Preparing for Earth Day

It was the weekend before our Earth Day demos and Andrew headed over to the park to scout the situation since Hurricane Irma damaged some areas usually used for net sites. It was fairly quiet until a noisy Prothonotary Warbler made an appearance behind the fishing pier.



Mama American Alligator was in front of the pier soaking in the sunlight. Far across the lake, a male was bellowing in search of a mate.



Near the Window on the Lake, a male Anhinga in full breeding plumage takes some time to dry its feathers.



From that point on, the boardwalk is still closed off in a couple of places due to needed repair after Hurricane Irma.



Many large oaks came crashing down in several areas of the boardwalk. The rangers are steadily making progress on fixing the closed sections when they can.



Just before the playground, a nice large Tiger Swallowtail grabs a few rays of light.



We opened the nets for our regular Sunday outing and soon had an Ovenbird in hand. All of the migrants we captured today revealed traces of fat stores, showing that they are bulking up before their trip North.



Gray Catbirds are certainly getting restless and we captured a couple during the morning. Most were staying closer to the river and grabbing Nightshade berries one after another.



Northern Cardinals are out and about, too. This recaptured male was first banded 2 1/2 years ago.



Mock Bishop's Weed (Ptilimnium capillaceum) is spreading all around Net 18 and up the path to Net 10.



Another strikingly colored adult Ovenbird was banded as the winds continued to increase, lowering our chances of catching more birds.



Our final bird of the day was a female Northern Cardinal.



Out in the marsh across from Net 23, baby American Alligators were enjoying their time in the warmth.



We only had Opossums, a ranger, and a few Raccoon trip the trail cam during the week. The only exception was this small-looking Bobcat passing by in the daytime.



We are looking forward to banding during Earth Day next weekend. However, there are some extended forecasts already calling for rain and more wind. Stay tuned...
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 22nd.
All nets will be opened by 7:30 A.M. but the park does not open until 8:30 to the general public.

Fast Start, Fast Stop.

We were hearing birds calling even before dawn so there were high hopes that today would be better than last week. However, our hopes were dashed. Started strong but got quiet real quickly.

Just after dawn, Andrew made his way down the lanes and spotted a male Northern Cardinal in Net 10. As he approached the net, a shadow came rushing out of the woods across the river. A Barred Owl was honed in on the bird. A quick shout of "Hey!" and the owl veered off and back into the trees just at the end of the net.

It was flushed deeper into the woods and then the remaining nets were checked. On the way back, there was a large shape in the net where the Cardinal had been. It was the owl. It was taken out and sent on its way back across the river. Dopey bird...



The Northern Cardinal was brought to the table, banded, and sent on its way.



Then a recaptured Brown Thrasher was brought in. It was first banded as a juvenile nearly 2 years earlier.



Next up, a Hermit Thrush.



And that was it. All we could do then was some bird watching. The Limpkin pair has been all the way up the river and today they in the river and then in the trees.



The Myrtle Yellow-rumps are showing up. Finally. They were more content to feed in the Tallow branches today, though.



Anhinga were present in large numbers all along the edge of the lake and across from the old Net 21 site.



Up in the forest, Andrew was visiting Oscar. He absentmindedly removed a random piece of bark from a pine tree and was surprised to see a large Cuban Treefrog. Weird.



Before we wrapped up for the day, the ladies were busy watching the Pileated Woodpecker pair as they flew in and dug holes in the pines behind Net 13.



Next week has to be more productive. Right?
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 3rd.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Earth Day, 2017

Well, we showed up. Too bad the birds did not. It was a very quiet banding day for the 10th annual Lake Lotus Earth Day celebration and it was a new set up for us with a total change of guard since our last appearance two years ago. Several of us arrived at 7 AM to get things set up for the day.



Nets were set but nothing was flying about. Our local Barred Owl fledgeling was set up directly across from our 2nd net. We worried that maybe it would be a problem with a raptor so close to our nets but baby sat around hissing all day and never posed a threat to any possible captures through out the day.



