First Migrants in the Books

Not the most spectacular day in the woods, but a fairly normal end to August. Finally getting some migrants lower into the nets but still mainly capturing local birds.

As Andrew was getting to the last net, he was met by a very large Bull Frog in the path that let him attempt a dark morning shot.



Our largest species captured of the day were Carolina Wrens. Some were new and others were recaptures.



Apparently, there were heavy rains nearby overnight and the water levels were quite high. It seemed like the perfect setup for Waterthrushes and others but none of the expected species showed themselves. There were, however, a large number of Red-eyed Vireos around today.



Our best friends, the Air Potato Beetles, were out in huge numbers and mating and devouring their host plants. Thanks, beetles!



Just after we began wondering were the Ovenbirds were, we caught one in Net 2.



One of our other Carolina Wrens.



The Bird-of-the-Day was captured early on. This is the first Yellow-throated Warbler ever banded at Lake Lotus. We used to get several at Wekiwa Springs. Nice to add it to our growing list of captures here.



If the approaching storm front holds off a bit we should be getting more and more migrants. Hoping the winds stay a bit calm with the drier conditions this week.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 2nd.
All nets will be opened by 6:35 A.M.

Session 9 Begins

Session 9 has begun! Migration is just beginning and our operation runs from the first week of August. Typically we don't see too many migrants and catch only local birds and this start was exactly that. Probably the best news is that we are seeing a lot more Air Potato Beetles emerging throughout the property.



As expected, we only captured juvenile birds today and all were Carolina Wrens. There are also a lot of Cardinal families around but they stayed tucked away this morning.



While Richard was extracting our first Wren, a curious juvenile Barred Owl flew over and landed across from the net after being drawn to the sound of the alarm calls of the other young bird.



Lynn is is away for today so instead of her section that we have featured in the past we will have "Becki's Nature Finds"! First up, a male Blue-ringed Dancer was resting on a stalk. They are our most numerous damselflies on the property.



Nearby, a female Blue-ringed Dancer landed. No surprise.



An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail fed on the waning blooms of a Button Bush.



Nearly hidden, a Bush Katydid prowls along the Air Potato.



They must be nesting somewhere (or already did) because the Green Herons are always in the same area week after week.



Another critter that loves the Button Bush flowers is a Horace's Duskywing.



There have been a few around for a few weeks but it is always a joy to find a Yellow-throted Warbler as they hop through the foliage.



Out on the boardwalk, the Scarlet Mallow is in full display.



Down below Net 14 a school of Armoured Catfish are digging caves into the clay in the river bed.



Right on time, this Louisiana Waterthrush was feeding around Net 18. See the net? No? It is about 10 feet beyond the bird. We hoped it would be our first migrant catch of the Session but it decided to stay on the edge of the water and never flew back toward the net. Oh, well...



We are off next week but will return to our normal schedule on the 14th. More migrants should be heading down by then, too.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 14th.
All nets will be opened by 6:25 A.M.