Swamp Sparrow Day

Turned out to be a fairly quiet morning again.

Minutes before sunrise, we captured a Swamp Sparrow.



A bit later we recaptured the sparrow again and a recaptured White-eyed Vireo.

One of our new visitors, Falon, got to release the Swamp Sparrow.



The White-eyed Vireo.



At the end of the day we caught another Swamp Sparrow. This was a recapture that we first banded two months ago.



We are not banding next Sunday. Staff shortage.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Swamp Sparrow	1	2	3
White-eyed Vireo	0	1	1
Totals	1	3	4

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 25th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Still Too Quiet

Another morning of repairing poles bent by a bear as we set nets. Sigh. A very quiet day, again, as we wind down the year.

Our second run down the lanes found a recaptured White-eyed Vireo, first banded a year ago.



Just after that, we had a new male Northern Cardinal.



We then had a long spell of no birds until we recaptured another male Northern Cardinal. He was first banded 4 years ago. Still going strong.



After a morning of resetting poles, Jenny wanted to make a 'fruit picker' from one of the wounded poles. She seems to like these very sour oranges near the end of the lanes. Must be a craving thing...



With the holidays running us down quickly, we have decided to take next Sunday off. We will return the following Sunday, the first of the 2026 season. Happy holidays, everyone!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Northern Cardinal	1	1	2
White-eyed Vireo	0	1	1
Totals	1	2	3

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 4th.
All nets will be opened by 7:00 A.M.

Peak? Maybe not.

Rain was supposed to happen then it fell apart. So, we headed out to see what the situation was. It was a steady day. Not spectacular. Ranger Julian finnaly made it out with a couple of friends and we got to show them the workings of banding through the day. Only one Catbird on peak Catbird day. Oh, well. Climate is definitely changing migration, no matter what some are saying. Should have 20 Catbirds on the first week of October.

Still some action. Mostly Yellowthroats, but some nice surpizes. We did start with a female Common Yellowthroat

.

Through the day we caught others. Like an adult male Common Yellowthroat



And close out witha juvenile male Common Yellowthroat



White-eyed Vireos are local but they also come through as migrants. When they do, they are full of stored fat and keep moving down to the Carribian. This was the case for this brid and another we will show in a bit.



Gray Catbirds are usually very common this time of year. It used to signal the peak of migration for us. However, we only caught one today. Next week looks better for migration.



Another White-eyed Vireo, again, loaded up with fat to make the journey to the South.



Got an Ovenbird along the way.



Julian made it over today with a couple of friends and they got to release few birds during the morning.



We caught our first returning House Wren of the season, This bird was first banded in the Spring of this year. Coming back to stay for the Winter.



American Redstarts are calling in the upper story of the trees and we caught a beautiful feamle today.



An unexpected Brown Thrasher was caught at Net 24. They usually stay near the table, but this juvenile was down by the marsh.



A nice day with 18 birds. Next week looks to be the big day, accordinging to the projections. Let's do it!

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Brown Thrasher	1	0	1
Ovenbird	1	0	1
Gray Catbird	1	0	1
White-eyed Vireo	2	0	2
American Restart	1	0	1
House Wren	0	1	1
Common Yellowthroat	10	1	11
Totals	17	1	18

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 12th.
All nets will be opened by 7:10 A.M.

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.

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.

Picked up Before Christmas.

A little busier today. Hope it stays that way since this is going to be the first December we can band all Sundays since the holidays happen in the middle of the week.

Our first bird was a recaptured Northern Cardinal. In the poor light it was difficult to read the band numbers. We all need new glasses...



We caught a couple of Hermit Thrushes today.



Eastern Phoebes were very active this morning. We ended up with three of them.



A fiesty male Common Yellowthroat was next. He kept nipping at fingers and trying to get the camera lenses.



It has been a while since we have had a White-eyed Vireo. This one is a juvenile. You can tell because the iris is not white yet.



House Wrens are moving around a little more right now.



We caught Carolina Wrens, too.



Two Yellow-rumped Warblers were chasing one another near the lake and both were caught. One was a bird we banded just last week.



Andrew decided to set a new net closer to the lake along the river. It was not long before we caught a Swamp Sparrow. A bit later we also had one of the 3 Phoebes.



Now that the new net will be up the same time as the others at dawn, hopefully we can get even more birds out by the lake.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Carolina Wren	1	1	2
House Wren	1	0	1
Eastern Phoebe	3	0	3
Northern Cardinal	0	1	1
Hermit Thrush	2	0	2
Yellow-rump (Myrtle) Warbler	1	1	2
White-eyed Vireo	1	0	1
Swamp Sparrow	1	0	1
Common Yellow-throat	1	0	1
Totals	11	3	14

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

Nice Mix at the End of October

The humidity was up again today but that did not deter us. The mosquitoes, though, were happy and very aggresive all morning. Cooler weather should be here soon.

First bird just after dawn was a female Indigo Bunting.



Soon after that, a very angry recaptured Carolina Wren.



Common Yellowthroats ruled the day. and we had all ages and both sexes. This is a juvenile male.



We got a couple of Gray Catbirds. They were staying mainly back in the woods.



We primarily catch Western Palm Warblers but today we got a rarer, more yellow, Eastern Palm Warbler.



Next up, a handsome Swainson's Thrush.



It has been a while since we have captured a female Black-throated Blue Warbler. A nice surprise.



White-eyed Vireos that migrate through the area are usually adults and full of fat. Today was a juvenile also loaded with fat.



Most people consider this male Painted Bunting to be Bird-of-the-Day. What do you think.



An unbanded Northern Cardinal turned out to be a juvenile most likely hatched here in the Spring.



Our final capture was another candidate for Bird-of-the-Day. A Wood Thrush.



A nice end to a busy month. Hope we can keep the numbers up through November.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Common Yellowthroat	5	0	5
Carolina Wren	0	1	1
Gray Catbird	2	0	2
Wood Thrush	1	0	1
Swainson's Thrush	1	0	1
Indigo Bunting	1	0	1
Painted Bunting	1	0	1
Eastern Palm Warbler	1	0	1
Black-throated Blue Warbler	1	0	1
White-eyed Vireo	1	0	1
Northern Cardinal	1	0	1
Totals	15	1	16

______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, November 5th.
Remember it is time to FALL BACK!
All nets will be opened by 6:10 A.M.