Tuesday, March 2
Weather separated the day neatly into two halves. The morning half began chilly and windy, and then there was some genuinely serious rain with water at the two gauges rising about 3/4 inch from just the morning downpour. The afternoon half of the day was very pleasant with partly sunny, warm, and breezy. There were only about 10 visitors in the morning before the rain, but the boardwalk had a steady stream of people in the afternoon.
Birds were aware of the differences too. Other than one nice mixed pocket of warblers, titmice, and gnatcatchers along the shortcut trail in the morning before the rain, most birds stayed quiet and low as the cold front approached. In the afternoon after the rain passed, the birds came out to feed.
Male and female Painted Buntings were at the Bunting House feeders. The female at the top was the first to come and ate before the males came and chased her away. The Cardinal and Ovenbird at the far left were regulars under the feeder, and two Indigo Buntings were there off and on. One of the Indigo Buntings was a plainly colored female while the other at the near left was a rather ragged looking male that was molting into its more colorful plumage.
Most of the small birds at the feeder left in mid to late afternoon when a horde of cowbirds flew in. Most were female Brown-headed Cowbirds, but one male Shiny Cowbird showed up. Even the Common Grackles and Mourning Doves moved out when the massive swarm of cowbirds lit.
One Gray Squirrel seemed to enjoy running full speed at the cowbirds and watching them scatter. Then it would walk back out and eat some seed. When the cowbirds returned, it would pause, and then run through the flock, once again sending it airborne.
There were very few wading birds in the morning or the afternoon. One Black-crowned Night Heron was at the south end of the north lake. Elsewhere in the north lake, a pair of Little Blue Herons were regulars, four White Ibis showed up in the afternoon, and one Great Egret was along the edges. Anhingas were in the trees at both lakes, but they didn't go into the water as much as usual.
One bird that didn't seem to mind going into the water was a Red-shouldered Hawk, one of the pair nesting between the lakes. We watched in go in behind the Stevens Gauge, grab a large Apple Snail, and fly directly to the nest. So there are probably young in the nest and the parents are taking whatever food they can find.
Earlier, one of the hawks alternated spreading its wings and tail while standing on a snag near the Moonvine sign, right, and flying in a short loop before returning to the snag, apparently to try and dry out after the morning rain.
Other nice avian sightings were one of the Brown-headed Nuthatches feeding in a pine along the exit trail, near the snag where a pair nested in previous years, and a Prairie Warbler made a brief appearance along the shortcut trail before the morning rain.
The small three foot gator came out in the afternoon in the same spot it occupied last week, just past the beginning of the observation platform spur. One Water Moccasin was spotted in the late afternoon. The big gator at the north lake was way in the back behind the island and not really visible unless one knelt on the boardwalk by the Stevens Gauge and looked through binocs through a small gap in the vegetation.
Friday, March 5
Mornings are still unseasonably cool -- today began in the upper 30's at the Bunting House thermometer -- but it was sunny and as soon as the insects warmed up and began moving, the small insect eaters became active.
The Yellow-throated Warbler at the left was at the south lake and seemed to be having quite a bit of success visiting the bases of all of the Tillandsia on a Pop Ash. It took me almost ten tries to finally get one of the front side that wasn't silhouetted or blurred by the warbler's movements, or wasn't just of a branch that the bird had left just before I snapped the shot. But it's such an attractive little bird that the wait was worth it.
Black-and-white Warblers, Northern Parulas, and Palm Warblers were the most numerous of the warblers, although Carolina Wrens and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers outnumbered all of them. Painted and Indigo Buntings were at the Bunting House feeders. At one time, two male and one female Painted Bunting and one female Indigo Bunting were all feeding at the tube feeder at the same time.
One Raccoon was scrounging below the feeder. Its behavior suggested that it was a veteran of bird feeders. When I reeled in the tube feeder to fill it, the thistle feeder hung a little low and the Raccoon walked right up to the boardwalk where we all were standing, stood on its hind legs, and tried to reach up and grab the thistle feeder. One of the visitors pulled a little on the rope so the feeder was just out of its reach. Then it walked over to the boardwalk, but its front two paws on the boardwalk and peered up as if wondering when we were going to feed it. Someone in the Corkscrew neighborhood has been teaching it bad habits! However, it didn't get any food from us, so after being sure we weren't going to change our minds, it went back to foraging for seeds that the birds had dropped.
The last of the second grade Insect Adventures was in the morning. Before the kids came, we did one partial short loop. One of the better sightings was near the Tillandsia sign. A Swallow-tailed Kite flew over the trees and grabbed a small piece of Spanish Moss, circled once, and then landed on top of a Tillandsia near the top of a Pond Cypress. It stood there for quite a while, looking around. In the photo at the near right, its body is facing to the left but its head is turned and looking back. Other kites seen during the day were all in the air.
Anhingas, Eastern Phoebes, and Great-crested Flycatchers were the most active birds at the lakes, especially the north lake. The few bent over Alligator Flag stalks in the middle of the lake made excellent perches for the phoebes; the flycatchers preferred low hanging branches over the lake.
Visitors reported seeing an adult Bald Eagle in the air over the south end of the wet prairie, but none of the volunteers saw it. Several birds were calling but not seen, notably Sand Hill Cranes, Barred Owls, and Belted Kingfishers. If the owls are nesting somewhere, they should have chicks in the nest that will fledge in another three to four weeks. Hopefully, we may be able to get visuals on them at that time.
One Great Egret along the shortcut trail in the late afternoon was a true contortionist while preening, left. It's amazing how the bones in its neck allow it to twist in so many directions at the same time. Other than Little Blue Herons, one Black-crowned Night Heron, and this Great Egret, there weren't any wading birds in the lakes. Even ibis are scarce.
The lack of wading birds has been noticeable but understandable. Normally, water levels would be going down in March and the birds would be gathering near the lakes to eat the concentrated pockets of fish trapped in the receding water. But this year with the February and March rains, the water is instead rising. On March 1 the level at the Stevens Gauge was almost four inches higher than on February 1. Nevertheless, visitation has been good, topping 700 per day for most of the days this week, and that isn't counting the school groups.
Herps have been really rare with the cold temperatures, especially toward the end of the week. The observation platform spur's three foot gator wasn't out on Friday, but one six footer was just past the stork gate at the north lake. One Red-bellied Turtle was up at the north lake and that was about it. The only frog reported was an unknown species that was half consumed by a Red-shouldered Hawk when it was spotted.
Previous two weeks: February 19 & February 26
