Surprise, Surprise...

Well. That was kind of a nice surprise. The river level has dropped much quicker this time around. Matthew left us with a slow reduction of water but this next week after Irma has found the property nearly free of standing water all along the net lanes and no real debris to clear afterwards. We'll take it!

Our first bird of the day was a familiar face. The very first bird from last week was recaptured just a few yards from where it was first caught and banded. An Ovenbird.



Our newest volunteer, Melissa, got to release her first bird after helping set the nets before dawn.



Common Yellowthroats are continuing to flow through. Still just females today.



Our next surprise was a Red-Eyed Vireo captured at Net 18, which we never expected to get to today. They are often heard across the river but are rare captures for us. A nice adult bird.



Along with the Vireo was a female American Redstart, another bird that typically hangs higher in the upper story of the trees. We saw several males up and down the river today.



With migration ramping up even the locals are starting to stir. We recaptured an adult Carolina Wren shortly after the migrants.



Then, a recaptured female Northern Cardinal. They have been calling all year but stayed in the woods for most of the time.



If you check last week's blog you can compare this view. Just across the river they have a new beach dredged up from the flood. It use to be a nice mulched path along the river in the park.



Heading down by the newly opened net lanes, we see how much the water has dropped. Photos from last week were made in knee-deep water just down the way from here.



This view at Net 10 is indicative of the washed over grasses along the banks. All of this grass was about shoulder height for the last few years.



As always, Andrew wanted to check the destruction and dragged out a fallen tree branch to make a bridge to cross over the stream to check on Net 21. The poles are still in place but several palettes are washed out, of course, and it may be a few more weeks before we can get those back in place and manage to walk safely around the mud.



The view of the crew walking back from the end of the net lane shows the wash over and mud we have to deal with for now. The best part of banding is how everyone enjoys being out in Nature despite the problems thrown at us. A morning at the banding site is better than running about doing other chores! Mud cleans off.



You can tell migration is coming when the volunteers start showing up in larger numbers. Glad to have everyone out today to see some awesome birds up close.



We were hearing the bubbling of House Wrens most of the morning and it was great to confirm that they were back by capturing our first of Session 10 today.



We caught another new Ovenbird a bit later in the morning and they are calling loudly around the property.



Don't forget the Common Yellowthroats. Still more banded today. Some may call them drab, but they are pretty in their own right.



We were expecting Veerys last week but a week later is OK. We caught two today. They are the first thrushes that migrate through the area. Catbirds cannot be too far behind. We should get them next week.



Susan woke up the Brown Thrashers this morning while setting nets and we knew we would probably snag one along the way. Sure enough, we got a recapture of one of our local birds later in the day.



Everyone was pleased with the female American Redstart banded earlier in the morning but seeing a male tends to bring more gasps. The Orange and Black just pops more and male warblers are so much more showy. They have to. This guy joined us as the day waned.



Wrapping up the day, we captured a new male Northern Cardinal. Haven't we banded all of them by now? He was very feisty so we had to give him a cigar to keep him from biting us even more than he did.



Nearby, in Net 17, yet another surprise for the day. A Prairie Warbler. We used to catch more at Wekiwa Springs, but here at Lake Lotus they stay up in the oak canopy. Calling and feeding, but rarely flying low enough to band. Glad this one made the list!



Migration peak is approaching us. We will be banding all weekend for at least the next two weeks. Our highest capture rates begin next Saturday and can fluctuate depending on weather patterns. Stay tuned to the site blog for updates. As of this typing it could be raining next weekend. We will update when needed but plan on both days.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Saturday & Sunday, September 30th and October 1st.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Migrants and Muck

Hurricane Irma certainly made her mark on all of Florida and at Lake Lotus. Most of us in Central Florida suffered mainly minor damage, small debris piles, and a loss of power for various durations. Then, you could round a corner and see massive trees blocking roads and driveways. All in all, it could have been worse.

This is our first chance to get back to banding in a month. Either rain each Sunday and then Irma thwarted our efforts. Although we really didn't miss the sauna that is that time of year, really.

We could only set just over half our nets today. A large tree blocked our path by Net 12 and the river was still up to that spot meaning that our other net poles were in the water and muck. Our first bird of the day was heard calling loudly near Net 2. Andrew pished once and the bird flew right into the net. It was our first banded Ovenbird of the Session.



Bird of the Day goes to our next bird. A Worm-eating Warbler. We have been capturing more of these in recent years.



