Monday, March 2: Flint Pen Strand

The Double-crested Cormorant above was having a really rough day. It caught a large fish in the east lake and tried swallowing it while floating on the surface, but the fish was too big and unwieldy. The cormorant managed to get airborne and flew to the bank of the lake where it could work on its catch.

However, a Great Blue Heron happened to be standing near where the cormorant landed and when it saw the fish, it charged the cormorant and stole the fish. All the cormorant could do was stand there and watch the heron eat its meal.

It had been about three weeks since I last visited Flint Pen Strand. In spite of some rain last night, it was much drier. Only one spot in the marsh still had standing water and it was filled with a dozen and a half Great Egrets, two Wood Storks, three White Ibis, a Little Blue Heron, and a Tricolored Heron, all feeding on the prey that was easily available in the now shallow water.

Small birds were still active in the reeds and willows between the lakes. Those included two Swamp Sparrows, the Savannah Sparrow in the photo, White-eyed Vireos, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Northern Cardinals, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Boat-tailed Grackles. The Killdeer in the photo was the only one seen during the morning and was on the bank of the west lake.

Almost two dozen Purple Martins were perched at the martin houses before taking off and dispersing for the day. Only a few stayed around the lakes.

The female Northern Harrier in the photo was active much of the morning. She started out over the grasses at the northeast end of the marsh but eventually worked her way south by mid morning to the area between the lakes.

A total of 37 species of birds was identified. The most often seen were 41 Boat-tailed Grackles, 26 Great Egrets, 23 Yellow-rumped Warblers, and 22 Purple Martins. Ridge Road was the place to be for Yellow-rumped Warblers. A large flock slowly moved north across the trail accompanied by some Pine Warblers. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were there but stayed in the area plucking insects off of the Coco Plum and Wax Myrtle bushes.

The Eastern Screech Owl that had been in the box at the pinewoods parking area had been displaced by a Gray Squirrel which was in the box and looking out. The squirrel was the only mammal spotted.

It was another really slow day for insects with just two Gulf Fritillaries seen and no dragonflies.

Wednesday, March 4: CREW Marsh Trails

It was nest day this morning as birds were busy. The Swallow-tailed Kite at the left was flying in with sticks to refurbish the nest she used last season. Her mate was close by. Earlier in the morning, the two of them plus a third kite were perched in adjacent snags waiting for the fog to burn off.

She and her mate did some synchronized flying together before some copulation on a nearby pine. Then, he left, she composed herself, she did a quick shuggle to get her feathers in order, and then she also left.

Five kites were seen during the morning. A pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers were excavating a nesting cavity in a snag right in front of the kite's tree. And a little further north on the red trail, a Red-shouldered Hawk was working on its nest.

The Sandhill Crane at the lower left was on its nest in one of the marshes. It stood briefly to do some orderly housekeeping on its nest and five eggs were visible. She didn't have any visible eggs last week, so with an average incubation time of 28-32 days, there ought to be some little cranes at the end of the month. Her mate wasn't visible today.

Only 20 species of birds were identified during the three and a half mile walk and all were the regular suspects. A dozen Red-bellied Woodpeckers were the most often encountered.

Once the fog burned off, skies were partly to mostly cloudy, but it was nice and warm. Finally, insects were a little more active.

Seven species of dragonflies were identified although there were just four species of butterflies.

Some of the dragonflies are just emerging with the sun and heat. One spot on the trail was full of Carolina Saddlebags. Sixteen were definitely counted, but there may have been more. They didn't stay still at all.

One of the dragonflies was a new species for the CREW WMA: a Cypress Clubtail. A second new species was spotted later on the petal of a Netted Pawpaw bloom, an aptly named Zebra Longhorn Beetle.

There were probably lots more insects at ground level, but it wasn't possible to be looking up for Swallow-tailed Kites and be looking down for insects at the same time.

One sort of surprise occurred while rounding a bend in the trail. I came face-to-face with a White-tailed Deer doe. We were just a few feet apart and both of us were rather surprised. It took a few seconds for each of us to react before the deer turned and bounded off into the marsh.

