Happy New Year!

Our fisrt Sunday of 2025 was greeted by chilly temperatures and a bunch of recaptures. The sounds of American Robins filled the air until they were briefly replaced by a huge flock of American and Fish Crows.

Our first bird of the morning was a Hermit Thrush. A second one was brought in later in the day.



Gray Catbirds are pretty scarce right now so it was nice to get a recaptured one that was first banded a couple years ago.



Surprisingly, our only new bird was a male Northern Cardinal. Thought we caught them all already!



Checking the nets by the lake got us a nice sighting of a family of Otters. They were very curious of us and played around in the river for a while.



The day also got us a couple recaptured Carolina Wrens.



Next Sunday is suppose to be cold as well. We may just sleep in. Stay tuned.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	0	2	2
Gray Catbird	0	1	1
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Hermit Thrush	0	2	2
Totals	4	8	12

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 29th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

April Showers...They are Coming

Rain was coming. However, it is April migration and we had to head out with some hopes of getting some birds before the weather degraded. We did close up a little early as the radars showed storms pushing in from the West.

Gray Catbirds are very restless today and we ended up with 6 of them.



Carolina Wrens are getting restless, too. Breeding is gearing up and they are begin to emerge from the edge of the trees.



A new Ovenbird was heading home and we greeted it with some new jewlery.



Northern Waterthrushes are right on time heading back themselves. We got 2 today.



Northern Cardinals are now the most vocal at dawn and we think we will get a bunch of them, but they seem to be more busy building nests and laying eggs. Like this female with a very evident brood patch.



Last weekend, Lynn found some Otters. Did not say she had an adult with a couple of babies! Here is one of them from last week.



Be sure to check the blog before heading out next Sunday as it might be a raining day and we might have to ditch.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	0	2	2
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	4	2	6
Northern Waterthrush	2	0	2
Northern Cardinal	0	1	1
Totals	7	5	12

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 16th.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Wrapping Up 2015

We finally had a pretty dry morning ahead of us. Then right at dawn we had a couple of birds hit the nets. It looked to be a day of recaptures and our first bird was a Gray Catbird banded not too long ago.



The next bird was more interesting. We first banded this Carolina Wren two and a half years ago as a juvenile. It was captured both times in the same net...at the same time of morning. Guess we know its territory.



A few more Myrtle Warblers are moving in but they are staying high in the branches. We had some overcast patches of sky which made for some difficult photography.



At one point in the morning Lynn was focused on a Downy Woodpecker behind Net 21. Andrew joined in and took nearly a hundred shots of this male which was busily drumming on vines and branches.



It seldom stayed still so it was amazing that any of the shots turned out at all. We could show you 90 photos that are blurry but maybe you might want to put in a special request.



The bright red feathers on the head indicate that it is a male Downy Woodpecker.



Lynn also found a Golden-Silk Spider earlier in the day. A much more accommodating subject.



Out near the edge of the lake, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers chased one another and snatched up insects in the Primrose Willow stand.



Over on the marsh side a Swamp Sparrow sneaks up behind an Eastern Phoebe.



Back in the oaks, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker makes holes in the bark to lure in bugs for a snack.



The River Otters have been leaving tracks around for the past couple of weeks and today Chris got a shot of one stuffing its face with a tasty snail.



Who do we have here? A Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Wearing some fairly new jewelry, too! This bird was probably banded this session and is sticking around for the Winter.



Back at the table, Becki processed another recaptured Gray Catbird. For some reason it decided to stay in her hand for a while before heading back into the woods.



Our last bird of the morning turned out to be the Bird-of-the-Day. A Blue-headed Vireo. We have been hearing and seeing a few lately but they are not often captured. A great end to the morning.



We will not be banding next Sunday since everyone will be scattered about for the Christmas weekend making this our last banding day of 2015. So, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year! Here is to a wonderful 2016 full of birds and Nature for all! Festivals are not too far away and then the Spring migration. Hope to see some of you soon.

NOTE: We will also not be banding next Sunday, January 3rd, due to a forecast of all-day rain.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 10th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Peak of the Season has Passed

It is always disappointing when the Fall migration rush subsides but we know it is coming and we had a couple of good weekends this year so it is not so bad. Especially when you get to set the nets under a blazing sunrise.



Just after sunrise we began our day with a recaptured Ovenbird.



House Wrens are still streaming in and we captured several this morning.



Gray Catbirds, too, are remaining active and adding to our daily count.



Common Yellowthroats are calling from the river's edge but few were flying about today. In fact, there were not a lot of birds seen in flight aside from a few flocks of Indigo Buntings popping in and out of the grasses from time to time. Tufted Titmice and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were seen in small feeding flocks, as well.



