We are now a little bit into the third week of the Fall 2025 season, and it is starting off well! A huge thanks to all the new and the returning volunteers- you all make CFBS what it is, which is a world-class banding station in a unique location on a hemispheric scale with a 23-year long continuous fall dataset!
Kentucky warbler, young male banded Aug 25 2025. Photo by Steffanie Munguía
Winds out of the west or southwest have made for a buggy start to the season but also have given us a steady stream of birds. August can often be brutally slow with 2-3 bird days but this year we’ve been ranging from 8-10 to as many as 33 birds in a day. We put up with the lighter volume and stifling heat of late August in the hopes of banding several species that migrate early, such as Louisiana waterthrush and Kentucky warbler. This gorgeous young male was banded on August 25, and we don’t get these every year. The brilliant yellow underparts and Elvis sideburns are very distinctive. Not gonna lie-this is one of my favorite warblers from my days in the swamps of Louisiana where they are abundant breeders.
Traill’s Flycatcher banded Aug 31 2025. Photo by Miriam Avello
Light north winds set in on August 26 and 27, leading to 33 and 25 bird days, respectively. Most were the regular species that we encounter throughout the season, with different proportions as the season wears on. For example, American redstarts mostly move through early (August-Sept), Worm-eating warblers peak in mid-September, and the Black-throated blues peak in October. Black-and-white warblers are common throughout the season. At this point American redstarts are the top species with 54 bandings, Black & white warblers are in second place with 46 individuals, and Ovenbirds are in a close third with 44 new birds and one return from last fall. Ovenbirds and redstarts will stay in the top three but the blues will catch up later!
Our common species are generally heading to the Caribbean islands to overwinter, except for a few which stay in South Florida until spring. Species that winter in Central America such as Chestnut-sided and Tennessee warblers are much more scarce at our location. Still other species are around in low numbers passing through or wintering, and they add a little excitement to a morning of banding.
Yellow-throated vireo banded Aug 31 2025. Photo by Miriam Avello
August 31 was a diverse day, with 10 species represented among 13 banded individuals. Three first-of-the seasons showed up: a Traill’s flycatcher, a Red-eyed vireo and a Yellow-throated vireo. The Yellow-throated vireo is a good example of a species which is not especially rare in south Florida but we only band one every other year or so. These winter in the area and can often be found in live oaks in parks within urban Miami during the Christmas bird counts.
Post by Michelle Davis
Fall 2025 Totals (Aug 15-Sept 2)
| SPECIES | NEW | RETURN |
| Traill’s flycatcher | 1 | – |
| Yellow-throated vireo | 1 | – |
| Red-eyed vireo | 1 | – |
| Blue-gray gnatcatcher | 12 | – |
| Northern parula | 11 | – |
| Black-throated blue warbler | 1 | – |
| Prairie warbler | 3 | – |
| Black & white warbler | 46 | – |
| American redstart | 54 | – |
| Prothonotary warbler | 1 | – |
| Worm-eating warbler | 10 | – |
| Swainson’s warbler | 8 | – |
| Ovenbird | 44 | 1 |
| Northern waterthrush | 27 | – |
| Louisiana waterthrush | 1 | – |
| Kentucky warbler | 1 | – |
| Common yellowthroat | 2 | – |
| Northern cardinal | 2 | – |
| Common grackle | – | 1 |
| # BIRDS CAPTURED | # SPECIES | # NETS | NET HOURS | CAPTURE RATE (BIRDS/ 100NH) | |
| SEASON TOTAL | 228 | 19 | 25 | 1875.5 | 12.9 |