Migrating birds are finally starting to move into south Florida after a slow week. Rain along a stalled front in the Panhandle and Georgia blocked birds from moving into the state and the few birds around were not landing at Cape Florida due to strong easterly winds here.
Martina Hillbrand holds an Ovenbird, one of our most abundant fall migrants.
Two to three bird days have now turned into 10 bird days, and today could have been a little better if we weren’t rained out around 0800. Many birds, American redstarts in particular, were landing and flying around the woods just prior to the rainstorm. The redstarts were all gone when the sun came out but we were entertained by a slow steady trickle of Ovenbirds and Northern waterthrush. Overall 10 new birds were banded; 6 Ovenbirds, 2 Northern waterthrush, and 2 Prairie warblers. Liz had more diversity yesterday with 3 Worm-eating warblers, 2 American redstarts, 2 Black-and-white warblers, 2 Northern cardinals and one Louisiana waterthrush.
We usually only band two or three of these a year as they are very early migrants. Louisiana waterthrushes start arriving in Florida around July 4 and are mostly done with this leg of their migration by mid-August when the station opens.