Day 121: April 30th – A Palette of Colors

Sunny and warm in the mid 80’s, light winds

       Change of plans.  We were going to head north tomorrow, but got ahead of schedule and decided to get going today.  We had a late start since we had to close down the condo first, but eventually got to Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge by about noon.  We called our friend Joe who had gotten a much earlier start and he encouraged us to make the stop as there were some very good birds to be had.

       As we entered the refuge, the bird chatter which had been quiet for awhile according to Joe, rebounded and gave us reason start examining the canopy.  First on tap was the unmistakable raspy call of the Summer tanager.  He would have been the perfect initial image on today’s blog due to his spectacular red plumage, but he stayed back in the foliage and refused to come out for a photo.  We did get a nice look at the next bird to begin calling, the Great-crested flycatcher.  His bright yellow breast was easy to pick out high in the tree-tops, but like the tanager, he remained aloof as they so often do and evaded the lens.

       Finally, our next colorful member of the cast showed himself and came in close to give us our first real opportunity at capturing a fine image.  The Yellow-throated warbler came in close to check us out and remained on the same low perch for some time. 

Yellow-throated warbler

       As we were watching and photographing this bird, a Red-headed woodpecker flew into view.  With a little careful stalking, we were able to get close enough without spooking this handsome bird to enable us to grab another good image for the day.

       With all these colorful birds surrounding us, we wondered how it could get any better.  Probably the only bird which could upstage these radiant characters suddenly appeared from the woods and began foraging along the forest edge.  The Painted bunting, both sexes, came in and hopped in and out of the sunlight.  Although a bit distant, his brilliance was easily captured by the lens.

       Finally, down by the first lake of the reservoir, a bird which is not always thought of as being among the most brightly hued of the avian world came in a perched upon a stump.  The light caught his plumage and especially his eye in such a way that you could not help but add him to today’s gallery of splendidly adorned birds.  

       

                     Spring certainly does bring out the best in all of nature’s bounty.

Day 120: April 29th – Some fond Florida farewells

83 degrees under mostly sunny skies, light south wind

       On our way back to New Smyrna Beach where we will begin packing up for our trip back to the Empire State, we decide to make a quick run through Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  We’ve spent a considerable amount of time at the refuge this winter and it has been very productive with such highlights as a Cinnamon teal, Eurasian wigeon, Painted bunting, White morph of the Reddish egret, and more.  This is our last trip through Merritt this year, and we are hoping just to see enough to give us a sense of closure to this winters stay.

       One of the first sightings we have along the roadside is most appropriately the Florida scrub jay.  We’ve been able to find these birds almost on demand this year, and it’s wonderful to see how well they are thriving in the nesting areas provided and protected by the refuge.  Knowing we won’t see these scrub jays again until next winter adds to the bitter-sweet sentiment of leaving Florida once again.

       We pulled into the Biolab Road Boat Launch for one last look at another of our favorite and most productive birding haunts this winter.  Again, as if to say, "see you next January", a fine Great blue heron poses for a shot.  We know we’ll see other Great blues when we return north, but it’s different when they are nestled among the mangroves of the Florida waterways.

       Next to bid us a fond farewell is the gentle giant of the calm rivers and canals, the manatee.  So typical of the manatee’s behavior, we can see the big fella just lying below the surface until finally he rises, gives us a quick glance, and then sinks down below the murky water once again.  Another symbol of Florida wildlife we’ll dearly miss.

       Finally, as if to go out with a flourish,  I get to photograph a dolphin driving fish into the shallows for its early afternoon meal.  The dolphin would simply cruise back and forth in the shallows of the Haulover Canal in Merritt Island until it was ready to “herd” the small fish it was hunting up towards the “skinny” water of the beach.  From dead calm to a maelstrom in a matter of seconds.  What a way to say, “Remember me” from this most charismatic mammal. 

