Quiet, Not Quiet.

Humidity is picking up and the tropics are heating up. Most thinking is that most of the storms will stay way East of us here in Florida. Some rain chances go upby the weekend, but souldn't take away our next day out. Which, BTW, is Saturday for once since Andrew leaves for Maine Sunday.

The day began pretty quiet. Birds in the area were staying in the upper story. We all heard birds flying by early. This is the best weather we have had for a long time. Seems like most migrants were flying by insteading of landing for food. Common Yelowthroats are moving through more now. They usually come through earliler. We had several by the end of the day.



Carolina Wrens are getting active again. Northern Cardinals are loud, but not flying through much.



White-eyed Vireos are local here, but migrants of that species come through right now on their way to the Carribean. You can tell them apart by how much fat they have built up on their trip. All 4 Vireos had a fat score of 3 (the top score) and were all caught in the last hour of the day. We had 3 adults and one juvenile today.



Net 12 was busier than usual today and got us a female Black-and-White Warbler.



There was a real quiet stretch for a bit and then, as Andrew was going to call for closing nets, he hit net 21 and found 6 birds there with others trying to get caught. We ended up with a couple of Tufted Titmice, another White-eyed Vireo, A Carlonia Wren, and another Common Yellowthroat.



Going to band on a rare Saturday since Andrew has to be headed to Maine on Sunday. Migration is picking up and we don't want to miss some good birds. Saturday forecast looks like it will be a good day. Then we will band the next Sunday as usual.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Black and White Warbler	1	0	1
Ovenbird	0	1	1
White-eyed Vireo	4	0	4
Carolina Wren	0	3	3
Tufted Titmouse	2	0	2
Common Yellowthroat	4	0	4
Totals	11	4	15

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Saturday, September 27th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Florida Fall

We call it Florida Fall because most of the oak leaves that turned brown over the Winter are pushed out by new growth, leaving our nets full of 'leaf birds' to take out all morning. BUT! That means Spring is almost here.

Another sign of Spring is the arrival of Eastern Tent Caterpillars.



Andrew's wife provided some morning fuel to get us moving down the lanes.



Our first capture was a very squeeky recaptured Tufted Titmouse.



Next up, a beautiful little House Wren



Gray Catbirds are starting to get active again.



Yellow-rumped Warblers hang out by the lake and we got our first halfway through the morning.



Our new visitor, Austin, got to release some birds today.



As we checked on the nets, Kimberly spotted a Short-tailed Hawk and Red-shouldered Hawk flying up above.



Looks like our Carolina Wren has been rolling around on the grass this morning. More exciting is this was an unbanded wren. Thought we had all of them accounted for...



One of our former volunteers, Phyllis, dropped by and helped to steer an Eastern Phoebe into a net.



Her reward? To release the Phoebe before heading home.



Our last Yellow-rumped Warbler shows that they are beginning to transition into their Spring colors.



2 weeks from Spring! Hope we start getting some interesting migrants along the way.

!!!NOTE!!! This weekend is Daylight Savings Time. Spring forward!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
House Wren	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	1	0	1
Tufted Titmouse	0	1	1
Carolina Wren	1	0	1
Eastern Pheobe	1	0	1
Yellow-rumped (Myrtle Warbler)	3	0	3
Totals	7	1	8

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, March 2nd.
All nets will be opened by 7:40 A.M.

Odd Day

There can be mornings where we will catch birds all in the first couple of hours or have them spread out throughout the morning. Today was odd as we had half our birds right at dawn and then the other half as we were preparing to close up.

The other odd thing was that the first half of birds were all recaptures, like the 3 Carolina Wrens we processed.



Two recap Northern Cardinals joined the tally.



Then a recaptured Hermit Thrush.



The juvenile White-eyed Vireo that we first banded last week decided to drop in for another visit.



Then things grew way too quiet for the next 2 plus hours until, out at the newly placed Net 26 near the lake, a female Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler joined the crew.



Next, we got a female Ruby-crowned Kinglet.



Just as we were preparing to close up, a family of Tufted Titmice swarmed Net 15 and 3 were brought in. There was one recaptured and two new birds.



So, fun then boring then fun. Never know how these Winter weekends will go. We do plan to be out next Sunday but there is a chance we could get rained out. Be sure to check the blog before you decide to join us on the 29th.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	0	3	3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	0	1
Tufted Titmouse	2	1	3
Northern Cardinal	0	2	2
Hermit Thrush	0	1	1
Yellow-rump (Myrtle) Warbler	1	0	1
White-eyed Vireo	0	1	1
Totals	4	8	12

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, December 29th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

What Are You Doing Here?

May is typically a month of local adult birds and thier newly hatched chicks leaving the nests. This Sunday, however, we captured several birds still migrating North. Really running late!

The day started normally with a recaptured adult Carolina Wren. By the end to the day we recaptured a total of 3.



Then the surprises began with a Northern Waterthrush. It should be the last one we see until the Fall. We also banded 3 of this species today.



We managed to pick up a couple of male Northern Parulas who were out looking for food for their chicks.



Great-crested Flycatchers are as elusive as ever, but we did get a female today.



There was a family of Tufted Titmice around Net 15. They kind of dispursed and the one bird lagging behind as a fledgling. It was exploring the trees right next to Andrew as he stood and observed. After a few minutes it couldn't get past the end of the net and was captured.



