Nice End to the Latest Session

You never know what the final day of our Session will bring. We know it will be made up of local birds, but which ones? They vary every year. This year would be no exception.

Right at sunrise, we caught our first Northern Cardinal, a new juvenile.



Next young bird was a recently fledged Carolina Wren.



We recaptured a Brown Thrasher down at Net 9 at the same time.



A new Brown Thrasher was soon to follow. Two Thrashers in a day is pretty rare.



Another juvenile Northern Cardinal was brought up to the table at the same time.



Two Brown Thrashers in one day is rare? How about three! That makes a record for one day in all these years.



Alyssa brought her parents and girlfriend out and they looked on as the Thrasher was processed.



Nissy got to release the Brown Thrasher before we tended to the lanes and watched for more captured birds.



It didn't take long before we caught our second juvenile Carolina Wren of the day.



Our Marsh Rabbit is still munching away on the grasses toward the lake.



It was nice get an adult female Northern Cardinal out foraging for her young.



Surprisingly, we caught a new male Northern Cardinal. We are chock full of Cardinals all over the property these days.



Another recently fledged Carolina Wren kept our totals rising for our last day.



An adult Carolina Wren was almost a surprise as our final bird of the Session.



So, all of our local birds are doing quite well and bringing new generations into the area. Northern Parula are also doing well, but staying up in the tree tops. Other locals are being heard and seen near the lake and overhead.

Now, we take two months off to let the young birds grow up undisturbed and we sleep in and avoid the heat until August (where it will still be HOT!) and begin the next banding Session. Time to crunch some numbers to see the trends over the past decade and prepare for the future.

Enjoy your Summer!
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, August 4th.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.

Short and Sweet

A very quite day today yielded just one juvenile Carolina Wren just after we opened nets. Then a long time of exploring before we recaptured an older Wren as we closed nets. Sigh.



The final Sunday of this Session is on the way. Then a two month break for the Summer.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 26th.
All nets will be opened by 6:00 A.M.

Cardinals Rule the Day

Most of the migrants are gone for the season so it was no surprise that we caught only resident birds today. We were a bit surprised by how many Northern Cardinals we caught, though. First bird of the day was this adult female.



Our other most numerous residents are Carolina Wrens. We recaptured and adult bird first.



That was soon followed by our first juvenile Carolina Wren of the season.



Then back to Northern Cardinals and our first juvenile of that species, too.



Air Potato vines have been popping up all over. They were first noticeable last week. Something was different down the lanes. Andrew spotted a large leaf with definite signs on being chewed upon.



It was, of course, done by our friends the Air Potato Beetle. There were to adults on those leaves. Odd thing is, the past couple of years we did not see our first adults until July. Good to see they are getting an early start this year.



Back at the table, we found a new caterpillar crossing the path. Any thoughts?



An adult male Northern Cardinal was processed next.



We have been recapturing the same Brown Thrasher the past few weeks. This week we got a new one.



Our 6th Northern Cardinal of the day. We also got to watch as a female and her juveniles hopped out of the bushes near Net 4 feeding on the ground.



Richard has been committed to removing a Camphor Tree stump for the past couple of weeks. Alyssa came along to help hack through the last of the taproot and they got the beast out.



Our Swamp Rabbit is still feeding around Nets 9 and 13. Glad to see it eating Guinea Grass!



Before we closed nets we captured our last bird. You can tell it is a popular bird right away.



It was an adult male Northern Parula. Always a crowd pleaser.



Once the Northern Parula was banded, our latest visitor, Lori, got to release the bird to continue finding food for its chick.



Two more weeks to go. Any chance of a last migrant? We shall see.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 19th.
All nets will be opened by 6:00 A.M.

Heading into May

Although the NEXRAD was pretty lit up over Florida, bird migration was near noticeable on the ground. Most migrants must have been soaring far over head. Instead, was began the day with a couple of Carolina Wrens.



Next, we recaptured our Brown Thrasher that was have caught 3 out of 4 weeks.



