Sometimes we have good stuff onsite but not in the nets. This guy was hanging out by Net 17 but was not captured today. Tomorrow….? Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park is an excellent location for Thick-billed vireo, and we have banded 3 others over the years. Enthusiastic birders often confuse young White-eyed vireos for Thick-billed due to their dark eye color, but with a decent look the two species can be separated. Here’s a tutorial from 2017: https://capefloridabandingstation.wordpress.com/2017/10/24/thick-billed-vireo/
Today’s crew kept interesting hours; banding was interrupted by a thunderstorm around 0945 but everyone was motivated to wait it out and re-open at noon, staying open all afternoon and being rewarded with a steady stream of captures. Except for that guy. It was cloudier today, giving us a little bit of a break from the late summer heat.
| SPECIES | NEW | RETURN | RECAP |
| Red-eyed vireo | 2 | – | – |
| Blue-gray gnatcatcher | 1 | – | – |
| Northern parula | 1 | – | 1 |
| American redstart | 7 | – | – |
| Black-throated blue warbler | 6 | – | – |
| Cape May warbler | 2 | – | – |
| Black-and-white warbler | 3 | – | – |
| Worm-eating warbler | 6 | – | 1 |
| Swainson’s warbler | – | – | 1 |
| Ovenbird | 6 | – | 3 |
| # BIRDS CAPTURED | # SPECIES | # NETS | NET HOURS | CAPTURE RATE (BIRDS/100NH) | |
| DAILY TOTAL | 36 | 10 | 23 | 109.23 | 38.45 |
| SEASON TOTAL | 373 | 19 | 23 | 2866.42 | 14.93 |
I never tire of looking at Black-throated Blue Warblers…including the Ladies!