Friday, March 6: Pepper Ranch Preserve

The last of my areas to check for Swallow-tailed Kites wasn't as productive as hoped. Only three kites were spotted although two were a pair and have established themselves at their nest from last season. There weren't any trails or paths, so going cross country through Saw Palmettos, Cattails, and other miscellaneous dense vegetation was an effort. However, there were some beautiful, previously unseen marshes with plenty of water. They were populated with Mottled Ducks, lots and lots of Glossy Ibis, Limpkins, Great Egrets, a few Great Blue Herons, White Ibis, and Common Gallinules. On drier ground, quite a few pines had dense Spanish Moss and looked like ideal places for kites to nest, but none were there.

Only four Swallow-tailed Kites were seen during the morning plus one Snail Kite. The Snail Kite was around its usual marsh for a short while. Then a Red-shouldered Hawk flew in, dove at it once, and the two flew off in opposite directions. There isn't a known hawk nest nearby that might cause the hawk to defend its territory against another raptor.

The cross country venture provided bird species that aren't normally seen from the road or the trails. Those plus a nice pocket of little birds with five species of warblers on the path to the Lake Trafford observation platform helped bring the total bird species to 52 for the morning. And that was without Pileated or Downy Woodpeckers, no Green Herons, and no Crested Caracaras or Bald Eagles.

Of course, the most often seen birds were Cattle Egrets with 146 individuals counted. The next most numerous were 18 Fish Crows (all in one big flock near Lake Trafford), 16 Boat-tailed Grackles, 15 Palm Warblers, 13 Northern Cardinals, and 11 each of Wild Turkeys, White Ibis, Red-shouldered Hawks, and Yellow-rumped Warblers.

There was a youth turkey hunt last weekend, and the turkeys must have been in hiding and decided to come out en masse now that the hunt has passed. Four of the eleven turkeys were toms and all were displaying, either against other males for dominance or for females.

With above average temperatures, more insects were active. Seven species of butterflies and moths were identified and five species of dragonflies and damselflies. But none other than 21 Carolina Saddlebags were numerous.

It was about the same for herps. There were more species than in the last several weeks, but there weren't a lot of any one species. The list included six Brown Anoles, four Gators, four Florida Cricket Frogs, four Red-bellied Turtles, and one Green Treefrog. The frogs and treefrog were found in the remote marshes while looking for Swallow-tailed Kite activity.

The only mammals other than cattle were three feral hogs that sprinted across the road near marsh B.

My yard

Warmer temperatures meant windows could be open all night and one of the first indications of spring getting closer was a Chuck-will's-widow beginning its pre-dawn serenade at little after six on Saturday morning. It's that time of year! And although it's still a little early, small migratory birds are starting to feed more often. Another female Painted Bunting appeared at the feeders, raising the total to eight buntings -- four males and now four females.

Sunday afternoon was a time of discovery. I found a better way to attract birds than pishing or playing tapes of bird calls: my cat Daisy!

We were going for a walk in the yard and came around to the front of the house. She decided it was an opportune time for a nap and settled down next to the porch under some low Sea Grape branches. I sat down nearby.

She quickly fell asleep and once her movement stopped, birds became curious. An Ovenbird was the first to fly over, landing a few feet above her and watching. It really seemed puzzled by the lack of movement although it recognized a potential predator and it hopped from low branch to low branch watching her carefully.

Next a female Painted Bunting came over, landing close to the Ovenbird. It, too, watched carefully and moved around to get better looks. Then, a male Painted Bunting flew in and also carefully studied the motionless cat below. All three stayed for several minutes. Their photos are below.

A Gray Catbird and a Northern Cardinal flew in as well although a little higher in the Sea Grape, but they took a quick look and then left. Eventually, the Ovenbird and the buntings left as well.

Daisy must have been very tired and completely zonked out. A small Black Racer came within feet of her and her ears didn't even twitch. The snake continued on. Ten to fifteen feet away, a pair of Hispid Cotton Rats came out from beneath the Saw Palmettos and began feeding on dropped bird seed. Daisy remained oblivious.

Meanwhile at the feeders, other Painted Buntings and Red-bellied Woodpeckers visited while Mourning Doves and a pair of Brown Thrashers foraged on the ground.

The Eastern Screech Owl peered out of its owl box to the north, but it was totally disinterested in the goings-on.

No peanuts were distributed for two nights in an attempt to encourage a greedy Raccoon to go somewhere else for an easy meal. It still showed up, but didn't stay long. The Virginia Opossums, Southern Flying Squirrels, and Cottontail Rabbits also search in vain. Peanuts went back out Sunday night.

Two of the Cottontail Rabbits put on an interesting show with lots of binkies Saturday night. They eventually separated and went about their regular business.