Fickle Year

Sigh. What a weird year. Was getting busier and then silent again. What will next Sunday be?

Migration forecast looks to be a bit better. Shall see.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Parula	0	1	1
Northern Cardinal	1	1	2
Totals	1	2	3

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 19th.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

Parents are getting a Workout

We could tell that the bear was still around during our absence since the hold at the front gate is deeper and has fresh claw marks in it. Fortunately, it left our poles undisturbed for the first time in months.

A bit more active today as we can hear chicks calling and the parents are busy fining food to stuff in those beaks. We ended up with more birds than we have had since last Fall.

Looks like a nice weekend ahead and hope to keep increasing our numbers..

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	2	1	3
Gray Catbird	3	0	3
Northern Cardinal	2	2	4
Northern Parula	1	0	1
Totals	8	3	11

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 12th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Chrip, Chirp...

Looking like March is going to be a bust. Migration still not kicking in. Hoping April will be hopping. See what I did there?

Someone tell that bear to leave our stuff alone.

Today's Totals

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

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

Lots of Visitors, Few Birds

Weather patterns have shifted a bit, but it was still quiet. We defintely did not the influx of at least 30 folks showing up for a very calm day. All visitors are always welocme, though.

Our first bird of the day was an adult Brown Thrasher.



Laura was taksed with releasing it, but it felt safe in her hand for almost two minutes before it flew off.



Next up was a recap Carolina Wren.



House Wrens have actually been signing lately. Weird. Not flying around much, but we did get one today.



Duncan got to release that House Wren on his first visit out.



As thing wound down, we did two Gray Catbirds for the crowd to watch get extracted and banded.



Cold front is pushing through but we do't epect much of a change. Just chilly weather and some wind. We shall see what shows up!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Brown Thrasher	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	2	0	2
House Wren	0	1	1
Carolina Wren	1	1	1
Totals	4	1	5

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 30th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.

Where Did Everyone Go?

Birds are still flowing through Texas and not so much here. It was a very quiet day, but we had a couple of nice birds join us today.

We started off with a couple of Carolina Wrens. One new bird and one recapture.



A Green Heron has been hanging around the end of the lanes for a couple weeks and finally hit the nets. We don't band waders (our permit does not include them) so we release them unharmed back into the marsh.



Our only other bird of the day was a female Black-and-White Warbler.



Our new visitor, Michelle, got to release the warbler. Even though it was slow day for us, but it was a thrill for her to make contact with a couple of birds. It felt disapointing to us due the lack of birds, she was in awe of handling a live wild bird. Sometimes we forget how special it is to interact with Nature. She made us remember how this connection is so amazing.



Weather is wandering back and forth right now. Chilly to back to warmer Florida next weekend. Hoping for more catches.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Black-and-White Warbler	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	1	0	1
Green Heron	1	0	1
Carolina Wren	1	1	2
Totals	4	1	5

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 16th.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

Peak Happening Late

Peak Migration is happening a couple weeks late. Climate Change? I am no expert. Catbirds used to hit in force on Octoboer 1st. Now we are back to the 12th. A few were coming through in small numbers, but today was as if they were everywhere. They joined other migrants and locals as you will see below.

We had a nice cool blast to start the morning. Low 60s. We started the day with our first Indigo Bunting of the season. A young female. We also caught another adult female later.



Gray Catbirds ruled the count today with 9 birds. They typically hit on the 1st. We have been hearing a couple hear and there, but this is the first big rush through the area. One new volunteer showed up to release one of them.



House Wrens are showing up in bigger numbers, too.



It has been quite a while since we captured a Belted Kingfisher. This lady found Net 18 early on. Warning: they bite. HARD.



One of our 2 recaps was a female Northern Cardinal.



The second recap was a Common Yellowthroat and another new one.



We thought all of the Northern Waterthrushes were gone. Still got one and heard several during the day.



It is always nice to get a Gray-cheeked Thrush. This is the brief time in the season to find them here as they migrate through quickly



Ovenbirds are always a cute addition to the day.



Finally, we caught a recap Carolina Wren. They have been calling like crazy, but not moving through the lanes much.



