Tuesday, October 21: Flint Pen Strand
Just when autumn was getting started, summer returned. At 11 AM when I left, the temperature was just under 85º and the humidity was 100%, combined to create a feels-like temperature of 103º.
Although it was sticky hot, it was still a great day for wildlife. In addition to 45 species of birds identified, one new insect and one new gastropod were identified and added to the CREW wildlife management area list.
Among the nicest bird sightings were the American Bittern at the left which was along the ridge in the middle of the marsh, a female Northern Harrier that flew north across the marsh, a Marsh Wren in the reeds and cattails between the lakes, the return of a Pied-billed Grebe in the east lake, Roseate Spoonbills, and a flock of 22 Blue-winged Teal.
Tom and Sue added a Bobolink to the list.
The most often seen birds were Boat-tailed and Common Grackles, the Blue-winged Teal, 16 Palm Warblers, 12 Little Blue Herons, and 11 each of Northern Mockingbirds and Great Egrets.
The new insect for the area was the Bright-lined Galerucine (Neolochmaea dilatipennis) at the lower right. It's one of the skeletonizing leaf beetles.
Although it's been observed before, one of the more colorful insects was the Blue-green Citrus Weevil at the upper right. If the Muppets' Gonzo had been an insect, that's what he probably would have looked like.
The new snail was a Red-rimmed Melania (Melaneides tuberculata), a fresh water snail. A small number of the shells were at the water's edge at the southeast corner of the west lake.
Only nine species of butterflies and moths were seen. Thirty-six Gulf Fritillaries were the most common and accounted for half the total number of butterflies and moths. The most interesting one was another male Melonworm Moth with its anal brush flicking back and forth.
Ten species of dragonflies and damselflies were accounted for. Halloween Pennants far outnumbered any of the other species with 109 individuals tallied. Band-winged Dragonlets were next with 75 individuals, and the it really dropped to 13 Rambur's Forktails.
Herps were almost non-existent. Only two gators were spotted, one in each lake. One Oak Toad was in the trail north of the marsh, and one juvenile Banded Water Snake swam across Dip #1 on Poorman's Pass and disappeared into the flooded pines to the east.
Thursday, October 23: Immokalee
It must have been family day because bird families and pairs seemed to be everywhere. Two Sandhill Crane families were in different spots: two parents and one juvenile. Each of the juveniles was almost the same height as the females but they still lacked the bright red on the heads.
The morning began with three Limpkins foraging together in tall grasses near the individual campground. If one was a juvenile and the other two its parents, it wasn't visible.
But three Limpkins together almost has to be another family.
The Loggerhead Shrikes at the left flew together and landed on the same perches, so they are probably a pair.
And lots of Little Blue Herons were mixed adults and white juveniles. But they were present in such large numbers that it wasn't possible to match adults with specific juveniles.
Most of the 22 Little Blue Herons and all of the 17 Tricolored Herons were flying out from their nighttime roosts along the edges of Lake Trafford. Most passed over the observation platform and headed into the preserve.
Cattle Egrets, White Ibis, Great Egrets, and Anhingas were also roosting there in large numbers. The Cattle Egrets scattered as they left the roost with some heading farther into the preserve while others took off to the south over Lake Trafford.
Nice birds to start the day were one of the adult Bald Eagles on its regular perch overlooking the individual campground and a Least Bittern below the observation platform. Two Wild Turkeys walked through the taller grasses by the campground.
Winter birds back in increasing numbers included 10 Eastern Phoebes and eight Palm Warblers. In addition to checking the pastures along the road through the preserve, I also hiked the Panther Pass trail which winds through pines, oaks, and cypress to see of any of the winter warblers were in the more forested areas. Unfortunately, the only birds identified in there were Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Great-crested Flycatchers, and Red-bellied, Downy, and Pileated Woodpeckers. Warblers were only seen along the road. In addition to the Palm Warblers, several Common Yellowthroats were in the vegetation around the flooded swales.
Field M had been mowed for the sunflower viewing, so I didn't stop there to look for insects. The flowering ground covers will have to grow back before the insects return in any numbers. Consequently, the only butterflies were Queens and Monarchs that were attracted to the Asclepias and some White Peacocks in the swales. Lots of sunflowers are still blooming, but they aren't nearly as dense as they were before. One insect that was new in Flint Pen Strand on Tuesday was also present in Pepper Ranch on one of the sunflowers -- the Bright-lined Galerucine (Neolochmaea dilatipennis) leaf beetle.
But there were 38 species of birds. As always, Cattle Egrets were abundant with an estimated 228 individuals counted. After the Cattle Egrets, the most often seen were 94 White Ibis, 81 Boat-tailed Grackles, 22 Little Blue Herons, 17 Tricolored Herons, 17 Anhingas, 15 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, 14 Red-bellied Woodpeckers, 15 Turkey Vultures, and 12 Gray Catbirds. All of the whistling ducks were in one flock that circled over marsh B early in the morning and then flew north.
The only other birds at marsh B were Anhingas, Eastern Phoebes, a Great Egret, Little Blue Herons, and the Belted Kingfisher at the right. The other Belted Kingfisher was foraging over the shallow waters at the edges of Lake Trafford west of the observation platform.
Raptors were just the Bald Eagle, an Osprey, and a half dozen Red-shouldered Hawks. Two of the hawks were paired up and sharing the same snag.
I did see two Crested Caracara and several Roseate Spoonbills, but they weren't in the preserve and so weren't included in the tally.
My yard
Most of the interesting wildlife activity in the yard this week was at night.
The juvenile female Black Bear was here Friday night. She appeared totally comfortable as she crept across the side yard snarfing up peanuts on her way. When she reached the end of the line of peanuts, she got up and wandered into the back yard where there were still some berries on Saw Palmetto plants. She was here again Thursday morning.
While it's always special to capture big mammals like bears, bobcats, and panthers on the trail cameras, my favorite mammals are the Virginia Opossums and Southern Flying Squirrels. Raccoons are the small animal bullies and usually chase other species away. But one of the larger two largest Opossums wasn't playing that game and let a Raccoon know that it not only was it not intimidated, but it could be the intimidator. You go, opossum!
The Opossum could be the intimidator when it came to Raccoons, but it wisely yielded when something larger came by. The Bobcat was back on both Saturday and Monday nights. It really gives the Southern Flying Squirrels a good look but is on the prowl for anything else small and tasty.
Early Wednesday morning, a Gray Fox showed up. It's been over a year since foxes denned in the yard and raised two young. This one appeared to be a female, but there's no way to tell if it was one of last year's adults, one of the young foxes now grown up, or a new one altogether. Regardless, it was really nice to see a fox again.