Migrants and Locals in the Chill

A chilly start to the day and we are getting used to the new reflector poles a bit. Not a lot of captures but we are getting our trainees some more practice Along the way. First up was a Gray Catbird.



Shannen got to process our one Northern Cardinal of the morning. A female.



Not was happening along the lanes for quite awhile but Andrew found a lot of interesting birds closer to the lake were we used to be able to have Net 21. Floods have eroded the banks too much to be out there anymore and even typical birdwatching is a bit sketchy. A shame because a wide variety of species are still out there, including our few Myrtle Warblers (Yellow-rumps) this year...



...Orange-crowned Warblers, who love the blooming Willows...



...along with a Prairie Warbler feeding next to it.



Swamp Sparrows still haunt the vegetation near the lake like this one that popped up during the watch. Listen closely and you can hear them all across the shoreline.



The biggest surprise was what brought Andrew back down to Area 21. A bird flew out right next to him on his first trip down and it looked familiar but oddly out of place. On the second search it was confirmed. A female Rose-breasted Grosbeak!

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are typically seen in a confined timeframe. During the Fall on their way South, and a couple of days in April on their return North. What is she doing here in February? We may never know as she would not stop hiding behind the branches for the rest of the viewing. Plus, they don't give up secrets easily.



On the trip back up the lanes, a Limpkin was prying out breakfast by the Cypress knees.



Another Gray Catbird gave Angela a chance to get back into the banding chair.



A but later, a Carolina Wren offered the same opportunity.



As we wrapped up the day, Christine noticed an American Alligator that we call Pat sunning on the river bank below the table. Male? Female? Don't know. Pat.



Next weekend we head to the Orlando Wetlands Festival where the city of Orlando staff ask us to do demonstration at each event. Winds are predicted to be high so who knows what we will find or capture. There have been reports of a Yellow-breasted Chat in the area where we captured and banded one last year. Same one? Stay tuned.
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Next (planned) Banding Day at the Orlando Wetlands: Saturday, February 15th.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

Groundhog Day without the Repeats

A little fog and a lot of new reflective parking barriers greeted us in the dark of the morning as we got ready for the day. The reflectors were part of the solution to stop semi-trailers from parking on the side of the property. A good start, but super confusing on how to get our cars in on first glance. We managed.

Our first bird of the day was an Ovenbird.



Soon afterwards was a recaptured Hermit Thrush. Always notice the tail. It is a great distinguisher between them and Swainson's Thrushes. They also are the only over-Wintering Thrushes we have in Central Florida.



A fellow birder friend, Lee, brought a few young birding enthusiasts along this morning and they are got to release a bird today. Jenny banded and helped them release our White-eyed Vireo.



Angela got some more experience at banding with the first of our 3 Gray Catbirds.



Lee also got his chance to release one of the Gray Catbirds.



Our 3rd Gray Catbird of the day before the day grew quiet.



As we were wrapping up, we captured an Eastern Palm Warbler. They are sometimes referred to as Yellow Palm Warblers even though a lot of reference guides are lumping them together are just Palm Warblers. Notice how many yellow feathers are scattered throughout the birds plumage. Western Palm Warblers are very drab and brown this time of year.



Should be a little chillier next Sunday but we can learn to layer.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, February 9th.
All nets will be opened by 6:40 A.M.

Almost Typical January Close

Winds were not too bad as we set up for the day and the dawn chorus was fairly robust. We started our day with 3 Gray Catbirds but they really did' want their photos taken (blinking and whatnot) but we think you all know what a Catbird looks like by now. If not, scroll down the righthand side to see all of them.

The next bird of note was a female Northern Cardinal.



Carolina Wrens were calling all over the marsh this morning but it took a while to capture one further up the net lanes. Are, Shannen is checking for any signs of fat on the bird.



Local Carolina Wrens do not migrate so this juvenile does not have any fat built up. They simply fly around and make very noisy proclamations throughout the day.



Another female Northern Cardinal was brought in for processing.



We heard news that a couple of Yellow-rumps were being brought in for the marsh. That would have been excellent since we caught none last season. Instead, they were a pair of Eastern Palm Warblers. Still a nice catch.



Our latest visitor, Julian, got to release the Eastern Palm Warbler and a couple of other birds through the day.



Our final bird of the day was a female Ruby-crowned Kinglet.



Wrapping up the day and putting things in order, we discovered a Skink kidding under the tarp for the supply table. Lisa jumped at the opportunity to grab it for observation before releasing it back into the woods.



Back at it next Sunday. Rains should clear Saturday afternoon and lead into a perfect morning before Super Bowl LIV kicks off a few hours later. Come tailgate with us. But you can't bring any beer...
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, February 2nd.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

North Shore Birding Festival Visitors

The majority of our group arrived early to get set for guests from the North Shore Birding Festival and we were ready as they promptly arrived beginning around 7 AM. A perfect time to observe banding in Central Florida as most activity begins right at sunrise and for the next couple of hours.

