Red Fox Sparrow

What a way to start December! Finally got photos of a Fox Sparrow after all this time.



I found my first Fox Sparrows on our trip to Washington state. Unfortunately, all the best shots I took of them were stuck on the one digital camera card I have ever had go bad. Knock silicon...

On this foggy morning in Wekiva State Park I finally had a chance to make up for that loss. Even better, with a bird secured in my grasp.



With the weight of the bird in the bag, I thought we had a Catbird. It was completely shocking to pull this bird out. They are not suppose to be here.



Not that I am complaining.



Gets me even more geared up for the Christmas Bird Count in less than
2 weeks.

Cooper's Hawk

I had been wondering why I haven't been seeing the hawks lately. The wait is over.

I was just staring out the backdoor enjoying the site of one of the recently banded Western Palm Warblers and Tutfted Titmice when a small bird joined the preening warbler in the laurel tree. Couldn't quite place it. Not a Palm for sure. Maybe a Kinglet.

Suddenly, all the birds froze. We know what that means. Raptor just flew into the party. A dozen Mourning Doves were not pleased but held their positions perfectly still. And me without a camera...

I went out to the van to grab the camera and binoculars and circled to the side of the yard hoping to find the raptor without causing the doves to try and fly past it. A flock of Goldfinches flew in overhead as I made my way back.

I wasn't fast enough. The doves burst upward in all directions and the streaking missle of a hawk dove downward. The mist net shook hard. It was in there!

With no direct entry into the backyard from where I was, I ran back around into the house and out through the backdoor. Maybe it got out. If not, how was I going to deal with it? I have never held a hawk before.

It was there, alright. The intended target dove was also in the net a foot away. How I managed to get the hawk untangled and then the dove with one free hand I am still not sure of.

The young Cooper's Hawk was nice and confused, occasionally looking at me but never tried to bite or grab me with it's talons. I didn't have the Pyle's reference book so I had no idea what size band to put on this bird. I would have to let it go without one.

It did need to get documented, though. I called for my boys to come see the bird and had a picture taken. I don't end up in many photos but I wanted to pose with my first hawk! I got rid of the bag soon but at the time I wan't taking any chances.



An hour later, the same bird tried to get the doves again before flying off. I am sure it will be back by many times. Maybe in the net again.

Myrtle Warbler

One of the birds I have often wondered about has been a Myrtle (Yellow-rumped) Warbler that I noticed in the yard years ago when the American Goldfinches finally found our yard. Myrtle Warblers don't usually hang out in our yard for some reason even though they are all over the place near the lake a couple blocks away all Winter long.

Then, this single male began stopping by one of the feeders where it would eat rather quickly before dropping down to the birdbath for a drink and then would fly off. Next day, same thing. Over and over. One male Myrtle. By the time the Goldfinches moved on so did the warbler.

The following year it returned with the Goldfinch flocks. Then the next. Then again this year. It is a week or so ahead of the Goldfinches being at the feeders now but it sure acts like the same bird from past years. But how to be sure.

The best way would be to band it, of course. Today I did. We will have to be in the same spot next year to be sure but it is now identifiable.



Pretty, isn't he? I was about to take the nets down when I heard a Cardinal chipping and backed up to see if it would fly into the yard. Instead, the Myrtle flew in behind me and over to the net. With this great plumage he won't be hard to tell apart from most Yellow-rumps.



Let the tracking begin!

Backyard Birding

Well, the home computer has died. Right when I was about to start a bunch of posts about the banding I am doing of my backyard birds. It seems to be just the power supply so hopefully I should be able to get the files recovered and play catch-up later.

In the meantime, I will start with what I do have. Starting to get exciting. Later we will go backwards and get to the Cardinals and Thrashers and such.
___________________________

Now able to take some gear home in between our Wekiva banding days, I am able to stretch one net form one side of our backyard to the other and try and get my local birds banded for further study. Too bad the new families of Cardinals and Blue Jays started dispersing before I was able to get this set-up ready.

However, one of the jays did return this weekend and was quietly waiting in the net near the end of the day.



The families are still around but I hear them farther down the street these days. When it is time to nest and raise the young ones they tend to hang out in our yard. Must be all the seed I put out.

They probably don't need me right now as every oak in the area is producing more acorns than I can remember ever seeing. The acorns carpet the ground everywhere I go.

One species I will not be banding is the Mourning Dove. They are one of the most numerous birds in the yard but I figure I won't waste bands on birds that are easy pickings for the raptors that travel through or live in the neighborhood. If we get them at Wekiva they have a better chance of escape but my birds are fat and happy.

And easy targets.

