April 1, 2014

It was the first truly busy day we have had for a while and we are also busy banding Painted Buntings before they depart.  Apologies for being late with this post.  We banded 9 new Gray Catbirds, a Common Yellowthroat, and a White-eyed Vireo.  We are starting to hear more noise but still way up in the canopy.  The Strangler Fig (Ficus) is fruiting and the Cedar Waxwings are fattening up before departing.  Lots of waxwing noise.  Could one of them please come down to net level, please??

We also recaptured an Ovenbird that was originally banded in September.  Hard to know if it overwintered undetected on the property or if it returned to Possum Long on its return journey.

Ovenbird

Photo by Bill Eaton

The recaptured Gray Catbird was banded on April 10, 2013 - almost a year later.  We have banded over 80 Gray Catbirds so hopefully more recaptures are in store.

Next banding session:  April 8 with nets going up at 6:45.  

March 25, 2014

Today we dodged raindrops and managed only a few hours of banding.  We missed some early bird activity and as it has been in the last few weeks the birds were high in the canopy.  We noted at least two very crisp and clean Prairie Warblers as well as a few Northern Parula.  Great Crested Flycatchers were singing.  I noted the first of spring Chimney Swifts over the property.  There were plenty of Cedar Waxwings on the property.  We estimated at least 150!

We banded 2 Gray Catbirds and a Black-and-white Warbler.  One of the catbirds had undertail coverts that were missing some of the rusty coloring - not sure if some feathers had come out and there weren't enough to overlap or if the feathers were actually missing color.

Gray Catbird

Photo by Nancy LaFramboise

The Black-and-white Warbler was born last year.  Some of the wing feathers (to the right of the lower thumb) are duller than the fresher, blacker ones.  

Black-and-white Warbler

Photo by Jane Wiewora

Next banding session:  April 1, 2014.  No Fooling!  Nets go up between 7 and 7:30.

March 11, 2014

Today was a bit busier than the last few sessions.  It is hard to contain the anticipation of the arrival of spring migrants.  We had help from the faithful banding team volunteers and visiting assistant Jim Closs today.  Jim added bird species to our day list and faithfully checked nets and carried gear - our thanks.  We had visitors Larry and Mary Ann from New York who got to see a bit of what we do.

Gray Catbird

Photo by Bill Eaton

Mostly there were Gray Catbirds and we banded three of them.  And on the lighter side - attempted revenge!

Gray Catbird

Photo by Bill Eaton

We also banded a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Northern Cardinal, and another new green Painted Bunting.  It could be that Painted Buntings are starting to shift north in FL as they start their migration back to their breeding grounds.  Interesting to note that some birds have built up some fat reserves while others are still fat-free.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Photo by Bill Eaton

You can see that the Yellow-rumped Warbler is aptly named.  The blue edged feathers and large amount of black help us age and sex the bird as ASY (After Second Year - not born last year) and male.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Photo by Bill Eaton

It looks like a lot of the birds are feeding on the blossoming oak trees.  This may be a factor that is keeping the birds up so high and away from the nets.  We observed a singing Yellow-throated Vireo on the property again today.  It stayed high in the cedar tree.  We did not see this species at all last spring and for three weeks it has been present and singing.  Also the Northern Parulas have been singing; not just on the property but in many locations I've been over the past few weeks.  Waiting for the migrants............

NOTE:  NEXT BANDING SESSION AT POSSUM LONG - March 25, 2014  Nets up at 7 am.

NO BANDING AT POSSUM LONG NEXT WEEK!

March 4, 2014

We had a fairly good session today but we had to work hard for it.  Birds were around all day but we are guessing that a lot of bug-eating is going on way up in the trees.  We had several Yellow-throated Vireos today (photos below) and we banded a Blue-headed Vireo - first one banded on Possum Long.  The only other new captures were three Gray Catbirds, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, and a green Painted Bunting.

Blue-headed Vireo

Photo by Nancy LaFramboise

We recaptured a female Northern Cardinal that was banded in October.  She was just packed with fat.   Nest building, egg laying, and brooding are all energy intensive things.  She's getting ready to nest as there was no sign of a current brood patch so she is not on eggs yet.

Northern Cardinal

Photo by Crystal Conway

No pictures of the Painted Bunting we caught but it was color banded.  It was a green one meaning it was female or a first-year male.  We will let you know if this one shows up at a nearby feeder.  

In addition the the vireos, we had a Summer Tanager on the property today.

Pat got pictures of the Yellow-throated Vireo as well as a White-eyed.  Three Vireo species on the property today.

