Lizard-head/Bald Cardinals

A break from the usual since I have started watching bird cam web sites more than usual. A big thing that comes up again and again with new people watching and asking about birds on the cams is that there is at least two Cardinals that are experiencing 'lizard heads" on one site I watch. Meaning that they are missing all of their head feathers and look like weird dinosaurs (Which they are, BTW).

Many links to sites that say it is a typical molt during breeding, or just after, and it happens all the time. These are mainly the first hit on Google and I get that this is what folks think is the real answer based on that.

In my research, and experience, this is not normal. I am convinced that this is due to mite infestations that cause the Cardinals to shed the infected head area to get rid of the pests and then regrow the head feathers after they are gone.

When you have time, please read this informative blog post from a fellow bander, Bill Hilton, that spells it out in great detail. I have cooresponded with him for many, many years. He knows what is what.

Hilton Pond explaining head mites on Cardinals.

I have banded birds for almost 20 years and have banded and handled hundreds of Northern Caridinals and have never seen one Northern Cardinal with a bald head in our banding sites and only a Red-winged Black Bird in the Seattle area many years ago with the same condition. And Northern Cardinals breed up to 3 time a year in Florida (if food is available) and never molt the head feathers.



Molting happens in a particular sequence along feathers on both sides of their bodies to balence things out (unless it stress molts a tail in the Spring; which is a whole other topic). Why would a bird just molt everything on the head for no real reason?

Just another thought to my new web cam familys and those that be interested. I am no specific scientist. Just a citizen scientist with observations.

I feel these 'lizard-heads' are just dealing with mites. My two cents.

Spring is Closer Than You Think

Spring is definitely in the air. Local birds are moving about and claiming territory and some migrants are beginning to move. But our first bird of the day was a female Northern Cardinal. "Are all of the first shots of the day going to be blurry?" Maybe. Hopefully not for long.



Gray Catbirds are really getting active and they ruled the day. Mostly the Catbirds were recaptures that we banded earlier in the season.



Adding to the Northern Cardinal list was a recaptured male.



Another recaptured Gray Catbird where you can see the rufus undertail coverts.



Net 21 is being attacked by rainy conditions and we are going to reposition it so that volunteers won't risk falling into the river while extracting birds. The next big rain could erode this bank again as it has altered it in the past.



Limpkins are chasing each other all over the area as the next round of breeding is heating up.



Their calls were heard from before dawn and all through the morning.



Becky's Dad, Richard, and Charles helped out today, checking nets throughout the morning.



We finally caught our first Myrtle Warbler (Yellow-rumped Warbler) this year. Two years ago they were abundant but this year they are far more scarce.



Then we caught a second. A male that is starting to transition into breeding plumage.



A nice surprise was a Western Palm Warbler. We are hoping that the repositioned Net 21 will net us more Palms next week.



Near the lake, a male Red-winged Blackbird was calling for over an hour.



Tired of the chase, a female Lipmpkin worked her way up the river to try and find some food in the quiet in the river.



Becki and Killian went out to the marsh to observe for birds and found a couple of Marsh Wrens darting through the reeds and Cattails.



Still, the Gray Catbirds were being brought in. They may be the most recovered birds for the next couple of weeks.



With the river levels dropping, turtles are finding spots to sun. We should start to see the alligators retuning to these spots as the weather warms.



The Barred Owls are getting ready to nest and are calling early and we were graced with a bird perched along the net lanes as we began to wind down for the day.



Northern Parula began arriving a few days ago and are now singing most of the morning. They are feeding super-quick and are hard to photograph. With all of the local trees beginning to bloom we hope to catch a few in the following weeks. They breed here in good numbers.



The weather should be perfect next week. Spring is here by our accounts. Let the nets be full of interesting birds!

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

Oddly Quiet

NOTE: No banding Sunday due to rain forecasts. We will be banding Monday, November 23rd instead.

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It was a strange kind of morning. A bit of a front was moving through and we though that might be good for more arriving birds. Winds were occasional but not too strong. Most of the morning, however, was completely devoid of bird or insect sound.

Even stranger was that we started our morning with the capture of a Tufted Titmouse! These birds typically stay higher in the tree canopy and easily avoid the nets most of the time.



Common Yellowthroats are either moved on or are starting to settle around the lake but we still captured a new one this morning.



During one of the most quiet moments we were surprised to spot a Brown Thrasher in Net 19. This one was a juvenile and our 6th Thrasher this Session so far.