Fortunately, most of the doves that do end up hitting the net manage to free themselves once they put their minds to it. This is the first dove in a long while that actually couldn't figure it out.



Another interesting thing I find about the doves is that they tend to drop down and fly out in pretty much a vertical motion as opposed to flying away horizontally. Most days they drop down onto one of the many feeders on one side of the net or the other and never cross the yard.

Fine by me.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Since the Kissimmee Prairie sparrow drive was canceled I had a little time to arrange for another birding fix. Fortunately, fellow birder Danny Bales was available to shepard me toward a long sought after Life Bird.

Danny helps with the monitoring of the various colonies of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (RCWs) out at Hal Scott Preserve located just off of SR 520 from Highway 50 near Christmas, Florida. He was gracious enough to drive me directly to an active colony located in the sprawling nearly 9,000 acres of pine and scrub flatwoods.

I had been considering a bike trip out to some of the sites after missing the bird when I ventured out last year at dawn with my wife, Carolyn. We got there just a little late that morning and all we heard were some knocks as the birds fed out in the pines.

Knowing the habits of some of these birds, Danny brought me straight to a couple of marked trees which identified the active nests of several RCWs and mentioned which spot would be best to try and get a shot of these fast moving woodpeckers. Knowing when they arrive back at their cavities, always made in living pines, helped a lot.

Robins and Myrtle (Yellow-rumped) Warblers signaled the evening feeding patterns typical of the area and many Bluebirds and Pine Warblers joined the fray of birds either heading toward roosting points or feeding just before dark. Tiger mosquitoes were cloying and quite large.

Before we staked out our spots to get pictures of the RCWs, we walked around the scrub to see if we could scare anything else up into view. We were hoping for sparrows but I suddenly noticed a bird flying out from a tree about 70 yards away. It sure FLEW like a woodpecker.

Closer inspection through the binoculars confirmed that it was a RCW, my first ever! I tried to get closer but it flew off away from where we needed to be in a short while so we did not follow. We decided heading back to the nesting trees would be best, just in case.

Just around 5 PM, the sounds of RCWs were heard and the male made a quick flight toward his home. Many birds followed, including several Bluebirds that seemed intent on chasing the bird after it landed in several spots. Danny was 50 yards from me as it flew in close to him and indicated that this was the bird.

It finally made a return to the nesting tree and began to peck around the entryway, just as Danny said it usually does. I had mere moments to get any shots of of the bird as it kept it's back to me. I did manage one 3/4 profile.



It flew off again and was still harassed by the Bluebirds. Once it came back to the tree, it dove into the cavity and was done for the day. I almost had a better shot. If only it had stalled for 2 seconds more.

As we headed back to the truck, the female flew in and dove straight into her tree. The day was done for the woodpeckers.

Someday, I will head back out to try again. However, getting the first Life Bird in many, may months was reward enough.

Red-headed Woodpeckers

Banding was slow today so I took one trip past the net lanes to see if anything was happening closer to the pine flatwoods.

Suddenly, I could hear the calls of the resident Red-headed Woodpeckers all around me. They were flying in to gather acorns for the Winter and were right near the trail about 50 yards out from the last net.

And me without a camera...

I hurried back up the long trail to grab my gear and made it back as quickly as possible. The birds were still gathering food.

When the Red-headed Woodpeckers do this, I notice that they pick a certain oak, grab an acorn, fly back to their stoarge places, and then come right back to the same oak again and again. This pattern was holding true today.

I positioned myself with the sunlight to my back and got as close as I dared as to not deter them from their chores and waited. Sure enough, the birds still flew in and continued the gathering. Though getting a picture was harder than I had hoped.

They would fly in directly over my left shoulder into the chosen tree and land with their backs to me. Seemed that the best food was on the side facing me and easiest for them to grab. I missed a couple of flight shots as they left before I got one with the digital. The camera is more of a point-and-shoot so that may give you a sense of the close proximity.



Over and over again, they flew in and I have numerous shots of their backs! Finally, I got one good profile before the gathering was over with the film camera. I am SO old-fashioned!



They are noisy and conspicuous while grabbing these morsels and use several trees to store them in for later. It certainly brightens any morning while watching this event.

Banding Sharpies

I miss out on all the fun!

It sure seems that way sometimes. I can only band on weekends though the banding station often operates during a select number of days during the week. I have missed the Tanagers, Yellow Warblers, and lately, the Sharp-shinned Hawks.

For 2 consecutive weeks on a Friday, Sharpies were captured in nets near the banding table. Maria has been bragging the whole time.



With good reason.

