Back to 'Normal' October

Last week was fairly disappointing with a big dip in the birds from last week. This week was a bit better and close to normal numbers for this time of year. Unfortunately, Andrew forgot his point-and-shoot so we are using cell phones for shots. Hot tip: Clip your nails before trying to take phone photos one-handed. They do not respond easily to finger nails. So, here we go...

Indigo Buntings were calling early in the day and we did manage to get 2 just after dawn.



We caught a couple of Carolina Wrens before getting a new House Wren.



Jenny came back from Net 21 claiming she thought she had a Pine Warbler. Even better, it was the Bird-of-the-Day. A Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Our 3rd in our entire time here.



Later, she returned saying she had another flycatcher. It was an Eastern Phoebe.



Not a lot in the vegetation to grab our attention except for a group of fungus across from Net 1. Yes, it had rained again overnight.



We can't forget our Gray Catbirds today. Numbers were up and we captured 5 today.



Next up was a female American Restart. They are still calling loudly up in the treetops.



Net 21 was busy, as we had thought it might be today and we caught Northern Waterthrush as we closed up nets for the morning.



Not a bad day. We shall see what next week brings after Hurricane Zeta clears through the East by the end of the week.

Today's Totals

< tr bgcolor="#e6ffe6">

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Eastern Phoebe	1	0	1
House Wren	1	0	1
Carolina Wren	1	1	2
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher	1	0	1
Indigo Bunting	2	0	2
Gray Catbird	4	1	5
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
American Redstart	1	0	1
Totals	12	2	14

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.

NOTE 2: Daylight Saving Time this Sunday. Clocks go BACK at midnight Saturday.

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 1st.
All nets will be opened by 6:10 A.M.

Closing Out 2019

We drove through the fog to the site before this dawn wondering how the day would play out. Not too cold, but fog keeps things quiet for most of the mornings as insects are not moving so birds are staying at the tops of the trees as the light kisses the treetops.

Our first bird just after dawn was a recaptured Carolina Wren.



Odd thing about this Carolina Wren. It appeared to be a juvenile based on all plumage signs. Buffy eyebrows. No white spots on the wings. But it was a recaptured bird so we know that we first banded it 2 years ago! It should have bright white eyebrows and bright white spots on the wings as an adult. Hmmm... Let the investigation begin.



The next net run was also interesting. Andrew headed down the lanes and stopped short at Net 19 as bird activity was evident. A Tufted Titmouse and an an Orange-crowned Warbler were dropping to the ground just behind the net and we were hoping they might fly in for capture. Instead, they suddenly headed toward the river.

Moments later, a larger shape flew in from the river toward the net and hit and bounced out. It was a Cooper's Hawk that escaped. We were disappointed but noticed that we weren't even seeing an Eastern Phoebe already in the net. A new one for the site.



There are not a lot of new blooms along the lanes these days but there is a single Stokes Aster planted by Rollins students earlier in the year that was showing nicely.



Our newly discovered Rouge Plant across from Net 13 has freshly ripened fruits to make a nice holiday scene along the river.



A chunk of tree feel behind Net 13 awhile ago and now there are many fungus feeding on the decaying wood.



Kate discovered another fungus on the tree felled by Hurricane Matthew and we are trying to ID it. The crew followed up with inspections and found an entire ecosystem thriving along the still living trunk. Perhaps we need a whole new post for that science.



Once the fog burned off enough, the light made it toward the river and Pat, one of our local American Alligators, crept back up the river to warm up.



Our final bird of the day was a Gray Catbird first banded nearly 2 years ago.



The take away from this Fall might be that we caught fewer birds but we did notice that numerous birds were recaptures returning for many years. We will tally them up by the end of the Session.

With Christmas falling in mid-week this year, we will take off this next Sunday in case people are traveling all over and then skip the following Sunday since Andrew is out of town for a late holiday break.

We look forward to starting 2020 just after the New Year. Happy Christmas and New Year to everyone!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 5th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

No Peak for the Second Year

Saturday:

Second year in a row that we had no typical peak migration movement during the first two weeks of October. Christine brings up an option that maybe Climate Change is shifting it further back in the month. The next two weeks may shed some light on that thought.

On top of that, the light and humidity with the small cameras were not doing a stellar job. Our first bird of the morning was a male Common Yellowthroat.



A terrible photo of a newly banded juvenile Brown Thrasher. They are easily ID's by their duller eye color. There are a couple of families that breed here and this is the first of the new brood to be banded this year.



At the other end of the lanes, we soon recaptured an adult. Notice the difference in eye color.



Everyone noticed the Fungi sprouting up under Net 8 during our travels. A bright patch of yellow among the greens and browns of our surroundings.



Back at the table, everyone gathers round for ta glimpse of the next bird.



It was a very old male Common Yellowthroat. Look at all of those distinguished silver feathers all along that mantle!