       One more day here in the Sunshine State before its time to say good-bye for another year.  We are anxious to return to the Hudson Highlands after almost 4 months on the Atlantic Coastal Plain, but we will certainly look forward to our return next winter.  Each landscape has so much to offer and we are indeed fortunate to be able to experience so much of what this

Day 119: April 28th – The Northern Mockingbird

Sunny, mild and calm

       We are still here at the Shades of Green Resort in Disney World after a wonderful birthday celebration for Sharon’s uncle Bud.  Late night last night, so I wasn’t up quite at the crack of dawn.  I did get out around 9:00 to see if anything of interest was stirring.  First up was another of the very large turkeys that are wandering around the property.  He seemed more interested in me that I was in him, and came up quite close to inspect me.  He must be very used to humans on the resort grounds.

       The next bird I encountered was a Northern mockingbird.  These birds are so wide-spread and so commonly encountered in the field that I normally pay them little attention.  “Trash birds” they are so often disparagingly called by jaded birders.  In reality, they are quite handsome and have a marvelous command of the avian language.  They can imitate or “mock” so many other birds that we often mistake their call for actual call of another bird.

        The Mockingbird happens to be the state bird of Florida, and as we prepare to leave the state to head back to our home grounds of New York, I thought I should pay due homage to this fine species.  After photographing the bird, I noticed it was a bit agitated with my presence and kept staring down in my direction from its perch. 

       I soon discovered why.  I short time later, the bird flew into some lower shrubbery with a tasty bug in its beak.  This could only mean one thing….it had a youngster or two on the nest in the nearby tree.  As I snapped the photo of the parent and its “take-out meal”, 

     I heard the whispy plaintiff call of a youngster high up in the thick of the tree and realized that I was on the bird’s home turf.  I quickly beat a hasty retreat as to not harass the family any further.  Yet another sign of spring down here in the Sunshine State.

Day 118: April 27th – Eagles, Birdies, and Turkeys

Sunny, light breeze, and very warm (high 80s)

       We are in Shades of Green, a Disney Resort dedicated to the active and retired servicemen of our Armed Services.  Sharon’s Uncle Buddy is a retired Air Force General and is celebrating his 90^th birthday.  We begain the celebration with a golf outing on the Palm Course of the resort.  As with most courses in Florida, we found egrets, ibises, and Great blue herons like this one throughout the course.

       What we normally don’t encounter on Florida courses, however, are Wild Turkeys. 

       We  can go several weeks visiting refuges and preserves without seeing a single turkey, and here we are in the middle of Disney World and having turkeys surround golfers in the middle of their stroke.  

       

       It was a wonderful outing in spite of my score,  made all the more special by these special members of the gallery.  

Day 117: April 26th – The Brown Anole

Sunny, calm and warm (mid 80s)

       It’s a beautiful warm sunny morning and Sharon and I are preparing to head over to Orlando to join in the celebration of her Uncle Buddy’s 90^th birthday.  We’ll leave early this afternoon, so we stay close to home for our daily nature walk.  In a park adjacent to the Indian River near the North Causeway of New Smyrna Beach, we found a number of common birds…..the kind you expect to find at municipal parks. We had grackles, starlings, doves, Snowy egrets,  fish crows, and mockers. 

       Among all the park birds, we also had another common species found throughout southern Florida, the anole.  In fact, there are two species of anoles here in the “Sunshine State”.  The native species (Anolis carolinensis) is commonly known as the Green anole even though it too may be brownish in some habitats.

Green anoles (archival shot)

     The species we came across this morning and watched for some time is Anolis sagrei or the “Brown anole”.  Locals refer to this lizard as the Cuban anole as it is native to that island country and has been introduced and now reproduces and spreads quickly.  The anole is distinguished from the more common native species by its darker color and more aggressive behavior.  This anole has slowly been extending its territory into the same areas as his green native counterparts and may possibly pose a threat to the native anole’s existence.  Young anoles are a part of this invasive species’ diet as well as dining on many of the same insects, spiders and other invertebrates that the native species does.  (To be perfectly honest, however, Green anoles will also prey upon young browns)

Intruding Brown anole

       Fiercely territorial,  it will go through a series of threatening displays including rising up on all fours, turning green, widely opening its mouth and extending a reddish flap known as as a “dewlap” found beneath its chin.  The anole we watched today was engaged with a second Cuban lizard and was holding its own territory primarily through this last display.  Every time the second anole would get near the first, that dewlap came flying out.  The second seemed to know the signal well, and backed off in haste. 