One of the most frequently captured species this time of year is the Common Yellowthroat and they are right on time. If we had all nets open, we would be catching loads more up and down the river.



Speaking of the river... Though we weren't there just after the storm you can see that the water levels were pretty high. The flattened vegetation is on the highest part of the park side river bank meaning it was much higher than that.



The observation deck that was used by school visits is completely gone. I was at least 8 feet above the river bed.



Looking behind Net 20 shows the water flowing INTO the park. It always does flow in there when heavy rains arrive but you can also see the roots of a huge oak that has fallen this time around.



The couple of trees that fell at Net 12 were a live tree and a snag. Our intrepid volunteers did a great job carving out a door to the other side.



A nice new gateway to the other side. Hopefully, it will be a little drier next week. It took several weeks to get the paths dried after Hurricane Matthew and this is a lot more water and just before peak migration. Fingers crossed.



Andrew peered across the river to survey the damage across the river in the park.



A large group of fallen trees could be seen. Every Earth Day we would set a couple of nets among those oaks. Going to be a completely different landscape over there. Rangers report highest water levels ever and many, many downed trees. They will be busy.



Andrew waded out knee-deep in the water by Nets 9 and 13 (silly Human!) and saw that the water is still up to the boardwalk in the park. Water is deeper and deeper from this point. Can't even imaging how the area around Net 21 will look once the water subsides. The Trail Cam was not visible and possibly has washed away or at least under water for a considerable time. At least we got to document some wildlife for a while.



Net 14 is surrounded by shallow water and muck right now. Olivia's Garden survived, for the most part. The sign nearby also survived and marked how high the water got. The yellow line marks the top of the muddy water before is drained away later. That shows the water was close to 3 feet deep up here on the high side of the Little Wekiva. Wow.



As the morning was winding down we caught another Ovenbird. In fact, all we caught were migrants today.



More Common Yellowthroats rounded out the day.



Hurricane Maria is swirling in the Atlantic making a lot of folks nervous. She seems to be a threat to the islands and is forecast to trek North before giving Florida another punch. Hoping for that track. Otherwise, we would be in jeopardy of having the best banding ruined this Session.

"Nets are half-full." is a slogan used around here. Looking forward to the best case scenario.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 24th.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

Back to Banding

OK. Let's do this...

There is flooding at the site but we can probably get at least half the nets set. We also will have some clean up to perform along the way. Migrants are on the move so we hope to get something.

Could be an interesting morning.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 17th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.

Hurricane Irma

Sooooo.... With Irma wobbling back and forth through the weekend we can pretty sure bet that there will be no banding on September 10th. In fact, depending on how bad this monster is we may not be banding for the foreseeable future.

I am sure the banding site will flood and who knows how many trees will fall there and throughout Central Florida. When Charlie roared through Orlando as a Category 1 my house was without power for nearly 2 weeks and trees blocked many roads. I still drive by where they took trees to be shredded and piled. They filled a football field (literally) and was several stories tall.

Irma is much larger and slower. Fingers crossed. I will have to ride it out and inspect the property (mine and Lake Lotus) later when I can. I will update this blog as soon as possible with any meaningful information.

Buckle up, Florida! Going to be a bumpy weekend.

Stay safe,

Andrew
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Next (planned) Banding Day: UNKNOWN/TBD

No Banding September 3rd

NOTE: No banding September 3rd. Rain in the area.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 10th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.

Where Did They All Go?

All of our migrants found last week have seemed to have moved on. Nothing but quiet while setting nets. Owls didn't even call until just around dawn and they were way back in the park. Most of our birds today were recaptured Carolina Wrens like this juvenile we have been recapturing for the past few weeks.



It was mainly the babies being recaptured but we eventually got one of the old adult Carolina Wrens now molting its tail feathers.



We had a couple visitors to the site today and as we were shutting down for the morning we did manage to get a new female Downy Woodpecker at Net 21.



Alex is keen to join us in the future and got to release the Downy Woodpecker after processing.



Watching weather for Sunday as Invest 92 swirls about Southern Florida. Hurricane Harvey could spin some birds our way but 92 could keep numbers in flux. We shall see. If we cannot band, I will post first thing Sunday AM.


NOTE: No banding August 27. Raining.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 3rd.
All nets will be opened by 6:35 A.M.

