Slight Payoff After Wait

Well, that was a close one. For most of the morning we were preparing to write about the first time we were ever skunked on a banding day. Luckily, some birds started stirring later than usual.

First up was a recaptured Brown Thrasher first banded 3 years ago.



Nick got to practice the photographers hold with the Brown Thrasher before it was released.



Northern Parula typically stay high in the trees but now that the young are out of the nest the adults are coming lower to feed. we caught a few today and typically we one catch one during any outing when we do get them.



Our new visitor, Sonia, got to release our first Northern Parula.



Things grew quiet again but we did do some wildlife spotting along the way. Our Limpkins are usually out by the lake or down in the river. Today, one was in the neighbor's yard at the back of the marsh.



More and more butterflies are flying about these days like this Spicebush Butterfly.



On the river side of the marsh a female Downy Woodpecker foraged in the shade.



An American Alligator stayed just below where the Downy was all morning long. Avery even said it was up on the path at one point!



Cute little baby. It prowled around for small prey in the duckweed.



At Net 7 we caught our other two Northern Parulas, both adult males. Another bounced out of the net while we were getting these birds out.



A close-up of our final Northern Parula.



As we were coming back with the Parulas Nick spotted a sunning Black Racer behind Net 19.



The last bird of the day was a male Downy Woodpecker. Like the Thrasher that started the day, this bird was banded 3 years ago, almost to the day.



Close call and too quiet but at least we managed a decent late May Sunday. We have one more Sunday before the end of Session 8. As long as the recently developing tropical system stays off shore...
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 29th.
All nets will be opened by 6:00 A.M.

Things are Stirring

Yes. Sauna again. I tried to keep it from happening but, alas...

Nothing left to do but to get to it. Ovenbrids were heard calling all over the place today but they really weren't moving around much. We had to watch other birds fly by or over the area. Could have used a capture of an Ovenbird as the past couple of years but we could not do it.

Still catching the other locals, though. Like more young Cardinals. This female is showing a lot of new feathers coming in all around her body and still shows dark spots on the her bill as typical of young birds.



This slightly older male also shows new feathers coming in but the bill is more uniform in color.



We had a couple of guests today. Alice and Kris had a great time hanging out with us and we enjoyed them being there. Guests are always welcome at the site and they can always head over to the park proper afterward.



The day was not chock full of captured birds but we did have enough to keep everyone involved. This shot from Alice shows Andrew hauling back two birds back to the banding table midway through the morning.



In one of those bags was another Cardinal. A pretty girl.



The other bag contained out first migrant of the day. A Northern Waterthrush. Two weeks in a row.



As we walked the lane in search for captured birds, Richard was being all sexy and tending to our new plantings. New plants are looking good, too!



In between the new mulberries, a plant was noticed growing near the lanes. Turns out to be a Partridge Berry. Supposed to be a favorite of some birds and hopefully it will fill in the barren spots around our new trees.



Soon afterward, we captured a Carolina Wren. Most everything we are catching are young birds. Alice got a shot of this bird being banded by Andrew.



Showing the molting process on these young birds is nicely illustrated by this shot of the secondary feathers pushing through the shafts.



One bird we had hoped to catch (and maybe we have) was a one of the pair of Brown Thrashers flying right over the nets near the pier. Next time...



Andrew had to stop by the site the previous Friday and found a Carolina Chickadee. First ever sighted by us here. Today, we had several near 10 AM. They were hanging out with the Titmice (as is typical) and we managed to capture one of the birds today.



Soon after releasing the Chickadee, Andrew went toward Net 2 to see what all the birds were fussing about. He soon found the Eastern Wood Pewee he found last Friday and the Yellow-throated Vireo our visitors found last week. Same spot for both birds at around the same time!



Right near the Vireo, a Downy Woodpecker dropped into the picture. Still wish there would have been more light for both birds.



Rounding out the day, Susan and Maria were transfixed by movement across the river from the banding table. They discovered a blooming Button Bush which was being visited by our first sighting of a Silver Spotted Skipper. Nice!



Overall, a fun day shared with new friends and some great birds viewed and banded.

Someone send us a Cerulean Warbler, would ya?
______________________________________
Next Banding Day: Sunday, August 29th.

All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Final Sprucing Up Before Sunday

Our last maintenance check on the nets lanes was performed today in the stifling heat and humidity. Sweat was unavoidable and copious. But we soldiered on for a few hours to reposition net poles (to fit the brand new nets) and to plant the first of our native trees that are ready to help meet our goals of improving the environment and, hopefully, make this a great place for the birds.

Ranger Gary showed up right as we did and began mowing the net lanes so we don't have to wade through high weeds. What a great sight to walk into.



We installed the new nets and enjoyed the clean cut views.



All the way down to the pier.



As for the new trees, we planted 3 Yaupon Holly in the area where that first net lane picture was taken above.



Wax Myrtles are going in near the pier. We planted 4 today and will install up to 17 more as the year progresses. Can't wait for them to mature and for us to get a chance to maintain them and bring in the birds, which love Wax Myrtles.



Many insects were in the area, of course, but this Viceroy was making its presence known by hanging out when not chasing away other butterflies. Fun to watch.



Down by Net 14, a grouping of Scarlet Mourning Glory is spreading over the last year and attracting much attention from Spicebush Butterflies.



Another great sight is that of the berries ripening throughout the area. Black Cherry, Beautyberry, Elderberry, and the Muscadine grapes are laying out the banquet table for the incoming birds.



A not so welcome sight, a large Armored Catfish is nesting up river near the banding table.



Everything is in place for the start of the new season. Might be hot but we hope the banding will be even hotter!
______________________________________
Next Banding Day: Sunday, August 8th.

All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

Carolina Wren Bonanza

Dawn brought about a very clear realization. The Orlando Magic are in the NBA Finals! Magic 103. Cavs 90. Bring on Kobe!



Then..., wait. This is a birding blog. I got distracted. OK. Oh, alright.

The river was lower this week despite even more rain near the end of last week which let us open all nets and see what might be around. The humidity was still way up and provided some nice views of the river giving up heat and causing steam to rise from the Little Wekiva most of the morning and captured by Maria during the session.



The heavy rains have spawned a lot of new growth. Most have been the alarming return of thousands of Air Potatoes but also some interesting fungus growths on the trunks of fallen trees.



Bird-wise, it was a banner day for Carolina Wrens. We did catch a few adults, some recaptures, and it was encouraging to see Net 3 getting some action. We caught 2 adult Wrens in that net today, including this one.



Primarily, we captured a slew of young Wrens, such as this bird, and most of them were down near the lake and were getting in the nets all at the same time. We also had a recapture of a young bird near the banding table where it was caught a few weeks ago.



Breeding seem to be going quite well for the Carolina Wrens! Nice data!

We also had a new volunteer joining us, Alicia, who was not too put off by one of our other pastimes. Plucking the Air Potato vines from the area. While doing this, Alicia found a great skeleton of a Raccoon just near Net 2.



Here is a close-up of the head.



As the day wore on (the Barred Owls were about but cleared off fairly early) we explored the insects, including the ever-present Horace's Duskywings.



Other plants are springing up and we will explore them next week and see how many new birds we can band. Looking like more Wrens and hoping to get a few of the Great-crested Flycatchers or Pileated Woodpeckers teasing us at the moment.
______________________________________
Next Banding Day: Sunday, June 7th.

We will open nets around 6:00 A.M.