Tuesday, October 31: Flint Pen Strand
Halloween was full of treats but almost no tricks.
T
he best of the treats were sightings of a Peregrine Falcon, American
Bittern, Savannah Sparrow, and Yellow-throated Warbler.
An additional 42 species of birds included a trio of Pied-billed Grebes in the west lake, two Limpkins, a pair of Wilson's Snipe, and the return of Least Sandpipers. Fourteen of the sandpipers were foraging along the bank of the east lake early in the morning.
Other warblers in addition to the Yellow-throated were both male and female Common Yellowthroats, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and over two dozen Palm Warblers. Additional small birds were House Wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Eastern Phoebes, and Northern Cardinals.
Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Common Gallinules, a lone Black-bellied Whistling Duck, and the full complement of herons, egrets, and ibis were around the lakes and in the marsh.
The regular pair of Sandhill Cranes began the day foraging
in the marsh. Later the two began calling, and finally they flew off to
the south. 
Two Limpkins were having great success catching Apple Snails where
the water was very shallow. Water levels were down throughout the area
although there were still a few small channels across the trail.
Other raptors besides the falcon were three Red-shouldered Hawks and three Osprey. It's nesting season for the Bald Eagles and they haven't been seen around the lakes or marsh in the past several weeks.
The nice birding morning had 46 species of birds identified, and that was with no Mourning Doves, White-eyed Vireos, Carolina Wrens, Great-crested Flycatchers, or woodpeckers other than Red-bellied and Pileated.
Herps were just gators and one Black Racer.
It was cool, a little breezy, and partly overcast, so insect activity was less than usual.
Only nine species of butterflies and moths were identified and only seven species of dragonflies and damselflies.
However, those present were interesting. Lots of the tiny moths were present in the marsh early in the morning. The most often seen were Red-waisted Florella Moths and Beet Webworm Moths. Only one of the Forsyth's Epipagis Moths was positively identified but there were lots of other tiny possibilities that disappeared in the low vegetation before their identify could be verified.
One new species of damselfly was added to the FWC wildlife
list for the CREW wildlife management area: a Blue-striped Spreadwing in
the photograph. 
Unlike most damselflies, it spreads it wings when perched, hence
the name.
The most often seen dragonfly was the Band-winged Dragonlet with 31 individuals counted. Only two of those were males.
One other new insect was added to the list. It's the Texas Bow-legged Bug (what a name!) in the photo at the left. It's interesting because it goes through several instars (growth stages) during its life. The early instars are all black and look like carpenter ants. It's only the final adult stage where wings appear and it loses it's ant-like coloration.
It's a true bug and feeds on sap it sucks from bean and pea plants. There were lots of the Partridge Pea plants in the area where it was spotted, some in bloom and some already with the tiny pea pods. So it was in the right place at the right time.
The other more interesting insect was a Great Golden Digger
Wasp in the photo to the right. Several of the small Scoliid wasps and
lots of Honey Bees and paper wasps were present, but this was the only
digger wasp seen.
Friday,
November 3: Pepper Ranch Preserve
The preserve opened today to begin the 2023-2024 season. Weather was ideal and there was a fair amount of wildlife. And as usual, Tom and I were the first ones to arrive.
With the sighting of one of the Crested Caracaras at the left and an American Kestrel farther down Pepper Road, and with the sighting of the Peregrine Falcon at the start of the week, three of Southwest Florida's four falcons were here and active. Only the Merlin wasn't found. And combining the two bird lists, 60 species of birds were identified at the two preserves. Not a bad week!
The most
often seen species today was the Black Vulture. In addition to a large
kettle rising, and dead cow in the high grasses deep in one of the pastures
drew a crowd, too. Turkey Vultures circled the area, but they didn't come
down as long as the Black Vultures were there.
One
of the resident Bald Eagles was near the ranger station to start the day.
A second adult Bald Eagle was seen hours later at the far end of the preserve
carrying nest material in a different direction, so it should be a good
season for the eagles.
After the Black Vultures, Cattle Egrets were the most common with over five dozen in the fields. A large population was perched in several trees bordering Lake Trafford just after sunrise along with almost a dozen Double-crested Cormorants. Barn Swallows dipped into the lake for an early morning sip but weren't seen later in the morning.
The vast fields of Narrow-leaf Sunflowers still had a few clusters of plants in bloom but most were now talk stalks with multiple seed heads. Goldenrods were now full of blooms, so there was still ample yellow everywhere. A short hike along the eastern part of the Sunflower Trace trail turned up some other attractive little blooms like the Tievine (a morning glory) at the lower right.
The Scarlet Milkweed was in bloom, so lots of Monarch and Queen butterflies were at those plants along the road.
After the Black Vultures and Cattle Egrets, the most
often seen birds were Sandhill Cranes and Turkey Vultures with 16 individuals
each. Although the cranes were always in pairs, several pairs banded together
to forage so there was a lot of calling. Everyone got along peacefully.
Tom saw the bird of the day, a Western Kingbird.
Only seven species of butterflies and five species of dragonflies were seen, but not venturing far off of the road really limited the number of insects available.
The only herps were gators and one Red-bellied Turtle.
For those thinking about visiting Pepper Ranch Preserve, its hours have changed this season. It's now open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, except on those Saturdays once a month when it's closed for hunting.