Territorial display of the Brown anole

       We remained at the park for about a half an hour and the anole was still in exactly the same position on the same skinny sapling truck for the entire time.  Once again, even when the birds are not doing anything out of the ordinary and no “special” avian sightings are recorded, there always seems be something going on to draw our attention.  Well, the time to had west is drawing nigh, so we’ll leave the invasive anole to his territory and hope that he does not do too much damage to his native green cousins here in Florida.

Day 116: April 25th – Great southern whites

Sunny, high 70s, light south winds

       To be perfectly honest, today did not start out to be a quest for butterflies.  Once again, reports from birding friends on the web had spurred us on to look for and hopefully photograph the second tanager of the year, the Scarlet tanager.  The bird had been seen a couple of days ago down at Canaveral National Seashore at a location known as El Dora Road.  So with binoculars and cameras in hand, off we went.

       As we hiked along the dirt road down to the El Dora Statehouse, we encountered many a red bird.  Scarlet tanagers are red, so one would think this might be a good thing.  Unfortunately for us today, Northern cardinals are also red, and virtually every other bird we observed on our trek was this alternate bird.  The others were all basically Carolina wrens.  The chorus of both bird species singing their little four chambered hearts out was beautiful, but did nothing towards rewarding us with the target species.  At the trail’s end, we did come upon a fine perched Osprey, so I grabbed a quick shot, not knowing if this would end up being the shot  of the day or not.

       We finished out walk around the looping trail and climbed back into the VW to head out for a second site we figured might produce some migrating warblers, since our quest for the tanager seemed to be for naught.  As we slowly drove out of El Dora, we heard the monotonous refrain of the Red-eyed vireo.  Figured we stop to take a look and were suddenly thrilled to have a glimpse of the tanager!  I pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the birds to get into a better position for the hoped-for photo-op.  We had substantial confirming looks at both sexes of the Scarlet, but they remained too far distant to grant us the picture we wanted.  Maybe next time.

       We continued back to the Indian River Lagoon Preserve where we quickly came upon a Black-throated blue warbler.  This was the first we had located at the preserve and were anxious to see what else the site had to offer as we continued along the path.  One additional warbler, the Palm, was all that was to appear.

Common buckeye

       But, we did get butterflies.  A few Common buckeyes and a myriad of Great southern whites.  Where have all these butterflies come from.  Driving on Saxon Drive en route to the preserve, it looked like a Florida snow storm with literally thousands of these white gems sailing through the air.  It looked as if every flowering bush was hosting 20 – 30 Great whites and we were amazed at how many could have appeared over a period of several days.  These butterflies only live for around 5 – 8 days, and I wonder if their numbers will diminish as rapidly as they have swelled.  Only time will tell.

Great southern whites (males)

       We did come upon one more bird while at the preserve…..the Blue-gray gnatcatcher.  While preferring cicadas and aphids as their main diet, they will feed readily on butterflies, so this must have looked like the lepidopteran version of the Golden Corral to the bird.  Several of the butterflies did in fact show signs of predation with wings partly missing as evidence of a narrow escape. 

       I'm sure that many of these birds will be as interested as we are in seeing how long the butterfly boom lasts as 

Day 115: April 24th – Better late than never

Sunny, but cool (66) and breezy

       Not quite as windy as yesterday, but at 7:00 AM when we left for our final visit to Merritt Island the temperature was a balmy 55 degrees.  We decided to forego the shorts and short-sleeved shirts and headed out dressed for winter.  After three months of warm Florida sunshine, this weather was alien to us, but we did manage to push on.

       The plan today is to concentrate on the woodlands of the refuge.  We’ve pretty well checked off most of the waders, shorebirds, ducks and other water birds, so we hope that we’ll finally be able to find some migrating warblers.  If you’ve been following this blog, you know that these little beauties have been hard to find this year.  We began in the Oak Hammock Trail and arrived to the song of the Northern parula.  This has been the most common warbler of the winter, but it is such a handsome bird that we never get tired of seeing it.  Starting off the hike with a sighting of a warbler gave us hope, besides.