Folks kept mentioning a flower down the lane so we investigated and found it to be a Purple Aster newly sprung up from the soil.



The marsh is aflame with Bur Marigold, (Bidens laevis).



A trip to the lake was in order to see what might be out there. A few Swamp Sparrows could be heard but they remained hidden unlike our local Anhingas.



Flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds, mostly females, are rising and dropping above and into the vegetation.



Carolina Wrens are sharing the invasive Primrose Willow and chasing one another around the branches. We have been wondering where all of the locals are and seeing a band on this bird means that they are more interested in the lake than the woods for now.



Cattails are looking rather frayed by now.



As we closed up for the day we had one more surprise. A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in Net 8. This bird had zero intention of smiling for the camera.



On the way home Andrew found a pair of American Crows wandering the parking lot a couple miles from the banding site.



Better still, the first of the Hooded Mergansers are back in the retention pond that they use as their Winter home. Duck season is officially upon us.



We will be watching the weather very closely. A couple of fronts should swing through and maybe ruin next Sunday. If you intend to join us at all check back here by Saturday to see if we are still banding.

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NOTE: No banding Sunday due to rain forecasts. We will be banding Monday, November 23rd instead.

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______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Monday, November 23rd.
All nets will be opened by 6:25 A.M.

Two Firsts of Season and Nature Watching

Rain moved in last night and we headed to bed not knowing if we would be able to band or not. Dawn proved we were in the clear for what ended up being the 3rd record for high temperatures this week.



We set Net 21 just after dawn as it is more remote and in an area often visited by alligators and we like a bit more light to see what is around us. Even in the dim light Ike had little trouble spotting a Water Snake nestled in the vegetation.



Our first bird of the day was a male Common Yellowthroat.



To proved it rained pretty well last night, Lynn found a Green Anole dripping with water.



House Wrens are still moving in and we are banding plenty this month.



The main bulk of Indigo Buntings have moved South but we do hear some every weekend and it was nice to catch a female today.



Since the rangers don't like the butterfly garden sign being seen by the public when they stroll by on the park side we have hopefully found a more discrete location for now. Shhhhhhhhh...



Seems we have been catching fewer Swainson's Thrushes over the last couple of years and was really surprised that we caught a juvenile today this is late in the migration season to even have many around.



We had the pleasure of have several visitors today. Pete Dunn and his wife Kath from England were in town on vacation and joined us for the morning. Here, Pete inspects the Swainson's Thrush before releasing it.



Once things began to dry out the butterflies and other insects began to appear including this White Peacock butterfly.



Charles spotted this Black Racer up in a tree and Lynn arrived in time to take a shot.



Meanwhile, Maria was finding other subjects like this Beetle.



More birds were captured and Andrew, Susan, and Charles gathered data and photos back at the table.



Our second Common Yellowthroat of the day was a female.



Our other visitor was Kathy Rigling, a science teacher at a nearby school, who got to release the Common Yellowthroat and some other birds.



We captured our 2nd juvenile male Black-throated Blue Warbler today in Net 7 which is not a common spot for them. Perhaps it is the added Beauty Berry attracting them?



Things got a bit quiet for a while providing us some time to do some birding around the property. Surprise of the jaunt was an Audubon's Warbler. Typically we only see Myrtle Warblers here but the yellow throat was a sure give-away. Maybe we can catch one of those this season. We have banded what we thought might be hybrids a couple of years ago.



Pete and Kath found a very relaxed Green Tree Frog sitting on a blade of Guinea Grass next to the river.



As a couple of us headed out to the lake, a male Anhinga landed briefly in the maple before flying off to ward the marsh.



Red-winged Blackbirds were all over the marsh and were mainly busy picking at the cattails.



Back in the willows a pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were moving around the branches until the male decided to fly to the opposite side of the lake.



Meanwhile, Downy Woodpeckers were seen and heard up and down the river.



Coming back from the lake we spotted several Black-and-White Warblers including this juvenile.



As we wound down the day we closed nets and had a couple of other birds. Another House Wren made the roster.



Besides our first Swianson's Thrush we also finally caught our first Eastern Phoebe of the season. They have been teasing us for the past few weeks.



A final first of the season was long overdue. We finally had American Robins flying overhead. Typically we get them at the end of October. Next weekend is suppose to cool down and maybe we can net some interesting Wintering species.
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Next (planned) Banding Days: Sunday, November 15th.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.