March 30, April 2 and 3, 2018

Painted Bunting banding is progressing and we are nearing the end of Season 5.  Even Possum Long was pretty much about Painted Buntings.

On March 30 we returned to PB 37.  We are very thankful that this host was willing to let us come on short notice when someone else had to cancel.  It was a very good session and we banded 10 buntings.  Our host is a wonderful photographer (award winning!) and I am including her photos below!

Painted Bunting - male

Photo by Susan Faulkner Davis

Though we banded those 10 and recaptured one, this one was not caught but was sighted later at the bath!  More good data!

resighting of a male Painted Bunting

Photo by Susan Faulkner Davis

We also banded incidental captures including 3 Common Grackles, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, and a surprise recently fledged Northern Mockingbird.  Note the spotted breast and the fleshy gape where the upper and lower bill are joined.  Its tail was still growing in.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

Northern Mockingbird

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

On April 2, we returned to PB 3.  This site is very close to Possum Long as the bird flies and it is one of several locations where we have shown that Painted Buntings will use feeders over 1/2 mile away from each other.  We recaptured a bird that was banded at Possum Long this past fall.  We also banded 5 new buntings. and recaptured another from a previous season.  

At our regular session at Possum Long on April 3 we banded two new Gray Catbirds.  They will be leaving very soon.

Gray Catbird wing

Photo by Bill LaFramboise

We also recaptured 3 Painted Buntings.  Two had been banded on February 19, 2017.  Always nice to prove that these birds return.  One was originally ID'd as a female and of course it still is, but she was developing a redder color on the underside which we sometimes see.  We have been told this likely indicates and older female.

older female Painted Bunting

The third one had been banded at PB 3 during Season ONE, February 19, 2014!  It was young and green at the time and now shows its male colors.  It had not ever been resighted by us at Possum Long or by the host at PB 3.  A lot of people are skeptical when birds don't "return" and it is hard to say whether they keep moving, feed elsewhere, or are are just not observed.  Here's a bird that is now 5 years old that has been "rediscovered"!

Next Possum Long regularly scheduled banding will be on April 10.  Nets go up at or just before sunrise.  

January 24, 2017

It is a little late but HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Possum Long Banding is still on vacation but we hope to resume on February 14.  Keep watching this site for updates and times.

Painted Bunting banding took a short break but we are back underway.  We banded at PB 59 but though we saw the Painted Buntings there, we just didn't catch any.  This sometimes happens.  We did band 2 Common Grackles.

Sunday, January 22, we visited a new host (PB 66) on the west coast of Florida.  We had high hopes of our first bunting from "out west" but once again they were seen but not captured.  We did band 10 Red-winged Blackbirds and a Common Grackles.  The blackbirds gave us a great opportunity to age this species.

Red-winged Blackbird (ASY) male

Red-winged Blackbird

(l) SY female, (r) ASY female

Today we were much more fortunate when we revisited PB 32 and banded 2 male and one green Painted Buntings.  Also there were quite a few Indigo Buntings at this site.  We banded 5 and recaptured one that had been banded at this site last year.  The male Indigos are turning more blue every day but a lot of it is still hidden until we spread the wings.  We also banded an Ovenbird, a Northern Mockingbird, 3 Northern Cardinals, and a Mourning Dove.

Ovenbird

Indigo Bunting (male)

Indigo Bunting (female)

I will be giving a lecture at the Blake Library (2351 SE Monterey Rd. Stuart, FL) on February 2, from 6-7 pm.  I will be giving an overview of our research project from basics to results.  Hope to see you there.

October 30 and November 1, 2016

On October 30 we returned to PB 61 and banded.  The wind was challenging and we are working on placing feeders so that we can catch more Painted Buntings that are there.  Despite the challenges we banded 3 new buntings and recaptured 2 from last spring.  We had quite a few incidental captures which incidentally added 2 new species to my banded list.  I really appreciate the hosts at PB 61 (and everywhere else!) as they make all of the research possible.  Incidental captures included a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a Gray Catbird, a Northern Mockingbird, a Common Yellowthroat, a House Sparrow, and the two new ones; Spot-breasted Oriole and Blackpoll Warbler.  The Blackpoll is rare this time of year as they tend to migrate south over the water, not land.  It is also getting late.  Typically they feed high in treetops so it was very good to band this one.

male Painted Bunting

Common Yellowthroat

Northern Mockingbird

Blackpoll Warbler

Spot-breasted Oriole

November 1 we banded at Possum Long.  We had a very good Painted Bunting day banding two new ones and recapturing two from previous seasons.  

We also banded a House Wren and two Black-throated Blue Warblers.  We recaptured the same White-eyed Vireo from 10/1/16 that had been banded in 2013.  It is still doing very well.  The Northern Cardinal that we recaptured was born this past summer.  It has now begun to replace its tail with adult feathers.  You can see the color change in the photo.  The feathers in the center are newer and more red than the outside ones that still show the browner color.

Northern Cardinal

Next banding will be Tuesday, November 8.  Nets go up at 6:15 am (time change folks!)  We may be closer to the pond if our net lanes have dried.  Expect Yellow-rumped Warblers!