       False hope, as it turned out.  We hiked the entire trail and never got another warbler.  Well, I said, “let’s head over to the visitor’s center and maybe we’ll find some birds there”.  Eureka!  Find them we did.  Finally the warblers were present in decent numbers.  The new species found along the boardwalk in the woodlands included the Cape May, Black and White, Blackpoll, Prairie, Redstart, Palm, and Yellowlegs.  Several Carolina wrens entertained us with their song as we searched the canopy for the warblers.  Why is that they always seem to be located right in front of the blazing sun? 

       Also along the trail,  a fellow birder pointed out a nearby nest of a White-eyed vireo.  The nest was no more than 2 feet off the ground and 2feet from the boardwalk.  The bird paid little attention to us as it continued to bring in new material and then pack it down into cup-shaped nest.  My flash did nothing to deter or frighten the bird, so I managed to get a number of decent images.

       Back at the Visitor’s Center feeders, we also found another First of the Year bird, the Rose-breasted grosbeak.  I generally count on finding his bird at my backyard feeders during the weekend of the Kentucky Derby.  This is definitely the earliest I’ve ever seen this striking bird.

       Sharon’s brother Jim and his wife Joanie are flying in to Florida this afternoon, and I’ll want to be back to greet them.  So, after a very rewarding morning of easy birding, we head back north to our condo in New Smyrna.  The warblers have finally arrived…..better late than never!

Day 114: April 23 – An Unexpected Visitor

Cooler with sunny skies and strong North winds

       It’s clear morning, but the 20 – 30 mph winds make it feel like one of the coldest days of the year.  I spent some time over at the Bird Island, which I have alluded to in previous postings and watched the various species continue to build their nests.  Pelicans and Great egrets  were bringing in grasses and twigs to their mates who promptly placed the material into its most functional position.  The males would then head out for another bundle while the female waited patiently by.  It’s always so enjoyable to see the birds cooperate with one another and tolerate the other species that are crowded onto the island.  The Cattle egrets were busy as well, but I did not see any of this species bringing material onto the island.  Could they already have their nests prepared and ready to go?

       As interesting as the nest building activity was, the story of the day goes to an unexpected visitor who showed up in front of our ocean-side condo last night.  The Reddish egret is a bird much more comfortable in salty shallows of bays and tidal pools.  Ten days ago, we visited a sandbar in the middle Ponce Inlet and found a Reddish egret fishing in the calm shallow water of a small pool left behind by the retreating tide.  This is what we expect from the reddish.

       Last evening, however, I noticed an egret hunting in the surf.  Snowy egrets do this all the time, and in the waning light of the day, I at first assumed that the bird I saw in the surf was indeed another snowy.  The problem was, this bird seemed quite dark.  Snowy egrets are pure white!  Upon closer examination with the scope, I found that this was a Reddish egret. 

       Wading in the surf and behaving as reddish egrets do with their prancing, bouncing, hooding techniques, this was the first of its species I had ever seen in the surf of the ocean.  The light yellowish eyes lead me to believe that this is a juvenile bird.  Perhaps he hasn’t yet been told that reddish egrets don’t hunt in the surf.  I guess he didn’t read the field guides.  Kevin Kaufman’s most excellent resource, Lives of North American Birds, describes the habitat of the Reddish egret as follows.  “Does most feeding in calm shallow waters along coast, in protected bays and estuaries.”  This bird is definitely a “cut of a different cloth”.  Regardless, it was great to see this bird exploring new territory.  Hopefully, he will return in the near future.

Day 113: April 22 – Lake Ashby Rainy Day Birding

Overcast with periods of showers, low 70s

       We continued our quest for migrating warblers with continued lack success.  The day began with threatening weather, but the forecast was for widely scattered showers and later clearing skies.  Well, Mother Nature scattered a few of those downpours right in our direction.  The first came as we walked down the dirt trail towards the lake shore.  It started with a few drops here and there and ended with a whole slew of ‘em dropping on our heads.  I gloated about the fact that I was the only one to bring raingear in by daypack and managed to keep myself and my gear relatively dry. 

