Better, but Still Slickery...

We could get down to Net 24 today, but there are still stretches that are, as Andrew calls it, 'slickery'. Mud has not dried out yet so you can still slip a bit in certain places. Net 24 is now a 'beach' full of washed up sand and productive today. Just missed the Kingfisher...

A Flying Squirrel hit Net 15 again this morning. Probably the same individual as last week. They are much more dexterous than birds and just crawl out as soon as you pull the net a bit taught.



Common Yellowthroats started early in the morning letting us think this might be a descent day for captures.



Next was our first Indigo Bunting of the season. This feamle was speeding across the lanes and hit Net 20. A few were heard last week and this week.



Gray Catbirds are starting to flow through again. We caught new and recatured Catbirds today.



Still recapturing juvenile Carolina Wrens. The adults must be staying up in the woods.



We got our first Eastern Phoebe of the season. Apparently, right on time.



Another male Black-throated Blue Warbler was captured for the second week in a row.



A female American Redstart brightened the day.



We ended up with 5 Common Yellowthroats including this adult male.



A great surprise near the marsh was a female Black-and-White Warbler. This species is seen mostly in this area of the Cyress stands headed toward the lake but they usually stay about 20 feet over the nets.



House Wrens are beginning to settle into the property and we banded two new ones today.



A recaptured Ovenbird joined us in Net 2 just beyond the table. This bird was banded as an adult 5 years ago making it at least 6 years old.



Finally, another female American Redstart rounded out our day. Much better than last week. Hope the peak isn't over and we can keep a good streak going for a few weeks.



Still itching to find out how Net 21 is doing. Can't get out there yet, but maybe closer next Sunday. A cold front is dropping through this week and it should bring in more migrants along with it.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Indigo Bunting	1	0	1
Carolina Wren	0	2	2
House Wren	2	0	2
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	0	1
Black-and-White Warbler	1	0	1
American Restart	2	0	2
Eastern Phoebe	1	0	1
Common Yellowthroat	3	2	5
Northern Cardinal	0	1	1
Gray Catbird	3	1	4
Totals	15	6	21

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NOTE: Due to the new CDC recommendations, if you are fully vaccinated you are not required to wear masks, esp. at outdoor events such as ours. Get your shots and come on out. Otherwise, bring a mask. All current members at Lake Lotus are fully Vac'ed.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 23rd.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Moving Closer to Peak Migration

Weather is on the verge of becoming comfortable in the early hours of the morning and set nets as usual and waited.

Connie called us at the table to report a rodent in the net. When we arrived, it was clear it was a mammal. A Flying Squirrel! It seemed that it was trapped in the net, but photos show it was just using the net as a place to crawl around on and not trapped at all.



The Flying Squirrel still didn't seem to want to move on, especially with several humans now surrounding it. It finally liked the fact that Andrew was holding the net taught at some point and made its way all the way to the top of the net before hopping into the nearby oak. Interesting start to a morning...



Our first actual capture was a new male Northern Cardinal, the second in as many weeks.



Next, a juvenile Carolina Wren molting into its adult feathers.



Seems like they are rather late this year. We usually catch Waterthrushes in August as one of the easiest migrants. This is the second week we have caught both species starting with a Louisiana Waterthrush.



Then we had a spate of Ovenbirds. Three, in fact.



As for the Waterthrushes, we completed the pair just like last week with a Northern Waterthrush.



Last week, Andrew had been mentioning a bird that should be here by this time of the year. It was odd that we had not seen any most of the morning. Usually, they are one of the first caught in the morning when they start stirring. However, it took almost to the end of the day for one to hit the net. Our first Veery of the season. Right on time.



Just before we closed up for the day, we recaptured a Tufted Titmouse. It was first banded in 2017. It was also recaptured...just last weekend. It is with the entire family but we only get this bird over and over. Maybe next Sunday.



It is finally beginning to feel like Fall. It is just next Monday. Time to get ready for a hopeful peak migration at the first of October.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 22nd.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

Cloudy with a Chance...