October 9, 2016 and a bit from October 2

October 11 Banding cancelled  -See you on October 18


Last post I forgot to include some photos from our previous weekend session.  On October 2, we caught five birds.  Most exciting was our first Eastern Screech-Owl.  We had one in the net previously but did not have the proper band.  This time we were ready.  The bird was a red morph and was recently born.  It's feathers were still early ones, not downy but still fluffy.  This gave our bird a "stuffed animal" look.

Eastern Screech-Owl

Had it not been for the owl, our top bird would have been a Hooded Warbler.  Unfortunately we only got wing and tail shots of this species.  Other birds caught were a Veery, a Gray-cheeked Thrush and an Ovenbird.  The Veery was quite interesting with some white feathers in both wings and a lost tail.  We recaptured this same Veery on 10/9 and the tail was growing in.  The white feathers were on both wings so not from some type of injury.

Gray-cheeked Thrush

Veery

October 9 was quite exciting,  We recaptured a Painted Bunting that was banded as a young, green bird in March and now shows its male colors.  We also saw a banded green.  The buntings are returning!!!

We banded a total of 14 birds and had 4 recaptures (the Painted Bunting, the Veery, and 2 Ovenbirds).  

The Gray Catbirds are back!  We banded three.  We also banded 2 of their close relatives - Northern Mockingbirds.  The photo below is of a young mocker.  Its eyes are not yet intensely yellow.  We suspect the beautyberry near one net is now ripe.  We haven't had mockingbirds recently.  We also caught a third mockingbird but released it unbanded.  It was not a healthy bird, possibly having avian pox.  

Northern Mockingbird

Two White-eyed Vireos were exciting and a great comparison of eye color.  The young one was still more gray than white-eyed.  

White-eyed Vireo

We also had another Northern Cardinal, also young as were most of the recent birds.  They must have had a great nesting season.  

Northern Cardinal

In the warbler category we did quite well.  We banded two  Ovenbirds, a Common Yellowthroat, two Black-throated blue Warblers, and a first for the property, Blue-winged Warbler!

Blue-winged Warbler

Next banding session: To be determined, hopefully October 18.  Do not park on Hibiscus.  The dead pine tree has been dropping branches.  High winds may also cancel this session.

October 20 & 21, 2014

Yes, we were out twice this week but only one was at Possum Long.  It is the beginning of Painted Bunting Banding Season so make sure to follow those events on the page called Painted Buntings - Season Two. (Look in the almost upper right hand corner for the pages.  Season One is there too if you've missed it.) Monday we banded 15 birds at DuPuis Wildlife Management Area so take a look at the bunting photos and those of the incidental captures.  (Ok - a bunting photo here because they are so gorgeous!)

Painted Bunting

Photo by Georgia Binderow

Tuesday was also busy at Possum Long with 13 birds total.  The catbirds are back!!  Actually some of them might be migrating through and using Possum Long as a stopover.  Some had a good store of fat, enough to keep going, while some had none.  We banded 8 of them.  Most were hatch-year birds and one was very interesting in that it retained one of its juvenal tail feathers.  You can see that it is much browner than the others.

Gray Catbird

Photo by Jane Wiewora

Two Northern Cardinals were banded as well as some other fun birds:  One was another Northern Waterthrush.  You can see the dark undetail feather described the last time we caught one.

Northern Waterthrush

Photo by Nancy Price

We didn't photograph the White-eyed Vireo.  The last species we haven't had for a while.  We are starting to move the nets toward the pond where the birds seem to congregate as "winter" approaches/migration finishes.  This Northern Mockingbird was captured at the pond.  Unfortunately it had a sore on its leg (Infection or parasite??).  So many times when banded birds are seen, the injuries are blamed on the bands (and possibly sometimes rightly so) but this injury was present and healed over before we banded the bird. The band was applied to the other leg.

Northern Mockingbird

Photo by Nancy Price

Next scheduled session October 28.  Nets go up at  7 am.  Enjoy the late arrival while you can.  When clocks are turned back it is back to early start times!

December 3, 2013

After a two week break and the fact that we caught nothing last December, I was quite surprised to have a wonderful day.  We banded seven birds and recaptured three.  One was a new species for me to band and it was also new for the property in 2013.

We have made big strides in the understanding of bird movement on the property and now that it is "winter" we are finding more birds in the area of the pond.  The pond is actually some retained water that should flow but there are several ridges across the water that make small pools.  We strung a net across one of the dry berms and had almost instant success.

New net location spanning pond

Photo by Bill Eaton

We were hoping for an Eastern Phoebe but did not succeed (yet).  We caught a hatch-year Indigo Bunting.  Many were surprised to see the brownish color of this bird and to see some subtle streaking on it.

Indigo Bunting

Photo by Pat Marshall

This net also gave us a Palm Warbler and a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Palm Warbler (western subspecies)

Photo by Bill Eaton

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle subspecies)

Photo by Bill Eaton

We captured two other Palm Warblers, a Gray Catbird, and a Northern Mockingbird.