Bald Eagles Return

For many years now, a pair of Bald Eagles have been nesting and successfully raising young in the cemetery just blocks from my house. While other Bald Eagles in the area stay year-round, this pair seems to show up only to breed, nest, rear young and then take off again.

I finally had a few minutes to make a swing through the cemetery a couple weeks ago and was happy to see a bird in the nest already! The tree the nest has always been in is looking worse than ever, however. Not sure if it can make it through another wind storm.

I got there just before night-fall and checked the tree from this point. The bare tree on the right is the pine with the nest. You can see the nest up top.



Before our bad hurricane season of 2004 there were several trees in that spot. The nest tree was filled out with branches and the nest was shaded and the birds were harder to see. There was another pine tree on each side of the nest tree which were knocked over or compromised and later cut down. The bark of the surviving tree is nearly all gone.

However, the birds are back and trying again.

I only saw the one bird from that angle and I made my way around the road so that I was under the tree. Suddenly, the other eagle showed up across the cemetery and I managed to get one shot off as it arrived at the nest.



It dropped the material that was in it's talons and sat for a minute. It then flew to a nearby pine with what appeared to be a snake and began to eat with it's back to me.

I will check back soon. I look forward to seeing if they set up a nest in another tree someday. Because that current tree can't stand for too much longer.

Ring-necked Ducks Return

The waiting is over for the return of the "Winter ducks".

I delivered the boys to school and headed back home and noticed more activity on Lake Davis. Once I found a place to pull over I focused in on a likely group of ducks. Sure enough, 1 male and 3 female Ring-necked Ducks were cruising the wind-swept water.

Noel, now officially a hurricane, finally pulled away from the Florida coast and opened up the skies for better flight. Strong winds still presist but that should settle down soon and we will be bathed in cool temperatures. Maybe if Noel was not here the ducks would have made it here the same time as last year: October 31st.

Over the years they have been getting here at least in the first week of Novemeber. Basically right on time.

Now I can relax. For some reason I always get a bit stressed awaiting the arrival of the Winter ducks. I even confused the arrival date with the start of school this year as I always tell the boys to check the lake as we drive past to see when we can first spot the Ring-necked Ducks.

Can't wait to band next Sunday!

Swamp Sparrow Surprise

Sparrows are back!

Birding friend, and excellent photographer, Paul Hueber emailed me about a small flock of Swamp Sparrows and a Song Sparrow he found at Lake Lotus yesterday. The Song Sparrow is an excellent bird for Florida.

This morning, I added myself to the Swamp Sparrow list.

I headed out to fill feeders just as the Sun was trying to fight through the clouds being spun our way by Tropical system Noel. Sometime overnight, the winds felled a frond from the palm in the back so I decided to move it off of the deck and onto the palm frond resting place in teh backyard.

On the way out I noticed a small bird making an escape through the 4 O' Clocks along the back fence. I stopped where I was and figured I would try to pish it up. Once. Twice. Then movement as the bird came back to check out the sound.

I could see the branches of plants shaking, indicating an advancing bird, and waited a few seconds. Out popped the bird. A Swamp Sparrow!

I figured that was all the action I was going to see but it decided to drop down into the yard and began picking at seed heads provided by some new weeds under the sunflower feeder. It made it's way from plant to plant and eventually just about 6 feet in front of where I was standing.

I guess it figured I was just a harmless bit of flora as I was still holding the frond in front of me. I wanted to see how close it would get but had the kids waiting to go off to school. This would have to be my only view. For now.

This is not THE bird, but rather a Swamp Sparrow from earlier in the year.



Time to hone those Sparrow ID skills again. Finally!

Wekiva banding could prove a little more interesting this weekend now that a front is pushing down and will also provide some cooler temperatures.

Phoebes and Pine Warblers

Some new captures for the Fall season today along with the expected lot. Ruby-crowned Kinglets continue to flow in but we are still waiting for the cooler temperatures. Today was VERY humid.

We actually were able to end the day by observing many butterflies and other insects.

I have been trying to nail down a sighting of a Bay-breasted Warbler this season as they have been reported all over the state this year. Just not having much luck. Most are out near the coasts and some nearby but I just can't get out to see them.

Work, work, work. Scouts, Scouts, Scouts.

When we first opened one particular bag, I thought I might be close to the Bay-breasted I was looking for but it ended up being a the first in a series of Pine Warblers. First of the season for us even though they live in and around the park. Here is the first, a youngster.



If I would have had information that this bird and 2 others were captured together in the same net, I wouldn't have been so hopeful as they turned out to be a family. Jr. just happened to be first out. Luck of the draw. Here is Momma:



...and Poppa...



Still, a nice round of netting.

