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

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

Migrants Definitely Gone. One More Day to Go.

Humidity has returned and we began the morning with a bit of fog trying to creep in. It was not too bad but our feet were soaked from the wet grass from an overnight rain. It does reduce the spider webs, though.

Our first bird was a recaptured Northern Cardinal only staying in the net because of the band catching in the net. It was nice and early, so it made for a nice spooky photo.



Thinking we might not get any Warblers since migration is over, but we did get a Common Yellowthroat near the lake where they stay through most of the year.



Next up was a juvenile female Northern Cardinal in the middle of the lanes.



Coming back up the lane with the Warbler, we found a couple of birds in nearby nets. In Net 15 was an adult Carolina Wren.



Several feet away was another Carolina Wren. This was a new chick as evident by the gape on the bill.



Andrew visited Oscar's grave site again and then marked it to find it easier next Session. On the way back to the table, he stopped to take a picture of his favorite landmark in the woods. A tree fall. Long ago an old tree feel and is lodged in another oak. It is striking.



Once emerging from the woods, he found a new plant along the path towards the table. We are calling this a Lanceleaf Rattlebox. Still trying to confirm, but it seems right. Now we have to see if it is invasive or Native. Some research says it is only suppose to be South of here, but things are always spreading in different directions.



As we began to wrap up, the gang found a Ring-necked Snake. It was very wiggly for a while until we got some good shots before releasing it back into the vegetaion.



Captures are typical for this time of year. Hopefully, we can get a few more babies next week before ending Session 15. Then we can sleep for the Summer until September.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	1	1	2
Common Yellow-throat	1	0	1
Northern Cardinal	1	1	2
Totals	3	2	5

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 28.
All nets will be opened by 6:00 A.M.

Birds of Uncertainty

Here in Florida, we watched and waited on which way the weather would take Hurricane Dorian. South Florida was in the bullseye until upper-level winds halted him in his tracks and kept it over the Bahamas. For days. Bad news for the citizens on those islands , but it did spare us the Category 5 winds in Florida. Forecasts stayed constant in predicting a Wednesday arrival so we headed out.



Our first bird of the day was an Ovenbird. We only had a few birds during the day, but at least they were mostly migrants.Can you tell the humidity was up? Glasses and camera lenses were fogging up super early.



The second migrant of the day was a female Common Yellowthroat. A little early, but we will take it.



A second Ovenbird soon followed before things grew quiet. Skies were far too nice to have birds stopping their movement South. We did spot an American Redstart and a Black-and-White Warbler foraging during the morning.



Guest joined us in a while and the young kids had no problem bringing in a Ring-necked Snake found along the path back to the table.



Out of nowhere, a cast of an insect fell onto a chair arm and had us all wondering what it might have come from. On closer inspection, it appears to be a cast-off of an exoskeleton of a young Praying Mantis.



As we began to close up for the day we caught our final bird of the morning. The remaining crowd gathered around to watch the record keeping.



The bird was a Tufted Titmouse first banded two years ago.



Now that Dorian has ripped up to the North, radar indicates large numbers of birds heading through Florida. Hopefully, we can begin real migrant captures next Sunday. Stay tuned!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 8th.
All nets will be opened by 6:35 A.M.

More of the Same. Not Much.

At least we got one more bird than last week. Another fly-over night left us with few birds on the ground. Lots of local birds calling but not a bunch of activity at net level.

We did recapture our Cardinal with the messed up left eye from a couple weeks ago. At least it is surviving for now despite the swollen lid.



We did manage to capture 2 more Ovenbirds. Other warblers stayed high above us all morning. Our first young Ovenbird was complete except for the missing tail!



Charles brought his grandson, Grayson, out this morning. He was a very enthusiastic volunteer and got to bring our second Ovenbird back to the table with Andrew in tow.



Our bird gets a new band and a close-up...



...then is given to our young helper for release back into the woods to head on towards its migration goals.



Grayson helped with his young eyes to spot a Ring-necked Snake as we headed back up the trail. These tiny, non-venomous snakes are often seen scurrying through the leaf litter this time of year.



With a lack of birds there was a lot of invasive clearing still to do. Especially now that the Skunk Vine is finally blooming. We will have to clear as much as possible before the birds start dispersing the seeds in the Spring.



A large number of bugs were viewed today. Like this Assassin Bug.



However, it should probably watch out for the lizards! Green Anoles are being displaced by Cuban Anoles in our state so it is always nice to see some of the natives during our travels up and down the net lanes.



Oh, yeah. Maria killed a Damselfly today. How could she? It was so cute...



Closer and closer to full-tilt migration!
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Next Banding Day: Sunday, September 19th.

All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

The Season Wraps Up

Time to take a break during the hot, hot weather. This was the last day of our first banding session at Lake Lotus which began way back on my birthday in September. We will start the next session on the second weekend in August when the first migration warblers should be heading our way.

As for today's activities, the first capture of the day was not a bird at all but a Ring-necked Snake (Diadophis punctatus) that Andrew found along the trail.



These snakes are only 10-15 inches when fully grown making this snake pretty much there.

The birds began to arrive shortly afterward. We capture a couple of young Cardinals today including this male.



Later in the day we also banded a young female.



As nets were being deployed at dawn we could hear Brown Thrashers calling in the bushes and we were lucky enough to catch a juvenile as the morning wore on.



Of course, what would these recent weeks be with a Carolina Wren...



...or two...



...or three.



Down by the riverside there were the remains of some sort of reptile or turtle hatching.



The insects were well represented. Besides the growing mosquito population we found other insects such as this Damselfly.



PLus, a really cool wasp-like critter.



Another week, another sighting of our Cuban Treefrog watching over us.



Different flowers are still emerging like this lovely yellow bloom along the trail.



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Next Banding Day: Sunday, August 9th. This will be the beginning of the second banding session at Lake Lotus.

We will open nets around 6:15 A.M.