Quality Over Quantity

The low numbers continue here as we should be having the biggest push of the migration hitting us. However, counts are way down. For example, last year, we had 80 captures during the first two weekend days in October. This year we had a total of 35. Birds are just not here this year. Should be having birds like Swanson's Thrush but no thrushes this weekend. Overall, we decided to be content to have quality birds over the mass quantity of birds.

Saturday:

Our first bird today was a Common Yellowthroat. This juvenile male did not feel like posing for us at all.



It was nice to have a female Painted Bunting early on. It was probably a migrant instead of our suspected breeding birds on the property.



Usually we catch several Tufted Titmice at the same time but today it was just a single bird. Angry little birds. Like to bite banners before they are released.



Another Common Yellowthroat headed our way before too long. This time it was a female trailing behind the incoming males.



In Net 19, the same net we caught the first bunting, we had a second female for the day.



Things were really quiet and then there was a bright glow in the shade at Net 12. The bright yellow of a Hooded Warbler hanging in the shade was a sudden nice end to our slow morning.



We also recaptured a couple of Carolina Wrens and that at least added to the final total for the day.

There was an alligator encounter during the day but we cannot discuss that without having Andrew's wife banning him from returning to the site again. Note: Always watch for predators in the marsh...

On the way out of the site we encountered and fun moment. A Black Racer was sunning along the path and allowed a very close cell phone photo before eventually slithering into the weeds.



Sunday: It took a little while but we finally got our first Gray Catbird of the season. A juvenile recently arriving.



We should have been capturing more Black-throated Blue Warblers, so it was nice to get our first Black-throated Blue Warbler female today.



Still recapturing juvenile Carolina Wrens like this little bird first banded a few weeks ago. Mostly catching all the babies all over again.



More Common Yellowthroats are moving through like this adult male.



We were missing Ovenbirds for a bit until we got this new bird mid-morning.



Next up was a female Common Yellowthroat. There were many more heard but only a few were flying through the lanes as they decided to hang near the marsh and lake.



White-eyed Vireos were heard as early as dawn and we finally got one before the day was done.



Another recaptured Carolina Wren was processed next.



We also recaptured our newly fledged Northern Cardinal we banded couple of weeks ago.



The native Scarlet Morning Glory that was waning over the years has now emerged again and is reaching for the skies near Net 14.



A second Black-throated Blue Warbler female hit the nets as the day wore on.



One of the last runs down the lanes found our second Gray Catbird in Net 9.



To round out the day we had the rainbow of the day to wrap up. We had a couple of females yesterday and today we ended with a male Painted Bunting. Nice to have the day wrap up with beautiful colors.



Hurricane Micheal is approaching. Hoping it clears through to allow more migrants headed our way next week.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, October 14th.
All nets will be opened by 6:55 A.M.

Birds? Where are You Birds?

Typically, the weekend around the first of October is the bursting point of migrating birds heading into Central Florida. A simple search on this blog site shows that clearly. We band both days of the weekend on this time of the year expecting to capture the wave of migrants. Overall, it was a mixed bag that need up unusual.

Saturday:

This day began quiet for a little while until we had a Veery in Net 4.



Just when we were wondering where the Common Yellowthroats were, we began catching then early in the morning. First up was an adult female.



We will get all of them out of the way here even though they made their way in during the day. The next was an adult male who we had to contain a bit more for a photo since he was ready to feed as soon as possible.



Then we had another adult female.



Lastly, we got a juvenile male to conclude the triad.



Still recapturing juvenile Carolina Wrens as they explore their surroundings.



We were waiting for some more migrants and we finally got the next one. An Ovenbird.



A newly hatched female Northern Cardinal found her way into the nets not much later.



Do Painted Buntings breed on the property or not? I think we have shown that they do and today was another good data point as we captured a molting male bird today. Teenage boys, humans and birds alike, look very awkward. This poor guy was molting hard, changing into his manly rainbow. The pin-feathers were working overtime, akin to acne, before he becomes the stunningly beautiful male he will be in a short time.



As we began to close for the day, the Tufted Titmice family was prowling around and one of the birds eventually hit Net 16.



