With migration at its peak we are welcoming visitors (human and feathered) to the banding station in Hammock Park. It is open to the public from 8 am to noon.
In addition to the expected migrants, you never know what species will turn up. This female Western Tanager was caught two weeks ago at my school in Lutz. I hope we have lots of beautiful birds to show everyone!
We have had 3 days of banding on the southern portion of the island. It has been slow with few birds caught but we have seen a fair amount of migrants in the last 2 weeks. We have been getting used to the additional logistics of taking a boat from Honeymoon Island over to Caladesi then a hike down to the station.
We have set up at the old Boy Scout area with a few picnic tables and a pavilion to work from. As in the Hammock, we set up 12 nets including a canopy net. We have clustered 6 nets around the shelter and another 6 nets about ¼ mile south of the pavilion under a group of live oak trees. This area is all in a restricted area of the park and is not open to the public.
Here are the totals from the first 3 weeks of banding this fall at the Caladesi Island Banding Station (CIBS):
March 24, 2019:
House Wren
Northern Cardinal (2)
March 31, 2019:
Palm Warbler
Black & White Warbler
White-eyed Vireo
Gray Catbird
Northern Cardinal (2)
April 7, 2019:
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
White-eyed Vireo (2)
Kentucky Warbler (male)
Summer Tanager (male)
Totals: 14 Birds; 9 species
Although we have not caught a large number of birds (yet), we have caught some interesting things. Probably the highlights for me were the male Summer Tanager and male Kentucky Warbler. We have had tremendous support from the Park staff including Assistant Park Manager, Brett Gorman, and biologist, Dan Larremore. As per usual, the project relies on dedicated and generous volunteers. A special thanks for boat captains, Harvey Kerstein and Bert Thomas.
Unfortunately, tomorrow’s banding session had to be cancelled due to high winds. We have 2 more days of banding on 4/28 and 5/5 so hopefully the migrants will still be moving through!
Male Summer Tanager to start the day!
Male Kentucky Warbler caught close to the mangroves
Hiking in the dark to the station (and watching out for rattle-snakes)
CIBS – Home Sweet Home
A beautiful net run walk
Discussing the molt limits on a male N. Cardinal
