April 25-May
1April 25-May
1
Tuesday, April 28: Flint Pen Strand
It had been over a month since I was at Flint Pen Strand for a wildlife survey, so I was expecting it to be quite dry. While the water levels had gone done quite a bit, most noticeably in the two lakes, there were still some wet spots in the marsh.
Although small, those few areas attracted several species of birds including Killdeer, Solitary Sandpipers, a juvenile White Ibis, and Tricolored Herons.
One spot in the northern part of the marsh had two Tricolored Herons.
One had regular non-breeding plumage while the other was fully decorated with the bright blue bill and white mating feathers at the back of its head. The two Tricolored Herons shared the spot with the White Ibis and one of the Solitary Sandpipers.
Other waders around the lakes included Great Blue Herons, a Snowy Egret, and Little Blue Herons. One Black-necked Stilt flew across the lake and appeared to land farther north in the marsh, but it wasn't seen again.
The Purple Martin colony is full and active with chicks inside the martin boxes. Martins were gliding over both lakes and the marshes snagging food, taking it to the boxes, dropping off, and heading out again.
The Marsh Rabbit at the left was between the two lakes and quickly disappeared into the reeds. It was the only mammal actually spotted although there were deer and bobcat tracks in the sandy roads.
The Sandhill Crane at the top of the page was one of two that began the day in the marsh before flying south. Other fly-overs were a Roseate Spoonbill and a pair of Wood Ducks. The Wood Ducks were a male and a female.
Only 34 species of birds were positively identified. There were a couple of mystery birds. The main winter warblers -- Palm and Yellow-rumped -- seem to have left as have Eastern Phoebes, Belted Kingfishers, and American Kestrels. The last to generally leave, Gray Catbirds, were still there.
In spite of lots of wildflowers in bloom, most noticeably Sabatia, Coreopsis, Pinewoods Heliotrope, and Frogfruit, there weren't very many pollinators visiting the blooms. Only six species of butterflies and one moth were identified and none of them were very numerous. Only a half dozen dragonflies were seen and individual species were even fewer than butterflies.
Alligators were the main herps with a dozen medium to large sized ones in the lakes. The only frogs were a lone Pig Frog that called early in the morning and one Leopard Frog.
Thursday, April 30: CREW Marsh Trails
The three Swallow-tailed Kite nests that I check were all busy this morning, each with one chick. Ages ranged from about 10 days old to probably around 21 days old. The chick in the nest at the right is partially hidden behind the vertical branch and ought to be about 10-14 days old.
The adult on the right has just flown in with either a Brown Anole or a Five-lined Skink, passed it to the adult on the left, and is ready to leave and hunt for more. The other adult then fed the chick small pieces of the meal.
The oldest of the chicks is now standing in the nest alone while both parents forage. It is already about half to three-fourths the size of its parents.
A total of 13 Swallow-tailed Kites were counted including the three chicks. The kite at the lower right was one of four at a communal night time roost and is just getting ready to begin its day.
The morning was very foggy at the start, and then the fog became even denser. It wasn't possible to see much at the kite nests, so wandering around a little and looking for things close to the ground where the fog didn't obscure them seemed like a good idea.
The Twin-spot Skipper in the photo was one of just six species of butterflies identified.
During the walk while waiting for the fog to burn off, Green and Squirrel Treefrogs were quite vocal. A couple of Green Treefrogs were even seen clinging to leaves near the observation platform. Florida Cricket Frogs called from the central marsh and were the only other herps.
Another bonus to the fog walk was finding a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. It was calling near marker post #9, and even though I could identify the tree that it was calling from, I couldn't see much at the top of the tree because of the fog. Nevertheless, the cuckoo was the best bird observation of the day, aside from the kite chicks.
Mammals were just four White-tailed Deer and one Gray Squirrel.
Only 15 species of birds were identified, but I was only there for about two and a half hours and the only goal was to check the kite nests. Thirteen Swallow-tailed Kites were the most often seen of all wildlife, followed by 11 Northern Cardinals and eight Red-bellied Woodpeckers.
