February 21-27
Thursday, February 26: CREW Marsh Trails & Cypress Dome Trails
Only three kites were spotted this morning, but two of
them along the red trail at CMT were flying close and diving -- courtship
behavior -- and later the one at the left was carrying nest material. 
It flew out of sight
before its tree could be located.
Even though no kite nest was found, two other nests were located. One was a Red-shouldered Hawk nest with one hawk doing some construction work at the nest, and later there was some copulating on a nearby tree.
The other nest was a nice find. A Sandhill Crane in one of the marshes settled down onto a nest. Once down, it picked up more nest material and added it to the sides of the nest.
Its mate was a little ways away by some willows. When another
pair of cranes flew into a different part of the marsh, the mate quickly
flew over, stationed itself between the new pair and the nest, and stood
guard to make sure the new cranes knew that this particular marsh was taken
and they should go no further.
Nothing else was outstanding at the Marsh trails. Things picked up a little at the Cypress Dome trails. Another Swallow-tailed Kite was spotted, but it was high and moving east away from where I was. The ditch between the trails and the south section still had a lot of water. Only two gators were seen there, and five Anhingas and a Little Blue Heron were in the trees over the ditch. A Wood Stork flew over, but it was also high aloft and kept going.
One nice little hot spot was in one of the drying up marshes. A trio of Swamp Sparrows flew up from the dried grasses and into low branches. Northern Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, and a couple of Palm Warblers were in the same clump of pines and maples beside the marsh.
No insects were seen at the Marsh Trails, but it was a cool start to the morning. It warmed up nicely late in the morning and early afternoon, so insects were active at the Cypress Dome Trails. Just not a lot of them except for baby Southeastern Lubber Grasshoppers which were just emerging.
The Southern Brokendash at the right was one of three spotted on the green trail. Gulf Fritillaries were the most common followed by Common Buckeyes and Palamedes Swallowtails.
The only dragonflies were Eastern Pondhawks, Band-winged Dragonlets, Blue Dashers, and one Regal Darner.
Mammals were White-tailed Deer and Gray Squirrels, and
the only herps other than the gators were some Brown Anoles.
Friday, February 27: Pepper Ranch Preserve
We split into two groups to scout for Swallow-tailed Kites
with nest material. Angel and Victoria took the southern part of the preserve
and I took the northern part of the preserve plus the FWC portion of Pepper
Ranch north of the preserve. It was a good plan, but the weather didn't
cooperate at all. Smoke blowing up from the Big Cypress National Preserve
combined with humidity to create what the weather 
forecasters called a "super fog." Very little was visible,
and it lasted for just over three hours before the sun finally emerged
from the haze.
I did spot three Swallow-tailed Kites perched in adjacent snags near last years nest PRP39. Odds are they were the two adults returning to their nest area plus one of their now adult offspring. With the dense fog, they and almost all other birds that hunt using vision were inert. When I was leaving about five hours later and the fog had cleared, one kite was foraging over the treetops in the same area.
Before heading to the northern area, I did a quick check along Pepper Road and found the two Crested Caracaras. Like the kites, they didn't have much inclination to take to their wings. The one at the left preened on its fence post and let me drive by slowly without leaving. The second Crested Caracara was on the opposite side of the road and walking through the pasture. There's actually a tree and grasses behind the Caracara, but they are obscured by the fog.
The trek to the FWC area north of the preserve was challenging. It hadn't been mowed or even visited since last season, so the grasses, willows, palmettos and everything else had reclaimed what had once been trails and paths. The distance was less than half of what I walked yesterday, but getting through the dense vegetation made it feel as though it was at least four times longer.
The Swallow-tailed
Kite at the upper left was the only one seen or heard, and it was high,
soaring with Turkey Vultures and one Red-shouldered Hawk. It eventually
drifted off to the northeast and out of sight. I did check four of last
year's nests and all seemed to be in decent shape, so hopefully more kites
will arrive and take up residence.
For the morning, 37 species of birds were identified. There were undoubtedly more, but with the fog, not much was visible early unless it was very close to the road. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were close to the road at Marsh B. I counted 62 of them when they were startled and flew up, but they quickly settled back down. There may have been more.
They were barely outnumbered by 63 Cattle Egrets. Again, there had to be more that weren't visible.
Raptors in addition to the Swallow-tailed Kites and Crested Caracaras were Red-shouldered Hawks and one American Kestrel that was on a fence post in the northern part.
When the sun finally burned through the fog, birds and insects became much more active. The Purple Gallinule at the right was one of two in the mini marsh before Marsh B. Sandhill Cranes and Eastern Meadowlarks became visible in the pastures, Black and Turkey Vultures rose from their roosts, and Palm Warblers, Eastern Phoebes, and Great-crested Flycatchers began hawking insects that were now starting to move.
But it was still a slow day for insects. Only one butterfly, a Barred Yellow, was seen, and only three species of dragonflies were identified.
My yard
Cold mornings (30+ degrees) the first part of the week plus my car being in for repairs on Monday and Tuesday provided ample home time. It warmed up slightly in the afternoons when the sun was out and was tolerable with a jacket as long as one stayed out of the wind. One such spot was by my front porch where the house acted as a shield from the wind. So Tuesday afternoon I spend an hour sitting out watching the feeders. It was a productive hour with 16 species of birds identified.
An Eastern Screech Owl has returned to the owl box beside the house. The owl box faces south, so the opening was also sheltered from the wind and the owl came out to enjoy the sunshine. Birds at the feeders were Northern Cardinals, six of the Painted Buntings, Tufted Titmice, Blue Jays, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. Birds on the ground below the feeders were Brown Thrashers, Gray Catbirds, Mourning Doves, Palm Warblers, Common Grackles, and the surprise of the day, an Ovenbird. Birds elsewhere in the yard were a Pileated Woodpecker and Northern Mockingbirds and birds in the air over the yard were a Red-shouldered Hawk and Turkey Vultures.
Nighttime animals that the trail cameras captures were Virginia Opossums, Southern Flying Squirrels, Cottontail Rabbits, and Raccoons. The only daytime animals seen were lots and lots of Gray Squirrels. The rabbits are almost becoming tame; when I go out at sunset to spread some peanuts, they just stand there and let me walk right past them. As soon as the peanuts are down and I move away, they go straight to the peanuts to get their share before the other nocturnal creatures show up.
