Guess the Peak Was a Little Late.

We thought the migration peak was early this year, but after the hurricaane passed, it seems like they were waiting a bit longer.

Isiasas blocked the East Coast and then soared through the Southeast and headed into New England. That opened a new path straight down Florida instead of Texas as it was before. We held off on banding Sunday, since it looked like things were blocked, and then saw an opening the following day. A few of us had the day off, so, we decided this was a good chance to get out early on a surprise Monday opportunity.

It paid off!

With a reduced crew, we set nets and waited a few minutes after sunrise before the birds began to hit. And Hit. And hit. We probably could have continued into the afternoon, but many of the crew had appointments and we decided to close as usual just after 10AM.

It still took a while longer as we began to close nets and still some birds were getting captured. We ended the day with a nice count and thought about next weekend. Which, BTW, might be a washout. Guess the Bird of the Day was our male Painted Bunting and throw in a female American Redstart.

Visit the Facebook page for images of today's captures here.

Again, there may be another weird front on the weekend, but we do plan on being there next Sunday. Check back here for updates.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	1	1	2
Gray Catbird	14	0	14
Ovenbird	2	0	2
Northern Cardinal	3	0	3
House Wren	5	0	5
Painted Bunting	1	0	1
American Restart	1	0	1
Common Yellowthroat	12	1	13
Totals	39	2	41

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 18th.
All nets will be opened by 7:05 A.M.

Sloppy, Wet Start. Better Wrap Up.

Seems the peak was last week. Still hearing Catbirds and other locals, but, a big rain last night left us with wet conditions and nothing really moving until after 9 AM. In fact, nothing was moving across the lanes all day.

Students from UCF were out in force and a few got to release birds. Still kind of a disappointment with fewer birds around. Seems they decided to head to Texas where the air was clearer for a bit.

Visit the Facebook page for images of today's captures here.

Big front will be moving across the Gulf. Maybe even a storm by next week. We shall see. Check Back for updates before Sunday. Maybe the front will push birds back to the East unless we are rained out on our side.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
White-eyed Vireo	0	1	1
Swainson's Thrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Red-belllied Woodpecker	1	0	1
Veery	1	0	1
Common Yellowthroat	1	0	1
Totals	5	1	6

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 11th.
All nets will be opened by 7:05 A.M.

Gratitude

Andrew here.

It has been a long year and a half. It all started with Hurricane Milton that flooded the whole banding site for a while. My Mom sought shelter in Jacksonville, her home town, and died a few weeks later fom natural causes. Things have not the same for me of the banding site since.

This week was also the 10th anniversary of my Dad's death. I had never registered that is was Earth Day then, too.

This year has been full of adversity, especially from the bear that is roaming around bending of our poles and messing with things around the table and digging a large hole at the front gate to get in and out. I have been pretty depressed about banding for a while. Lower numbers of birds doesn't help, either.

Then, the Knighthawks arrived. Unannounced. They are a bird watching group from UCF. Ended up with dozens of students waiting to see the banding processes that we do here. Birds were sporatic and a few students were able to release the birds as we finished collecting data. The day was a pretty good success overall.

It made me change my brain a bit. I have been down for quite a while. Seeing these students come in and enjoy the banding process swung my mood around. When things were slow, they ventured off to study plants and insects, and whatever else was around. Much like what we core volunteers have done for 20 years. It gave me a sense of hope after all this time of dispare seeing them just soaking in the environment, learning everything they could, and enjoying the world. Maybe this year can brighten a bit before we close for the Summer...

I need to embrace the moments like this. As Connie Says, "It is what it is".

We hope for some birds this Sunday, as always.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	6	0	6
Northern Cardinal	1	1	0
Totals	7	1	8

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 26th.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

A Couple of Interesting Catches

A cool morning. Still wearing light jackets as we set up. We were hoping for a wave of Indigo Bunting, but that never really turnded up. We did get 2 feamles and they were calling up and down the river. Maybe next week.

Gray Catbirds were still present in good numbers, yeilding 7 of them.

We finally caught a late arrival of a Black-throated Blue Warbler. Usually get them a bit earlier.



A couple of House Wrens were caught today.



Finally, a new Swainson's Thrush arrived a bit later than usual.



Several Common Yellowthroats were caught. One adult and two juvenile males.



Northern Cardinals have been very vocal but evading nets. Until this ragged male was caught in Net 7.



A few other birds were processed. An Ovenbird and an Eastern Phoebe that was calling all morning and finally hit a net.

We were closing up for the day and got our best bird right at the end. An adult Red-bellied Woodpecker! We usually catch juvenile woodpeckers out of the nests in the Spring, so this was a nice surprise to get an adult here in the Fall.



Birds are going to move back and forth through the country as a high closes in. At least it should push Melissa back away from us. How many new birds show up in Orlando? We shall see.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Swainson's Thrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	6	1	7
House Wren	2	0	2
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
House Wren	2	0	2
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	0	1
Northern Cardinal	0	1	1
Common Yellowthroat	3	0	3
Indigo Bunting	2	0	2
Eastern Phoebe	1	0	1
Red-bellid Woodpecker	1	0	1
Totals	19	1	20

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 26th.
All nets will be opened by 7:15 A.M.

