2016 Sparrow Drive

Has it been a year already since the Sparrow Drive at Weekie Wachee? Well, really more like three! The weather the past couple of years was too risky for us spending 5 hours on the road to just be rained out. The weather was much nicer this year so the volunteers from the banding site were rounded up and arrived at dawn to help set nets.

Once all who were going to attend showed up by 9 AM the marching through the grasses began. The cold front that came through the other day left the area a bit squishy and wet feet were had by all in short order.



I got a new point and shoot for Christmas and brought it along to test in the field.



A number of other banders were out for the drive, including Jim McGinity who helped extract captured birds with us.



The first couple of runs produced nothing but in this section we captured some Savannah Sparrows and other birds.



The crew finished the first circuit and headed back to the trucks to watch as some of the birds were banded.



Marianne Korosy is in charge of the Sparrow Drive and bands all the birds we capture.



A few of us held birds so visitors could get photos. Here, Tony holds a LeConte's Sparrow that was just banded.



A close up of the LeConte's Sparrow.



I got the Grasshopper Sparrow to display to answer any questions from the group.



Let the next round begin!



Since our banding crew has a lot of experience extracting bird we station ourselves at intervals at the nets to get to birds as quickly as possible.



Jim gets another bird as Lynn moves down to the next position.



Clay extracts and holds up a Swamp Sparrow. Clay helps manage this property and maintains the nets and poles used out here.



Killian has his hands full of birds in bags and heads back to the trucks with our recent catches.



We got more Savannah Sparrows on this final sweep...



...and another House Wren for the morning.



Before we loaded out, Marianne called us over to look at the Swamp Sparrow we just had banded. No of us had ever seen anything like it. This bird had a single white feather on its wing. Pretty cool.



Back near the cars, a Gopher Tortoise was trying to decide if it should come out for a snack.



We have been doing these drives for years and never think to get a group shot. Thanks to Jim for thinking about it just before the truck took all the Wekiva Basin banding volunteers back out of the preserve.



A lot of birds, a lot of fun. Until next year...

2013 Sparrow Drive, Pt. 2

Time for the second and final sparrow drive of the Winter out at Weekiwachee Preserve. This is the second location out at the old limestone quarry. The day was beautiful and there were increasing winds all morning, as usual.



There was a great turn out with over 50 volunteers including almost every registered bird bander in the state. The nets were set and the volunteers headed out for the first run of the day.



First bird of the morning was a LeConte's Sparrow.



The volunteers worked hard but the sparrows were not around in large numbers this year. Probably partially due to the lower rainfall this season.



I was really proud to see my son participating throughout the morning.



Oddly, we captured several sparrows just while checking the nets in between runs. As I headed to the far end of the net array, I managed to flush a Grasshopper Sparrow and was able to out-flank it into the net.



A view from above shows off their lovely patterns on the back.



Not the Florida sub-species but we did get some recaptures which is good data.



Back at the car, Marianne bands the Grasshopper Sparrow.



The crowd gathers around for photos. Most volunteers come out to see different species of birds they have never seen before.



Marianne holds up a sparrow for the volunteers to get photos.



LeConte's Sparrow and Grasshopper Sparrow are held side by side for comparison. A nice view to end the morning.



Another great day out in the field. Literally. Can't wait until next year's attempt.

2012 Sparrow Drives, Part 2

Ok, Day 2 of the Sparrow Round-up!

Word of the day was wind. A lot of wind. Problem with that is the poles used to set the nets are not permanently anchored in the ground, like we do at our banding site. The area is an old limestone quarry and the folks who run the place don't want rebar driven into the ground for future rounds, mainly because humans tend to enjoy either taking the rebar or just messing with it. Humans.

So, we did the best we could. THis round of volunteers was instructed on procedures and began walking the area trying to drive birds toward the nets.





Like two weeks ago, we caught a lot of LeConte's Sparrows.



Finally, we caught a Grasshopper Sparrow, one of the main species being sought after on these drives.



A bit later on, Marianne shows off one of the LeConte's Sparrows.



Halfway through the morning the wind got so bad that a third of the volunteers were tasked with simply holding stretches of net poles as each round was run. It was quite the challenge.



The day wrapped on schedule and the data will be recorded and processed but it is always fun to experience. We bid farewell to Weekie Wachee until next year.



On the way out, Maria and I looked for some birds but didn't come up with much new. Pine Warblers are singing and we did spot a Common Loon. We also had an accommodating adult Ring-billed Gull on the road out.



Once I got back near the house, I checked out the Bald Eagles and found Mama on the nest. She has been hit or miss so maybe the chicks are about to emerge.



Now all of my scheduled days are over. Maybe I can relax and get some local bird shots and maybe get something new before birds turn North.

2012 Sparrow Drives, Part 1

Guess I had better catch up on the sparrow drives we did out at Weekie Wachee with our good friend Marianne Korosy. Marianne learned to band with us at our Wekiva banding site years ago and has gone on to other bird studies throughout Florida. This is the 5th year of her studies on sparrows at this site. Maria joined me for her first drives.

Once the 20-plus nets were set, covering a couple hundred yards of the preserve, volunteers were instructed on techniques that would be used to flush birds hiding in the thigh-high grasses and palmetto. The group lines up and walks through an area, clapping and shouting as they walk to move the birds toward the waiting mist nets.



Once the group reaches the nets, any captured birds are removed from the net by trained banders, placed in soft cloth bags, and taken to Marianne for data processing.



Then, the volunteers move to the end of where they began before and repeat the process again until they cover the entire net array, first in one direction and then the other.



The most commonly captured bird today were LeConte's Sparrows. I believe it was a record number for any day of these drives. I place this bird in the bag for transport and reset for the next round.



Midway through our first run (we did both sides of the array twice), we captured a very surprising bird. Bill Pranty (a bird biologist and author whom I am proud to know as a friend and I even have a photo in one of his books, A Birder's Guide to Florida) holds up the first ever captured Wilson's Snipe at this site!



Snipe are very elusive and bolt away from you once flushed or startled by close approach so I had to take a break and get some shots up close. Marianne was just as surprised as the rest of us and examines the bird once it arrives at the table.



Unfortunately for banding data purposes, Snipe are considered game birds so they cannot be banded without special permits.



However, we could spend some time admiring the bird's plumage and marvel at its other features.



A beautiful bird above and below.



Ready for the final close up just before being released back into the preserve.



We finish the first round and take a rest, tighten the shoelaces and prepare for round 2.



Our latest capture, a Sedge Wren, is removed from the net as photographers snap away.



Back at the table, one of the many LeConte's Sparrows is fitted with a new band.



Truly, amazing little birds. Colors are so rich up close.



To close out the day, we captured a Swamp Sparrow, a couple of Grasshopper Sparrows, and a Savannah Sparrow, shown here.



All in all a pretty good day, though winds were a challenge as it pushed nets over from time to time. The next drive would be in 2 weeks and that will be featured in Part 2!