Friday, May 1: Pepper Ranch Preserve
The weather forecast was for hot and humid, and the forecast was very accurate. The humidity was high enough that there was a good deal of fog early in the morning to make the start of the day even more muggy.
I began at sunrise to avoid the heat that would become oppressive as the day wore on. It was sticky even at 10 a.m. The White-tailed Deer at the left had the right idea -- find a shady spot and avoid unnecessary activity. They were in the group campground.
Another advantage to beginning early was finding birds that are active early and then settle down during the day. The bonus bird today was a Northern Bobwhite that called right at sunrise and shortly after. Its call was loud but finding it was a little challenging. Fortunately, it called continually making its location much easier to find. Its tree was really "shrubby" so finding an opening where the Bobwhite was visible required a hike through a pasture with tall, dense grasses. Fortunately, the Bobwhite stayed put.
The goal today was to check on a new Swallow-tailed Kite nest on the Sunflower Trace west trail. A kite was settled in to the nest and sitting rather low, so she was probably still incubating eggs. A pine tree about 60 yards to the west had three kites roosting there. One was probably her mate. The other two were a couple themselves.
The male flew out and caught what appeared to be a Brown Anole. When the female signaled that she was receptive, he flew over, they mated, and he presented her with breakfast. That pair and three more kites circled over pines south of the preserve boundary later in the day, so they may be nesting there.
A different nest to check was the Crested Caracara. The juvenile was still in the nest, but it ought to be fledging soon. One of the adults was flying away from the nest with a Northern Mockingbird in pursuit.
Only the timid stick to roads and trails. As things dry down, wet areas in the marshes become harder to find. But that's where the birds usually are, so getting a little wet and muddy is a small price to pay to find them.
One such area today was a good distance from any of the trails or roads. Fortunately, getting there involved walking through reeds and Pickerelweed and not Sawgrass. The wet area was big enough and shallow enough that a wading bird feeding frenzy was going on. An exact count of birds was difficult because some were hidden in the tall grasses and Alligator Flag, and there was constant jumping and challenging others for the best position.
My best count of the birds was 40 Wood Storks, 52 White Ibis, 28 Snowy Egrets, 41 Great Egrets, and 37 Cattle Egrets. Other species had fewer numbers which allowed more accurate counts: three Roseate Spoonbills, two Mottled Ducks, two Glossy Ibis, five Little Blue Herons, one Tricolored Heron, one Limpkin, and two Great Blue Herons. One Black-crowned Night Heron perched in the willows above the din.
About two dozen of the Wood Storks settled into a drier area away from all of the commotion. They are pictured below.
For the day, 43 species of birds were identified. In addition to the numbers above, species with above normal numbers were 23 Northern Cardinals and 16 Sandhill Cranes. Most of the Cardinals plus White-eyed Vireos, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Wrens, Great-crested Flycatchers, Mourning and Common Ground Doves, and Red-bellied, Downy, and Pileated Woodpeckers were in the woodlands on the way to check on the Swallow-tailed Kite nest.
Herps were the regulars plus one really large Soft-shelled Turtle that was finishing digging nest to lay eggs.
My yard
The Eastern Screech Owl chicks peered out of their owl box for the first time this week. They were very curious about the world and watched everything with wide eyes. On Monday, an adult Screech Owl was in the box with them but flew out to a nearby palm frond.
While they have their flight feathers, they were reluctant to follow the parent out of the safety of their next box.
The day before on Sunday, the older of the two owlets got its first look at the outside world. It spent most of the day watching. Here's a short video; be sure your sound is turned up to watch the owlet reacting to the sounds it hears.
The pair had fledged by the end of the week and should still be hanging out somewhere in the yard for a few more days, but I haven't found them.
Female Painted Buntings were still at the feeders at the start of the week, but the males left last week to establish nesting territories before the females join them. The females were gone by Friday. Hopefully, they'll all raise lots of chicks and even more buntings will be back next winter.
Night time critters have been the regulars with one exception. An adult Bobcat wandered across the front yard and around to the side of the house very early Sunday morning and was back for an encore appearance very early Thursday morning.