Just as we were getting ready to leave for the day, 2 more bags were brought in. Both contained our first Eastern Phoebes. They have been heard in the park for a couple of weeks but these were the first we were able to band.



On the way out, we enjoyed the butterflies including a Queen...



...a Tiger Swallowtail...



...and even a Lynx Spider I found before heading home.

First Palms banded for Fall 2007

After finding the Palm Warblers at home, we finally banded our first Palms of the Fall 2007 season. We actually had both varieties.

First up was the Western Palm right after dawn.



Even after some thought it might be a Yellow (Eastern) Palm due to a little yellow on the breast, an actual Yellow Palm dropped in later in the day.



Note the overall yellow including into the supercilium.

One other notable catch was a beautiful Black and White Warbler.



Topped off a nice mix to a good day.

Palms Arrive

Having read reports online about Palm Warblers being seen along both coasts of Florida I was still wondering why we hadn't netted any at Wekiva. I heard one a couple of weeks ago but they were still not showing themselves to me anywhere.

Just before leaving work today a little bird dropped into a pine tree outside my window at work. Finally, a Palm Warbler appeared. It was pumping it's tail in proper Palm fashion as it moved along the pine needles and then dropped down into the low shrubs at ground level.

I noticed I was smiling as I sat at my desk.



This shot was taken four years ago on the Cady Way trail on a bike ride with my oldest son. One of my favorite Palm shots.

Maybe we can band some next week.

Catbirds Still Rule

Still getting a usual mix of birds but the color of the recent weeks is still dominated by gray.



Look familiar? It does to us! Still a limited number of Warbler and Thrush species but it appears many of them are keeping to the West or diving over the Gulf of Mexico after arriving near the Florida Panhandle.

In the past 2 weeks we have banded 157 Gray Catbirds.
Still awaiting Palms and Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Catbirds are Here!

Boy, are they! Out of the 89 birds captured today (the highest total this year) 64 of those were Gray Catbirds.

They began to hit the nets even before I got the triple nets set up, flying in on both sides of me as I struggled to set the final pole. Luckily, the figure of Lorne Malow emerged in the pre-dawn dark to assist in removing them with me.

Back at the banding table, Lane arrived just in time to begin banding as I headed over to net 10 to find several more Catbirds waiting for extraction. Shout indicating the other volunteers were running out of bags came from down the net lanes indicating that they, too, were being kept busy with more Catbirds.

The flood gates of migration for these birds were flung wide open.



I was able to make a dash to the 'loop' with all of the remaining bags, passing other banders with hands full of birds heading the other way, and found even more hitting every net we had open.

Rounding the inside of the loop at net 15 I saw a different color scheme flapping near the edge of the net pole. Our 1st Wood Thrush of the season! It nearly made its way to an escape as I approached and quickly sealed off the exit.



We also managed to capture another new arriving species of Thrush, a Swainson's Thrush. Nice to see they have made it. The Gray-cheeks will not be far behind.



During my forays back and forth I was sure I was hearing another familiar Fall sound. The scolding of a House Wren. It took a bit longer before my suspicions were confirmed as we were able to band one before the end of the morning.



We finally were able to throw some more color into the mix as, near the end of the nearly endless procession of bird bags was reached, Lane removed a beautiful female Hooded Warbler from it's holding place.



There will be little rest for the next few weeks, if the weather holds, for all of us anxious Wekiva banders.

Fine by me.

Swainson's Warbler

It is always nice to have a surprise pop up during a typical banding day. Sure, Cardinals, Towhees, Vireos and such are all nice to see up close but variety is needed to keep you going through a humid bug-filled morning sometimes.

The surprise this morning was a rarely seen visitor to the Wekiva Springs banding station: A Swainson's Warbler.

I was out seeing if we should close down for the day when Maria called out to me and mentioned that they had a 'Swanson's' at teh table for me to get a picture of. For some reason, Maria has always had a hard time saying "Swainson's". It always turns into a TV dinner.

The only Swainson's I was waiting for were the thrushes and figured that was what it was. I continued my walk at a steady pace. Finally arriving at the table, I got a better look. Lane held up the gorgeous, slightly large, warbler.



"What do you think? Swainson's Warbler?", She asked.

Indeed. I forget how much larger they are than other warblers, such as the tiny Prairie Warblers.



I first saw a Swainson's Warbler here at this very spot about 2 years earlier. These birds stay well down in the thickets and are also found in flooded swampland. This is only the 4th such warbler banded at Wekiva in all of its years of operation.

Check out those fresh, crisp feathers!



Can't wait for the next surprise.

