April 4-10.
Wednesday, April 8: CREW Marsh Trails
There might be chicks in some or all of the Swallow-tailed Kite nests, but there was no indication at any of the three nests this morning. But the number of kites increased over last week.
Eight kites were perched in two pine snags and one live
pine during a stop at this season's nighttime roost along the south blue
trail. 
They
were just beginning to rouse for the morning and were doing lots of stretching
and preening to get the feathers in order before leaving to forage and
bring food to the kites in the nests.
One of the roost kites also disgorged the inedible parts of some previous meals before continuing its morning preparations.
The
kite in the nest photo was sitting peacefully, paused for a large yawn,
and then resumed sitting quietly.
A pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers has a nest hole in a snag near one of the kite nests. The two were vocal as they moved about the area. The one in the photo posed nicely where its red belly was actually visible.
The trip to the marsh trails was only to check on the kite nests, so not a lot of time was spent on the trails looking for anything else.
Consequently, only 16 species of birds were identified. None of the species were unexpected although it was nice to see a bright Prairie Warbler toward the end of the walk. The only wading birds were one Great Egret in the marsh near the trail head and two Little Blue Herons flew over, and the Prairie Warbler was the only warbler seen or heard.
Fewer of the winter birds are still here. No Eastern Phoebes, Yellow-rumped Warblers, or Palm Warblers have been observed during the last two visits to the marsh trails.
The weather changed almost minute to minute. It was totally cloudy, then there was blue sky, then it clouded up again and a light, misty rain fell. There was a stiff breeze, and then there wasn't. Then the sun shone through the clouds and everything brightened up again.
During the cloudy, wet periods, Squirrel Treefrogs called. Insects were scarce with just two species of butterflies and two species of dragonflies identified. Brown Anoles were the only other herps.
Blooming wildflowers provided lots of color. Black-eyed Susans, Hawksbeard, Sneezeweed, and Tickseed provided yellows; Orange Milkworts added orange; Grass Pink Orchids, Pale Meadow Beauties provided pinks; two species of Ruellia -- Mexican Bluebells and Wild Petunias -- were showy purple blooms; Butterflyweed was red; and blues came from Blue-eyed Grass.
Several little spider species were lying in wait on some of the yellow blooms. The tiny, greenish Swift Crab Spiders were the most common. Usually they lurk at the edge of the bloom' center and one of the petals and wait for prey to show up for the nectar. One of the spiders was apparently a little camera shy and slipped under the petal to hide when I tried to get a close-up.
One new species was discovered for the CREW WMA list. The Peppered Jumping Spider (Pelegrina galethea) at the left was on a petal of a Black-eyes Susan. It stayed put for its photo.
Hopefully nest week will bring sightings of baby Swallow-tailed Kites. It's about a week after they hatch that they will first be heard and possibly seen over the edge of the nest. The male kite will be bringing food to the female on the nest and she will feed the chicks.
Friday,
April 10: Pepper Ranch Preserve
Some of this year's hatchlings were out and about, but there wasn't an indication that the Swallow-tailed Kite eggs had hatched yet. I watched one nest for just over 40 minutes hoping to see a sign of chicks. One kite was prone in the nest and a little restless, turning its head and looking around. Its mate flew over and called three different times, but it didn't land.
If it had landed at the nest and brought food for the one in the nest, then there would be chicks. If it landed and the two traded places, they would still be incubating eggs. But neither happened. Perhaps next week will be better.
If there was a positive side to the watching, it was discovering
a Red-shouldered Hawk nest a short distance away, and it did have one or
possibly two chicks. An adult flew in with food and stood on the edge of
the nest, 
but it wasn't possible to find an angle to see how many chicks
were there.
Three families of Sandhill Cranes, each with two colts, foraged in different meadows and pastures. The colts are getting larger and following the adults closely.
Another
family outing was a family of Loggerhead Shrikes. The fledgling stayed
close to its parents and was still getting fed, but the adults would then
leave and fly to a perch to forage, forcing the youngster to follow and
hopefully learn how to get its own food.
The pair of Crested Caracaras were at their nest area, but they are very cautious not to be on the nest when there's any sort of disturbance (like people) around. Even though I parked a fair distance from their nest tree and walked through a pasture at a safe distance, the one on the nest quickly flew to a nearby palm and watched. The second Crested Caracara was in another palm on the other side of the nest tree. They don't seem very serious about that nest, so I'm not sure there is anything in there.
A total of 38 species of birds was identified. After Cattle Egrets, the most seen were 17 Sandhill Cranes. The three families accounted for 12 of those. Two more had adult plumage but appeared smaller, so they may be juveniles from the previous year. The other three were individuals walking through the pastures.
After the cranes, the most commonly found were Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Northern Cardinals. Most of those were in the wooded areas during the trek to the Swallow-tailed Kite nest.
Some nice early morning birds along the path to the Lake Trafford observation platform were Purple Gallinules, Common Gallinules, Northern Parula warblers, a Northern Waterthrush, a Pine Warbler, a Green Heron, and Carolina Wrens. The Limpkin in the photo was at Marsh B along with a Great Blue Heron, Anhingas, a Black-crowned Night Heron, more Common Gallinules, and a Tricolored Heron. A Belted Kingfisher was on the power line above the marsh.
Insects and mammals were uncommon but there was a nice variety of herps. Those included Alligators, Brown Anoles, Pig Frogs, Florida Cricket Frogs, a Squirrel Treefrog, and five Red-bellied Turtles.
My yard
The time ought to be soon to see a juvenile Eastern Screech Owl peeking out of the owl box, but so far, only an adult has been in the opening. I check each time I got out to change batteries or SD cards in any of the trail cameras and the owls seem to have adjusted to seeing me beneath their tree, although they don't look very happy about it in the photos.
Night time critters are still the regulars. It would be really nice if the Raccoons would go somewhere else so just the Southern Flying Squirrels and Virginia Opossums could enjoy the night. On Sunday, a Bobcat wandered through and stopped for a drink of water, but as soon as it had left, the Raccoons emerged from the palmettos.
All nine of the Painted Buntings are still at the feeders. The males are still here but should be on their way north any time now.