Northern Waterthrushes are still around. They usually arrive in August and head through fairly quickly. Good to have one today.



One of our new visitors got to release it after processing.



We finally got our first House Wren of the season. They should be arriving in numbers soon, staying through the Winter and into Spring when they will begin their songs before heading back North.



Mom makes sure to get a shot as the bird is released.



Still low numbers for an early October. We head into...

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Sunday:

Even slower than the previous week. Radar has the night skies lit up with migrants but they are not evident in the morning. Our first bird was a Common Yellowthroat but the photo was pretty bad. Next was the first Ovenbird of the day.



One of our longtime visitors, Liz, got to release the Ovenbird after processing. Great to see Liz on another trip from England again!



There was a lingering chance of rain for the morning and it finally manifested part way through the morning. The real reason the tarp was originally brought out was to shield us from such occurrences. This was the first time we put it to use. The rain was short lived and we continued through the day. Only the second time in 11 years we have been hit by rain while banding.



We recaptured a female Northern Cardinal just after the rain.



Andrew extracted a recaptured Ovenbird at the end of the lanes and brought it back to the table. He surprised Jenny by asking her to do the processing. She has been volunteering for a while and t was time to get her into the mix. She was obviously thrilled to give it a go. Not stressed at all... First step is getting the bird out of the bag without loosing it.



Second is getting weights...



Then recording the band number and recording age, sex, etc. before releasing the bird. Well done, Jenny!



Our last Ovenbird of the day was a juvenile. Notice the tanned edges of the wing coverts and the gape on the bill only shown on young birds.



The final birds of the morning were in Net 2 behind the table. They were nearly side by side. First up was another adult male Common Yellowthroat.



The last bird was a new juvenile Northern Cardinal.



Lower numbers than anticipated but a fine day overall.

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday the 13th.
All nets will be opened by 6:55 A.M.

Foggy Sunday

The first of a projected series of cold fronts is creeping down and a little rain is sweeping through. Radar shows birds moving, but they are most likely ducks instead of warblers. Will still set in for a day as the morning was brought with fog. It got thicker and thicker before dawn becoming a misty air in the dark.

This shot ws taken later but still shows he extent of the fog out near the lake lingering approaching 9 AM.



Our first bird in the morning was a recaptured House Wren. A second was not far behind with a Catbird, told below.



Hermit Thrushes typically arrive so much earlier, so it was nice to get our first ones today. This one was a juvenile.



Our one Gray Catbird flew in early and was next to our second House Wren in Net 9. Most of our birds were captured before 7:30 today.



Yet another new Northern Cardinal male was captured. Cardinals do not really migrate, so where is this guy coming from? Somewhere nearby, for sure.



A second Hermit Thrush was waiting at the table when we brought the other back. This one was an adult bird.



Another of our juvenile Carolina Wrens hit the nets. Kids still not learning.



As we waited for a hopeful next feeding wave, we looked around the property and were surprised to find several species of fungi all over the place. It has been a very wet couple of years and now it is very dry. The fungus has decided to thrive on the snags and undergrowth. We took time to take photos of all of the varieties along the way, starting with the big growth in the net lanes.



But, 'skeeeeeetch!" Where did this Purple Aster come from? It is now blooming just behind Net 9.



Up in the pine flat wood region of the property we found many different fungus. This patch was circling a trunk of a small snag.



Another trunk was circled from top to bottom.



On that same tree, a small branch was growing out and also being ringed by fungus.



Most were brown and tan were punctuated by a bit of yellow deep in the woods.



Behind Net 15, a bit of shelf fungus was seen by the oak felled by Hurricane Matthew.



One of the fun things about the fog is that is shows off all of the Bowl-and-Doily Spiderwebs all up and down the lanes.



Jenny spotted a turtle at that same spot when the rest of us missed it. It seems rather beat up but she says it shows some sign of Life. We shall see in the week to come.



In the wooded area near Nets 16-17, there is now a White Aster putting on a show.



Back at Net 15, signs of Tent Caterpillars are spinning homes in the holly.



Near the table, Andrew spotted a few other fungus features. This one was another ringing a small branch.



A step to the side revealed a more yellow growth in the shade.



As we wrapped up the day and headed back to the table after net gathering, Kate noticed a flash of orange off to the left along the path we have walked all day. There is a huge fungus growth there 5 yards off to the left.



Just behind the orange bloom was a set of white mushrooms sharing the same tree.



Net 3 was alos hiding a nice colony of caps.



Our final bird of the day was one we were wondering about. Where were the Ovenbirds? Quiet but still here.



One the way home, Andrew found some of the birds at Maitland Center. We are now up to 4 Hooded Mergansers in the parking lot pond.



Also feeding along the pond's edge was a Little-blue Heron...



...and several White Ibis.



We will dip into the 30s this week but should be back into the 80s by next Sunday. Maybe we can get some new migrants in the area with this new cold front? Fingers crossed...
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 2nd.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.