Raptors About

An approaching front had us hoping birds were being pushed more our way during the start of Spring migration. Alas, we believe that the amount of raptors around kept them out of the way if, in fact, they were there. Red-shouldered Hawks and Sharp-shinned Hawks were seen patrolling the river toward the lake and the owls are finding food for young while Ospreys gather branches for their nests.

We did have a few new visitors to keep us company and a lot of flora to explore along the way so the time passed quickly. After we had a recaptured Catbird we had a Hermit Thrush which young William got to release.



We also recaptured 'our' Bachman's Sparrow for the 4th time. A little later we captured a new adult Carolina Wren which Andrew banded.



A beautiful specimen.



Richard took the guests around to check nest boxes but all they found was more Flying Squirrels. Here, Bill and son William get a look for themselves.



Next up the ladder was our new guest and potential new volunteer, Yvonne, who seems just a bit thrilled to see these cute, resting squirrels!



Finally, Ivana made her way up for a look.



One of the more exciting finds of the morning was our first glimpse at the baby Barred Owl in the nest across the river. The light was still low but all could see it clearly through binoculars. We brought cameras out later for a shot but the chick had ducked down too much for any photos.

However, the parents are still nearby and at one time were 'talking' to the chick. Maria got the first shot of one adult.



Then Andrew joined the photography party.



While walking the net lanes, the crew found an owl pellet.



A close look revealed the bones of a small rodent.



Next week we hope to see what the migration brings us. Should be picking up soon.
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Next Banding Day: Sunday, March 28th.

We will open nets by 6:50 A.M.

Moving Toward Spring

A couple of sure signs of Spring are showing. Barred Owls are becoming active (reports of a possible chick nearby), Northern Parulas are suddenly singing, and the weather is finally warming.

The big different change this morning was the Little Wekiva River which has risen quite nicely after we just had over 5 inches of rain in the area over the end of last week.



Last year, several of us were jumping from side to side to visit the park proper while waiting for birds to find the nets.



We caught a number of recaptures and some new birds. One of the recaps was this still-wintering Hermit Thrush.



We also got a new male Northern Cardinal and a recaptured female but the Brown Thrashers are moving around again and bring more smiles than the Cardinals. Nothing against Cardinals. They just bite harder...



First bird of the day was actually this new House Wren who seems to say, "Let me go, or else!"



We continue to note the flowering of local plants and trees. The Cherry Laurels are blooming like mad all over the area and now we have found that the wild cherry trees are also joining in. Along the net lanes, the thistle and Earthsmoke are taking over the ground level from the lake to near the banding table.



The sharp eyes of Christine and Susan located a pair of Black-dotted Brown Moths mating in the leaf litter along the net lanes. An interesting diversion.



Finally, we recaptured 'our' Bachman's Sparrow we banded a few weeks ago. Seems to enjoy the digs around here.



Almost time for local bird babies to emerge and time to check the nets to keep the owls from getting too curious. Wood Ducks are also very active and we hope they find the nest box near the river.
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Next Banding Day: Sunday, March 21th.

We will open nets by 7:00 A.M.

A First Myrtle Warbler

Hopefully the last chilly morning of the year. Knock wood.

Last time out we were all discussing where to plant native plants to increase bird fly throughs and the fact that we have never caught a Myrtle Warbler here at Lake Lotus. Can't say that any longer!

Today we captured a beautiful male Myrtle Warbler going into Spring plumage. A very, very welcome sight.



Most other birds were recaptured Cardinals, Kinglets, a House Wren, and a Hermit Thrush. This Cardinal is one of the earliest birds we captured and he is spectacular.



The female we captured later in the day was one of the first ever recorded at Lake Lotus and they are lovely, as well.

During the morning, Richard and our visitors, Bill and his daughter Grace, checked the nest boxes for signs of activity. No new nesting birds yet but they did discover many other residents. Mostly Flying Squirrels.



Checking another box finds the same species but different numbers...



Here, Christine captured a moment where Bill was taking a turn getting a shot of the squirrels in the box.



Unlike last year, we now have a new plant species covering most of the net lanes. It has been ID'd as 'Earthsmoke'. It covers nearly every available spot. Maybe our clearing of invasives has let it establish itself this year. A very pretty flower.



The only other difference today was that of the discovery of an Eastern Tent Caterpillar nest by the river. Everyone took good long looks before we ended the day.



A close up shot reveals the caterpillers moving about in and over the webs.



Spring is definitely in the air. Finally!

Daylight Savings time begins next week. Please note the start time adjusted for the change.
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Next Banding Day: Sunday, March 14th.

We will open nets by 6:55 A.M.

Thrushes and Wrens and No Bears

Finally, a warmer day but not a ton of birds. This after watching NEXRAD radar the night before and it indicated large flocks of birds moving in the dark. By morning, however, they were noticed all the way to the North and into Georgia.

We were catching thrushes like this younger Hermit Thrush.



We also captured Carolina and House Wrens but we were more excited by our first Ovenbird of the season.



Talk soon led to the fact that we haven't caught any Myrtle Warblers at this site so Andrew took a walk down by the lake to see what was flying around just past the net lanes. One interesting find was a Marsh Wren feeding in the weeds along the lake's edge.



Right after that find, a small flock of the questioned birds did fly in. Myrtle Warblers! First a few males.



Then a beautiful female dropped by.



The rest of our morning was spent walking the net lanes and deciding where we will be placing native plants in the near future. We will then monitor if certain plants attract more birds than others. Should be a fun experiment!

Spring is springing according to the Maple trees.



Suppose to be another chilly morning next weekend and we shall see what else is hanging around. Robins are on the move back North and Spring migration appears to be underway.

NOTE: No banding February, 28th. Wind chills are predicted to be about freezing. Will Winter never end?