Yellow-throated Vireo

Both photos by Pat Marshall

Next banding:  March 11, nets up at 6:30.  Yes, I know there's a time change but there's also more day length.  It will be darker at the start but maybe we'll get a few more early captures.

NEW START TIME:  7:15 ignore above start time

Painted Bunting Info

I am not doing a blog per se on the Painted Bunting Banding Project but you can follow what we are doing on a page in this blog.  Look in the upper right where there is a list of pages.  Once you have read the beginning, on subsequent visits, you can just scroll down for the latest news.  We are posting pictures of some of the buntings and some incidental captures.

We were very pleased to be featured in Hart Rufe's column on the St Lucie Audubon web page.  When he has added other columns, you may have to scroll down to Previous Columns.  http://stlucieaudubon.org/docs/hartBeat/hartBeat.html

I have also added banding totals to the bottom of the blog.

Nancy LaFramboise

February 25, 2014

Today we hosted Greg who took a long drive, early in the morning, to visit our station.  As we were putting up the nets there were birds calling all around but only two new and one recapture made their way to the nets today.

First off we had a Gray Catbird.  They have returned in higher numbers than we have had all winter.  Unfortunately it was only this one and another for today.

Gray Catbird

Photo by Greg Palermo

The second Gray Catbird had a damaged bill.  In evaluating the bird, we found that it did not have sharp edges of a recent break.  The bird also had some stored fat in preparation for migration.  So, despite the damage, this bird is coping and eating and had a good amount of energy.

Gray Catbird

Photo by Bill Eaton

Later we recaptured a female American Redstart.  This bird was originally determined to be an after hatch-year female.  She was on her way north last March when we caught her.  She went somewhere in the large breeding range of American Redstarts, likely had a nest and then flew south to spend the winter.  Now, likely on her way back north (we saw no overwintering redstarts this year), she once again flew to Possum Long.  This is the amazing realization of recaptures!

Greg got the only photo of the redstart today - of himself just before releasing her.

American Redstart

Photo by Greg Palermo

Crystal caught the cute photo for the day - rabbit visiting the station!

Photo by Crystal Conway

We are on the verge of some migration banding.  The noise level has certainly increased at Possum Long and we were a bit frustrated in the late morning to hear vireos.  We were able to find both Yellow-throated (only the second time detected on the property) and a Blue-headed but neither obliged us with a capture.  The Yellow-throated sang its song ("three-eight") and scolded and drove us a bit crazy.  Warbler numbers also seemed to be higher than the recent normal.  Maybe next session......

Next banding will be on March 4.  Nets up at 6:30.

February 11, 2014

Another session at Possum Long and this one was almost all about Gray Catbirds.  We caught and banded 4 of them.  Several were starting to show signs of gathering fat.  Last year we noticed an increase in Gray Catbirds around this time so one can wonder if they have moved north to here, adding fat to do so, or did they just come to Possum Long to feast on the coffee berries and fatten up for travel in the near future?  Time may tell us more.

We did have one other capture this week.  A Northern Parula made an appearance.

Northern Parula

Photo by Jane Wiewora

Notice the tail has several large white spots.  This indicates an adult male still in non-breeding plumage.  

Northern Parula

Photo by Jane Wiewora

We do use reference books to check out these birds.  This parula was checking it out too.

We also recaptured a green Painted Bunting today.  In fact it was the color banded one from December 17.  

Painted Bunting

Photo by Jane Wiewora

Its band combination is Split (black/white split indicates banded in FL) over orange on the left and orange over silver (federal band) on the right.

Northern Mockingbirds are singing like crazy.  There was a pair of Mottled Ducks on the pond and two pair of Wood Ducks.  There was also a big ruckus by possible nesting Red-shouldered Hawks.  One appeared to be eating a frog.  Looks like the birds are thinking spring.  Are you?

NEXT SESSION:  If things continue much like last year, we won't get much migrant action until somewhere between the end of February to the middle of March.  We will skip next week and the next session at Possum Long will be on February 25.  Nets will go up at 6:30 am.  Watch here in case something changes.

Yes, weather permitting (no rain) we will band on 2/25.  I was left a comment with no way to answer that person.  So, people who wish to visit should be able to find us somewhere on the property (make sure you check Hibiscus Street too).  We hear Gray Catbirds are on the move and they are typically in the nets early.  I am hearing a few "new" warblers - saw a Black-and-white and a Northern Parula (in fact it was singing) but no assurance that they will go in the nets.  This is just the beginning - each week should be a bit more busy.  -NL