Blue and Gold Migrants

My mantra of late has been "blue and gold" since I have been hoping to get something exotic at the site like a Cerulean Warbler or Golden-winged Warbler. No luck on those. However, we did get those colors today at Wekiva!

Another welcome sight was the first male American Redstart of the Fall season. We have been banding females for a couple of weeks. This male had interesting orange edges to all of its black feathers.



Then came the blue! A Black-throated Blue Warbler, actually.
A lovely male.



Bring on the yellow! My first ever Hooded Warbler was seen at Wekiva last year. We even banded a few females. This year, I was stunned to see this adult male as it we got it out of the bag.



We later caught a younger male Hooded but the colors were nowhere as striking.

The same cannot be said of the Prothonotary Warbler that greeted us late in the morning. To me, it fairly radiated gold as I brought it out of the bag. The first I have ever gotten to hold.



A nice range of color for the day which also brought us the brown of Verrys and the black and white of Chickadees. That should change in the next few weeks as we get the full onslaught of gray. Catbirds are right around the corner!

New Birds at Wekiva

Birds continue their southern run and we had a few new birds for the season out at Wekiva today.

I was bringing in a Veery when I heard some noise over at net 10. I strode over to see a Chickadee in the net about midway down. I was hanging the bag containing the Verry when it up an bolted straight back out again! Dang.

Don't fear, though, as our day ended with a return visit.

The Veerys were increasing in numbers. I was very pleased with this shot. Make it look so soft and fluffy.



The first real surprise of the day was our first of the season Worm-eating Warbler. I think we may have had only 1 last year but it could have been zero.



That was good enough but the best was yet to come. The guys making a net run showed up all excited and announcing they had retreived an Acadian Flycatcher. Excellent! However, when it was brought out of the bag it looked a bit more suspicious to me.

More like a Traill's Flycatcher. Different feather coloration than an Acadian. Different shape to me, too.

We took measurements to eliminate certain species but I kept seeing that open mouth every other time I turned around. Very yellow-orange. Not pinkish. That screamed Alder (one of the two types of Traill's) in the back of my head.

We took a ton of photos from every possible angle and I sent some off to be double-checked. The reply came back: Probable Alder. Definitely not Acadian. Alder it stall be.



Had a growing count for the day but that missed Chickadee still bugged me hours later. I ran the net lanes one more time to determine if we should stay open or go home. I figured it was time to go. On the way back I was told there was a bird waiting for me to take a picture of.



Ain't he cute? Caught in the same net as the bird I lost earlier. I will pretend it is the exact same one.

We had one more surprise before we left. A pair of Eastern Kingbirds flew into the tree above net 9 right next to the banding table before continuing on their journey.



That's what I call a good day.

First Yellow Warbler Photo

I have seen a number of Yellow Warblers over the years but it always seems that I either don't have the camera with me or the birds are so high in the trees that it renders the camera useless.

I started the morning by swinging past the local lakes to see if the Ring-necked Ducks had decided to show up a little early. There were a couple of shapes out on Lake Cherokee so I slowed and began to scan the water's surface. Turned out to be a couple of non-breeding male Wood Ducks.

However, something else caught my eye. A bright flash of yellow.

Adjusting my eyes closer to the cypress trees in front of me I could tell there was a swarm of warblers bouncing from limb to limb, mostly on the interior section of the bright green foliage. Other colors began to to emerge as I got out of the car, camera in hand.

Turned out there were a few different species in there. Usually they stayed on the lake side of the trees but every now and then one would chase a bug on my side of the tree.

There was a lot of Yellow Warblers in there. Finally, they were almost all at eye level! Easy photo op, right? Nope. Seems Yellow Warbler prefer to keep their heads behind any branch they can place between you and them. Dang.

I was giving up an heading to the car and hear a call note in an oak. I stepped over and found a lone Yellow Warbler. It was pretty high up but at least it decided to preen. Meaning it was almost still. See it?



It isn't much but I find that after I get a shot of a bird, no matter how bad, I soon will follow it up with better and better shots down the line.

So this is step one. I'll take it.

Thrushes Return

I know I mentioned that migration was upon us but, to me, it really gets going once the Thrushes start arriving.
Today at Wekiva we got our first Veery.



They arrive first and then come the Swainson's, Grey-cheeked, and Wood Thrushes. A welcome sight.

Also, we had a few more migrating Warblers. Leading the charge was a gorgeous female American Redstart.



Next up was a Northern Waterthrush. Not a Thrush at all, despite the name.



Finally, we are still seeing a large number of Prairie Warblers. Prairies are one of the earliest migrants to kick off the season.



Things begin to heat up now. Weather thinks about cooling down, too. We hope. Very humid mornings still in the scrub.