That's More Like It

We had a fairly slow Saturday but had a great bird in the Chestnut-sided Warbler, but we were hoping for a better Sunday. It was better. We doubled our Saturday count. Still could have been better if we can clear the skies for a while.

Before dawn while setting the last net, Andrew noticed something down in the gloom. He called William back since he had his camera in tow. A young American Alligator was positioned at the spill over between the river and the marsh. Animals often wait in these flowing water spots in hopes that some prey might unexpectedly flow through and swim directly into a waiting row of teeth.



We started the day just like yesterday with an American Redstart. The demographic shifted a bit as today all of the Redstarts we banded were juvenile males.



Ovenbirds are still lurking about silently.



So are the Swainson's Thrushes



House Wrens were absent the past couple of banding days but they began to come back out today.



We had new visitors today and they got to release a number of birds.



Look who arrived fashionably late to the Fall party! Gray Catbird were heard recently but they finally started finding the nets today, nearly two weeks late.



Veerys usually are gone by the time the Swainson's Thrushes move in but we caught two this morning.



A variety of age and sex ranges of Common Yellowthroats were banded, beginning with an adult female.



As mentioned in previous posts, ew do catch more than birds in the nets. William rescued two large dragonflies near the table. Won't be the last.



A new female Northern Cardinal was brought to the table midday. There was still some black in the bird's bill indicating that it is a hatch-year bird, probably born on property.



The Christine came in looking like the cat that swallowed the Canary (pardon the anit-bird reference). Everyone was trying to keep the bird a secret from Andrew, who prefers to surprise others, but when she returned from Net 2, she asked, "Has he done the Bunting?", spoiling the reveal. The bird, in fact, was a male Painted Bunting, the first we have had in quite some time.



Not that anyone was interested in seeing a Painted Bunting up close...



We know that a few have been hatched around the area in the past but now it the time when migrating bird also move through. Next up will be Indigo Buntings in their blue and brown coats. We will take a rainbow any day.



More Gray Catbirds were captured and we got Dad in on the releasing action.



We got to point out the plumage of female and juvenile male Common Yellowthroats so it was fitting that we could show our visitors what an adult male looks like.



Soon, we had one of our Appalachian sub-species of a male Black-throated Blue Warbler in hand. This is turning out to be a pretty good showing for this species this year so far.



Keeping pace, another juvenile male American Redstart was banded. This is a good example of the juvenile male compared to a female. There are slight dark streaks in the cheek, dark feathers hiding underneath the white sides, and really bright orange in the 'wing-pits', as we call them.



Another was not too far behind and more were seen in the flooded area of Net 21, as well.



Our final bird of the day was a White-eyed Vireo. Many marveled in the irregular iris on this bird.



Weather forecasts are mixed for next weekend. Could be windy, could be mixed with rain, could be neither. We shall see. Just can't wait to see what other birds are arriving. Palm Warblers cannot be too far away.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 15th.
All nets will be opened by 6:55 A.M.

Session 8 Ends

It was a nice day to be out on our final morning of Session 8. As expected, we only captured local birds. Completely typical this time of year and why we stop for June and July. The first Carolina Wren of the day escaped before getting into a bag but we got a second soon afterwards. A juvenile.



Next up was a new female Northern Cardinal. Where are all of these new birds coming from?



Things are a bit drier around as Tropical Storm Bonnie cruised up to South Carolina and pulled most other moisture away from us. Still, it was plenty wet out by the lake and prevented us from reaching the shore. Not much out on the lake, anyway.



Cicadas started calling early and though the mosquitoes were not too bad, there were plenty of dragonflies around to hunt them.



Many dry runs later Richard and Christine did catch something. A Leopard Frog. We have now caught two in the past two weeks. No, we can't band them...



As we were taking nets down for the Summer break, a male Northern Cardinal flew into Net 17. We first banded this bird just a few months ago. Sorry for the poor shots as we left the point and shoot at home. Doh!



On the way home, Andrew stopped over to the ranger's office to remind them we were done for a while. Frank mentioned a new visitor to the office. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird has set up a nest right outside their window.



She returned as they watched the nest with a bit of fluff to rest the eggs in a nice pillow. Hummingbird nests are primarily constructed of lichen and spider web and other fluffy, soft material.



Frank and Andrew retreated to the office for a while to give her space to get back to work and she finally returned to sit in the cup. This shot is from within the office.



They snuck outside to get a different angle but the light wasn't that great. It is still great to find this tiny bird on her tiny nest and young birds should be appearing in a couple of weeks.



The Moon followed us home. It was an interesting Session 8. Time to take final data and send it to the lab and compare this year's catches to all of the previous ones.



We will be back from time to time to do maintenance and then prepare for Session 9 on the first Sunday of August. This was a very wet Session from beginning to end. What will next year bring? Can't wait to find out.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 14th.
All nets will be opened by 6:21 A.M.

