2018 Orlando Wetlands Festival

The Orlando Wetlands Festival returned after taking 2017 off and it turned into a worthwhile venture by the end of the day. Reports are coming in on the positive side from visitors and staffers alike.



We began setting nets before dawn and our first bird of the day as the Sun cleared the horizon was a Gray Catbird.



Fog was expected in the morning but we thought that would be before dawn. Instead, is was perfectly clear until around 8 AM. Looking down the road from our nets you can see the fog begin to creep in from the West.



When there is a break in the action we get a chance to explore the property bit by bit. Just past the nets we discovered a long trail of Otter tracks heading toward the main ponds.



Where the track ran out, a single Black-bellied Whistling Duck basked in the sunrise just across the water.



A couple of Black-crowned Night Herons were already in the nearby trees but more were flying in from the East.



Yellow-rumped Warblers are typically the more numerous captured birds at this event. Today we only caught one that was giving us an earful.



As we set nets, Rebecca heard a Yellow-breasted Chat calling back in the brush. She an Lynn tried to lure it into the open with no luck. Soon they hiked to try for other birds.



10 minutes later, Andrew heard a squawk and turned to see a Mockingbird swooping at one of the nets and back into the trees. Was that something relaxing in that same net? Yep. The Yellow-breasted Chat! The first we have ever captured and banded. Word soon spread and everyone waiting for the event to officially begin headed over to the table.



Yellow-breasted Chats are very shy. You can often hear them calling but they rarely come out into the open. Thanks, Mr. Mockingbird, for chasing it our way!



Shortly after 9 AM, the buses and tractors started rolling tours through the wetland and straight between our mist nets. We still managed more birds along the way.



Common Ground Doves are a bit large for our nets but we did get 2 out of the 5 in the area.



One female Ruby-crowned Kinglet hit the nets today.



Killian brought his sister along and she got a chance to release the bird. It was playing shy but left after it was handed off back to Andrew.



Some of the visitors were watching the nets for a while and soon alerted us to a bird at the end of the lane.



It was an adult female Black and White Warbler.



One of our young visitors got the opportunity to release her.



Nothing makes kids smile more than holding and releasing an amazing flying creature.



More birds from some of our short hikes. Limpkin were fairly obvious in many areas around the wetlands. Looks like there is plenty of food.



Out at the Cypress Hammock dozens of Roseate Spoonbills gathered to rest and bathe.



It is always nice to spot a Glossy Ibis this time of year as they flash and shimmer in the morning light.



Most of the American Coots are flocking together on the far side of the wetlands but a few linger closer to the main entrance.



A Snowy Egret grabbed a snack and flew up into a tree to enjoy it.



We were hearing Swamp Sparrows all morning. Only one braved the wide open.



Another lucky guest got to release the Swamp Sparrow back into the woods.



Northern Cardinals were teasing us all morning just past the net lanes but began to get closer later in the day.



Then the next Bird of the Day flew into the nets near the wishing well. It was brought back to Andrew. No one could make an ID as they headed back. Once out of the bag it was determined it had to be one of two vireo species. We consulted our books and determined it was definitely a Philadelphia Vireo. Reports are that this might be the first official record of this species in the Winter at the Orlando Wetlands in Florida!



The Philadelphia Vireo is also a Life Bird for everyone. One of our regular visitors got the honor of releasing it. (Update: this bird is still being seen daily since it was banded. It is staying in the same area.)



One more male Northern Cardinal was banded before the winds kicked up and we headed home.



Which made this American Alligator very happy. All it wanted to do was get out of this pond and head elsewhere. Your turn, Smiley...



Great day and glad to be back at the Wetlands. Trees are now going into full bloom so we hope to have a good morning back 'home' next Sunday.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, February 25th.
All nets will be opened by 6:25 A.M.

Orlando Wetlands Festival: 82

The Orlando Wetlands has been a windy and quiet event for us the past few years. Seems the weather has just been turning right as the weekend arrives. The forecast for today was suppose to be clear and perfect. When we showed up to begin setting nets we were under cloudy skies with spritzes of moisture. Great. It wasn't windy yet but was now being called for by noon.

We pounded in the last of the rebar and got the nets up around 8AM and hoped for the best. Birds were flying down near the end of the net lanes so maybe we could catch a few. Before we reached the table again birds began to hit the nets. Four and five at a time!

A Gray Catbird was the first bird banded today.