We finally began hearing Ruby-crowned Kinglets calling from the treetops. Just when we wondering if we would get one we did in Net #16. Her traveling companion also hit the net but escaped.



A Brown Thrasher and a couple of Palm warblers also escaped before we could reach them but our final bird of the day made up for it. A juvenile male Black-throated Blue Warbler. Usually we only catch adult males so this youngster was a nice surprise. You can tell younger males by the white feathers on the throat which will become fully black before too long.



Checking for new Wintering ducks on the way home Andrew noticed some bubbles in the retention pond. Instead of a diving duck surfacing he was greeted to a pair of Otters! This is the first time they were seen here but otters actually roam all over the area moving from lake to lake.



A slower but pleasant morning in Altamonte Springs. We should be hearing Robins returning any day now which leads to the return of Hermit Thrushes and Cedar Waxwings with American Goldfinches, ducks, and Yellow-rumped Warblers bringing up the rear during migration.

NOTE: Daylight Savings happens next weekend! Remember to "Fall Back" one hour Sunday morning.
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Next (planned) Banding Days: Sunday, November 1st.
All nets will be opened by 6:10 A.M.

Main Migration Over

Now we settle in for the upcoming Winter. Most of our migrating birds have passed through and the rest are finding their way down for the season. We still have a large number of House Wrens around and we captured 3 today.



The buzz of Ruby-crowned Kinglets has neared their peak and they will be around into the Spring. One of our early birds was a male, told apart from the females by the namesake ruby crown atop their heads.



Today was a bit of a departure for Ruby-crowned Kinglets for us. We typically catch more females than males but we actually caught only males today.



Bird counts were lower than the week before. Radar and ground-truthing over the past few days foresaw this and the trend continued into the weekend. Fortunately, we still managed to get a Hermit Thrush during our outing.



David, an occasional vistor to our site along with his Mom, Kathy released our Hermit Thrush after banding. They have visited several times over the years and David shows a good knowledge of the birds we watch and band.



Eastern Phoebes continue to rule the air and soundscape this year. So many were heard and we did band yet another this weekend. Might be the largest number to Phoebes banded this season than in any other year here.



While making a final check of the nets, Greg and Andrew headed to the end of the trail and took a look out over Lake Lotus. A few birds were around. Limpkins, Pied-billed Grebes, Swamp Sparrows, and Common Yellowthroats made brief appearances. However, the most exciting moment was when an Otter suddenly appeared. It checked out the guys and tried to decide if a trip up the river was a good idea. Instead, it turned back and caught a fish and headed back into the lake.



Time to begin more plant maintenance and dig in for the Winter. The following weeks will either give us a lot of birds or nearly none. Weather and other factors will determine our fortunes through the end of the year. Always something to do no matter what!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 18th.
All nets will be opened by 6:10 A.M.

Quiet, Yet Exciting

Had a couple of surprises today. The first was the fact that the weather was fairly tolerable today as opposed to last week's sauna we slogged through. The other was a bird we captured, only one of two(!), but we will save that one until the end.

Right around dawn, a Northern Waterthrush flew into Net 10. This one was much more whitish than last week's yellow version we usually see in this area.



While Maria was on net patrol she heard some splashing at the river bend. She feared it was a gator but the suspect popped up for a couple of seconds revealing it to be one of our playful otters.



Heading back up the trail she spotted a male Pileated Woodpecker working through the dead tree snags.



Far below the woodpeckers, plants like the Golden Oxeye easily grab one's attention. They bloom year-round.



Meanwhile, Susan found other things to take photos of near the flowers. Skippers of many varieties visit throughout the year.



Oh, yes. I almost forgot. We caught another bird, didn't we? Maria came back toward the table with a bird she described as a cute little yellow thing with a yellow mouth. Hmmm... Warbler? Nope. A flycatcher!



We have captured Wood Pewees and the occasional Acadian Flycatcher but this bird seemed different. Definitely the flycatcher bill and the olive back like most Empids.



There is that yellow mouth that Maria was noticing. Flycatchers have slightly different colorations on and in their bills.



Flycatcher IDs are tough in the field and even in the hand. The easiest way to ID them is by their different vocal calls. However, most don't call often once they arrive in Florida. If they do, we are not used to the sound so it is of little use. Instead we have to take measurements or the tail and winds and consult our birding guides.



One descriptive ID note kept being found in different books. "No other flycatcher has a yellow throat". However, we know that some juvenile Acadians DO have a yellowish wash for a while. We will also send out the photos to Bruce Anderson who is much more skilled with flycatchers so we can get a more official call on this bird.



So, for now, we are sticking by our ID of a...Yellow-bellied Flycatcher! It would be a first for most of us. I hope we are correct.

Update: Call is official.



Many warbler reports are pouring in from around the state so fingers are crossed that we can manage to capture a few next time.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 21st.

All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.