"I'll be in Seminole County, Officer..."

Some of us, including the Master Bander Andrew, live in Orange County which is currently under a Stay at Home order. This means that residents are encouraged to stay in their homes as much as possible unless they have an essential need such as food, gas, medical, or required to go to work. Lake Lotus Park is in Seminole County just across the line and do not share those rules, yet. We decided to head to the banding site while we can.

Glad we did. Gave the few of us that will be attending some fresh air and we got to collect some more data. Practicing Social Distancing, of course. This Sunday showed that Gray Catbirds are getting restless as they represented the most captured species of the day.



Our first bird of the morning, however, was a juvenile Brown Thrasher born last year on property.



The 2nd new Gray Catbird of the day.



That was soon followed by a recaptured Hermit Thrush.



Gray Catbird number three. All three of the first Catbirds were new. We actually recaptured all of them as they headed, each after banding, through the brush and into Net 2. Silly Catbirds.



We recaptured a juvenile Carolina Wren to keep the totals going up.



Connie and Christine found a Coral Snake slithering through the grasses near our native planting gardens. Red next to yellow says 'stay back'!



Our fourth Gray Catbird was a recapture. They are also being seen at local bird feeders more frequently as they fuel up for trips north.



Right as we were finishing processing the Catbird we heard the pit-ti-tuck call of a bird we had to think about. Ah! A Summer Tanager returning home!! It was a First Spring male by plumage which is a mix of reds and yellow before it turns a brilliant red by the time it molts into its adult feathers.



Once it found a convenient spot high in the trees the Summer Tanager began singing its heart out.



It moved around to a few trees by the table, singing and preening, until it began chasing of a pair of Northern Cardinals back into the woods. It was a great addition to the day. Great-crested Flycatchers have also returned and are 'wheep!'-ing all over the property.



Connie found another local bounding around the lanes. A Leopard Frog.



A second juvenile Brown Thrasher was banded today. It was in Net 16 just like the first bird. Must be near the original nest area as they were hanging out there often.



Two male Northern Cardinals were brought in and Lisa got to process them. The first was a recapture.



The second was a new bird and got its band before release.



As we closed up for the morning a House Wren was found in Net 21 near the lake. They will be headed North soon.



While we wrapped up at the table, Christine noticed an American Alligator down in the basking spot. It seemed smaller than Pat, who hangs out here the most. Perhaps it is Dana?



We will monitor the orders for Seminole County through the week and check in with the rangers to see if the park remains open. If so, we will hope to be out next weekend as migration ramps up. If not, the blog will be updated accordingly.

NOTE: To ensure the safety of our volunteers and the general public, new visitors are discouraged from attending banding at this time. The few of us who remain will update the blog as long as we can and hope to see new faces in the future. Thank you for your understanding during this unprecedented time.

Stay clean and safe!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 5th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.

April Showers Bring Special Visitors

Heavy rains pounded the area last night but the river did not seem to be much higher than last week. They did usher in a couple of visitors to the site today and captures were up a bit from last week but typical for this time of year.

Andrew set Net 21 just before dawn and began to hear several birds in the surrounding brush. With a little pishing a Swamp Sparrow flew in to investigate and flew out directly into the net. We thought the sparrows already left as we heard none of them last week. But there were several out by the lake still.



Just after that our first visitor arrived at the same net. Paul is a bander (ringer) in the UK and spent some vacation time with us this morning. On the next trip down the net lanes a Carolina Wren escaped from Net 14 but another didn't from nearby Net 9.



Two Gray Catbirds were also retrieved and Paul got to process them both.



Also on that run, we captured a House Wren. All three of those species will be headed home anytime now.



The Barred Owls, however, live here permanently and the baby was seen and heard in the dark in an oak near Net 12. The adults put on quite a show as they gathered food for their chick who had now moved back in the woods. For the safety of the other birds in the area we took down 4 nets as to not tempt the adults with an easy meal. After eating, they settled into resting spots. One adult on one edge of the tree canopy...



...the other on the opposite side but they faced one another.



Our second special visitor arrived back at the banding table where Richard was resting his ankle. You can see Richard's feet to the left of the photo but can you spot the visitor?



The Coral Snake slithered out of the vegetation and went directly under Richard's chairs and back toward the opposite side of the table and back into the woods. Been trying to get a good shot of this snake for years. Glad Christine had the presence of mind to grab the camera.



This particular Coral Snake must be living close by as it has been seen many times in the general area. Remember: "Red next to yellow..."



Around the same time, Christine extracted a male Common Yellowthroat from the nets. Could be a local or a migrant bird.



Our final capture of the day was another Carolina Wren. She is at least 4 years old and probably older judging by that lovely plumage. We banded her as an adult 2 years ago.



Should be time for some other migrants to arrive by next weekend.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 19th.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Should Be Peaking, But...

The first week of October is typically our busiest of the season. So we decided to open nets both days this weekend. Would the flood gates open on schedule or leave us wanting? The nets and volunteers were all ready at sunrise.



Common Yellowthroats continues to stream through but they have been doing that for weeks.



One species that is back right on time was a House Wren.



Much smaller than than Carolina Wrens, House Wrens are quite beautiful little birds. They will stay through the Winter and leave in early Spring.



Speaking of Carolina Wrens, of course we captured some of them today.



Another species we expect, actually a bit late, was our first Gray Catbird.



We usually joke that we only need to take one photo of a Catbird since they all look the same and we will get so many of them. However, this one was different. Almost overlooked was the fact that this Catbird had a white chin! New to all of us.



We had a visitor from the park over later in the day and she got to release another Gray Catbird after it was banded.



We have a few newer volunteers learning the ropes, er, nets. Another duty is helping to record data. Madison and Alease are learning some of the recording this morning.



While checking Net 2 back behind the table, Andrew heard a rustling sound in the leaf litter. Soon, the rhyme started repeating: "Red next to yellow, kill a fellow..."



A gorgeous Coral Snake was trying to remain hidden but we managed a few blurry shots. Coral Snakes are seen from time to time but they would rather be left alone and are not aggressive.



More of a danger are the Dragonflies. Even to other Dragonflies.



Did we mention Common Yellowthroats are still being caught?



We are beginning to catch a lot of White-eyed Vireos of late which is nice. However, this bird much think it stinks as it plugs up its nostrils for some reason.



We recaptured a male Northern Cardinal that was interesting in that we first banded it a year and a half ago when he was a fledgling. Looking big and strong. Love success stories.



Closing out with a bang was the Bird of the Day. Last year we only caught females but today we got a male Painted Bunting. It was captured in the same net we caught females and fledglings this time last year. Sure, they are interesting from the front...



...but when you see them from the side or back, wow!



While we were packing up Richard noticed something curious. Seems one of our support trees that holds up the rope that holds our bird in bags has done some growing. THis rope was tied up here about 5 years ago. He repositioned the rope to give the tree some relief.



We headed home to get a little rest before we have to be back out tomorrow morning.



So, did the peak miss us or is is right around the corner. Time will tell. Regardless, we should be seeing Indigo Buntings very soon.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 13th.
All nets will be opened by 6:55 A.M.