November 15, 2012

Well, today provides me with a teaching moment and update time as we did not catch any birds today.  However, we were awesome at net set-up.  Nets were set up in record time and volunteers took the plunge to set some up by themselves.  Many thanks to all volunteers!

If you have never seen a mist net, you can barely see one here (photos by Nancy Price).  The birds cannot usually see it either!  The net is to the right of the pole and you can see the loops used to spread the net between 2 poles.  A tight string runs the length of the net between the loops.   The net in between the strings is taller than the gap.  The net settles in a pocket below the lower string.  If a bird hits the net it is likely to slide down the net and lay in the pocket.  You might just be able to see the pockets (sagging) especially along the lower tier of this next photo.

The bands that are used are provided by the Bird Banding Laboratory and each band has a unique number.  Once we band a bird and let it go, if it is ever recaptured at our site or another one, the Bird Banding Lab can contact us with details of where it was found.  We would then be able to tell the person who found it the data we took on that bird.

We spent a long time mending a net this week.  Last week a dog ran through Possum Long and tore a wide gash in one of our nets.  The net is now repaired and there will soon be signs warning that dogs must be on leash.  Many thanks to Pat Marshall who helped mend.

An update on the cardinal's strange legs (see picture November 8).  It seems that there is a normal shedding of skin off a bird's leg but that did not appear to be what was going on with the cardinal.  An avian veterinarian told us the extra skin might have been caused by bird mites.  The bird's feathers were so crisp and healthy that we are still unsure if this is the cause.

The Bicknell's Thrush is a review species (very rare) in Florida so I submitted a report to the Florida Bird Records Committee.  They will decide if they feel this was a valid identification when they meet next summer.

Not a bird, but a positive sign that the property at Possum Long is becoming a healthy environment, 2 Gopher Tortoises have taken up residence near the pond.  One was out sunning today.  You can envision the burrow behind the tortoise.

We will not be banding next week so we hope to see you back in two weeks.