Monday, June 8: Flint Pen Strand
Mornings are settling into a summer pattern in terms of heat and humidity, especially humidity. At 10 a.m., the feels-like temperature was already 90º and by the afternoon it was over 100º.
So I tried to pick a route where there was at least some intermittent shade around the lakes, marsh, and pines to the north.
One bonus was finding things that I normally don't see just walking through the marsh and around the lakes. One was the American Lotus at the right. Several were growing in the Kehl Canal between the cypress dome north of the marsh and the campground. They are really huge plants!
Another was spotting a pair of Northern Flickers in the pines north of the canal. They, Red-bellied, and Pileated were the only woodpeckers observed.
Everything was rather quiet to start the morning a little after sunrise. A pair of Purple Martins were by the nesting gourds and were joined by more later in the morning. But the Great Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, and Sandhill Cranes were not seen or heard.
Other than 10 Little Blue Herons, none of the wading birds were numerous even though the water levels were up a bit. The Little Blue Herons were split almost 50-50 between adults and the white juveniles.
Other waders were one Great Egret, one White Ibis, one Limpkin, two Green Herons, and a half dozen Snowy Egrets.
As expected, Boat-tailed Grackles easily outnumbered all of the other wildlife species. Forty-three individuals were counted and there were probably more. I got tired of counting them after a while.
Next up were 13 each of Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Northern Cardinals followed by 10 each of the Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Common Ground Doves.
It was more active with insects. Seven species of butterflies/moths were identified and eight species of dragonflies.
Included in insect observations were two brand new species for the CREW WMA list.
One was the Black-tipped Ptichodis Moth (Ptichodis vinculu) at the far right (I have no idea how to pronounce that name) and the other had an even harder to say name -- a Tachysphex terminatus wasp. I couldn't even find a common name for that one. It's in the photo to the left. However, it does seem to be one of the good insects. It hunts and preys on grasshoppers.
Mammals were just three White-tailed Deer browsing in the marsh early in the morning. Herps were Alligators, Green and Squirrel Treefrogs, Pig Frogs, and one Black Racer. Even the gators were trying to stay cool. Most were submerged in the lakes with just their eyes and snouts sticking above the water's surface.
Thursday, June 11: Pepper Ranch Preserve
Juvenile birds were foraging for themselves but still staying close to parents with the exception of a young Red-shouldered Hawk with no parents anywhere near.
The Common Gallinule at the right ought to be a little over a month old now and has grown from an ungainly hairy-looking chick into a fluffy and rather plump juvenile. It was on its own as far as finding food, but its parents were nearby beneath the Lake Trafford observation platform.
Two Wild Turkey hens had 12 juveniles clustered together on Sunflower Trace Road. The hens were off to the side while the poults were in the road. A couple were taking dust baths at first, but then they began moving around, jumping up, and flapping their wings. Here's a short video of some of the young ones as they begin to follow the hens into a pasture bordering the road.
Sandhill Crane juveniles are now almost the same height as the adults and are beginning to show some red on the tops of their heads.
One disappointment was the Swallow-tailed Kite nest. An adult was still sitting low in the nest with no indication of chicks below. I watched for a little over a half hour hoping to see something, but nothing happened.
About 15 minutes in, a group of eight adult kites flew in, calling, and circled the open area just to the west of the nest tree. But none of them was carrying food or approached the nest tree.
They stayed for about five minutes when all but one disappeared. That lone kite circled for another minute or two before it also left. It was almost as if the adult group was trying to convince the kite on the nest that it should join them.
Although strong storms with gusty winds and heavy rain passed through the area Wednesday evening, the weather missed Immokalee completely. Many of the swales and depressions that had shallow water last week were just mud today.
The two places with deep enough water to attract wading birds were Lake Trafford and Marsh B on Pepper Road.
In addition to the Common Gallinules, the Lake Trafford inlet by the observation platform also hosted a Least Bittern, Green Heron, and Tricolored Heron. Red-winged Blackbirds and Boat-tailed Grackles were in the reeds growing at the edges of the lake while Carolina Wrens, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and White-eyed Vireos sang from the trees bordering the inlet. A juvenile Northern Parula was also in the trees.
Marsh B was home to almost two dozen Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, a Great Blue Heron, more Common Gallinules, a Roseate Spoonbill, a Little Blue and a Tricolored Heron, and an Anhinga. The Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were peaceful for the most part, but one aggressive duck took a break from foraging whenever another duck got too close. It lowered its head and charged to chase away the other ducks. There was plenty of water and plenty of food, so it wasn't a feeding territory conflict. It was just a grumpy duck!
Other than a trio of Killdeer and the Least Bittern, none of the 36 species identified were unexpected. The 22 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were the most numerous followed by 16 each of Wild Turkeys and Cattle Egrets.
My yard
Big mammals took a break this week; no bears or bobcats. Raccoons were obnoxious, even chasing the Southern Flying Squirrels when the squirrels found a peanut that the Raccoons missed. But the Raccoons tolerated the Virginia Opossums which held their ground and weren't intimidated.
One new butterfly species for my yard was the Fulvous Hairstreak at the left. It was on an American Beautyberry plant by the back sun room. Zebra Longwings were plentiful around a Firebush that had burst into bloom.
The Seagrape fruit is appearing and starting to grow; however, Gray Squirrels are already eating the fruit even though it's still green.
