Quiet. Real Quiet...

Well, at least it was not a sauna this week. However, it was very slow, as are most mid-August outings. The day was mostly overcast and extremely quiet. Very few birds were seen or heard throughout the morning, including locals, other than Cardinals and Titmice.

Speaking of Cardinals, our only bird captured and banded today was a male captured in the newly reinstated Net 6. Many males in the area are showing signs of extensive molt around the head which has been associated with mites. The birds shed all of their head feathers to rid themselves of the pests and then grow out a nice crest again in short order.



Just previous to the Cardinal, Christine found a Leopard Frog in the nets. This happens once every couple of years. It was released easily and safely.



On our rounds, the crew spotted a blob up in the Cypress trees. Closer inspection revealed it to be a dark-morph Red-tailed Hawk! These birds show up very rarely and Andrew found one not far away 10 years ago.



Skippers have been enjoying the new Porterweed in the garden. We are still looking to ID this species, but they all seem to be the same variety.



While we were wrapping up the day, sharp eyes found a caterpillar on some Beautyberry leaves. It was a Sphinx Moth caterpillar and we are not sure that we have seen a more nightmarish set of chompers!



Records show that the most consistent migrant arrivals arrive next week. Low pressure systems are forming East and West but we are hoping for the North to be clear enough to allow birds to flow this direction.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 25th.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Wind, Wind, Go Away

The following morning after a very windy Birdapalooza found us back in the wind (not as steady, though) as an approaching cold front was set to bring nasty weather by the evening. Some of our volunteers decided to stay home after a long Saturday but a few of us decided to see how much time we could have nets open this Sunday.

As soon as the Sun rose the scene pretty much resembled this view with scudding clouds and an occasional spritz for a couple of seconds. The woods kept a lot of the wind buffered from us.



Andrew was unloading gear from Birdapalooza when he was asked to grab gloves from the table. Down at Net 4 was a recaptured Hermit Thrush.



In the same net just a few feet down was a dead Hermit Thrush. It had been attacked and killed, a rare thing while banding. At the end of the net was the murderer. A Red-tailed Hawk! We have never caught this species before and they are a rather uncommon sight where the Red-shouldered Hawk rule.



It was a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk told by the pale eye and light brown tail. Once we got our photos it was released in the direction of the park across the river where it soared and banked into the trees.



A bit later, we captured a new female Northern Cardinal. Always a surprise to get an unbanded Cardinal.



Our last bird of the day was a Brown Thrasher.



Brown Thrashers are beautiful birds. The light yellow eyes and buffy coloring on the breast and wing bars show it is a juvenile bird. In fact, we first banded this bird last Summer as a hatchling.



Our new visitor, Filiki (who sat with us the day before at Magnolia Park for the festival) got to release the bird. Her only response was a wide smile and "I...am...holding...a...Brown...Thrasher!" Birds have that effect on a lot of people.



We need some good weather for this New Year. Will it be calm or stormy next Sunday. Only time will tell. If we need to cancel it will be posted here.

NOTE: No banding January 29th due to weather.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, February 5th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.

More Wind as Migration Looms

NOTE: No banding Sunday, March 20th due to rain. We will try again on the 27th.

The morning started nice enough but eventually grew quiet and windy like last week. Most of our captures, besides a lot of leaves, were recaptures. The first recapture of the day was a House Wren.



Gray Catbirds were the majority once more.



An early Hermit Thrush recapture was a surprise. We haven't seen a thrush in the area for a while.



Nick, our latest volunteer, got to release most of the morning birds and began to learn the ropes on managing the nets at the end of the day.



Bees are still busily tending to their large honeycomb high up in a snag.



Just below the tree, the Spiderwort are beginning to bloom in earnest.



It definitely is turning toward Spring evidenced by the return of spider webs to move out of the paths. Besides Garden Orb Weavers, Spiny Orb Weavers are spinning their webs out, too.



We have noticed signs of mammals around but they don't come out in the open too often. Becki found a Possum around mid-morning.



Our first unbanded capture today was another Hermit Thrush. A sure sign that migration is gearing up.



We found a young American Alligator as we set nets this morning and the unusually warm weather is bringing out the adults on the lake, also.