In years past, we were surrounded by the calls of begging Northern Parula chicks as we we sat through the day. Today, we only had one over our double net setting in the woods. It was very vocal and was first seem flittering its wings in the branches overhead begging Dad for food.



It seemed like the chick was going to sit in wait but it soon flew from place to place as it followed Dad as he gathered insects.



Sometimes it was chipping, sometimes it fluffed up for a bit.



At one point it found a place in the open and was sitting surrounded by potential food. Just to the right is a spider. Still time to learn picking them off.



Dad was gathering insects frantically and was a bit harder to get in focus. It was surprising that we never got him in the nets as he fed up and down the the lanes often diving mere inches from the them before returning to stuff bugs into the mouth of his baby.



The male Northern Parula spent several minutes scaring small moths out of their hiding places, one by one, and once he had a full bill would deliver them to baby.



Meanwhile, our baby Barred Owl woke up for a little while was was shown off to a few visitors.



It was very quiet all over the property. Eventually, we captured our first bird of the day. It was a Northern Cardinal that was first banded 4 years ago and captured in Net 21 near the lake.



Out at the pier, a few baby American Alligators are hanging out in the shallows.



At the base of the pilings, a small turtle warms up in the morning sunshine.



A Tricolored Heron spent time plucking minnows for breakfast along the reeds.



Another baby American Alligator was nearby waiting for its breakfast.



Out on the sand bar, an Anhinga dries out in the morning breeze.



Just behind it, a Great Blue Heron plucks snacks from the mouth of the river just past our last net on the regular side of banding.



Just after that jaunt to the pier, we captured a Carolina Wren. It was first banded last May.



We drew a crowd to see the bird and one of our visitors got to release the Carolina Wren. It promptly flew away from the crowd...and into the demo net. At least everyone got to see how we catch birds!



Andrew went over to the opposite side of the river to retrieve an SD card (stay tuned for that post!) and returned to be confronted by Momma Barred Owl while trying to get back to the other side of the river. Photo op? Sure.



Once the card was retrieved, he noticed something moving through the leaf litter. It appeared the be a wasp riding a caterpillar at a very rapid pace. Caterpillars can't move that fast. Once he saw the image on screen something else was evident. The wasp was dragging the caterpillar which was apparently stunned by venom and probably now the food source for the wasp's larva.



Back at the table, a crowd had gathered, but for what? A Rough Green Snake was slithering through the grass and Nick was holding it to show to the visitors. It was released and made its way back to safety away from stomping feet.



As time wound down on the day we caught one more Carolina Wren also a recapture banded after hatching on property last Spring.



Another lucky guest got to release the Carolina Wren back into the woods.



This was the slowest Earth Day we have worked over the years. There are just not many birds in the area right now. It seems weather conditions have moved Spring Migration up the center of the country. Radars show most migrating birds are traveling up Mexico and into Texas and farther North. Maybe the birds that travel up the East Coast are just running late? Time will tell.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 30th.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.

Recaptures Only

It was another quiet morning with winds kicking up around 9 AM which stopped all activity except for leaves which we were busy extracting for the next hour or so before closing up. All of our bird today were recaptures beginning with this House Wren.



Net 2 held a pair of birds shortly after the House wren. One was a very feisty Carolina Wren first banded earlier in the year.



The other was an equally feisty Ovenbird also banded this year.



As the Limpkin move further up the lowering river, an odd little Pied-billed Grebe has been following them. This bird was most of the way up the river feeding in the shadows when we got a photo. Typically, these Grebes remain in lakes and retention ponds.



Down by the river, our resident cranky male Anhinga stood guard over the mouth of the river.



The final catch of the day was a Gray Catbird. Probably the best data of the day as we found this bird was first banded here 5 years ago.



We leave you with our version of Fall views here in Central Florida. Browning Cypress, mellow Maples and yellow flowers surround the Window on the Lake. A large view of this shot also reveals an Osprey, Anhinga, and Great Egret as American Robins travel far overhead.



A cold front will get here by next weekend. Maybe it will bring a few more birds out feeding and flying.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 11th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.