       We waited out the rain under the cover of the picnic pavilion and entertained ourselves with a visit from the Carolina chickadee which flew right under the pavilion roof.  Too dark and too quick to get off a decent shot, but nonetheless, he was a welcome sight.

       Once the rain subsided, we ventured back outside and found our one and only warbler species of the day…..the Northern parula.  The parula has been our mainstay as far as warbler sightings go since the Palm and Yellow-rumped warblers headed north last month.  The parulas are wonderful to look at and let you know where to look with their distinctive song.

       Finally out to the lake and the boardwalk.  The weather finally looked like it was beginning to clear as we had sightings of a Little blue heron and a pair of Black vultures. 

       Still, we wanted new warbler species and didn’t tarry here on the water.  Once in the woods, things started to pick up as the bird song was constant.  Tufted titmice, a Red-eyed vireo (first-of-the-year),  several more parulas, and a Pileated woodpecker had us hoping for more birds and the warblers we were looking for.  Suddenly, the rains returned and after a brief soaking, the songs had subsided. 

       As we walked back towards the parking lot, we did find a pretty Ebony jewelwing damselfly to photograph. 

       We are still left wondering, “Where the heck are all the warblers?”  Hopefully, we’ll find that they have all beat a hasty retreat back up to New York and are awaiting our arrival there in less than two weeks.  We can only hope!

Day 112: April 21 – No Free Lunch

A cool overcast morning on New Smyrna Beach

Last night's storm

     Last night’s storms have pushed the tides up higher than normal, and that means more sea grass on the beach to provide extra tidbits for the shorebirds.  I watched as one of the most diligent hunters on the beach, the Ruddy turnstone, waded through the mounds of grass, picking through the strands, flipping sand out of the way, and turning over shells to see if there was anything tasty lying underneath.  He was working hard, but the fruits of his labor were plenty.

       Some other shorebirds like the Black-bellied plovers and the Sanderlings were likewise applying considerable effort to find their Saturday breakfast.  But…..there were those who decided that they could allow some other living being to provide for them.  A group of several fishermen had set up their tackle at water’s edge and were attentive to their set-ups, waiting for that tell-tale dip of the rod tips.  Another group of “fishermen” or more appropriately “fisher-birds” had also set up camp in the same location.  A group of 5 Snowy egrets had decided that it might be easier to simply wait for a human angler to discard a used piece of bait or an undersized fish which bit on the hook to supply their needs.  

       As fishers, they were certainly patient, and finally a small bait-fish was tossed aside and quickly scooped up by the fastest and most alert of the snows.

       Now the other egrets were ready to put forth some effort….not to catch their own prize, but to usurp the “catch” of the first bird.  They swarmed upon him, badgering him to relinquish his meal.

       He bobbed and he weaved.  He flew a short distance, keeping his body between the other egrets and his fish.

       At last, when he had a moment’s peace, he maneuvered the fish into the necessary head first position and gulped it down with great relish.  The other birds simply turned away and returned to their posts, awaiting another hand-out from the fishermen.  The one Snowy had indeed gotten his lunch, but even though he didn’t need to work to catch it, he certainly had to expend some energy to keep it.  And so as the saying goes, “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch”.

Day 111: April 20th – Mammal, Bird, Reptile, and Insect

Unsettled, 90 degrees, and calm

       We were on the way back to New Smyrna Beach with several members of the Halifax River Audubon Society and decided to stop at the Circle B Bar Range Preserve in Lakeland, Florida.  It was a hot morning, but there was no threat of the rain that was to arrive later in the day.  Once again, we were hoping for warblers, a group of birds which has thus far basically eluded us this spring.  Where have they been?   Well, they have not been at the Circle B, as we were to find out.

