Session 16 Begins!

Just in time to start banding, a cool front sagged into Florida bringing us drier air and a beautiful day. The extra rain did raise the river enough to keep us from Net 21, though.

Andrew walked the lanes the week before and found the grasses up to waist high and a tree down blocking Net 7. The rangers were not sure if they could get out there due to Hurricane Idaylia getting close and they had to have sand bag filling duties.



The storm ended up staying to the West along the Tampa and panhande side and the rangers had time to clear the lanes before we began. Thanks to our friends for all of their efforts!



Our other, non-human friends, the Air Potato Beetles, have begun to wake and take care of the invasive vines.



The Air Potato vines are being skeletonized more and more throughout the area.



Can't not mention the first round of getting down the lanes. The early walk is usually spent clearing webs of Tropical Orb Weavers as we get things set up.



We were all glad to be back on the property. Some more than others!



We actually had to wait a awhile before the birds decided to get out of bed. After about an hour we got our first birds: 2 unbanded Carolina Wrens.



Like the bird with Nalida, we captured 6 Common Yellowthroats in a tight group moving past. 5 juvenile males and one female.



Then, the Ovenbirds arrived. We had 3 today. Right on time.



A next surprise was our next bird that usually come through in August, which we have given up due to heat. A Louisiana Waterthrush graced us and got a band today.



Then we captured a female Black-and-White Warbler.



Our last bird of the day was barely resting in Net 18. A male American Redstart. It was full of fat and tired, just arriving from the North.



Andrew was checking nets not long from closing up and found a large wasp in Net 5 with some prey. Turned out to be a Cicada Killer (Sphecius speciosus) with a cicada in its grasp. Most of us gathered to watch it finally free itself and the bug and drag it back to its burrow. Once there, it will lay eggs on the insect and let the offspring feed on it before leaving the nest.



It was a nice day and great return for Session 16. Lets see what the year brings us before Fall officially begins! Looking forward to cooler weather weather not too far away.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	2	0	2
Louisiana Waterthrush	1	0	1
Common Yellowthroat	5	1	6
Black-and-white Warbler	1	0	1
Ovenbird	3	0	3
American Redstart	1	0	1
Totals	13	1	14

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 10th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.

Session 12 Begins

Time to get ready for Session...12. I know our hand-made calendars say Session 11, but triple checking the years, this makes our 12th start. Time flies!

Regardless, we set out the week before to deploy all 10 new nets graciously purchased by Christine and Richard at the beginning of the Summer break.



The previous week, Andrew stopped by to check out the status of the site and found all of the Guinea Grass mowed down last Spring had grown by leaps and bounds.



Thankfully, the rangers found some time in their schedule to swing by and mow the property back to a clearer status.



Oddly, the only thing they did not mow over was a patch of Rhexia, noticed last week, that is blooming between Nets 22 and 10. There has only been one sighting of this flower in the years past that was one flower next to Net 17 just up the rise.



Richard and the crew spent most of the morning clearing Net 4 which is off the main trail and has been overgrown by vines between the Gallberry trees and the pines.



Net 13 has been in a woeful condition for years and Andrew replaced it with Christine's help.



Down at the new end of the lanes, Connie and Phyllis hand clipped the spots that the rangers mower can't reach. Looking forward to some Waterthrushes heading through there in the next week or so.



The opening day of the banding season resumed the following week and, as is typical, found local birds in the nets. Our most common birds for the beginning of August are Carolina Wren and Northern Cardinal. Oddly, Cardinals were rarely heard of seen today. Wrens? We had those, for sure. Our first bird of the day was the first of 4, this one a juvenile.



Our 2nd Carolina Wren was also a juvenile but it was so tangled that we extracted and released it. But it was soon followed by yet another at Net 2.



Connie discovered and Sphinx Moth in Net 22 and had to take care to remove it back into the wild.



Then our 4th Carolina Wren. Another juvenile.



Suddenly, we had a break in the action for an hour or so. Rains had been wide spread this past week and all of the runoff goes right through the property. A week ago the river was at a typical level but today it was creeping higher along the banks.



Good news, as noted on earlier stops over the Summer, is that the Air Potato Beetles are doing quite well all over the property. Most of the potato vines are either skeletal or still being feasted upon. Breeding pairs are all over the place.