Becki took the first round of banding while Andrew figured if anything else to added to the lanes and Susan kept records while Christine continued back down for more birds to extract. The tree limbs and cart were filling with bags.



Most of our birds today were Myrtle Warblers. Most just call them Yellow-rumped Warblers but there are two sub-species that we need to track and most of the Eastern birds are Myrtles.



Meanwhile, the bags kept coming in as fast as we could process the previous batches.



Our first group of the morning was following our friend Lorne Malo out for some bird watching. They got to release a few Myrtles back into the wild for us.



Soon, another couple ventured by and both got a chance to do the same. There was no shortage of birds to be released.



Our next surprise of the morning, besides the large amount of warblers, was a male Painted Bunting. We have not had one here in the many years we have banded at the event.



More Catbirds followed and then we began to catch Northern Cardinals who were sporting brood patches. Nests are either nearby or being formed.



Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are difficult to catch. They seem to see the nets better than most birds. This male hit the net early and was caught again just near the end of the day.



Our next surprise, Common Ground Doves. The past couple of years found a couple of them crossing the net lane area but they never hit the nets. Today we caught and banded four! A first for all of us to have in hand.



As mentioned above, we allow some of the public to release birds after we band them but we keep them away from Northern Cardinals. They can inflict a nasty pinch with their strong jaws. They are not part of the grosbeak family for nothing. Even at the risk of a bite on the fingers you can tell when a bander is enjoying a morning with full nets.



Flitting around with the Myrtle Warbles was a House Wren.



Not long after our male Painted Bunting was banded and released we began to see a female hanging around the feeders near the Education Center across from the banding table.



The Myrtle Warblers kept hitting the nets. Interestingly, most were males. This one was ahead of the others in brighter molt and decided to take a thread from the bag before heading back to the marsh.



More brave youngsters released a couple of warblers for us. It is always satisfying to see the joy on a child's face as they hold and release a bird. The connection is electric and smiles are lasting within and without.



White-eyed Vireos were being heard just after dawn and we caught two today.



Group after group of eager young folks gathered around as we continued to band. We did not have a break for 3 1/2 hours but were enjoying every bit of it.



Eventually, Becki had to lead a hike near one. The wind picked up around noon so that put an end to our bounty but we caught a few more birds for the rest of the day but maybe every 20 minutes instead of every 3.



While on her hike, the group saw some nice Florida specialties like Purple Gallinule. Hopefully, it was keeping a sideways glance on the gator lurking just behind it.



Up on a palm stump, a light-morphed Red-shouldered Hawk kept watch for prey. Florida has a unique light-morph species that live here year-round.



More male Myrtle Warblers? Certainly. The final tally of this species was 52! We had one year of 33 of them so this was a record breaking year in all regards.



Another new species was in the area today and we caught three of them. Savannah Sparrows were digging for leftover seed under a feeder but ended up with some extra jewelry by day's end.



A thrilled guest got to release the second Savannah Sparrow.



As the day was settling down family members arrived on the scene. Andrew's wife Carolyn stopped by as did friends of Richard's family. Cami, Chloe and Jeremy Sensenig watched a Cardinal being extracted. Somehow we failed to get a shot of Richard at his station but his son, Eric (in green), was there for some of the fun.



Phyllis took a break from watching nets to help record numbers as we banded a female Cardinal.



Christine got the final Common Ground Dove out of the net near the table.



Our final species of the day was another surprise. A Western Palm Warbler. Yellow-rumps are always around this time of year at the Wetlands but it is more difficult to find the Palm Warblers in this spot.



Just before we wound down for the day, Orange Audubon member Varsha Bhadkamkar stopped by to share a photo. She refound our banded male Painted Bunting munching grass seeds, as they are wont to do, just around the corner from where it was first caught. This shows how banding is not a traumatic event and birds are quickly back to their foraging and travels immediately after being released. Maybe we can recapture it next year and add to our data.



Speaking of recaptures, we did get an interesting one. A Myrtle Warbler we first banded 4 years ago at this very spot. A sure sign that birds return to the same places year after year. We have many examples of this from previous bandings at Lake Lotus and Wekiva Springs. Studies that we do help determine favorable habitats for wintering birds and add to the list of wandering migrants in general and give us some information about the longevity of some birds, especially if we band them in their first year.

82. Our final total for the day. Those are first of October best-of migrating numbers. Having that in mid-February is spectacular. Here's hoping for another excellent year on 2016 at the Wetlands.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, March 1st.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.