Palm Warbler and its cute yellow pads of its feet

Photo by Bill Eaton

Northern Mockingbird

Photo by Bill Eaton

Sometimes three hands are better than two!  Larger birds are harder to hold and still be able to remove the net.  This bird's wing was very tangled so Nancy Price held it could be safely extracted.

Northern Mockingbird

Photo by Bill Eaton

The outer tail feathers fold underneath and you can see that this bird is missing its white outer tail feathers on its left side.  The new feathers are "in sheath" growing in.

One of the recaptures was a White-eyed Vireo that we banded in February.  Bill Eaton got some wonderful photos.  One really shows how wingbars are formed from white edgings on individual wing covert feathers.

 White-eyed Vireo

White-eyed Vireo - wingbar

Next banding will be December 10.  Nets go up at 6:30 am.

September 10, 2013

Finally a bit of action.  We had to delay opening due to rain but the forecast indicated clearing.  We set the nets up fairly fast and we were hearing more birds than in the past few weeks.  First in the net was the Brown Thrasher we originally banded on August 13.

Brown Thrasher

Photo by Jane Wiewora

Then the warbler wave came - small but an improvement.  First we had a male Black-throated Blue Warbler (BT Blue).  The extent of white at the base of the primaries indicates he was an adult (after hatch year).  The lack of black streaking on its back indicates it is not of the Appalachian subspecies.  

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Photo by Jane Wiewora

The next bird was also a BT Blue but it was a hatch year female.  It made for a nice comparison of features.  Females have a very different appearance than the males but they both have bright soles of their feet.  The female's eye line and arc show well here.

Black-throated Blue Warbler - female

Photo by Jane Wiewora

The white base of the primaries (also seen on the males) is one of the key ways one tells a female BT Blue and the one on this hatch year bird was very limited.

Black-throated Blue Warbler - female

Photo by Nancy Price

Then it was on to the Ovenbirds.  We banded two, both adults.  The Lake Lotus Banding Station gets Ovenbirds that return to the same location in subsequent years.  We are looking forward to that happening.

Ovenbird 

Photo by Nancy Price

Ovenbirds spend a lot of time on the ground and have big feet to support them.  Doesn't this bird look small in comparison to the banding pliers??

Ovenbird 

Photo by Nancy Price

The final warbler was a Black-and-white Warbler.  These birds are known for clinging to limbs much like a nuthatch.  The feet, especially the claws, are really a bit strange - they may be worn by the bark or maybe just longer and stronger.  

Black-and-white Warbler

Photo by Nancy Price

We noticed a lot of activity near some Beauty Berry at the front of the property.  We are looking forward to the fruit ripening soon and attracting more birds to that area.  This is where we had thrush activity last fall.  The oak tree there had at least 6 Northern Mockingbirds, some Blue Jays, at least one Northern Cardinal, and one or two Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.  We added a net just in case.  We were rewarded with the capture of a hatch year Northern Mockingbird.  

Northern Mockingbird

Photo by Jane Wiewora

It was very vocal, rarely closing its mouth.  The spotted breast is visible, indicating it was a bird born this summer.  These spots do not last very long so it may have recently fledged, probably the reason for the ruckus in the oak.  The light gray eye, not yet yellow, is also a sign of its young age.

Lastly we recaptured a Northern Cardinal.  It wasn't "28" but twice as good ("56")!

Northern Cardinal

Photo by Jane Wiewora

Rain and Turkeys near the nets closed us down but we will be back next week for our next regular banding session will be on September 17.  Nets to open at 6:30 am.  Hope to see you there.

March 26, 2013

Today was a day of visitors.  As it is spring break, two students were able to visit Possum Long Banding Station.  Matt and Anthony were both able to pitch in to help set up nets.  Right off we had a net full of birds - 3 Gray Catbirds and 2 Northern Mockingbirds.

Matt holding and then releasing a Gray Catbird

Anthony holding and then releasing a Gray Catbird

Photo by Lisa Fiore

Even Lisa (mom) got to hold a bird.

Northern Mockingbird

Then there were the visiting birds - the next capture was a Prothonotary Warbler. It was a male as told by the amount of white in the tail feathers and a 2Y (second year) bird by its greenish back and back of head (not bright yellow like the throat and underside).

Prothonotary Warbler

Photo by Crystal Conway

Prothonotary Warbler

Prothonotary Warbler

Photo by Crystal Conway

Not long after Nancy Price called to say there was another warbler, this time a Worm-eating Warbler.  Wing measurements indicated that it was male.

Worm-eating Warbler

Photo by Nancy Price

Worm-eating Warbler

The rest of the day we banded Blue Jays and more Gray Catbirds and evaluated a few recaptures, that is until the last bird of the day when we had a "green" Painted Bunting.  At this time of year one cannot tell if the green ones are females or 2Y (second year) males.  

Painted Bunting

A total of 13 newly banded birds today.  

I have added 2 new pages of data to the blog; year totals and daily totals.  

Next banding session:  April 2