yet, it was a recapture from last year.



Next up were a couple of Carolina Wrens.



Then, a migrant. A female Common Yellowthroat.



Northern Parula are not calling as much these days but they are here mostly feeding their chicks. A pretty male.



Then another female Common Yellowthroat.



As the day wound down we got a very vocal female Downy Woodpecker.



Finally, a female Northern Cardinal.



Thanks to everyone who volunteered and to those who joined us to release some birds and gain some knowledge of banding. See you all on August 31st! Enjoy the toasty, toasty Summer.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Carolina Wren	0	2	2
Downy Woodpecker	1	0	1
Common Yellowthroat	2	0	2
Great-crested Flycatcher	0	1	1
Northern Parula	1	0	1
Totals	5	3	8

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 7th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Slow Day

A pretty quiet day today. Looks like most migrants are headed up through Texas. We only had 3 species all morning.

First up, a Carolina Wren.



Next up a female Northern Cardinal.



Finally, a Gray Catbird.



Our latest visitor got to release the Gray Catbird.



Hope things pick up next week before we head in May and the local chicks we should be seeing.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Carolina Wren	0	2	2
Gray Catbird	2	1	3
Totals	3	3	6

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 27th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Catbirds, and Catbirds

The dawn chorus was pretty strong, but it looks like most migrants are moving through Texas right now. Probably will be our last cool weather for now until next October. Get ready for the heat!

Not going to show photos of every Gray Catbird we caught today. You know what they look like. We captured 13 today. A nice number for the Spring rush home.



Only caught a couple of Northern Cardinals today. Perhaps they are too busy on nests.



Just past Net 21, a large Southern Swamp Lily (Crinum americanum) is in full bloom.



Out next to the lake, Golden Asters are spread all around.



Finally, we captured a pair of Carolina Wrens.



One of our longtime visitors and voluteers, Alex, is off to Virgina for school. Thanks for all your help and we hope to see you again in the future!



We look forward to getting some more migrants before the end of May and next week looks pretty good to start seeing them. In fact, Andrew did see a Prothonotary Warber in the marsh as we were beginning to close up so, fingers crossed.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Cardinal	1	1	2
Carolina Wren	0	2	2
Gray Catbird	7	6	13
Totals	8	9	17

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 20th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Catbirds are Restless and We Wait for Other Migrants

It was a warm but exciting day as we head into Sping Migration. Birds are getting busy, either preparing to leave or preparing for chicks.

Gray Catbirds beginning to feast on local berries as seen by this captured bird covered in stains from fruits. We caught 8 today.



Northern Cardinals are preparing nests and getting active as well. This female is ready to get back to her activities after getting new band.



Jenny likes to take shots in what she calls thier 'Muppet face'. This time from an adult male.



Our second most captures were Carolina Wrens.



Carolina Wrens are showing signs of chicks about to arrive. This one has an egg just to be layed as seen in the belly ready to be dropped.



Tussock Moth caterpillars are active, as well. They are feeding and dropping on nets and tables.



Next, we had a recaptured Brown Thrasher first banded as a juvenile last year.



House Wrens have been very shy this year, but we did get one new one this morning.



As we began to wrap up, Andrew was clearing leaves from Net 21. When he turned around he found a Green Heron trapped in the net behind him. The heron was heard all morning in the marsh and flying back and forth and eventually ended up hitting the net.



This is only the 2nd Green Heron to be captured over the years. We cannot band waders nor waterfowl, so we released it back into the marsh nearby.



Jenny likes to smell the birds we get and says it smells like fish. That is what it eats. Makes sense.



As we closed nets we had one last bird. A female Northern Parula. They usualy have a lot of chicks at the end of April. The adults will be flying more and more in search of food for their hungry chick for the next few weeks.



Looking forward to next Sunday and hoping to see Spring Migrants making the way back North.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Cardinal	3	1	4
House Wren	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	7	1	8
Carolina Wren	1	3	4
Brown Thrasher	0	1	1
Green Heron	1	0	1
Northern Parula	1	0	1
Totals	12	8	20

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 13th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Small Mix

Kind of a quiet morning. We got a few new birds and some recaptures. No push for migration yet.

Our first bird was a Gray Catbird, one of 4 caught today.



We also caught 5 Carolina Wrens.



Since we were last here, the rangers have installed a few nest boxes. The Wood Ducks seem interested but so was someone else. As we checked the lanes we discovered a Red-shouldered Hawk having a snack on top of one boxes.



Our final bird of the day was an Ovenbird.



So, migration hasn't started yet. It also looks like our next Sunday will be rained out. We will skip the 30th and prepare for a, hopefully, busy April and May!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Gray Catbird	3	1	4
Carolina Wren	1	4	5
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Totals	5	5	10

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 6th.
All nets will be opened by 7:10 A.M.

Understaffed and Less Time

We had our time change and Sprung Forward. Unfortunately, only Andrew and Connie showed up. Others had other planned outtings or had previous plans. Also, since the time changed, we were only out a shorter time. Although, being shourt-handed, it did time out to 3 hours which is about what we usually end up doing during Standard time.

Our first birds were a couple recaptured Hermit Thrushes. Migration is gearing up as migrants start to get ready to head North.



Gray Catbirds are still being secretive, but we did get one today.



Next we caught a Carolina Wren and a Yellow-rumped Warbler that is quickly transitioning to its Spring plumage.



House Wrens are getting ready to leave but not without some jewelry.



We got two Northern Cardinals this morning.



Down at Net 13, we found a nice set of captures. Two Northern Parula males were side by side, maybe 4 inches apart. Probably chasing one another defending territory. Nesting is in full-swing for them. One was a recapture and the other new.



Finally, we caught one more Yellow-rumped Warbler.



Next week will see a cold front arriving bringing high winds and rain so we are skipping the 16th. Hoping to get back out on the 23rd.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Cardinal	1	1	2
Hermit Thrush	0	2	2
Gray Catbird	1	0	1
House Wren	1	0	1
Carolina Wren	1	0	1
Northern Parula	1	1	2
Yellow-rumped (Myrtle Warbler)	2	0	2
Totals	7	4	11

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, March 23rd.
All nets will be opened by 7:20 A.M.