This morning we rolled out of bed at ten to five to go open the mist nets and set up a new one, net 4, on a hill next to some naturally reforested habitat between bird survey points A and N. The three nets we had set up Sunday evening were not productive at all this morning, but net 4 captured a Yellow-faced Grassquit and a Smoky-brown Woodpecker. The woodpecker had gotten rather tangled and gave us quite a bit of trouble and a number of pecks before we finally got it out of the net. Christian found an Olive-sided Flycatcher in a tree near net 4/point A, which are uncommon here generally, but particularly now, as they should be migrating through Texas at the moment.
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Austin with the Smoky-brown Woodpecker
As soon as we finished with the two captured birds, we began our morning point counts, starting at point A again and moving in backward order. The most interesting birds of the morning were Lineated Woodpecker, Mistletoe Tyrannulet, and Crested Guan; point J was certainly the most productive point this morning - we had 21 species in our ten-minutes, which is up from the average of 14 or 15 birds per point.
After we had finished our morning point-counts and had breakfast at the main building, Oscar, the head guide/manager here at Leaves and Lizards, took us down to look for the Spectacled Owl that resides on the property. Though the owl was not in residence, we birded around the older, original forest and found a number of good forest species. We had a Great Antshrike, a couple of Little Hermits, two Broad-billed Motmots, a pair of Barred Antshrikes, a Yellow-olive Flycatcher, some Slate-headed Tody-flycatchers, a paid of Black-throated Wrens and a few of their young, a Yellow-throated Euphonia, a Yellow Tyrannulet, and a Slate-headed Tody-flycatcher at its nest.
A little after three, after some data entry, napping, a Kike trip, and some napping, we opened the mist nets again and caught four Blue-gray Tanagers in net 4 and an immature Black-striped Sparrow in net 1. Christian had to deal with three of the tanagers at once - one was in the net, and when he began removing it, it fussed so much and so loudly that two others flew into the net, perhaps to share in its ostentatious misery. Also, in an interval between checking the nets, a Chestnut-mandibled Toucan flew into a cecropia tree above Dr. Brown and Austin, the first toucan we had seen on the property.
We started the point-counts up again with point G at four o'clock. The most interesting species we had this afternoon included a Laughing Falcon, a flock of 70+ Montezuma Oropendolas that flew over, a Blue-black Grassquit, a pair of Band-backed Wrens, several Black-crested Coquettes, and a pair of Chestnut-mandibled Toucans which were being mobbed by some Tropical Kingbirds.
This is basically the bird census group's average day of field work here at Leaves and Lizards. We are most definitely enjoying the work we are doing in the forest here - it is diverse and rich and beautiful. We will post some more pictures tomorrow, but it is a good bit past bedtime, and it is going to be an early one again tomorrow. Stay tuned...
- The Walker Bros.