Looks like the fronts are shifting. The bigger flow of birds might head down Texas instead of the East coast. We shall see what happens next Sunday.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Gray-Cheeked Thrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	2	0	2
Gray Catbird	9	0	9
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
House Wren	2	0	2
Belted Kingfisher	1	0	1
Northern Cardinal	0	1	1
Common Yellowthroat	2	0	2
Indigo Bunting	2	0	2
Totals	21	2	23

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 19th.
All nets will be opened by 7:15 A.M.

Migrants are on the Way

Nearing peak migration today, and we started kind of busy and things died down for the rest of the day. Not the big bang we were expecting. With a smaller crew, that was OK.

Will be gathering photos from the volunteers and banders through the week so they will not be loaded until, probably Friday. Andrew is off to Maine for a much needed vacation until then.

Here is a total for today and it looks like next Sunday should get things hopping. Our Tropical storm looks to be turning East, so no worrys for that. We hope to get going Sunday for the main event of full-on migration. Stay tuned!.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	1	2
Common Yellowthroat	4	0	4
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
Northern Parula	2	0	2
Veery	1	0	1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	1	0	1
Totals	10	2	12

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sudayday, October 5th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Quiet, Not Quiet.

Humidity is picking up and the tropics are heating up. Most thinking is that most of the storms will stay way East of us here in Florida. Some rain chances go upby the weekend, but souldn't take away our next day out. Which, BTW, is Saturday for once since Andrew leaves for Maine Sunday.

The day began pretty quiet. Birds in the area were staying in the upper story. We all heard birds flying by early. This is the best weather we have had for a long time. Seems like most migrants were flying by insteading of landing for food. Common Yelowthroats are moving through more now. They usually come through earliler. We had several by the end of the day.



Carolina Wrens are getting active again. Northern Cardinals are loud, but not flying through much.



White-eyed Vireos are local here, but migrants of that species come through right now on their way to the Carribean. You can tell them apart by how much fat they have built up on their trip. All 4 Vireos had a fat score of 3 (the top score) and were all caught in the last hour of the day. We had 3 adults and one juvenile today.



Net 12 was busier than usual today and got us a female Black-and-White Warbler.



There was a real quiet stretch for a bit and then, as Andrew was going to call for closing nets, he hit net 21 and found 6 birds there with others trying to get caught. We ended up with a couple of Tufted Titmice, another White-eyed Vireo, A Carlonia Wren, and another Common Yellowthroat.



Going to band on a rare Saturday since Andrew has to be headed to Maine on Sunday. Migration is picking up and we don't want to miss some good birds. Saturday forecast looks like it will be a good day. Then we will band the next Sunday as usual.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Black and White Warbler	1	0	1
Ovenbird	0	1	1
White-eyed Vireo	4	0	4
Carolina Wren	0	3	3
Tufted Titmouse	2	0	2
Common Yellowthroat	4	0	4
Totals	11	4	15

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Saturday, September 27th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Migrants Picking Up and...SNAKE!

Not a bad September morning. A few good migrants and several visitors. Still waiting for the waters to receed at the end of the lanes, but it might take another week or two before can get out by the lake. We started the morning with an Ovenbird. One of the most seen/heard species this time of year. We caughtt two today. Also hearing Red-eyed Vireos and other migrants.



Common Yellowthroats should have been showing up the last week or so. We did not get any last week. Now, they are beginning to trickle in. This is a juvenile male. We also had an adult female later in the day.



One of our visitors got to release that bird.



Carolina Wrens were hitting the nets, some escaping, and we did get one recapture near the end of the lanes. Another visitor got to release that wriggling bird.



Then our snake. Don't worry. It was not a danger. Someone pulled a folding chair from beneath the table and when it was opened, it contained a rather large Ring-necked Snake. These non-vemonous snakes are common in Florida and are usally found as 1-2 foot individuals. This was closer to 3 feet. Everyone held it for a bit and then released it back into the woods.



We were kind of expecting this bird a week ago, but it is always fun to have our first Thrushes of the year like this Veery. They come through in September and usher in the other Thrushes though the next months.



Our final capture of the day was a Northern Cardinal. As it was brought to the table, some worried it was in some heavy molt. Nope. Just a juvenile male hatched here in the Spring and making its way to adulthood.



No rain on the radar for next Sunday. More migrants should arrive. Fall starts the day after. Yay!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	1	2
Verery	1	0	1
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
Common Yellowthroat	3	0	3
Totals	6	2	8

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 21st.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 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.