Many butterflies are around and Christine got a shot of one of the White Peacocks hanging out by the river.



We ended the morning with the Bird-of-the-Day: a Prothonotary Warbler. Records show we only catch them in either Aug/Sept or April. Migration is on.



Other migrants were seen today, such as American Redstarts. We always forget that they are already on the move. Now we power through the heat and move toward the Fall.

Seems like we have shifted to our usual Florida Summer for once in a long while. Everyone seems to think it is hotter than ever, but if you look back...this is Florida in August. Bring your water and get home before the afternoon!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 11th.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

Cardinals Rule the Day

Most of the migrants are gone for the season so it was no surprise that we caught only resident birds today. We were a bit surprised by how many Northern Cardinals we caught, though. First bird of the day was this adult female.



Our other most numerous residents are Carolina Wrens. We recaptured and adult bird first.



That was soon followed by our first juvenile Carolina Wren of the season.



Then back to Northern Cardinals and our first juvenile of that species, too.



Air Potato vines have been popping up all over. They were first noticeable last week. Something was different down the lanes. Andrew spotted a large leaf with definite signs on being chewed upon.



It was, of course, done by our friends the Air Potato Beetle. There were to adults on those leaves. Odd thing is, the past couple of years we did not see our first adults until July. Good to see they are getting an early start this year.



Back at the table, we found a new caterpillar crossing the path. Any thoughts?



An adult male Northern Cardinal was processed next.



We have been recapturing the same Brown Thrasher the past few weeks. This week we got a new one.



Our 6th Northern Cardinal of the day. We also got to watch as a female and her juveniles hopped out of the bushes near Net 4 feeding on the ground.



Richard has been committed to removing a Camphor Tree stump for the past couple of weeks. Alyssa came along to help hack through the last of the taproot and they got the beast out.



Our Swamp Rabbit is still feeding around Nets 9 and 13. Glad to see it eating Guinea Grass!



Before we closed nets we captured our last bird. You can tell it is a popular bird right away.



It was an adult male Northern Parula. Always a crowd pleaser.



Once the Northern Parula was banded, our latest visitor, Lori, got to release the bird to continue finding food for its chick.



Two more weeks to go. Any chance of a last migrant? We shall see.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 19th.
All nets will be opened by 6:00 A.M.

Where Did the Birds Go?

It was a fairly noisy dawn chorus but then everything went quiet, just like the demo day we did in the park two weeks ago. Didn't help that Andrew had a long time extracting yet another bat from Net 10 just before sunrise. The other delay was a rare display.
As Andrew distributes bags on the way down the trail, he flings the final bags toward the end of the lanes as he sets the ones around Net 22. I defy you to get one stuck on top of a pole from 30 feet away!



Meanwhile, as Connie was pulling chairs from beneath the table, she discovered a toad resting the middle of one of them. Which species? Haven't looked it up yet.



The morning grew quiet quickly and we waited another hour and a half to catch our first birds. Both were recaptured Carolina Wrens that were hatched and banded earlier in the year.



Eventually, we caught our first migrant of the day. An Ovenbird.



As usual when things are slow, we take notice of other things around the property. Connie also found another interesting piece of Nature today. A Bagworm Moth, (Oiketicus abbot)?, cocoon.



Andrew did find a mystery up in the pine woods. During a path not taken previously, he turned and saw this plant with berries. We are still researching this species. It is a skinny little tree full of fruits.



We did not see a lot of Air Potato Beetles today. It may be because they have wiped out most of the leaves throughout the area. Before the weather turns, they will create larva and burrow into the ground until next year.



Next to Net 5, we found a new flower blooming and actually setting seed pods. Another fun plant to ID when we can. Sure looks like a pea, but probably some invasive like so many plants around here.



As the morning was winding down, Avery and Augustine saw a couple of birds in Net 20. They were a pair of White-eyed Vireos right next to one another. This often happens when birds are chasing each other while competing for food.



Both birds were considered migrants as they both had good amounts of fat stores on them meaning that they have probably just arrived from the North.



Peak migration is due next week so we will be banding all weekend for the next two weeks. Join us for hopefully more birds in the next two weeks. Fronts are pulling out of the way.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Saturday and Sunday, September 29th and 30th.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.