While male Northern Parula are calling and feeding chicks, we were surprised to capture a female just like last week.



Avery got to release the Northern Parula as his father, Augustine requests a photo.



The last bird of the day was Bird-of-the-Day, A female Black-and-White Warbler.



Just before closing up nets, Connie discovered a Black Racer gliding through the Virginia Creeper.



Three more Sundays to go before the Summer break. Time to round up some local juveniles.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 12th.
All nets will be opened by 6:05 A.M.

Nice Spring Mix

Heading into the peak of Spring Migration. What will the day bring?

First out of the box was a Gray Catbird. They have been very elusive this past year so it was nice to have an adult on its way back home early this morning.



Northern Waterthrushes have been in the area for 2 weeks but have stayed next to the river and not crossed the lanes as they usually do. It was a great addition to the captures today.



Another Black-throated Blue Warbler hit the nets this morning. All males for the last two weeks.



It was soon followed by another adult Gray Catbird. Interesting to note that all of our migrants show no signs of fat stored up for the journey home.



A Brown Thrasher, previously banded a few weeks ago, was brought in soon afterwards. They are getting really active during breeding season.



A Carolina Wren with a brood patch was our next capture.



We are still wondering why one of our resident Simpkin was up in the trees near Net 19 today. Typically, they stay at the lake and sometimes the edge of the river near there, Today, this one was hanging out in the oaks for quite some time.



On a weekly jaunt into the woods, Andrew found a Leather Flower in bloom. One of our favorite plants located on the property.



April is full of Northern Parulas with chicks calling and parents feeding them constantly. We usually catch the males as they are the most typical feeders. Today we captured a female.



Back near the banding table, we had a caterpillar crossing the path. Further research revealed it is a Pipeline Swallowtail. Not sure where any of the host plants are around here, but...



We finished the morning with a stunning American Redstart male.



Migration is coming to a close soon. Hoping to get a few more migrants as we head into the last month of banding.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 5th in our usual spot.
All nets will be opened by 6:10 A.M.

Earth Day, Part 2

Part two of the weekend as we shifted back to the banding site after the Earth Day demo in the park. Migration is still ramping up even though most of the movements of birds are traveling up Mexico into Texas and beyond, skirting the East Coast for the past couple of years.

Sunday was Easter and a few volunteers found the Easter Bunny down near Net 9.



We captured this Brown Thrasher last week and it is still flying through the same area this week.



One of our local recaptured Carolina Wrens is on a nest somewhere right now and was briefly detained for documenting before getting back to foraging for the next brood.



This is the time for migrating Black-throated Blue Warblers and the males are moving through. A beautiful Wood Warbler we love to see before May.



Even better, the second bird we caught was the Appalachian sub-species that is indicated by darker streaks on the backs of adult males.



Southern Elderberry is blooming like crazy right now. It is even spreading all around the property but that is fine by us as it is a native.



They are very interesting when looking up at them at sunrise.



Olivia's Garden is increasing along the former site. Connie has been brought in many small plantings and added to the landscape. We have marked out the area to let the rangers not to mow through this spot in the future.



Phase 2 is beginning just across the lane where Andrew is clearing the Guinea Grass clumps and more natives are being dropped into place. We hope this area becomes a nice spot for pollinators and more.



For the first time ever, the Ear Tree, (Enterolobium cyclocarpum), is blooming big time. Hummingbirds and other birds stop by these trees, especially during migration.



We have been seeing to many Common Yellowthroats this year. Hope they return in numbers next season.



The rangers cleared out a large overgrown spot by Net 14. It really allowed the remaining Maples to grab some light and burst into new growth.



One of our nosy friends was calling overhead as we closed up. It was a Northern Parula chick. Gathering food a few feet away was an adult male with a band. Most likely the one we banded a few yards away on the other side of the river yesterday.



Next week could yield more migrants before the end of Spring approaches.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, April 28st.
All nets will be opened by 6:25 A.M.