Swallow-tailed Kites eventually soared onto the scene and began feeding higher in the sky with a kettle of Black Vultures.



Joining them very high up was a lone Red-tailed Hawk.



Closer to the ground were a few Red-shouldered Hawks shrieking to one another throughout the park.



Along with Crane's bill and Earthsmoke flowers, the Thistles are beginning to bloom.



The Barred Owls met up before dawn and then found their usual spots to roost for the rest of the morning.



Nearby in the river, a Limpkin walked the banks and pulled up shelled snacks from the sand with ease.



Christine made a nice discovery toward Net 21. A Common Snapping Turtle.



Heading back up the net lanes Nets 13 and 9 were filling with more leaves. Suddenly, one of the 'leaves' began to strain against the mesh. Not a leaf at all but a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird! We got a few shots of the bird before releasing it. We don't have a license to band Hummingbirds.



It is always interesting to notice that to see the bright red in the feathers. One turn to the side and that ruby turned to black.



An Eastern Phoebe was found foraging in the area. We did not catch it today but there is definitely a band on this bird. Most likely one we banded here in the past.



We are keeping an eye on the weather for next weekend. Rain is in the forecast but fingers are crossed that it clears out for our next day out. If you plan on coming out make sure to check back here late Saturday to see if we have to cancel.

NOTE: No banding Sunday, March 20th due to rain. We will try again on the 27th.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, March 27th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Session 7 Ends

It was a fairly quiet end to Session 7 today. We call our full banding time Sessions which begin on the first Sunday in August (when the earliest of migrants return to Central Florida) through May. We then take June and July off to let the local nesting families raise their young while we avoid the worst of the heat. We will post a couple of more times before the start of Session 8 when we stop by to do some maintenance in July.

Not a lot of birds out and about today but we had a few nice encounters. For example, the Barred Owl chicks were heard well before sunrise just across from Net 15, close to the banding table. Usually, they have been in the middle of the net lanes before heading into the forest by dawn.

Just after we got the rest of the nets set Susan reported that the owls were right at the banding table giving their raspy calls. Luckily, the flash was working this morning.



The young Barred Owls have always been gone from our area before daylight and this marks the first photos we have of this year's brood.



Mama arrived with a meal shortly and the babies followed her to the opposite side of the river before the first rays of the Sun emerged.



Our first capture of the day was a Carolina Wren we first banded as a juvenile two years ago. It now has a brood patch telling us it is nesting nearby.

Unfortunately, Andrew's old point and shoot is out of commission so we had to rely on camera phones at the table. Either we are not very skilled with these new gadgets or they are just not up to the task of our photographic needs. Perhaps by next August we will have it all figured out.



Next up, Charles brought in a male Red-headed Woodpecker was caught near the table in almost the same spot we caught it at the end of last year's Session. That day we caught and banded the male and female pair at the same time.



As Andrew headed down to the lake, Becki and Corey were returning with a recaptured Northern Parula.



Not much bird activity out by the lake. We could hear Limpkins from time to time while the Red-winged Blackbirds defended territory and the resident Tricolored Heron did fly in for a visit.



The only thing really flying about were the various Dragonflies who periodically stop for a rest.



The number of species is really growing week by week.



For most of the morning we had been stepping over a patch of purple flowers down by Net 21. Finally, curiosity got the better of Christine and Ranger Frank identified the plant as Baldwin's Eryngo (Eryngium baldwinii).



A lingering 1st Spring male American Redstart was found behind Net 9. One of the last migrants to vacate the scene.



Overhead, three raptors circled high in the morning sky. We could easily tell the largest was a Bald Eagle.



The other pair were harder for us to make out easily but once on the computer screen we could tell that they were Red-tailed Hawks.



At first it seemed they were just hanging out together but soon the hawks would approach the Bald Eagle and there would be a near clash of talons. The eagle soon retreated to the other side of the park.



Becki and Corey also got a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird out of the same net we captured a female a couple of weeks ago. Probably a mating pair with a nest quite close by.



Session 7 is now in the books. Time to crunch the numbers and see the totals. It sure seemed like a slower catch rate than the last few years but the figures will have to bare that out. Our numbers would be much lower if not for that 82 total at the Orlando Wetlands Festival.

Until Session 8, take care and thanks for reading!!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 2nd.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.