We enjoyed the pretty sunrise but the clouds soon washed out the skies and became a wet blanket over our hopes for a good migration day. Catbirds were our only migrants and very little movement was seen in the trees around the area.



Our first bird was another resident Carolina Wren with a brood patch meaning it was out for a morning feeding round when it hit the nets. It was processed and released quick to resume its chores.



Next up, a female Northern Cardinal was brought in.



Paul, our guest from last week, returned and he braved a chance to release the bird. He did get his initiation into the 'biten by a Cardinal' club.



He was then called over by Richard who was checking the nest boxes. Flying Squirrels were nestled down under a pile of Spanish Moss.



No Coral Snakes today but a Black Racer did swing by for a quick visit.



We were glad to have Lynn come back out to the banding site. She has a great knack for noticing the interesting insects and flowers in the area and getting great photos of them. One of her first subjects (after the sunrise) was a Robber Fly (Family of 7,000 species known as Asilidae).



Pill Bug, Armadillidium vulgare, on a twig. When we were kids here in Florida we called them roly polies, or doodle bugs.



A Bagworm Moth was just hanging around along the trail.



Many Tent caterpillars are around. Some ore in their 'tents' and some are out foraging.



This rather odd looking caterpillar was also out looking for food.



Cottonwood Leaf Beetles are seen around the grasses all along the river.



Our other birds for the day were Gray Catbirds. Paul got to process them before we closed up for the morning.



We made a couple more trips down the lanes but with the bugs singing loudly already we knew the day was about over. Down near the lake we discovered a damselfly that Avery quickly helped us learn was called a Duck Weed Firetail.



Though turtles of many species call Lake Lotus home we hardly see them up in the river. This Red-bellied cooter was just past the mouth of the river by Net 21.



A damselfly and grasshopper seemed to be in a discussion on a stalk of grass.



We left the net lanes in the good hands (wings) of the Barred Owls and headed home a little earlier than scheduled.



Still a bit more of migration to go and we hope to catch some birds next Sunday when we are giving bird banding demonstrations for the park's Earth Day event. Last year we had many good species to show to the visiting public. Fingers crossed.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 26th across the river in Lake Lotus Park.
All nets will be opened by 7:30 A.M. but the event does not begin until 10 A.M.

Clear Skies and Fewer Birds

The Moon was just past full but could not light the way completely as nets were set this morning. It was still beautiful to view 15 minutes before official sunrise.



While the dawn chorus was quite active, it took us awhile to catch our first bird, a Gray Catbird, around 8 AM. This was a new bird for the season.



A recaptured Hermit Thrush came in form the end of the net lanes soon afterwards. We first banded this bird last November.



Once the Sun was up a bit in the sky the winds increased steadily form the direction of the lake and birds in the area were mainly feeding high in the trees. Wild Radish are blooming in their typical spots along the paths.



Fresh stalks of Cattails are reaching form the marshy ground at the mouth of the river.



Lake Lotus was soon rippled by the winds that made their way up river and billowed the nets more and more as the morning wore on. At least most of the leaves have fallen so we weren't picking them out of nets constantly.



Willow have past and left only fluff and seed to spread through the air with the breeze.



Barred Owls were calling well before dawn today and right by the nest tree. Once the male found his resting spot he ignored us completely.



Richard and Christine checked the nest boxes and found, naturally, a Flying Squirrel family in one.



Ranger Frank came over and urgently wanted to talk to us about something. Seems Public Works doesn't like a tree that fell quite some time ago as they fear it is blocking the flow of the river. Actually, it is just making a bridge across the river as the water here is over 10 feet deep in this spot. Still they plan to right the stump next week so Frank warned us so we could move some poles aside just in case they are not too careful while they bring in trucks. We will have the 'after' picture next week.



We later recaptured a Gray Catbird banded last Fall and a House Wren but our day was over thanks to the wind and the time it would take for us to remove poles.



Birds are making a turn back North now. If the weather is right we should start catching returning migrants.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, March 15th.
All nets will be opened by 7:05 A.M.