Usual Suspects With a Nice Surprise

Yet another day setting nets in a sauna. Sweat started rolling at 5:50 AM like last week as the Barred Owls called from across the lake. We had the usual suspects in the nets today but we did find a very interesting find by mid-morning. More on that after the birds.

Our most abundant captures were recaptured adult Northern Cardinals including this male in heavy molt.



We also caught a couple of unbanded young Carolina Wrens. Unbanded no more.



Out at Net 16 we captured an adult female Northern Cardinal, also in heavy molt. She was first banded 3 1/2 years ago.



Later in the day, we also caught our first baby female Northern Cardinal. We can hear them around but they have not been caught before this year. Cardinals are born with black bills that change to orange as they mature.



During our Summer months we spend a lot of time pulling invasive plants, including Air Potato vine. At one point, Andrew took to pulling a large patch that was climbing a tree and then noticed something new. Some of the leaves were completely skeletonized! One thought quickly came to mind. Beetles.



Further inspection revealed the source. Air Potato Beetle Larva.



Earlier in the year the park rangers received a batch of Air Potato Beetles and released them on the park side of the river. In the past few weeks, Ranger Frank told us he could no longer locate them. Seems they have moved to 'our' side of the river. Frank came over today and he and Andrew headed down to investigate some more.

After looking around for a bit, they started finding more. And more, And more. Besides the larva, many mating pairs were scattered on the vines.



Nearby, a large Lubber Grasshopper watches the pair as they confirm more beetles in the area.



Air Potato Beetles only eat the Air Potato leaves and do not forage on any other native plants. Super helpful and they are being distributed around the state to contain the vines that can quickly overtake native flora.



We found the Air Potato Beetles in a stretch from the banding table and all the way down to the far end of the net lanes.



Odd that we were here to get all the birds banded that we could but were more excited by this discovery today.



This will change once the migrants begin to arrive in the next couple of weeks but having something else take the reigns of our invasive plant removal is a welcome reward. Eat up, beetles!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 17th.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Session 7 Begins

We began Session 7 in a sauna. Always forget how much you can sweat before 6 AM! We got the nets in place and prepared for the day. The first week of August is always a little slow as migrants are just now making their way into the state and we typically only catch resident bird species.

Today was no different. The first birds captured were Carolina Wrens. One was a new bird which we banded but the other, a recapture, escaped before we could process it.



A later run found a female Northern Cardinal. She was undergoing major molting and regrowing in her breast feathers after fledging a brood earlier this year.



Our last two birds of the day were both female Downy Woodpeckers captured in the same net at different times. Both of them were also molting big time.



The calls of the second Downy drew in a Yellow-throated Vireo but we could not convince it to go into the net. Not much else was around during the day but we were surprised by a fly-by of two Swallow-tailed Kites before we headed home. We had not seen any Kites in the area in the past couple of weeks.

Fingers are crossed for some migrants next week. It is about time for Waterthrushes and Ovenbirds to make their way down to officially kick off the migration season here.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 10th.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

Last Preparations Before Session 7

A few of us headed out to remove Air Potato vines and other vegetation in preparation for next week's start of Session 7 at Lake Lotus. Rains have been feeding the grasses of late but fortunately the rangers mowed again and the net lanes look great!



Guinea Grass has rebounded after their poisoning by the city, as predicted, but the mowing leaves us with clear sailing all along the river.



Just after Andrew took the above photo, a Wild Turkey strode out from the area around Net 14. What!?!.



Turkey seem to be making a nice growth in population around the state but you don't often see them in these parts. They have been reported in the past and can be found in more urban areas to the South.



The female Turkey was a bit wary at first but soon walked along the lanes and ate grass seeds as we set in to work.



She even stayed close by as we yanked vines a mere 10 yards away. Maybe a capture at some future point? Need to check if we have bands for them!



Closer to the lake, a Spiny Orb Weaver begins to repair its web after a night of bugs as the sunlight creates a web-bow.



Before we left, we could hear some croaking out in the marsh. Christine managed to find a few of the baby American Alligators making the noise near Net 21. We will be on the lookout for them and Mama next week.



So, things look ready for our next 10 months of banding. Our 7th year here along the Little Wekiva River. We had some great return data last year and some new species, too. Can't wait for another interesting year.

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 3rd.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

July Weeding Brings a Surprise

A few of us headed out to the banding site to do some of our Summertime weeding before the start of Session 7 in August. Tools and cameras in hand, Richard started near the table while Andrew and Christine head toward the far end of the net lanes. About halfway down, a peculiar chirping could be heard up ahead. Once at the snags by Net 8 the source was clear. A flock of Swallow-tailed Kites!

This is the same spot Richard and Christine found the seven Kites a couple of weeks ago. Moving to get the sunlight at their backs they counted to make sure there were still seven. There were...plus three! Ten Swallow-tailed Kites were adorning the branches in the morning Sun.