Migrants Moving In

We had a very dry week and we were hoping to have no troubles getting to Net 21 at the end of the lanes which were flooded last week. Then, Saturday afternoon gifted us with rains that lasted until around 10 PM. Hopes dimmed. No way we could get out there this week, right? Well, it was flooded, but we could skip over the small pass with a strong jump. Most of us with longer legs, anyway.



Andrew had brought in palettes in preparations for last week so he placed them in the muddy lane leading to the net, replacing one that was rotting away. Migrants were being heard all along the river so we didn't want to miss a chance to catch some at the end of the lanes. Turned out to be a good decision.



Our first bird of the day was actually the last we banded last weekend. A juvenile Carolina Wren was in Net 2, behind the banding table.



The next trip to Net 21 yielded a large feeding flock of migrant. At one point we had 5 Prothonotary Warblers in view at one time which is rare. This birds are usually seen one at a time. Also out with them were Yellow-thoated, Yellow, Black and White, Prairie, and the Prothonotary Warblers, Northern Parula, Red-eyed Vireo, woodpeckers, Titmice, Cardinals...all sorts of birds moving through.

While watching them, we captured one of the Prothonotary Warblers.



The next bird that came in was another juvenile Carolina Wren near the table area.



Though the day was a bit sultry, it was fairly cool under the oaks. It is always a pretty morning out in the woods.



Right next to where that shot was taken Christine noticed an Argiope with prey.



For the first time ever, we captured a second Prothonotary Warbler in one day. They were all over by the lake today.



Back at Net 21 a Black and White Warbler was feeding all over the trees but never went into the net just feet away. Still fun to watch as it moves along the trees.



Still grateful for all of our clearing friends, the Air Potato Beetle. Lets us move through the days knowing they can clear the plants better than us as they gnaw through those invasive vines. Saves us so much time and energy.



While we were closing up for the morning, we found a Northern Parula in Net 21. That makes that net the main net of the day! Use to be it always was but last year it fell short. Fingers crossed that it returns to our most productive spot as it had been until last year. Just need to keep it above the water line.



We did hear an Ovenbird today and this is the time we usually start to get them, along with Waterthrushes. Let the fun begin!!!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 20th.
All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Session 10 Begins

It is hard to believe that the end of this Session will mark 10 years of banding at Lake Lotus. Today was the first day of the new Session and the birds captured are typical of this time of year. All local Carolina Wrens, just like the first week of last year. However, migrants are on the way already and we should begin to get some of them as soon as next week.

Inches of rain fell in the month of July but, fortunately, we only lost one palette to the flooding. Two more were brought in to replace that one and one that is falling apart. Sadly, more rain from last week flooded the end of the trail again so we could not make it out there today. The good news is that when we came out to clean up before this weekend we found that those previous floods actually cleared out the vegetation that can take a day to clear.



As for birds, the only game in town today were Carolina Wrens. All of the juveniles are out and about but still feeding with the adults. The first bird was disgraced with a poor cell phone shot since the SD card was out of the regular camera. Still, it was the first bird of the year, so...



The next bird was an adult but the last was another juvenile heavily molting into the adult stage and was more interesting. Feathers were found in Net 11 and probably was a Northern Cardinal but we did not get to band it.



There was a feeding flock seen during the morning that was full of interesting birds. Too bad that they were 30 feet up in the pines and oaks. Among them were migrants like Yellow-throated Vireos, Black and White Warblers, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Prairie Warbler, and locals like a lot of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Tufted Titmice.

Our archives show that we typically begin to capture migrants in mid-August so we are hopeful. All poles are secured and anchor lines are in place, with new clothes pins marking each position. Time to record some data!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 13th.
All nets will be opened by 6:25 A.M.

Trail Cam in May

As we left for the end of Session 9 we grabbed the card from the trail cam an headed home to see if we captured anything of interest. One of the few daytime shots was one of the numerous Raccoons.



However, most of the action happens at night. Mammals come out in search of prey. They are always a mix, like this Coyote we have captured a shot of a few times already. We knew it was around because of scat findings and it is nice to have actual documentation.



Opossum are a little harder to catch as they sprint through the site lines of the camera. It could be a potential food item for that Coyote seen earlier in the night.



We are always excited to see our Bobcat wandering by on its jaunts around the property.



The strangest capture of the month was something more common. A domestic House Cat. What? Could be a feral stray or a pet of the neighbors just over the fence.



We also had a couple of backs of humans that shouldn't be there. Definitely not rangers, but someone who made it over to this side. We will let the camera 'soak' for June and see what strolls by during the month while we are away.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 6th.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.