Our first bird was captured just at sunrise, a Carolina Wren, and everyone was gathered around the table to observe the banding process.



When asked who would like to release our first bird, Joe jumped at the opportunity and the Carolina Wren quickly moved on to finish its breakfast as planned.



Next up was a common Winter visitor, a Gray Catbird.



This was a new juvenile bird and another guest couldn't wait to release the bird safely back into the woods.



Hermit Thrushes are another Winter resident and we captured 3 today. One was a recapture from earlier in the morning.



The second Hermit Thrush was brought to the table soon after the first.



Squawking nearby told us a Northern Cardinal was being extracted and it was a juvenile female.



It was soon followed by an adult male.



Once things settled down a bit the group gathered around the banding table and Andrew dispensed some information about the banding process and why were are doing what we do at Lake Lotus and we had a bit of Q and A. Shortly afterwards, the visitors headed over to Lake Lotus proper to do some bird watching while we continued to monitor nets.



An hour or so later, Jenny processed a near adult Northern Cardinal female.



We wrapped up the morning with our 2nd Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the year. An adult female. The males are around but not moving too much on this side of the river.



Thanks go out to Deborah Green and her helpers for arranging for the opportunity for visitors of the North Shore Birding Festival to join us. We enjoyed having them and hope that they had a memorial experience with us and stop by again in the future.

The next cold front is suppose to arrive next Sunday so if you are volunteering, bundle up!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 26th.
All nets will be opened by 6:45 A.M.

The Return of Some Missed Migrants

A foggy start to the morning but we got nets set and listened to the dawn chorus break out.

Angela missed last week so she got an opportunity to get behind the table today. First bird up was a recaptured juvenile Northern Cardinal.



Soon afterwards, we caught an Eastern Phoebe right at dawn. Fairly early in the morning for flycatchers. This was Angela's first actual chance to band a new bird.



The fun part of getting into the banding mode is figuring out how to hold a live bird and get the mechanics down. She handled the Eastern Phoebe with care and navigated the pliers and applying the correct band to the bird's leg.



The newly banded Eastern Phoebe is positioned for a photo but it was not in the mood for a classic pose.



Then we had a spate of Regal Darners hitting the nets. All were extracted without injury.



The morning grew quiet for a while and then Christine made a call that she had an interesting bird at Net 6. It was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet! The first we have captured in nearly 2 years. For whatever reason, we have not had many Kinglets for the past two years. We hear a few, but they are just not here in numbers anymore. This is the month we should be catching several every Sunday according to records.



Orange-crowned Warblers have been seen during the morning, but hanging out near the lake. As we decided to close up, Christine found one in Net 5.



In the field, Orange-crowned Warblers look very drab and you cannot ID them too easily. In the hand you can see the crown on adult males a lot better.

We also point out that they have one of the most pointed bills in the warbler family. Nearly needle-like.



Our last banded Orange-crowned Warbler was 4 and a half years ago so this was a great end of the day. Megan got to help record the stats and then release the bird before we wrapped up for the morning.



The next fronts are pushing toward us and we may have some visitors from the North Shore Birding Festival. Bring on some more interesting birds!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 19th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.

Happy 2020!

Back to the grind and seeing what might start the year. Overall average is the same for the past 2 years which is down from earlier counts over our counts. Not really not many migrants

We had a nice start to the morning with 6 birds in the first hour. A recaptured Carolina Wren was the processed.



Very interesting to have an Eastern Phoebe just before dawn. Usually they wait for the light to bring the insects out into the open. Shannon got to do the lion's share of banding for her practice on learning to band to add to her resumé.



Eastern Phoebes are our primary flycatchers through the Winter.



Next up was Gray Catbird.



In fact, it turned out to be a Gray Catbird dominate morning with three others captured.



As the Catbirds were being processed, their occasional calls drew the attention of our resident Barred Owls. One flew just down from the table to inspect the ruckus. We make sure that birds are released out of harm from potential predators.



Christine had posited placing signs along our newly established native planting zones to warn the rangers from running them over on their occasional maintenance mowings. Andrew made several signs and placed them in proper spots along the net lanes.



A recaptured Northern Cardinal female added to our totals for the day.



Another recapture, this time a Hermit Thrush.



Carolina Wren are finally beginning to move around again providing our second bird of this species today.



We wrapped the day up with a new local Brown Thrasher which do not migrate and breed here on property.



Though migrants are scarce this season, our nets are always half-full in our minds and we look forward to a new Sunday of new discoveries next week.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, January 12th.
All nets will be opened by 6:50 A.M.