The number of birds captured today was below expectations, to say the least. The radar looked active even after sunrise, and we could hear Bobolinks flying over all morning and small flocks of parulas among others coming in, but there was not nearly the same influx as yesterday. The birds that were around seemed to mostly avoid our nets. It was another hot still day, so we wrapped up banding by 1230. In spite of all this we caught a new species for the season, this beautiful Blackpoll warbler.
This species is a very common spring migrant through South Florida but is much less frequently seen in the fall. Blackpolls are known among warblers for their long overwater passage from the Northeastern seaboard directly to South America. We usually only catch a few each fall that are generally in poor condition after encountering some difficulty with their migration offshore. Today’s Blackpoll, however, was an adult bird with excellent muscle and fat reserves for continuing migration, so who knows why he paid us a visit. We’re glad he did!
| SPECIES | NEW | RETURN | RECAP |
| Prairie warbler | 1 | – | – |
| American redstart | 1 | – | – |
| Black-and-white warbler | 2 | – | – |
| Blackpoll warbler | 1 | – | – |
| Worm-eating warbler | 1 | – | – |
| Ovenbird | 5 | – | 3 |
| # BIRDS CAPTURED | # SPECIES | # NETS | NET HOURS | CAPTURE RATE (BIRDS/100NH) | |
| DAILY TOTAL | 11 | 6 | 23 | 116.5 | 12.02 |
| SEASON TOTAL | 661 | 29 | 23 | 3945.05 | 18.83 |