The baby Tufted Titmouse gave Andrew one last bite before flying back towards its parents.



Our final bird of the day was a nice surprise. Another late migrant: a female Black-throated Blue Warbler!



Can't wait to see what awaits us before the end of our banding season.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	0	3	3
Northern Parula	1	1	2
Great-crested Flycatcher	1	0	1
Northern Waterthrush	3	0	3
Tufted Titmouse	1	0	1
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	0	1
Totals	7	4	11

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 19th.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.

A Quiet (but interesting) Start to November

We hit a slow spot after the great run through October. Now we wait for the next wave. There was still fun to be had.

Our first bird was a juvenile Gray Catbird. It posed nicely to dislay the inside of its bill. We use this to quickly age Catbirds. When they are young the lining is white-ish/pink and by the time they are adults it becomes completely black.



A lone female Indigo Bunting was up next.



While half of us were spread out through the property it seems like there was a bit of excitement back by the table. There was a pair of Bald Eagles having a disagreement and one of them hit Net 3! Jenny tried to keep it in but it soon extracted itself and flew off, leaving us a little net repair. Loads of Eagles are arriving to nest and fighting for territory is fierce.

Then things grew quiet for a while so we busied ourselves with some vine trimming and bird watching. Eventually, we caught a Swamp Sparrow. For the last couple of years this species and stayed right at the lake's edge. This bird came up the river to join us.



Our new visitor, David, got to release the Swamp Sparrow.



George has been here several times and finally mustered the courage to release his first bird. It was a Common Yellowthroat. (Psssst! He liked it!)



As we were closing up, we could hear Lynn yelling at Net 7. It soon became apparent it was because a bird was biting her as she was attempting to extract it. The angry bird? A recaptured Tufted Titmouse. They like to bite.



But Tufted Titmice are very cute when they want to be.



Hopefully, next Sunday will pick up more. We are still waiting for several species to arrive.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Common Yellowthroat	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	1	0	1
Tufted Titmouse	0	1	1
Indigo Bunting	1	0	1
Swamp Sparrow	1	1	2
Totals	5	2	7

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 12th.
All nets will be opened by 6:15 A.M.

Whoa, Baby! 69!

The rain canceled our first week of October and probably held off migrants ahead of the front clearing us. But, as Andrew told the crew, "Brace yourself for the rush!" as the latest BirdCast foresaw a huge surge for this weekend. The dam broke this weekend! Our biggest one day total for the Fall at Lake Lotus. Other flyway spots have big numbers in October, but we are in a local, urban region and don't usually have huge numbers.

Our biggest count in the past was just under 50 birds. Today was crazy good with nice temperatures to boot. A nice mix of sepecies was tallied, too.

Our first bird of the morning was an Ovenbird. We ended up with 5 by the end of the day.



We usually only get a couple of House Wrens on any given day. Today they were flowing through like mad. We ended up with 12.



One of our visitors learns how to release a wriggly wren.



Jenny photographed a Common Yellowthroat with the growing number of bags in the background.



Then the Gray Catbirds began to flow in. Another of our visitors got to release one of the first. 27 Catbirds today with more bouncing out of the nets.



Susan gets ready to settle in for data recording with Andrew at the table.



We ended up with 11 Common Yellowthroats covering all ages and both sexes. This was our sole female.



Of our 4 Carolina Wrens, 3 were recaptures and a surprising unbanded one. Thought we had them all by now.



Our next visitor got to release one of the recaptured Carolina Wrens.



Always nice to catch one of our local Brown Thrashers.



Migrant White-eyed Vireos are making their way through. They all have a fat score of 3 which is the highest.



Nelida's husband and youngest stopped by and got to release some birds. This was one of our many Catbirds.



A male Black-throated Blue Warbler always brings gasps.



Nelida returned from a trip down the lanes with 4 more birds.



Her son releases one of our House Wrens.



A welcome surprise arrived a little early in this season. A male Indigo Bunting! They typically come through closer to November.



Our 3rd Acadian Flycatcher of the Session was next.



Another of our visitors got to release some birds, including this Ovenbird.



We could hear one of our volunteers yelling in pain at Net 2 so we thought a Cardinal was going to be brought down. Instead, it was a Tufted Titmouse. They bite almost as hard.



We were secretly wishing for a Swainson's Thrush and it manifested!



Susan got to release this gorgeous Swainson's Thrush.



As the morning was winding down, we captured a pair of American Redstarts. This is the female.



Right next to her was the male American Redstart. Both birds were loaded with fat. Fuel for their long journey.



As we were closing nets we got bird 69 which turned out to be a recaptured Ovenbird. Its recapture made it the first and last bird of this very busy, rewarding day.



Whew! This is the day we wait for all year and it was worth it. Next week is forecast for rain most of the days. Hope it clears in time for next Sunday.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Common Yellowthroat	10	1	11
Carolina Wren	1	3	4
Gray Catbird	27	0	27
Swainson's Thrush	1	0	1
White-Eyed Vireo	2	0	2
American Redstart	2	0	2
House Wren	11	1	12
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	0	1
Brown Thrasher	1	0	1
Ovenbird	4	1	5
Tufted Titmouse	1	0	1
Acadian Flycatcher	1	0	1
Indigo Bunting	1	0	1
Totals	63	6	69

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 15th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.