Checking in at the Site

Andrew here. I headed to the banding site to get a feel as to how much clean-up we might be doing next month especially after we had a couple of big storms roll through that could have felled some of the dead snags. Surprisingly, there was not a lot of damage and the water level was lower than I had expected. Some tree parts have fallen near Net 3 but it looks like the rangers may have moved them out of the main path.



I also went to see if we had any beneficial beetles emerging but all of the Air Potato leaves near the banding table appear to be untouched. Just below the table in the river I spotted a few very large Armored Catfish apparently digging out a burrow in preparations for starting a new family. Not good. These non-natives can be very destructive.



By the time I got to Net 6 I did start to see some encouraging signs. The Air Potato leaves higher up are showing some wear and tear.



A bit farther down the lane at Net 12 I noticed a lot of damaged leaves and a bright red beetle floated past me as I walked deeper into the ground cover. Under another leaf I found a pair mating. Bring on the larvae!



Behind Net 22 I found several Silver Argiopes (AR-GEE-OH_PEE) on their squiggly webs in the shade.



There was not a lot of bird activity out here today. I did spot a couple of our banded Northern Cardinals along the way and Titmice and Carolina Wrens were calling back in the woods but not much else. As I neared Net 21, a female Downy Woodpecker flew by at shoulder level, lit upon a tree trunk, and quickly faded back into the shadows. Just then, a Great-crested Flycatcher flew in across the river.



It silently followed me as I headed to the end of the net lanes but soon vanished in the direction of the woodpecker.



Most turtles dive back into the water when approached but this Red-bellied Cooter was pretty defiant as I walked the Net 21 bank. It never flinched.



The only other thing stirring in the breeze were scores of Dragonflies.



I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Swallow-tailed Kites but the only bird riding the thermals was a very distant Black Vulture.



On the way out I did some more exploring around Net 12 and found more and more Air Potato Beetles.



The adults was flying back and forth and nibbling on tender shoots of the Air Potatoes. I expect to find a lot of skeletonized leaves which will mean we can skip pulling vines, at least.



Get to work, beetles! I will come back to check on your progress soon.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 2nd.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.

Session 7 Ends

It was a fairly quiet end to Session 7 today. We call our full banding time Sessions which begin on the first Sunday in August (when the earliest of migrants return to Central Florida) through May. We then take June and July off to let the local nesting families raise their young while we avoid the worst of the heat. We will post a couple of more times before the start of Session 8 when we stop by to do some maintenance in July.

Not a lot of birds out and about today but we had a few nice encounters. For example, the Barred Owl chicks were heard well before sunrise just across from Net 15, close to the banding table. Usually, they have been in the middle of the net lanes before heading into the forest by dawn.

Just after we got the rest of the nets set Susan reported that the owls were right at the banding table giving their raspy calls. Luckily, the flash was working this morning.



The young Barred Owls have always been gone from our area before daylight and this marks the first photos we have of this year's brood.



Mama arrived with a meal shortly and the babies followed her to the opposite side of the river before the first rays of the Sun emerged.



Our first capture of the day was a Carolina Wren we first banded as a juvenile two years ago. It now has a brood patch telling us it is nesting nearby.

Unfortunately, Andrew's old point and shoot is out of commission so we had to rely on camera phones at the table. Either we are not very skilled with these new gadgets or they are just not up to the task of our photographic needs. Perhaps by next August we will have it all figured out.



Next up, Charles brought in a male Red-headed Woodpecker was caught near the table in almost the same spot we caught it at the end of last year's Session. That day we caught and banded the male and female pair at the same time.



As Andrew headed down to the lake, Becki and Corey were returning with a recaptured Northern Parula.



Not much bird activity out by the lake. We could hear Limpkins from time to time while the Red-winged Blackbirds defended territory and the resident Tricolored Heron did fly in for a visit.



The only thing really flying about were the various Dragonflies who periodically stop for a rest.



The number of species is really growing week by week.



For most of the morning we had been stepping over a patch of purple flowers down by Net 21. Finally, curiosity got the better of Christine and Ranger Frank identified the plant as Baldwin's Eryngo (Eryngium baldwinii).



A lingering 1st Spring male American Redstart was found behind Net 9. One of the last migrants to vacate the scene.



Overhead, three raptors circled high in the morning sky. We could easily tell the largest was a Bald Eagle.



The other pair were harder for us to make out easily but once on the computer screen we could tell that they were Red-tailed Hawks.



At first it seemed they were just hanging out together but soon the hawks would approach the Bald Eagle and there would be a near clash of talons. The eagle soon retreated to the other side of the park.



Becki and Corey also got a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird out of the same net we captured a female a couple of weeks ago. Probably a mating pair with a nest quite close by.



Session 7 is now in the books. Time to crunch the numbers and see the totals. It sure seemed like a slower catch rate than the last few years but the figures will have to bare that out. Our numbers would be much lower if not for that 82 total at the Orlando Wetlands Festival.

Until Session 8, take care and thanks for reading!!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 2nd.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.