Now it was picture time for a while as we tried to see if we could tell the adults from the juveniles.



They were facing at all angles so we gathered as many shots as we could.



This Swallow-tailed Kite decided that sitting was better than perching upright.



This bird was pretty fluffy compared to most of the obvious adults and could be one of the younger birds.



This could be the other juvenile Swallow-tailed Kite and like the one above shows a tan belly and fluffier feathers.



But we were here to do some weeding so we had to enjoy our few minutes of awe and move along. While Christine weeded at this spot, Andrew headed down to Net 21, fearing the worst. As expected, the last net was blocked by choking vegetation as it gets in the Summer. It took over an hour to clear the once obvious path from Willows which were being weighed down by invasive Skunk Vine. Fortunately, the net area itself was fairly clear.



While clearing the net area, Andrew heard that chirping again and looked up. The Swallow-tailed Kite were circling just over head! Time to head back up the trail for the camera and try for flight shots.



Seven of the Kites were soaring high above while the remaining three stayed lower for some nice clear views.



One bird was even preening as it flew! A couple minutes later the birds chirped very loudly at one another and zoomed off to the East in search of food.



Susan had joined the weeding crew while that was happening and after another 45 minutes we decided we had done enough for this morning and packed up. Richard, Andrew, and Susan pose with some tools.



Richard and Christine were the next to pose before we left for our cars.



Andrew went over to the park side to try and find Ranger Frank to see about mowing soon. Then we could finish the remaining chores before the new Session began. However, Frank was not in today so a walk along the boardwalk was in order. Near the beginning of the boardwalk a caterpillar was strolling along. Could be a Yellow-necked Caterpillar? Hmmm....



There were not a lot of birds around today. Eventually, a Great Blue Heron came into view searching for food at the lake's edge.



Dragonflies darted back and forth just beyond the railings.



The Scarlet Rose Mallows, (Hibiscus coccineus), were blooming in their usual spot bringing a splash of color among the greens and browns.



Despite the lack of bird song, there were a few Northern Parula lurking deep in the foliage.



We will be back in a couple of weeks to finish our weeding and make sure things are in order for August. However, another trip to check on the Kite flock might have to go on the calendar.

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 3rd.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

Swallow-tailed Kite Flock

During our down time, Richard and Christine headed out to the site to water the native planting that were placed a couple of years ago. Soon, we will have to get back out to do some weeding before the August restart.



Once there, they looked up and noticed an amazing view.



I took a minute to circle them all. Seven Swallowed-tailed Kites had massed over the banding table. By the looks of them they are all adults, except for the ones with their backs to the camera. We know there were two juveniles hatched this year but we have only seen three other adults previously. So, could there be nine in the area?



This is the most Kites we have seen here over the years. A close-up shows some of the adults atop the snag.



We will see if we can get more shots once back out there. Swallow-tailed Kites stay until near Fall before heading off to South America through our Winter and Spring. A very exciting find!

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 3rd.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

Latest Bandings at the Rehab Center

Andrew has been out to band some raptors before their release back into the wild a couple of times lately for our friends at the Avian Reconditioning Center and now they were ready to release some more. During this time, we have been helping to train Allison Miller in the hopes that she can be qualified to band them on their own.

We love heading out there but it is a good distance away and it would be more convenient if someone was able to do it whenever they are ready to set a bird free which can sometimes be at a moment's notice.

We had several species to band today and the first up was one of the last American Kestrel still on hand. We banded a bunch of them last month.



Next up was a species we have not banded here in a while. Eastern Screech Owls. We occasionally catch them in the wild at the banding station. Today we had four adorable young birds ready for jewelry. Most were waiting by the door to their enclosure.



Allison brought out the first Eastern Screech Owl. Notice the thick gloves they wear to grab the birds to avoid any injury. Raptor talons and beaks are super sharp and strong.



Once she retrieved a bird, she would hand it over to Andrew (no gloves for him!) so she can do the actual banding procedure.



After being banded and the data recorded, the Eastern Screech Owls just want us to go away.



On to the largest birds of the day. Great-horned Owls. Here, Allison applies the band to the first subject.



Scott brought in the next Great-horned Owl. Andrew's son, Patrick, had the photography duties for these big guys, all juveniles.



Great-horned Owl have extremely strong claws to grab their prey. Also a deadly set of talons you don't want to be caught up in!



The last Great-horned Owl is brought...



...and Allison applied another band while we check that everything is secured properly.



You can see the band on this bird's leg and now we have a lot of birds about ready to be released.



Allison is doing a great job with the banding so we now just wait for the paperwork to clear and she will be on her way to taking over. We are now discussing the possibility of doing a banding demo for their next Owl Fest in November. We would only be catching our typical small bird species but it would give the public a chance to see the banding process in action.

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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 3rd.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.