Monday, May 18: Flint Pen Strand
Some Purple Martin photos were needed for the upcoming CREW Trust volunteer newsletter that will be emailed to volunteers at the end of the month. So there wasn't a need to be there at sunrise when the light wouldn't be good enough. So a leisurely start to the morning began at 7:15.
The martins cooperated nicely with 23 at the nest boxes or flying close by. The bonus came at the end of the morning when Robin showed up to check the nest boxes. Thirty-four martins had already fledged and left the boxes, but there were still more to come.
Seven of the 18 boxes were still occupied. Five had eggs, one had 3 tiny, feathery chicks, and one had a martin just about ready to fledge.
panel at the bottom of this entry shows the different stages.
Recent rains had created new wet spots in the marsh and deepened the few that hadn't dried up. There wasn't a noticeable difference in the lake water levels, but it was noticeable walking through the marsh.
Frogs, toads, and treefrogs were very excited for the onset of the rainy season and called all morning. Seven different species were identified by their calls. Two of them -- Green Treefrogs and Southern Toads -- were impossible to count because there were so many that the calls of individuals were indistinguishable. It was one, continuous chorus.
Other species vocalizing were Pig Frogs, Squirrel Treefrogs, Cuban Treefrogs, Narrowmouth Toads, and Oak Toads.
An added bonus was the discovery of a new insect that had never been documented in the CREW WMA are list. It's one of the bee flies but it doesn't have a common name that I could find. Its scientific name is Chryanthrax cypris. Its photo is above.
Only 27 species of birds were identified. Purple Martins were the most frequently seen with 27 individuals including the chicks and ready-to-fledge martin in the nest boxes. Next were 24 Boat-tailed Grackles, 13 Northern Cardinals, and 12 Common Ground Doves.
Nothing really out of the expected was seen or heard although a trio of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, a Wild Turkey hen, a pair of Killdeer, and a pair of Brown Thrashers were nice.
Tuesday, May 19: CREW Marsh Trails
Trips to the CREW marsh trails to monitor Swallow-tailed Kite nests are drawing to a close. Two of the three nests had juveniles that should fledge and be on their way before the end of the week. The third nest has two juveniles; one will fledge this week while the other may not go until nest week.
It was a nice day for young things. The fawn at the left was one of two seen, each with its mother. Both fawns were curious about me and stood to watch until their mothers wandered far enough away that they each turned and ran to stay close.
Another young one was the Black Vulture at the near left. It still had a little downy on its head and neck. It was perched next to an adult parent.
Some juvenile Red-bellied Woodpeckers were active, too, following their parents and still begging for food.
They look just like the adults except they don't have all of the red on their heads.
Only 11 species of birds were identified, but as in previous weeks, the only targets for the day were Swallow-tailed Kites.
An early start enabled a stop at a kite nighttime roost where 18 kites were still perched in pine trees near one of the nest sites. All were preening and getting ready for their days. By 8:30, all but two had taken off to begin foraging.
Twenty-four kites were counted including the four juveniles in the nests. It was much easier to count them when they were all still perched. Once they were in the air, they scattered.
After the kites, 11 Red-bellied Woodpeckers were the most frequently spotted followed by eight Carolina Wrens.
Insects were scarce with just four butterfly species seen and only one dragonfly. Herps, on the other hand, were plentiful. Earlier rains were heavy enough that spots in the trails had standing water, and treefrogs were loving it. Nineteen Green Treefrogs and 15 Squirrel Treefrogs were identified by their calls. Others calling were Florida Cricket Frogs and two Cuban Treefrogs.
A lone Alligator was resting in a shallow, muddy ditch that was newly excavated since last week. The mitigation project was to eliminate some of the Coastal Plain Willows and Cattails that had begun to overtake the area.
The three kite nests and the juveniles are below. From left to right are nest CM14, CM31, and CM38. The nighttime roost of adult kite nests was close to CM14.
Friday, May 22: Pepper Ranch Preserve
Young critters were active and varied at Pepper Ranch Preserve, too.
The family of Wild Turkeys at the left was moving from a wooded area to one of the pastures. Another little poult was behind the adult at the left and hustling to keep up. The family accounted for eight of the 11 turkeys seen during the morning.
Swallow-tailed Kite chicks in nest PRP28 are getting big and should be ready to fledge soon. I didn't make it to nest PRP45 today, but the female was still incubating eggs last week so assuming the nesting is successful, those young kites should be at least another three to four weeks before they are ready to take off.
The Crested Caracaras were all present today. One adult and the fledgling were perched at the top of a pine snag before being displaced by a Red-shouldered Hawk which was in turn harassed into flight by a pair of Northern Mockingbirds. The other Crested Caracara adult joined a group of five Black Vultures at a feral hog carcass in another pasture.
Two families of White-tailed Deer also had youngsters. The first family was a young buck just starting to get his antler bumps, a doe, and a fawn. While the buck was grazing on grass in a pasture, the doe and fawn were dining on leaves of a shrub nearby.
The second deer family was just a doe with her twins in a meadow along Sunflower Trace Road. It was breakfast time for the fawns and mother was very patient. The fawn at the right in the photo was really hungry and even when the doe began to move, it tried to keep the tap open. The fawn on the left also drank but wasn't quite as anxious about being fed.
Sandhill Crane colts were almost full adult size and were much more independent although they did stay in the same general area as their parents.
The juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk at the right was totally independent. It is staring at a Northern Cardinal that was a little higher in the same tree. When it flew up to the limb where the Cardinal was perched, the Cardinal left quickly.
The only other juvenile was a one to two-year old gator in marsh B.
Just 29 species of birds were identified, but as water levels continue to recede, many of the wading birds, especially herons and egrets, have moved to better foraging territories. Still, Great Egrets, Tricolored Herons, a pair of Limpkins, White Ibis, and one Great Blue Heron were seen. Almost two dozen Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were in the deeper water at marsh B along with some Common Gallinules and one juvenile Purple Gallinule.
The most frequently seen birds were two dozen each of Black Vultures and Boat-tailed Grackles followed by 21 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, 19 Northern Cardinals, 16 Eastern Meadowlarks, 13 Cattle Egrets, 12 Sandhill Cranes, and 11 Wild Turkeys.
Other wildlife with individual numbers in double digits were 16 Squirrel Treefrogs and 12 Green Treefrogs. They would call whenever a slight breeze arose.
My yard
Nighttime activity picked up toward the end of the week although Virginia Opossums and Raccoons were regulars throughout the week. Early Wednesday morning, a small colony of Southern Flying Squirrels emerged from the ferns beside the house to clean up what peanuts and seed had been left behind by the opossums and raccoons (video). The adult Bobcat wandered through Wednesday night and one of last year's Black Bear cubs, now grown up, stopped by early Thursday morning (video). In between the Bobcat and the Black Bear, there was an Armadillo, more Southern Flying Squirrels, several Virginia Opossums, and one of the regular Raccoons. A neighbor three houses down had a Coyote on his yard cameras Wednesday night, but it didn't show up at my yard.
Daytime mammals are just Gray Squirrels, Cottontail Rabbits, and Hispid Cotton Rats. Birds are still the regulars. The Brown Thrasher parents have a fledgling that's following them around and still being fed. In the evening, Common Nighthawks are overhead and calling, but they are way too active and high in the sky to even try to get a photo, especially with rain clouds in the background.
