More Rains, More Migrants

Another week of heavy rains kept us from the lake area again. We did have some fun birds along the way, though.

The river waters are way up. Standing water starts, as always, at Net 13 and works its way down toward the lake. This view is from Net 24 looking back toward Net 18.



Pivoting to the left, the water in the Cypress marsh is creeping up from the other direction.



Nets set, we carried on. Our first bird of the day was a juvenile Carolina Wren. Four Wrens were captured thoughout the day.



Most Northern Waterthrushes are found in August so it was nice to have one today.



Ovenbirds are all over the place this time of year. We captured 3 new ones this morning.



Common Yellowthroats have been rather sparce this season. This is only the 7th of the Session. Usually we have tons of them by now.



We did catch our 2nd Worm-eating Warbler for this Session. Always a nice find.



One would think our Cypress tree marsh would be a perfect spot for Prothonotary Warblers to breed, but they do show up during migration, instead. Guess we will take this time with them.



A migrating White-eyed Vireo was processed today. Used to be a lot more of them this time of year. Still, peak time is about to be upon us. See if we get more.



Our calendar bird from last year was a Veery but we had not captured one this month until now. Started to worry they would be be around this year. Next up are the other thrushes into October.



Fall is here. In Florida, that means...not much. Should be a bit warm still and hopefully a bit more cooling breeze here and there. New bird species should be moving in soon.

Lets enjoy this weekend. Hurricane Ian is projected to hit us mid-week. Might mean we don't get back to Net 21 anytime soon...or many of the nets. Everyone stay safe during the end of September!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Ovenbird	3	0	3
Carolina Wren	4	0	4
Prothonotary Warbler	1	0	1
Worm-eating Warbler	1	0	1
Common Yellowthroat	1	0	1
Northern Waterthrush	1	0	1
Veery	1	0	1
White-eyed Vireo	1	0	1
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Totals	14	0	14

______________________________________
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.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 25th.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

Session 12 Begins

Time to get ready for Session...12. I know our hand-made calendars say Session 11, but triple checking the years, this makes our 12th start. Time flies!

Regardless, we set out the week before to deploy all 10 new nets graciously purchased by Christine and Richard at the beginning of the Summer break.



The previous week, Andrew stopped by to check out the status of the site and found all of the Guinea Grass mowed down last Spring had grown by leaps and bounds.



Thankfully, the rangers found some time in their schedule to swing by and mow the property back to a clearer status.



Oddly, the only thing they did not mow over was a patch of Rhexia, noticed last week, that is blooming between Nets 22 and 10. There has only been one sighting of this flower in the years past that was one flower next to Net 17 just up the rise.



Richard and the crew spent most of the morning clearing Net 4 which is off the main trail and has been overgrown by vines between the Gallberry trees and the pines.



Net 13 has been in a woeful condition for years and Andrew replaced it with Christine's help.



Down at the new end of the lanes, Connie and Phyllis hand clipped the spots that the rangers mower can't reach. Looking forward to some Waterthrushes heading through there in the next week or so.



The opening day of the banding season resumed the following week and, as is typical, found local birds in the nets. Our most common birds for the beginning of August are Carolina Wren and Northern Cardinal. Oddly, Cardinals were rarely heard of seen today. Wrens? We had those, for sure. Our first bird of the day was the first of 4, this one a juvenile.



Our 2nd Carolina Wren was also a juvenile but it was so tangled that we extracted and released it. But it was soon followed by yet another at Net 2.



Connie discovered and Sphinx Moth in Net 22 and had to take care to remove it back into the wild.



Then our 4th Carolina Wren. Another juvenile.



Suddenly, we had a break in the action for an hour or so. Rains had been wide spread this past week and all of the runoff goes right through the property. A week ago the river was at a typical level but today it was creeping higher along the banks.



Good news, as noted on earlier stops over the Summer, is that the Air Potato Beetles are doing quite well all over the property. Most of the potato vines are either skeletal or still being feasted upon. Breeding pairs are all over the place.



Many butterflies are around and Christine got a shot of one of the White Peacocks hanging out by the river.



We ended the morning with the Bird-of-the-Day: a Prothonotary Warbler. Records show we only catch them in either Aug/Sept or April. Migration is on.



Other migrants were seen today, such as American Redstarts. We always forget that they are already on the move. Now we power through the heat and move toward the Fall.