Bobolinks

       All the same we did have some interesting sightings during the course of the day.  We observed individuals from the animal classes of mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects, and so I decided to make today’s blog a presentation of photographs of individuals of each of these classes.  The point of today’s blog is to show the reader that when we go out “birding”, we have so much available for us to see, study, photograph and learn about.  Every day in the field is like the most enjoyable class you’ve ever taken.  Your textbook is your field guide, your teacher(s) are your fellow birders, and your classroom is the most enriching environment you could ever imagine.

       First up, as you might have guessed, are the birds.  The top bird of the day was probably the Bobolink.  We did not expect to find these birds and they were in fact “First-of-the-year” birds.  Even though these are probably the most interesting birds of the day, the glamour bird of the day goes to the Purple gallinule, a not-so-common bird of the Florida wetlands which simply seems to “glow”. 

       As we walked down the shaded trail along a dike of the impoundments of the preserve, we were treated to another sight not seen every day by visitors to the field.  We first saw a River Otter scamper across the trail and disappear into the brush.  We figured we had been treated to a quick glimpse of the mammal and were pleased to have had that opportunity.  Suddenly, out he came and trotted right down the trail directly towards us!  Camera shutters sounded like machine-gun fire.  The critter stayed visable for at least 15 seconds, and we all got nice looks and better than average shots.  What a treat.

       Not too much further along the trail, we found a 5 foot alligator sunning itself on a log in the marshy ground adjacent to the path.  Gators are about as easy to photograph as you can get as they just don’t move around much.  You can find a gator, photograph it, come back in an hour or two, photograph it again, and you’d never now there was any time lapse between the pictures.

       When we were not looking at all these larger creatures, we were blessed with the beauty of the various butterflies that were almost always present.  This is  a Black swallowtail we found at the trail head.  

       So, get the picture?  Finding great birds is always a treat, but even when the birding is slow, there is more than enough beyond the avian species to stimulate the senses.  In the words of an old commercial, “Try it….you’ll like it!”

Day 110: April 19th – One good tern deserves another

Overcast and threatening, stiff south-westerly wind, mid 70s

       We keep telling ourselves that each day here at Fort DeSoto will be the day of the great warbler “fallout” when all the conditions will prevail which will bring in many, many migrating birds.  We head out to the park, again with great expectations.  Once again, our hopes are dashed as we can find one lonely new species (lovely as it is)….the Blackpoll warbler.

        Leader Chuck found the warbler in a flowering Seagrape, the nectar of  which attracts insects upon which the warbler can dine.  Whether it is the good number of predators feeding on the warblers (like Yellow-crowned night-herons……) the drought, the warm winter, or something else, the warblers simply cannot be found here at DeSoto on our watch.

     What were did have the pleasure of witnessing was a nuptial ritual between two Royal terns.  It began with a dance of sorts as the two terns nuzzled one another, paraded side by side up and down the beach, and actually danced in circles around one another.  It appeared that this couple was a match made in heaven.

The "Dance"

      Next came the offering of the ring.  If you are a tern, the ring comes in the form of a fish.  This tern came up with what appeared to be a herring of considerable size considering that the tern is not an overly large bird.  He tried and tried to get her to take his “proposal”, but she continued to ignore his offering.

"The Gift" 

       What next?  Competition from another suitor!  A new male barged upon the scene with his alternative offering……a fine shrimp.  Still, when compared to the original male’s fish, the shrimp seemed to live up to its name.  How could she accept such a meager gift when the first male had been working so hard and had produced such an obviously superior gift?

Competition

       In no time, the second suitor realized the folly of his ways and flew off with his shrimp in search of another prospective bride.  Sorry to relate the final outcome or at least as much as we could see.  The female eventually crushed the hopes and desires of the attentive male by simply flying off.  All for naught!

       Two other sightings made the day complete.  A really nice look at a merlin perched high in a tree was at first in such a position as to make photographing the bird difficult.  With just a little maneuvering, however, we were able to get into better lighting conditions and came away with a more than satisfactory photo.

       Finally, at the day’s end, we came across two Yellow-crowned night-herons preparing to build their nest.  They were spending more time displaying to one another than they were actually working on their new home, so when (or if) it will be completed and put into use is another question. 

       One more fraction of a day to see if we can come up with our target for this trip….warblers.  Wish us luck!