Tuesday, December 23: Flint Pen Strand - lakes & marsh
What began as a rather quiet and slow morning did pick up once the sun was up and temperatures warmed. Still, only three species of butterflies (Gulf Fritillary, White Peacock, Orange-barred Sulphur) and four species of dragonflies (Eastern Pondhawk, Band-winged Dragonlet, Four-spotted Skimmer, Scarlet Skimmer) were seen, and only one each of the dragonflies and nine each of the Fritillaries and Peacocks. Only two gators were seen, both in the lakes.
It was slightly better with birds with 37 species identified. But other than Tree Swallows, Boat-tailed Grackles, and Palm Warblers, none of the bird species were very common either. The only other species with double-digit numbers was 10 Killdeer.
Notable bird absentees were Eastern Phoebes, Double-crested Cormorants, Anhingas, Mourning and Common Ground Doves, and Fish Crows.
Nice sightings included a pair of Wilson's Snipe, two Least Sandpipers, four Swamp Sparrows, and both Carolina and House Wrens.
The highlights of the day were the Northern Harrier and the American Killdeer at the left. Both were in the northern part of the marsh beyond the two little cypress domes.
The harrier circled overhead several times before heading west and out of sight while the kestrel stayed in the area for most of the morning. At one time while trying to get shots of the harrier, the kestrel appeared. I wasn't aware of it at the time and only spotted the two together when checking photos on the home computer.
In the photo, they appear to be circling each other, but that's the perspective from the camera. They weren't actually that close.
Other raptors were just one Red-shouldered Hawk and one Osprey.
Wading birds were a pair of Limpkins, a half dozen each of Little Blue and Tricolored Herons, a pair of Green Herons, four each of Great and Snowy Egrets, and three Great Blue Herons. Three White Ibis and two Glossy Ibis rounded out the group. No Roseate Spoonbills or Wood Storks today.
The only warblers were the Palms, Yellow-rumps, and Common Yellowthroats.
Thursday, December 25: Flint Pen Strand - red & south yellow trails
The lakes and marsh are my usual haunts, but it was a nice morning and the red and south yellow trails were calling my name. Plus, being Christmas morning, there was no traffic to speak of on Immokalee Road. That alone was reason enough to go out.
It actually turned out to be a better morning for birds than I expected with 37 species identified. The morning began a little chilly with the temperature at 49º when I first arrived. A bonus for that was that little birds were waiting for the sun to rise and warm things up before they stirred, so I was on the trails in time to catch them.
Tops among those were three Brown-headed Nuthatches beginning to stir near the start of the red trail loop. More early birds were American Robins, Tufted Titmice, a House Wren, Catbirds, and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.
It was also a good morning for woodpeckers with 25 Red-bellied Woodpeckers, 8 Red-headed Woodpeckers, 2 Northern Flickers, and a Downy Woodpecker counted on the initial portion of the red trail.
The yellow trail was the spot for Yellow-rumped Warblers with 33 counted. There were assuredly more, but they were in dense low vegetation and all of the movement was visible but it wasn't possible to positively count all of them.
The yellow trail was also the site of a mass invasion of Tree Swallows. At first, just a few dozen appeared, but as they continued to circle over the prairies, their numbers continued to grow. I just marked them as 1,000 individuals, but that was a considerable under count. The photo below shows part of the flight; there were equal numbers of swallows on either side of the group in the photo.
A Northern Harrier was gliding low over the prairie, well beneath the swallows. It, an Osprey, and Red-shouldered Hawks were the only raptors.
Wading and water-related birds appeared as the yellow trail reached the Kehl Canal. There weren't a lot of any individual species, but those present were Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, Snowy Egrets, the Green Heron in the photo, Double-crested Cormorants, Anhingas, and one Glossy Ibis.
The Green Heron was perched on a stump just protruding toward the center of the canal. It was stationary for quite a while before slowly dipping down, stretching its neck as far as it would go, and snagging what appears to be a caterpillar from one of the Spadderdock leaves floating in the canal.
Tree Swallows were the only species with individual numbers in quadruple digits. Birds with individual numbers in double digits in addition to those already mentioned were 15 Common Ground Doves, 11 Mourning Doves, 13 Blue Jays, 11 Northern Mockingbirds, and 10 European Starlings.
Here's the photo of part of the Tree Swallow flock.
Friday, December 26: Pepper Ranch Preserve
The Forster's Tern at the right perched on one of the old pilings below the observation platform until two more terns flew over low. In the photo, it is reacting to them coming too close. After they left, it waited a minute or two and then departed.
The family of Common Gallnules was still below the observation platform and very vocal. More gallinules were in the reeds to the west while Cattle Egrets and Double-crested Cormorants were still at their nighttime roost farther away
Anhingas, a Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, a Tricolored Heron, a Green Heron, a pair of Pied-billed Grebes, a Belted Kingfisher, and somel Common Grackles were all at marsh B early in the morning. Later in the morning, only the Tricolored Heron and a Great Egret were there.
A total of 43 bird species was present this morning. After Cattle Egrets, the most often seen were Turkey Vultures, Double-crested Cormorants, Sandhill Cranes, and Loggerhead Shrikes.
More of the pastures had been mowed, providing nice habitat for meadowlarks, but only eight of them were seen or heard today.
Warblers were just Palm, Yellow-rumped, and Common Yellowthroats and the only raptors were Red-shouldered Hawks, an Osprey, and an American Kestrel.
Even on a sunny day, insects were scarce. Only five species of butterflies were seen and only two species of dragonflies/damselflies. The two Ceraunus Blue butterflies at the left were in field M along with White Peacocks and Dorantes Longtails. That's also where the only dragonfly and damselfly species were observed -- Scarlet Skimmers and Citrine Forktails.
Herps were just two gators in Lake Trafford, a Brown Anole that ran across the road, and a moss-covered Red-bellied Turtle in a swale near the entrance.
My yard
It was a quiet week in the yard. The Southern Flying Squirrels are fewer but still there. Other regular nighttime critters showing up on the trail cameras are Virginia Opossums, Cottontail Rabbits, a pair of Raccoons, and the Bobcat. The Bobcat wandered through on Sunday and on Christmas morning but it appeared to be in transit from one place to another and the yard was just on its route.
Normally, member of the same species tend to coexist somewhat peacefully, but Tuesday a pair of Cottontail Rabbits were showing signs of hostility and aggression.The flattened ears are not a sign of courtship! It could be that they are both males trying jousting for dominance; there was enough food for each that they wouldn't be fighting over that. In the video, it almost looks as though they are slap fighting.