Seems like we have shifted to our usual Florida Summer for once in a long while. Everyone seems to think it is hotter than ever, but if you look back...this is Florida in August. Bring your water and get home before the afternoon!
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 11th.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

Another Random Day

No big migrant movements here today but it ended up a little interesting. We got to install a few new plants and made some other changes along the way.

First bird of the day was a new adult Gray Catbird. No fat yet. Staying or late or readying to bulk up?



Next up, a recaptured Northern Cardinal, first banded last Summer.



Andrew got tired of fighting the constant growth of a Holly Richard planted years ago by Net 15 so he shifted it to the opposite side of the lane just a few feet down. We will not rename this spot as it is only mere feet away.



Connie spied a small Spider down in the area she in placing new plants. Susan later did some sleuthing and discovered it is a Humpbacked Orb Weaver, Eustala anastera. New find here.



Not too long afterward, the crew found an Indigo Bunting flirting with the nets of 13 and 9 but managed to stay in the upper story of the oaks before flying toward the park proper. A hopeful sign for next week at Earth Day, though.



Jenny then brought back the Bird of the Day. A Prothonotary Warbler. It was down in the marsh area ringed by Cypress trees. Right where you would expect them.



In Net 2, we caught another Gray Catbird. This one was loaded with growths on its legs. Research suggests that is is caused by mites. Since the growths were so large, we did not band it as not to do any further damage.



A close up of the leg irritation on the Gray Catbird.



While checking nets, we noticed that one of the Red Cedars planted by Net 14 is fruiting. Big time! Guess we know which one is a female.



As we began to close up for the morning, Connie called to say that there was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird in Net 20. It was a male.



Ruby-throated Hummingbirds tend to get stressed after getting released from the nets so we took it back to the table and tried to coax it to have a sip of water. It soon flew off back into the woods. Always interesting to see how the gorget changed colors based of the angle of the light.



We always check to see if any American Alligators are heading in to sun. Pat was heading in not long before we wrapped up and found a spot in the sun before long.



NOTE: Saturday is Earth Day in the Lake Lotus Park where we do demos throughout the day. The park will be open for Earth Day from 10 until 3. Then we will band as usual on Sunday on 'our' side of the river.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Saturday for Earth Day in the park and Sunday, April 21st in our usual spot.
All nets will be opened by 6:25 A.M.

Preparing for Earth Day

It was the weekend before our Earth Day demos and Andrew headed over to the park to scout the situation since Hurricane Irma damaged some areas usually used for net sites. It was fairly quiet until a noisy Prothonotary Warbler made an appearance behind the fishing pier.



Mama American Alligator was in front of the pier soaking in the sunlight. Far across the lake, a male was bellowing in search of a mate.



Near the Window on the Lake, a male Anhinga in full breeding plumage takes some time to dry its feathers.



From that point on, the boardwalk is still closed off in a couple of places due to needed repair after Hurricane Irma.



Many large oaks came crashing down in several areas of the boardwalk. The rangers are steadily making progress on fixing the closed sections when they can.



Just before the playground, a nice large Tiger Swallowtail grabs a few rays of light.



We opened the nets for our regular Sunday outing and soon had an Ovenbird in hand. All of the migrants we captured today revealed traces of fat stores, showing that they are bulking up before their trip North.



Gray Catbirds are certainly getting restless and we captured a couple during the morning. Most were staying closer to the river and grabbing Nightshade berries one after another.



Northern Cardinals are out and about, too. This recaptured male was first banded 2 1/2 years ago.



Mock Bishop's Weed (Ptilimnium capillaceum) is spreading all around Net 18 and up the path to Net 10.



Another strikingly colored adult Ovenbird was banded as the winds continued to increase, lowering our chances of catching more birds.



Our final bird of the day was a female Northern Cardinal.



Out in the marsh across from Net 23, baby American Alligators were enjoying their time in the warmth.



We only had Opossums, a ranger, and a few Raccoon trip the trail cam during the week. The only exception was this small-looking Bobcat passing by in the daytime.



We are looking forward to banding during Earth Day next weekend. However, there are some extended forecasts already calling for rain and more wind. Stay tuned...
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 22nd.
All nets will be opened by 7:30 A.M. but the park does not open until 8:30 to the general public.