More Migrants Arriving

We spotted a lot more migrants around the net lanes today. Unfortunately, they were just stopping long enough to grab a quick bite before heading directly to the South and not coming down into the nets. Oh, well. It was a pretty good day to bird watch.

Our one migrant of the morning was our 3rd Northern Waterthrush of this Session. Bill had photo duties today and did a great job getting some shots of our birds.



Our other birds today were a couple of Blue Jays. The first was a younger bird captured near the pier. The first hint of it being a young bird was noticed as soon as we got it out of the bag. Notice the grey wash on the top of the head.



Other clues to determine young Jays are that the juveniles have a lighter lining on the roof of their mouth as shown here. As the birds mature, the upper lining turns black.



Lastly, we also noticed that this bird was still acquiring new upper wing coverts.



Our other Blue Jay was an adult we first banded 2 years ago. Blue Jays are common here but we have only captured a half-dozen in the past 4 years. This adult seemed to have either some mite infestation or was heavily molting its head feathers.



Here is a close-up of the feathers coming back in on the top of its crown.



As previously mentioned, we spied a lot of migrants during the morning. Bill and Andrew enjoyed really nice views of a male Northern Parula feeding oh-so-close to Net 5 for a while. Another feeding flock moved in soon in which we found our first Ovenbird of the season and a number of Red-Eyed Vireos, one of which landed close overhead.



Other migrants seen today were Prairie Warbler, American Redstart, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Yellow-throated Warbler, and a remaining Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Looking forward to the migrant count to keep growing and hope to actually band some of them. One month from big numbers.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, September 4th.

All nets will be opened by 6:35 A.M.

One is the Lonliest...

Shhh. Quiet. We don't want to wake the birdies. Or maybe they just aren't here! Very low activity today left us with only 1 bird captured during our visit today.

Around 9 AM we caught our sole bird: a female American Redstart.



At least we managed a migrant. There are bird calls in the woods and there are some warblers high up in the trees but not much at ground level.



The Scarlet Morning Glory is blooming nicely right now. Up in the trees above this area we watched as about a dozen Northern Parula and a striking male Prairie Warbler gleened insects from the branches.



A wide variety of grasses are producing seeds right now. Just in time for the new visitors. We need to start getting IDs on all of these species!



Looking like a burst of fireworks, the Sensitive Briar plants are spreading throughout the area and exploding with bright pink flowers.



Oh, well. One is better than zero. We know the migrants are on the way. Perhap the departure of Hurricane Irene will usher in a better haul next week.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 28st.

All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Quiet, Yet Exciting

Had a couple of surprises today. The first was the fact that the weather was fairly tolerable today as opposed to last week's sauna we slogged through. The other was a bird we captured, only one of two(!), but we will save that one until the end.

Right around dawn, a Northern Waterthrush flew into Net 10. This one was much more whitish than last week's yellow version we usually see in this area.



While Maria was on net patrol she heard some splashing at the river bend. She feared it was a gator but the suspect popped up for a couple of seconds revealing it to be one of our playful otters.



Heading back up the trail she spotted a male Pileated Woodpecker working through the dead tree snags.



Far below the woodpeckers, plants like the Golden Oxeye easily grab one's attention. They bloom year-round.



Meanwhile, Susan found other things to take photos of near the flowers. Skippers of many varieties visit throughout the year.



Oh, yes. I almost forgot. We caught another bird, didn't we? Maria came back toward the table with a bird she described as a cute little yellow thing with a yellow mouth. Hmmm... Warbler? Nope. A flycatcher!



We have captured Wood Pewees and the occasional Acadian Flycatcher but this bird seemed different. Definitely the flycatcher bill and the olive back like most Empids.



There is that yellow mouth that Maria was noticing. Flycatchers have slightly different colorations on and in their bills.



Flycatcher IDs are tough in the field and even in the hand. The easiest way to ID them is by their different vocal calls. However, most don't call often once they arrive in Florida. If they do, we are not used to the sound so it is of little use. Instead we have to take measurements or the tail and winds and consult our birding guides.



One descriptive ID note kept being found in different books. "No other flycatcher has a yellow throat". However, we know that some juvenile Acadians DO have a yellowish wash for a while. We will also send out the photos to Bruce Anderson who is much more skilled with flycatchers so we can get a more official call on this bird.



So, for now, we are sticking by our ID of a...Yellow-bellied Flycatcher! It would be a first for most of us. I hope we are correct.

Update: Call is official.



Many warbler reports are pouring in from around the state so fingers are crossed that we can manage to capture a few next time.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 21st.

All nets will be opened by 6:30 A.M.

Session 4 Begins!

You never know how a day is going to go but none of us expected to be soaking wet from sweat before 6 AM. It rained fairly hard the night before and the morning heat made everything nice and humid. Before long we were all dripping. Much like the Tangerines...



Tree removal folks swung through last week and it appears they did little damage. They did run over one of the Cord Grass plantings and squashed the fruiting Wax Myrtle but it could have been worse. Weirdest part was finding a stump that used to be on the other side of the river blocking our access to Net 18.



We cut a new access point and waited for the birds to show up in the damp conditions. The bat we caught at dawn didn't count. Soon afterwards, we did get two babies. A Carolina Wren and this female Northern Cardinal.



All of the water is making everything spring back to life up and down the river. The Summer flowers are in bloom, including the spreading Passion vines. They used to be only near the front gate but are now popping up in several spots along the net lanes.