Peak Happening Late

Peak Migration is happening a couple weeks late. Climate Change? I am no expert. Catbirds used to hit in force on Octoboer 1st. Now we are back to the 12th. A few were coming through in small numbers, but today was as if they were everywhere. They joined other migrants and locals as you will see below.

We had a nice cool blast to start the morning. Low 60s. We started the day with our first Indigo Bunting of the season. A young female. We also caught another adult female later.



Gray Catbirds ruled the count today with 9 birds. They typically hit on the 1st. We have been hearing a couple hear and there, but this is the first big rush through the area. One new volunteer showed up to release one of them.



House Wrens are showing up in bigger numbers, too.



It has been quite a while since we captured a Belted Kingfisher. This lady found Net 18 early on. Warning: they bite. HARD.



One of our 2 recaps was a female Northern Cardinal.



The second recap was a Common Yellowthroat and another new one.



We thought all of the Northern Waterthrushes were gone. Still got one and heard several during the day.



It is always nice to get a Gray-cheeked Thrush. This is the brief time in the season to find them here as they migrate through quickly



Ovenbirds are always a cute addition to the day.



Finally, we caught a recap Carolina Wren. They have been calling like crazy, but not moving through the lanes much.



Looks like the fronts are shifting. The bigger flow of birds might head down Texas instead of the East coast. We shall see what happens next Sunday.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Gray-Cheeked Thrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	2	0	2
Gray Catbird	9	0	9
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
House Wren	2	0	2
Belted Kingfisher	1	0	1
Northern Cardinal	0	1	1
Common Yellowthroat	2	0	2
Indigo Bunting	2	0	2
Totals	21	2	23

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 19th.
All nets will be opened by 7:15 A.M.

Peak? Maybe not.

Rain was supposed to happen then it fell apart. So, we headed out to see what the situation was. It was a steady day. Not spectacular. Ranger Julian finnaly made it out with a couple of friends and we got to show them the workings of banding through the day. Only one Catbird on peak Catbird day. Oh, well. Climate is definitely changing migration, no matter what some are saying. Should have 20 Catbirds on the first week of October.

Still some action. Mostly Yellowthroats, but some nice surpizes. We did start with a female Common Yellowthroat

.

Through the day we caught others. Like an adult male Common Yellowthroat



And close out witha juvenile male Common Yellowthroat



White-eyed Vireos are local but they also come through as migrants. When they do, they are full of stored fat and keep moving down to the Carribian. This was the case for this brid and another we will show in a bit.



Gray Catbirds are usually very common this time of year. It used to signal the peak of migration for us. However, we only caught one today. Next week looks better for migration.



Another White-eyed Vireo, again, loaded up with fat to make the journey to the South.



Got an Ovenbird along the way.



Julian made it over today with a couple of friends and they got to release few birds during the morning.



We caught our first returning House Wren of the season, This bird was first banded in the Spring of this year. Coming back to stay for the Winter.



American Redstarts are calling in the upper story of the trees and we caught a beautiful feamle today.



An unexpected Brown Thrasher was caught at Net 24. They usually stay near the table, but this juvenile was down by the marsh.



A nice day with 18 birds. Next week looks to be the big day, accordinging to the projections. Let's do it!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Brown Thrasher	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	1	0	1
White-eyed Vireo	2	0	2
American Restart	1	0	1
House Wren	0	1	1
Common Yellowthroat	10	1	11
Totals	17	1	18

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 12th.
All nets will be opened by 7:10 A.M.

Migrants are on the Way

Nearing peak migration today, and we started kind of busy and things died down for the rest of the day. Not the big bang we were expecting. With a smaller crew, that was OK.

Will be gathering photos from the volunteers and banders through the week so they will not be loaded until, probably Friday. Andrew is off to Maine for a much needed vacation until then.

Here is a total for today and it looks like next Sunday should get things hopping. Our Tropical storm looks to be turning East, so no worrys for that. We hope to get going Sunday for the main event of full-on migration. Stay tuned!.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	1	2
Common Yellowthroat	4	0	4
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
Northern Parula	2	0	2
Veery	1	0	1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	1	0	1
Totals	10	2	12

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sudayday, October 5th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Quiet, Not Quiet.

Humidity is picking up and the tropics are heating up. Most thinking is that most of the storms will stay way East of us here in Florida. Some rain chances go upby the weekend, but souldn't take away our next day out. Which, BTW, is Saturday for once since Andrew leaves for Maine Sunday.

The day began pretty quiet. Birds in the area were staying in the upper story. We all heard birds flying by early. This is the best weather we have had for a long time. Seems like most migrants were flying by insteading of landing for food. Common Yelowthroats are moving through more now. They usually come through earliler. We had several by the end of the day.