What happens next, as usual, is that once one Tufted Titmouse starts shrieking some of the family flies in for support and then gets trapped as well. This younger bird was the next one in the net. They like to bite...



The last one in the net was a recaptured adult we banded many years ago, showing the family is still breeding and raising new kids after all these years. This seemed like a good lead up to migration. However...



Sunday: Typically peak migration day. For the first time in Andrew's 14 years of banding, the birds did not arrive. This weekend should have yielded a dozen birds by dawn but they did not drop down today.

The morning began early and hopeful. We heard our first Catbird of the season and birds were heard flying overhead before dawn. But...

Our first bird of the morning was a great catch. A rare Swainson's Warbler. It gave us hope that things were about to be busy and right on time.



Things grew quiet. Too quiet. It took a long few trips looking at nets to bring in the next bird which was a recaptured male Northern Cardinal.



Next, an Ovenbird but no new interesting migrants.



There were 4 Common Yellowthroats yesterday but it took us a long time to get our only one today. An adult female.



Andrew was returning from the end of the lanes after switching trail cam cards and heard a bird calling. It was actually already in the Net 19 and was a female American Redstart.



While we were checking nets, Alyssa arrived with several Firebush plants for the site. We have several spots around the property that are strictly native plantings and we were wondering where the new plants could go.



Decision was made to get them established near our Cypress trees just across the trail. Alyssa began digging in the first plant between Net 8 and 14.



Susan gathered water to get our new plants settled in.



She got to the next plant as Phyllis dug in the last plant in the center of Olivia's Garden next to Net 14. We will try to establish more flowering wildflowers in here to attract more birds and pollinators soon.



Birds were scarce but Connie found a Praying Mantis in Net 12 and got it released back to freedom.



The day ended with a capture of a House Wren. Funny thing was, this was the same bird that escaped capture last week as evidenced by the tail pattern. In the same spot a week later.



Here is to hoping that the birds were just delayed a bit and this next weekend will find us busy with birds. If so, we may shift our following weekend to two-days, too. Definitely will be banding both days this weekend.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Saturday and Sunday, October 6th and 7th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Where Did the Birds Go?

It was a fairly noisy dawn chorus but then everything went quiet, just like the demo day we did in the park two weeks ago. Didn't help that Andrew had a long time extracting yet another bat from Net 10 just before sunrise. The other delay was a rare display.
As Andrew distributes bags on the way down the trail, he flings the final bags toward the end of the lanes as he sets the ones around Net 22. I defy you to get one stuck on top of a pole from 30 feet away!



Meanwhile, as Connie was pulling chairs from beneath the table, she discovered a toad resting the middle of one of them. Which species? Haven't looked it up yet.



The morning grew quiet quickly and we waited another hour and a half to catch our first birds. Both were recaptured Carolina Wrens that were hatched and banded earlier in the year.



Eventually, we caught our first migrant of the day. An Ovenbird.



As usual when things are slow, we take notice of other things around the property. Connie also found another interesting piece of Nature today. A Bagworm Moth, (Oiketicus abbot)?, cocoon.



Andrew did find a mystery up in the pine woods. During a path not taken previously, he turned and saw this plant with berries. We are still researching this species. It is a skinny little tree full of fruits.



We did not see a lot of Air Potato Beetles today. It may be because they have wiped out most of the leaves throughout the area. Before the weather turns, they will create larva and burrow into the ground until next year.



Next to Net 5, we found a new flower blooming and actually setting seed pods. Another fun plant to ID when we can. Sure looks like a pea, but probably some invasive like so many plants around here.



As the morning was winding down, Avery and Augustine saw a couple of birds in Net 20. They were a pair of White-eyed Vireos right next to one another. This often happens when birds are chasing each other while competing for food.



Both birds were considered migrants as they both had good amounts of fat stores on them meaning that they have probably just arrived from the North.



Peak migration is due next week so we will be banding all weekend for the next two weeks. Join us for hopefully more birds in the next two weeks. Fronts are pulling out of the way.
______________________________________
Next (planned) Banding Day: Saturday and Sunday, September 29th and 30th.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.