Common Yellowthroats Break Through

A sure sign that we are approaching the peak of migration. A growing sting of captured birds by mid-morning.



For the past two weeks, storm fronts have capped the state and blocked our expected numbers of birds. Today, just after the latest front cleared overnight, Common Yellowthroats have flooded into the area. We were catching them all morning including juvenile and adult females...



...the expected juvenile males...



...and a good amount of adult males which typically arrive after the above groups.



Ovenbirds are still moving through in decent numbers, too.



It was nice to see some Northern Waterthrushes during the day. They are usually one of the earliest migrants and trail off about now.



All of this rain in the past few weeks is aiding the spread of fungi including all variety of mushrooms in many shapes and colors along the paths and into the surrounding woods.



Once the Sun rose high enough, dragonflies emerged to forage and Lynn found a couple of nice species. We seem to have a nice population of Georgia River Cruisers at certain times of the year.



We had to contact our local dragonfly expert and fellow birder, Paul Hueber, to ID this Great Blue Skimmer.



Back at the table, Andrew pauses to search for the source of an overhead bird call as Avery, now a common face at the site (and an avid Nature explorer) helps to record data.



Meanwhile, a bug spent a long time cruising Andrew's notebook.



It took a bit longer to begin capturing local birds but we did capture a couple of Carolina Wrens along the way.



We have our share of spiders out in the wild but a beautiful Argiope (AR GEE OH PEE) caught our attention the most just below the banding table. Sometimes called a Black and Yellow Garden Spider, Wikipedia suggests "The etymology of the name (Argiope) is from a Greek name meaning "silver-faced.""



Another sign of migrating birds are the Red-shouldered Hawks foraging in almost complete silence today.



Down by the lake at Net 21, Andrew and Christine remove yet another Common Yellowthroat.



Also in that net at the same time was a female American Redstart.



Always on the lookout for interesting photo opportunities, Lynn found a bug on one of the nets.



While Charles was fixing pole strings that we use to secure the nets, he extracted our first White-eyed Vireo of the Session. This is a prime time for them to move through. Local birds do exist here year-round but this bird was full of fat indicating it was a migrant.



Just after we were discussing that we had not captured any local Northern Cardinals today we wrapped up the day with a recaptured male that we first banded last October.



If the fronts cooperate we should continue larger number of birds for a few weeks. Catbirds and Indigo Buntings should be upcoming soon and full weekend banding might be in order. Our favorite time of the year!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 28th.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

Session 5 Comes to an End

We had to miss another week in May due to rain but we got the final Sunday for Session 5 in with no problem. Migration came to an end about a week ago, though, so it was definitely quieter along the net lanes. We still found enough to keep us busy and interested.

Many fledgling are coming out to play. We band what we can but some we just have to watch like these Red-shouldered Hawks. The adult is on the left next to one of the two juveniles from the nest.



Thankfully, this year has been cooler and less humid and the river gave up a steady mist all morning.



Most of our captures today were Carolina Wrens, young and old.



Behind Net 17 is a stand of dead trees. Woodpeckers love them and Becki found a Downy Woodpecker pair returning to the nest they have hollowed out. The male, at least, is banded. We could hear the new babies calling from inside the trunk.



Lynn was finding all sorts of things along the lanes. Dragonflies are everywhere including this Needham's Skimmer.



Smaller Damselflies prefer the shadier areas. This male Blue-ringed Dancer rested on one of our 'bridges'.



A female Blue-ringed Dancer liked to hang out in the grasses.



In a lower branch over the river, a Barred Owl surveyed the water and grasses for most of the morning.



Behind the Downy nest we found another species using the trees. A Red-bellied Woodpecker flew over and into a nest hole.



The Red-bellied Woodpecker stayed in the nest for a while before flying off for another buggy meal.



Down near the marsh, where Andrew nearly stepped on a snapping turtle earlier, an appropriately named Marsh Rabbit tried to avoid detection. This is only the 2nd sighting of a rabbit out here.



While hoping another Carolina Wren would fly into Net 21 a Blue Jay beat it to the punch. From out of nowhere it flew straight past the wren into the net. Becki banded the bird back at the table.



The Blue Jay, like most every other local bird we have captured the past couple of months, showed a brood patch.



A juvenile Bald Eagle flew over toward Lake Lotus later in the morning.



On the final check of the nets Andrew heard a buzz off to the right. He discovered it came from a mating pair of Robber Flies. They were pointed out to Lynn and Becki and they took some time to get some close-ups.



Time to sleep in for a couple months of Sundays. We will head out for a bit of maintenance in the Summer but Session 6 will begin the first week of August. If we find anything out here of interest we will post but otherwise this spot will be quiet until we start up again. There will be the annual report posted once all the data is compiled before the next session.

Thanks for reading!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 4th.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.