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Next Banding Day: Sunday, March 7th.

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

A Chilly, Though Exciting, Day

Once you get out into the field you never know what you will find. We had an interesting day all around, even though it was another fairly gloomy and cold morning.

While setting nets, making lots of noise in case the bears were nearby, Andrew discovered some items near nets. Out at Net 17, golden eyes shone in the head lamp from a couple of raccoons digging in the dirt. Turned out they were digging out and eating turtle eggs which Maria photographed later.



As the light was coming up, Andrew also found another item of note. Honeycomb! This was dug out of a spot just next to Net 12. Seems the bears are here more often than we thought.



Most of our birds were recaptures, including this female Cardinal which we were wondering if she was about to lay some eggs based upon her body mass.



Here, the crew weighs the Cardinal before we took her out of the bag.



Another recapture was a Carolina Wren. Caught in Net 2 which was surprisingly busy today.



This was the first time Ivana removed a bird from a mist net and she got to release it after we recorded all relevant data.



Also in Net 2 was a recaptured Hermit Thrush.



Ivana also got to release this bird. It really wanted to go one minute but then just settled into her hand for a minute before finally flying off.



It was a really cute moment to behold.



We captured a Catbird along the way. It was a younger bird as demonstrated by the inner lining of the mouth which is a light color until they get older when the roof of the bill becomes all black.



We also tallied a House Wren and few other birds. 3 times the count from previous weeks! That was fun enough. Then Maria had the close encounter of the day.

All of us were away from the banding table (can't recall the last time that happened) and were headed back. Maria was in the lead and she seemed to be removing a bird from Net 3 below the banding table. Turns out that the mother and cub Black Bear had just run straight past her and bounded across the river. Though startled, she proved that she is becoming a real photographer in that she did not let her fear of just being run past by bears to make her forget to grab a quick shot as Mama Bear got across the river.



We had been back and forth the net lanes all morning and even had people up in the woods earlier and none of us heard or saw the bears which were obviously there all along. Kind of scary but an ultimately exciting discovery.

Last bird of the day was our Bachman's Sparrow we banded last week. Here Richard takes down the current data.



To wind up the day, Maria took a shot of the new blooms that have been popping up along the lanes and into the woods. This plant is called Innosence.



We will be even more watchful for bears next time and hope for a sunny day.

NOTE: No banding February 14th. Forecast calls for near freezing temperatures.
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Next Banding Day: Sunday, February 21st.

We will open nets by 6:30 A.M.

Surprise Sparrow

It was one of those mornings that leaves one wondering why we got out of bed. Not too cold or anything but as we started to set nets the winds slowly increased and eventually the front moved through and the temps did begin to drop hour by hour. Oh, to be back in bed. Too gloomy.

However, there are the little moments that erase such selfish thoughts. The best of the day happened right after sunrise.

Andrew was checking nets and was all the way at the end of the net lanes checking for any birds and monitoring the weather. After staring at the dark, cloudy skies, he glanced over his shoulder and noticed a dark shape in Net 13. Wasn't moving but it had to be a bird.

Turned out to be not just any bird, but our first sparrow of this banding season! In fact, our first ever Bachman's Sparrow!!



Bachman's Sparrows do reside and breed just to the North of us near our old banding site in Wekiwa Springs but we never caught one as they stick to the pinewood flats near the Youth Center. Usually the sparrows we see around Lake Lotus are Swamp Sparrows and last year we caught a Clay-colored Sparrow in the same spot.



To our knowledge, no one has recorded a Bachman's Sparrow in this park.



We also caught a recap Northern Cardinal and a new Gray Catbird but this first bird of the day made the slightly uncomfortable weather blur away for a little bit.



Hoping for more sparrows before the season is over!
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Next Banding Day: Sunday, February 7th.

We will open nets by 6:40 A.M.

Nice to be Back

Has it really been a month? So nice to be back out to see what be flying through after all this time. We did stop by to see how the site fared after all this time and the biggest change was that at least one of the bears that were across the river in the park made it over to investigate our area.

We had to collect all of our bird bags that we left at the banding table as one of the bears grabbed it and left a trail of bags leading into the woods. The other main evidence was the abandoned feeder pole project. It was broken with the pole bent over above AND below ground. The rebar supporting the black pole was bent as well.



Though the birds were few throughout the day, we did recapture a Wintering Gray Catbird and a new, very young Hermit Thrush.



The last bird captured was another Wintering bird. This female Ruby-crowned Kinglet.



Toward the lake, the native wild Radish is blooming again.



Looking back up the river the latest cold spell seems to have killed off a lot of invasive species including the abundant Guinea Grass which you can see along the banks beyond the oaks.



Our other chore for the morning was checking the nest boxes before the main breeding seasons kicks in. In box number 1, where the Cuban Treefrog hung out last Fall, was now occupied by Flying Squirrels. If you look closely, you can see that there are 3 of them in this small box.



We let them continue resting and moved on. Nothing else was in any other box today but we are hoping something will use them this Spring.

Next week we close out the month and prepare for the new broods of Carolina Wrens which are sure to follow. The adult wrens are calling like crazy right now.
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Next Banding Day: Sunday, January 31st.

We will open nets by 6:45 A.M.

No Banding January 17th!

Sigh. This is getting old.

We will be canceling our banding effort for this Sunday, January 17th due to the expected storms and high winds.

I will be going out there Saturday, January 16th, just to take a look around after all of this time off. Maybe even plant a tree for Arbor Day.

Maybe next week, kids.
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Next Banding Day: Sunday, January 24th.

We will open nets by 6:50 A.M.

No Banding January 10th!

We will be canceling our banding effort for this Sunday, January 10th due to the expected continuing cold weather.
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Next Banding Day: Sunday, January 17th.

We will open nets by 6:50 A.M.