Carolina Wrens are getting active again. Northern Cardinals are loud, but not flying through much.



White-eyed Vireos are local here, but migrants of that species come through right now on their way to the Carribean. You can tell them apart by how much fat they have built up on their trip. All 4 Vireos had a fat score of 3 (the top score) and were all caught in the last hour of the day. We had 3 adults and one juvenile today.



Net 12 was busier than usual today and got us a female Black-and-White Warbler.



There was a real quiet stretch for a bit and then, as Andrew was going to call for closing nets, he hit net 21 and found 6 birds there with others trying to get caught. We ended up with a couple of Tufted Titmice, another White-eyed Vireo, A Carlonia Wren, and another Common Yellowthroat.



Going to band on a rare Saturday since Andrew has to be headed to Maine on Sunday. Migration is picking up and we don't want to miss some good birds. Saturday forecast looks like it will be a good day. Then we will band the next Sunday as usual.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Black and White Warbler	1	0	1
Ovenbird	0	1	1
White-eyed Vireo	4	0	4
Carolina Wren	0	3	3
Tufted Titmouse	2	0	2
Common Yellowthroat	4	0	4
Totals	11	4	15

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Saturday, September 27th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Migrants Picking Up and...SNAKE!

Not a bad September morning. A few good migrants and several visitors. Still waiting for the waters to receed at the end of the lanes, but it might take another week or two before can get out by the lake. We started the morning with an Ovenbird. One of the most seen/heard species this time of year. We caughtt two today. Also hearing Red-eyed Vireos and other migrants.



Common Yellowthroats should have been showing up the last week or so. We did not get any last week. Now, they are beginning to trickle in. This is a juvenile male. We also had an adult female later in the day.



One of our visitors got to release that bird.



Carolina Wrens were hitting the nets, some escaping, and we did get one recapture near the end of the lanes. Another visitor got to release that wriggling bird.



Then our snake. Don't worry. It was not a danger. Someone pulled a folding chair from beneath the table and when it was opened, it contained a rather large Ring-necked Snake. These non-vemonous snakes are common in Florida and are usally found as 1-2 foot individuals. This was closer to 3 feet. Everyone held it for a bit and then released it back into the woods.



We were kind of expecting this bird a week ago, but it is always fun to have our first Thrushes of the year like this Veery. They come through in September and usher in the other Thrushes though the next months.



Our final capture of the day was a Northern Cardinal. As it was brought to the table, some worried it was in some heavy molt. Nope. Just a juvenile male hatched here in the Spring and making its way to adulthood.



No rain on the radar for next Sunday. More migrants should arrive. Fall starts the day after. Yay!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	1	2
Verery	1	0	1
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
Common Yellowthroat	3	0	3
Totals	6	2	8

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 21st.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Session 18 Begins

Welome to the sauna!

Wide spread and hours-long rains last night brought us cooler weather but very wet and drippy conditions as we began our 18th banding session. Damp mornings lead to a quiet few hours before birds want to move around. It gave us some time to spruce up the needed net lane fixes and some trimming. Thanks to the rangers for mowing and removing certain blockages before we got back in business.

We only caught migrants today (not complaining) but the first 'capture' of the morning was a shock. And one of our nightmere thoughts.

Connie called in to report a Great Blue Heron was in the net at the end of the lanes. BTW, that was Net 24. The rains got the river so high, we could not get out to Nets 21 and 26. Might be weeks before we can get out there.

The heron was trapped by its bill. Connie did not want to get too close, opting for a photo before calling for help.



Andrew arrived soon afterward and as he an Connie advanced toward the bird, it began to get aggitated and freed itself and headed for the swamp uninjured. Whew. Can't think of dealing with that deadly bill close up. Great Blues are a formitable predator, eating everything they can catch. Fish, snakes, rats, and even baby alligators. Glad we didn't have to try getting it all the way out.

Soon, we began to get some migrants as the day dried a bit. The most captured species were Ovenbirds. We caught 3 new birds and one recapture.



Our one other migrant was a Northern Waterthrush.



More Fall-like weather is moving in and we hope to get a lot more migrants next week. Thankfully, we have no hurricanes on the horizon during the peak season. Lets get more fun birds from here on out!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
Ovenbird	3	1	4
Totals	4	1	5

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 14th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Small Mix

Kind of a quiet morning. We got a few new birds and some recaptures. No push for migration yet.

Our first bird was a Gray Catbird, one of 4 caught today.



We also caught 5 Carolina Wrens.



Since we were last here, the rangers have installed a few nest boxes. The Wood Ducks seem interested but so was someone else. As we checked the lanes we discovered a Red-shouldered Hawk having a snack on top of one boxes.



Our final bird of the day was an Ovenbird.



So, migration hasn't started yet. It also looks like our next Sunday will be rained out. We will skip the 30th and prepare for a, hopefully, busy April and May!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Gray Catbird	3	1	4
Carolina Wren	1	4	5
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Totals	5	5	10

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 6th.
All nets will be opened by 7:10 A.M.