New birds came in last night despite the uninspiring-looking radar and due southerly winds. The treetops were full of Northern parulas and Cape May warblers, and some good flocks collected near the fruiting ficus trees scattered here and there. We banded three Gray-cheeked thrush today, our first ‘regulars’ since the two captured before were a Gray-cheeked/Bicknell’s intergrade and a Bicknell’s. These two species look almost exactly alike but can be separated in the hand by measurements and in the field by different songs. One thing that does seem noticeable in these photos, however, is the Bicknell’s appears to have a larger eye compared to the bill and face than the Gray-cheeked. Or I could be seeing things. Here is a link to information about the Gray-cheeked and Bicknell’s thrushes.
large left: BITH 10/04/20; top right BITH 05/12/07; middle right GCBT 09/25/20; bottom right GCTH 10/10/20
When we were leaving, we noticed the sky was full of Peregrine falcons who were hassling anything else up there with them. Luis at the Florida Keys Hawkwatch had counted at least 300 Peregrines when I checked in with him.
| SPECIES | NEW | RETURN | RECAP |
| Gray catbird | 1 | – | – |
| Blue-gray gnatcatcher | 1 | – | 1 |
| Gray-cheeked thrush | 3 | – | – |
| Northern parula | 5 | – | 2 |
| Cape May warbler | 3 | – | 1 |
| American redstart | 9 | – | 3 |
| Black-throated blue warbler | 6 | – | 4 |
| Black & white warbler | 7 | – | 1 |
| Ovenbird | 5 | – | – |
| Swainson’s warbler | 2 | – | – |
| Worm-eating warbler | 1 | – | 1 |
| Western palm warbler | 2 | – | – |
| Common yellowthroat | 1 | – | – |
| Northern waterthrush | 3 | – | – |
| Painted bunting | – | – | 1 |
| # BIRDS CAPTURED | # SPECIES | # NETS | NET HOURS | CAPTURE RATE (BIRDS/100NH) | |
| DAILY TOTAL | 49 | 14 | 23 | 136.75 | 46.07 |
| SEASON TOTAL | 1621 | 47 | 23 | 6930.3 | 26.68 |
Cape Florida Banding Station 