.November
29-December 5.November
29-December 5
Monday, December 1: Flint Pen Strand
The Barred Owl is becoming a reliable sighting along Ridge Road and has been regularly perched in the pines over the trail near the second dip. Bill saw a Great Horned Owl further east on the trail, but Sue and I couldn't find it. Great Horned Owls are one of the few predators of Barred Owls, but so far they seem to be coexisting, just not too close to each other.
The owls, an Osprey, four Red-shouldered Hawks, and an America Kestrel were the only raptors seen today.
The Kestrel was actively foraging along the edges of the pines just east of the marsh and lakes.
As water levels continue to drop, fewer herons, egrets, and shorebirds are in the marsh. Except for White Ibis. Lots of White Ibis are still present. Today, 43 were counted in several large flocks. There were also 22 Killdeer including 10 in one big flock.
Other shorebirds were few. Only seven Greater Yellowlegs and three Least Sandpipers were spotted.
A half dozen Common Gallinules wre present at the east lake. Four were foraging in the shallows along the edge while two were swimming farther out in the lake. The two Pied-billed Grebes that had been in the lake were absent, but the solo grebe in the north part of the marsh was still there.
Smaller birds were fewer, too. The only warblers were Palm, Yellow-rumped, and Common Yellowthroat. Wrens were just Carolina and House, and the only sparrows were three Swamp Sparrows. Just one White-eyed Vireo and two Eastern Phoebes were seen or heard.
However, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were abundant. Twenty-seven were counted with the majority of those in small groups along OBB Road on the south side of the cypress dome.
Only 38 specieds of birds were identified during the morning.
One nice sighting early in the morning was the River Otter in the photo. It was ambling along the south bank of the west lake, heading toward the still flooded part of the marsh between the lakes. It got to within 15 yards of where I was standing before it stopped to look. It decided that I wasn't part of the natural environment, turned, and disappeared into the cypress dome. It was the only mammal.
Herps were just eight gators. Five medium to large ones were in the lakes while three of the one- to two-year old juveniles were basking on fallen limbs beside the canal just north of the marsh.
Insects were not common either. Only six species of butterflies and two dragonfly species were seen. As usual, there were as many Gulf Fritillaries as all of the other butterflies combined. Dragonflies were just three Scarlet Skimmers and two Eastern Pondhawks. One juvenile Common Green Darner might have been there, but it flew up and away before its identification could be confirmed.
Friday, December 5: Pepper Ranch Preserve
Although there was a little fog at sunrise, it burned off quickly and it was a beautiful morning. Birds were still active at the Lake Trafford observation platform well after sunrise.
The Tricolored Heron at the left and Little Blue Herons were busy in the open water along the edges of the lake while Common Gallinules and Anhingas stayed in the vegetation.
A pair of Forster's Terns flew over the lake while it was still foggy and headed east. They didn't have the courtesy to return when the light for photography was better.
The two campgrounds had to be closed for the month because five Black Bears had been roaming the area looking for food, which campers would have readily available for them to steal,
but the only mammals seen today were White-tailed Deer and Gray Squirrels.
Only 31 species of birds were observed, but I didn't get started on the trails until almost an hour and a half after sunrise, so many of the little birds that would have been active and vocal at the start of the day were already elsewhere.
One new species for the presereve list was the very tiny spider at the right. For a size idea, it's on a petal of one of the Richardia blooms. It's a Habronattus brunneus, which is a small, ground-dwelling jumping spider. I tried looking for a common name, but it doesn't seem to have one. A few references called it a Paradise Jumping Spider, but even those sites said it was only "sometimes" called that. The narrow pointy part at the bottom is its head.
One of my favorite trails is the east portion of the Sunflower Trace trail. There's normally not a lot of wildlife there other than dragonflies, but it's the only place in the preserve where the neat-looking Indigo Milk Cap fungus are found.
And there were lots of dragonflies today. A conservative count wsas 47 Band-winged Dragonlets plus numerous Eastern Pondhawks. But the best part was finding the blue milk cap.
Eagles, kestrels and caracaras were all absent today. Raptors were just an Osprey and four Red-shouldered Hawks.
Turkey Vultures far outnumbered other species of birds. Almost all of the 61 counted were in one huge kettle that rose over cypress trees to the west.
Wild Turkeys were also in large groups. One had 11 individuals of varying ages while a second group was composed of eight adults. A total of 24 turkeys were seen during the morning.
The only other species with numbers in double digits were 42 Cattle Egrets and 15 White Ibis.
Other than the ibis, wading bird numbers were much lower as the water levels continue to recede. Most numerous were just five Little Blue Herons followed by three Great Egrets and two each of Tricolored Herons and Black-crowned Night Herons and one Great Blue Heron.
My yard
Without large mammals present, the small ones are multiplying. Cottontail Rabbits, Southern Flying Squirrels and Virginia Opossums seem to be everywhere. A Bobcat wandered through the yard Sunday night but didn't seem interested in anything.
The baby opossums are still showing up on all of the trail cameras in the yard. The adults slowly amble around, but the babies really hustle. Although they show up where the raw peanuts are scattered, their preference so far seems to be catching and eating small insects.
They are still wary of other relatively bigger animals like rabbits, raccoons and adult opossums, and they are easily spooked and quickly run off. The video shows one of the baby opossums in the side yard encountering an adult and juvenile rabbit. When the young rabbit suddenly moves, the baby opossum moves even faster, and in the opposite dirction.
Painted Buntings, Northern Cardinals, Tufted Titmice, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers are the main feeder birds while Blue Jays and Mourning Doves are more ground feeders. The only other bird visiting somewhat regularly has been an Osprey in the back yard that likes to perch in one of the pines that branches out over the canal.