Not much seemed to want to fly about today. Can't really say we blame them. However, just as we were about to call it quits, we did get our first migrant of this new session. A Northern Waterthrush was captured in Net 18. Waterthrushes are why Net 18 is there in the first place as it sits next to a swampy area that floods during the rainy season. A favorite spot for this species.



We are also hoping for Louisiana Waterthrushes. The Northern variety are usually more yellow and have specs all the way up the chin as shown here.



We had had enough. The day was called a little early in fear that someone might drop from the oppressive conditions. Even the bees were looking for some shade.



Hoping for a bit more comfortable environment next Sunday. Not really counting on it...
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 14th.

All nets will be opened by 6:25 A.M.

Final Spruce Up

Richard, Christine, Tanka, and Andrew headed out today to put the finishing touches on the nets lanes before next week for the opening of Session 4. No bears. Frank managed to get the mower in and did a great job clearing the net lanes for us. Then we got to business in the heat and humidity.

Richard and Christine head to the end to begin the next watering rounds. We now have nearly 60 native plants which are all doing well so far.



Summer flowers are blooming. Near Net 8 there are a bunch of St. Andrew's Cross (left) and St. John's Wort.



The never-ending process of weed control continued. Frank brought over some spray and we hit the unwanted plants hard.



Meanwhile, Andrew hacked away at any plants that would interfere with the nets by clearing things out from between the net poles.



A good find by Net 10. One of the Wax Myrtles is loaded with berries already! Maybe we can get some Myrtle Warblers this year.



The only dangerous part of the day was when Andrew nearly stepped on a Coral Snake on the way out. Cute but deadly.

A lot of birds around. More than 2 weeks ago. A good sign. Reports are already filtering of migrating warblers entering the state. Hope we can get off to a great start next week. Time to oil up the pliers!!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 7th.

All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

A Checkup of the Lanes

We stopped by the site today to see how things were going. Since the rain has returned the plants have taken advantage. River is very high. Two days ago, Richard and Christine watched Tanka tree a Momma and two cubs of the Black Bear variety! No bears today.

Looks like we will need a bigger mower. The lanes are grown up all the way to the end.



Richard planted a few more Elderberry around Net 11 and we all pulled some Ceasar Weed and Air Potato. While assessing the thought of what might happen if the county actually comes in to clear some fallen trees from the river we also cleared some areas of dead and broken palm fronds (most likely from the bears looking for food).



As Richard cleared some grass from the edge of the river he discovered what appeared to be a burrow. Perhaps a den for some furry mammal?



Three more weeks until the new session begins!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 7th.

All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

Weeding and Planting and Cleaning

Well, so much for sleeping in on the first Sunday off! Well, a couple more hours of rest but Richard, Christine, Andrew, and Tanka headed out to do some invasive control, tend new plantings and waterings, and to remove some trash from the river. Sit back. Another ton of photos.

We took some 'before' images in some areas, including one of the 5 Sand Cord Grass plantings by Net 19.



Around what will become the area of Net 20, Richard has added 8 new Blackberry plants.



Here, we see a long view of the Red Mulberry and new Blackberry plants along the river. We first used the pink marking flags for plotting where the first net poles would be placed. Now they have become quite handy in marking new and proposed native plants.



The Wild Coffee we planted by Net 12 were having a hard time. Some were continuously dug up and a the others just seemed tired. We have replaced them with Maple-leaf Viburnum. Seems like they could be an interesting addition.



Documentation done, we settle in to our main task of removing Air Potato and Caesar Weed. Once blanketing most of the banks, we have all but eliminated them on this side of the river. Introduced into Florida more than a hundred years ago it is extremely invasive and the rangers don't seem to like them. We have spent several years knocking them back.

Next on the list, Air Potato. We have done a phenomenal job at removing this vine from this side of the river. Most sprouting vines now seem to be from leftover tubers knocked down when we first began removing the sheets of them years ago. Most seem anemic and are not too deep in the ground.



Once a bunch of weeding was done, Andrew wandered down his trail at the end of the net lanes. From one spot there is a pretty shot of cattails and the edge of the lake. If only we could get rid of the condos...



Speaking of Cattails, they are all maturing nicely.



It was hoped that the trail could have been connected to the sandbar at the end of the river. However, the land ends at the mouth of the river with a huge break before reaching the bar. Now we can't sun with the gators...but we can get a nice view.



Next, time to get to unfinished business. Andrew finally brought his boots so he could get to some trash down in the river. Note the wet shirt. Yes, the humidity made it back this weekend.



Down near the end of the net lanes, we have been trying to figure out how to get the supposed boat part out of the river. The water was dropping but we did get rain last week so it was back up a bit. Still, this had to be done. Minutes after sizing up the situation, Andrew tried to pry the back of the debris with one of the net poles.



A good start, but it was still in deep water. Without going all the way in, what to do? A couple minutes later, a way was found across the river and a small piece of the hull was used as leverage to move it higher up into the stream.



Now that it looked possible, Richard climbed down to try and grab an edge.



Success! The huge hull was captured!!



Since no fishing is allowed from this part of the water, Richard and Andrew are proud of their catch for the day.



Finally, Andrew discovered a new addition to the river this morning. Some new gate. It could not be moved so it must have been purposefully anchored since last week.



According to the rangers, they are planning to have carp added to the lake to control some weeds. This gate is thought to be used to stop the carp from moving up river into other bodies of water. We shall see.

OK. Now for sleep for real. Until the next weeding time later in the Summer.

Session 4 will begin on the first Sunday in August. Weather permitting...
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 7th.

All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.