This past week has got to be peak week for this area.  I've banded the most birds so far this season and we had the biggest day since spring of 2005 when I banded 53 birds in one morning.  The biggest day this week was 12 species and 33 new birds.  My grad student, Lauren learned how to take out birds, getting in more than the required 10 to be checked out.  She does a nice job.

Last week I thought I had reached a pinnacle when we caught the Wood Thrushes and yet I caught 2 more for a total of 5 Wood Thrushes within a seven day period.  Very exciting.  Also, the Gray-checked Thrush and Swainson's Thrush showed up this week.  Having caught a Veery early in the season, only the Bicknell's Thrush continues to elude me.  Maybe this next spring!  Also this week I caught an Acadian Flycatcher, the 2nd one for Tomoka State Park.  It hung around for 2 more days and then was gone.  I caught a Swamp Sparrow, first for the season.  No new species this week.  Catching 3 Magnolia Warblers and a Hooded Warbler WAS great.  Enjoy all the photos. 

Bulow Creek State Park started out with a gusto the first couple of weeks of the season but seems to not be as fruitful as I had hoped.  The seed ticks, mosquitoes and flies from the hogs are driving us all mad.  Pygmies are looking better and better!  At least they go the other way.  I will give it one more week to see if things pick up.  We have seen several Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers there and a nice assortment of birds that all hang up very high in the canopy, like Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Carolina Chickadees, American Redstarts, Black and White Warblers, Magnolia Warblers, Black-throated Blue Warblers, etc.  Just not down low where the nets are. 

Tomoka State Park has had some wonderful birds coming in.  We sit at the table, surrounded by trees and watch Bay-breasted Warblers, Tennessee Warblers, Northern Parulas, Blackpolls, Gray-cheeked Thrushes (not all got into the nets), American Redstarts, Black-throated Blue Warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers all around.  There is one little space where we can watch birds fly over so we caught some great views of Sharp-shins, Cooper's and Northern Harrier hawks.  The Great Horned Owls and Barred Owls serenade us in the mornings.  The Bald Eagle graces us with its presence on a dead snag near the banding table.  One morning 8 Great Blue Herons all landed on the same said snag for just a moment until I unsettled them trying to get a photo. 

For some strange reason a total of 55 Black-throated Blues have been banded and of those, 12 are of the Appalachian race.  I normally catch 1 or 2 in 8 months per season.  My hypothesis is that after Hurricane Irene hit the north and lingered as long as it did that a lot of birds took  slightly different migration routes from their usual path.  The number of falcons counted (and other hawks as well) was the highest ever recorded on the east coast.  If my idea is correct then I will expect the App. race to drop back down next year.  It will be interesting to follow.  Maybe it is just where I am now banding.

Meret Wilson, Lead Bander
Tomoka Basin Banding Station

BIRDS FOR OCTOBER 17-22, 2011