Tuesday, June 30: Flint Pen Strand

Water levels have finally begun to rise. This morning there was water in the marsh and even across the white trail in two spots although it was only ankle deep. It will take a little more time for the prey base to repopulate the wet areas which in turn will attract more wildlife that is dependent on that food supply. But it's a start.

There were still wading birds, but not very many: three Tricolored Herons; two each of Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, and Little Blue Herons; and one each of Limpkin, White Ibis, and Glossy Ibis. The Killdeer at the right was the only one of its species. Both of the Great Blue Herons were in their nest before sunrise before eventually waking up and leaving to forage.

Five Black-bellied Whistling Ducks flew over but didn't land, one young Common Gallinule was in the grassy shallows of the east lake, and one female Anhinga warmed up on the bank of the east lake.

Other than an Osprey, that was it for birds associated with water.

Only 25 species of birds were identified. The most noticeable absences were White-eyed Vireos and Pileated Woodpeckers.

However, it was a good day for insects with seven species of butterflies/moths and nine species of dragonflies/damselflies identified. The dew-laden Citrine Forktail at the top of the page was the only one of its species, but there were almost a half dozen Rambur's Forktails floating through the marsh grasses where there was water.

Gulf Fritillaries and White Peacocks dominated the butterfly list with 45 and 32 individuals counted, respectively. Eleven Little Blue Dragonlets were the most common dragonflies.

The Clouded Crimson Moth in the photo was just the second one ever seen in the CREW area. The first was also in Flint Pen Strand back in September.

Another infrequent sighting were two all white blooms of the Purple Passionvine. They were on different plants a good distance from each other.

The only mammal was a Marsh Rabbit that darted across the trail and the only herps were Alligators, Pig Frogs, and Oak Toads. The toads were very tiny and all along the white trail that parallel to the Kehl Canal.

Friday, July 3: Pepper Ranch Preserve

Starting a little before sunrise had multiple benefits. One was avoiding the heat and humidity later in the morning, and the other was finding seeing some birds as they first began to more. Tops of the latter was a pair of Least Bitterns that flew back and forth by the Lake Trafford observation platform. The water is yellowish in the photo because the sun hadn't completely risen and the water reflected the color of the clouds as the sun first touched them.

Other early birds near the platform included Black-crowned Night Heron, Tricolored Heron, Great Egret, Green Heron, Common Gallinule, Osprey, and the regular Red-winged Blackbirds and Boat-tailed Grackles.

Two more Black-crowned Night Herons were at Marsh B along with an Anhinga, Tricolored Heron, Common Gallinules, and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. The duck at the lower right was taking a bath. Water really does roll off a duck's back!

A total of 34 species of birds were identified, which is a nice number for the start of July. After Boat-tailed Grackles, the most often encountered were Northern Cardinals, Sandhill Cranes, Common Gallinules, and Wild Turkeys. Surprisingly, only one Cattle Egret was spotted even though there were lots of cattle in the pastures and fields.

The only warblers were Northern Parulas in the more thickly wooded areas.

While it was a decent day for bird sightings, mammals were the big news. In addition to lots of White-tailed Deer, there were also a River Otter, a Florida Black Bear, and a pair of young Raccoons. The otter and the bear were both on Sunflower Trace.

The otter galloped along the side of the road before turning into the wetland vegetation while the bear ambled across the road near the northern start of the two trails. It didn't seem in any hurry, but it didn't stop either. We had been alerted about an unusually large number of bear sightings in the past week, so hiking the trails was not a reasonable option.

It was also a good day for butterflies and moths with eleven different species identified. Most common were Ceraunus Blues and White Peacocks. Field M was home to all of the blues as well as lots of tiny moths that appeared and then disappeared with each step.

The Coffee-loving Pyrausta Moths seemed to be everywhere. The one in the photo was unusual because usually when they land, it's on the underside of a leaf. This one stopped at the bloom of a Frogfruit for a quick sip of nectar before hiding. Other little moths in numbers were Hawaiian Beet Webworm Moths and Vetch Looper Moths.

Herps were just gators, Brown Anoles, Pig Frogs, and all three common treefrogs. The gator in Marsh B was really active and snapping at things along the bank by the road although I didn't see it actually catch anything.

My yard

Swallow-tailed Kite numbers increased steadily at their pre-migration roost north of my house. There were 33 kites on Saturday and by Monday the number had increased to 61 individuals. All were preening by 7:30 both mornings and the first began to fly around by 8:15. A couple of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were also perched a short distance away on Saturday.

Back in my yard proper, nights have been very quiet with just three Virginia Opossums, three Raccoons, and several Southern Flying squirrels showing up on the trail cameras. During the day, the mammals have been Gray Squirrels and Hispid Cotton Rats.

Big mammal activity picked up on Tuesday night and again on Thursday.

On Tuesday, big mother bear showed up around 11 pm and then five hours later her daughter came through. Both stopped for some peanuts and drinks of water. Both have light blazes in their chests, but mother is huge while her year-old juvenile still has some weight to gain which makes them easily identifiable. The size difference is noticeable in the video. Both of her male juveniles lack the light patches on the chest.

Mother bear was back around a quarter after six on Thursday morning, but Tuesday was her daughter's only appearance on the trail cameras.

On Sunday, Brown-headed Nuthatches were in the tops of the pines at the front of the house while Northern Cardinals, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, Brown Thrashers, and Common Grackles were much closer to the ground. Other than Pileated Woodpeckers and Northern Mockingbirds, those were the only birds spotted during the week.