Backyard Birding

With smoke from the Palm Bay muck fire drifting through the area all day, I decided to hang out and watch the birds in my back yard, rather than head out to the wetlands. Since I have a brand new back yard, with what could be considered a non-existant canopy and very little cover for birds, it's been difficult establishing my feeding stations as a safe place for birds to be. My only regulars have been a half dozen mourning doves and a couple of cardinals. A large flock of palm warblers drifts across the lawn several times a day, but they do not visit the feeders.

The cooing of mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) is one of my favorite sounds; however, they tend to be messy and don't like to share the feeders with other birds. Some people mistake them for pigeons, but while they are in the same family, doves are of a different species. Until the trees get bigger and other birds get comfortable using the feeders, I'll take them, anyway! They are difficult to spook, and they seem to be getting used to having Joey wander around in the yard while they are at the feeder.

Palm warblers (Dendroica palmarum) seem to be ubiquitous this winter! Hundreds live in the woods behind my house and dozens work the back yard for insects and tiny seeds all day every day. Their call is a sweet and high whistle that fills the air when they are on the move, and they don't seem to be bothered by either myself or Joey until we get within 4-5 feet.

Hopefully, these regulars will bring in some migrants when spring begins to draw near. . .

O Caracara!

The crested caracara (Caracara cheriway)
Photo taken near Geneva in Seminole County, FL in 2008



It's official! While driving along an access road to a wildlife conservation area in Brevard County yesterday, looking for a bald eagle that had been reported to be in the area, I observed a large, dark bird slowly circling a small stand of cabbage palms in a nearby pasture. Pausing the car to get a better look through the binoculars, I realized I was watching a caracara deliver a small twig to its nesting tree. This family has been nesting regularly in this area for a few years and has become very popular with birders and photographers, causing the road to be posted as a "no stopping zone" to prevent harassment of the birds in their nesting area. So, the photos you see here aren't the greatest, but they are good enough to see that at least one of the pair has been banded and the nesting material was successfully delivered. The birds did not seem to notice me; perhaps that's because there is a deep, wide canal with a border of low shrubs that runs along the road and tends to hide vehicles as they pass.

Brevard County, 10/7/10

In this first photo, you can see the twig being carried in the bird's bill; since that wing spread is at least 48", there was a good deal of crashing and thrashing as it maneuvered through the fronds and into the nest, which is located in the middle of the top of the tree. You can also see the bright white feathers that mark the tail and wing tips of the caracara, making it a lovely bird to watch in flight. The caracara is a member of the falcon family, and its flight is very similar to those usually much smaller birds: long, slow glides and steady but shallow wing flaps.

Brevard County 10/7/10

This second photo shows one of the adults (I have no idea if it's the same bird or if it is the mate) exiting the nest a few seconds later. Respecting the "no stopping zone" directive, I did not stay to watch any further activity. I suspect that this is the same individual that delivered the twig and that the mate was in the tree, fashioning the nest, but I've never seen caracaras actually building their nest before, so I don't know what the usual procedure is. Perhaps someone who reads this blog will comment on that for us. The leg bands on this bird are predominantly light blue.

In February of 2009, I observed a pair of caracaras who were raising a family on the Orlando Wetlands in a tree that was just a few hundred feet from one of the walking berms. (That family is still out there, having built this year's nest even closer to the parking lot and main buildings of the park, to the delight of a handful of photographers and birders who noticed!) Those birds were loud and showy in voicing their disapproval of people getting too close to their nesting area (the caracara, apparently, is a very quiet bird, and the loud crackling noise they make, accompanied by a backward head thrust, is an indication that they are feeling threatened):

Unbanded caracara at Orlando Wetlands Park in 2009

We had no idea that was a threatened display until it was explained to us, a few days later; we actually thought is was some sort of cool mating display . . . duh. Now you know, too. Please back off, if you see this behavior! (Threatened species status requires that people respect a primary protective zone of 985 feet from a nest. Please realize that if you are on this road, you are within that zone! If you get that display and you do not back off, you are harassing the birds and are in violation of federal law!) I do wonder if this protection includes the men who are clearing the canal . . . those machines are loud, obnoxious, and the canal is definitely within the primary protective zone!

I wish this Brevard County pair good luck in their attempt to raise another brood. 



Walking in Turkey Creek

With a chill in the air this morning, it seemed like a good time to check for migrants down in Turkey Creek Sanctuary, and I wasn't the only one thinking that way, as I encountered several birding parties as I walked.

My first encounter was not, however, with a bird, but with a blue ringed dancer (Argia sedula), one of quite a few along the trails and boardwalks. Both males and females are in abundance. This little guy is only and inch and a half long, so I didn't realize what amazing blue eyes he had until I enlarged the frame on the computer . . . gorgeous, eh?

I tagged along behind a small group of birders, who led me to a family of American redstarts who gave us a good show as they were harvesting insects in the shrubs and small trees along the Hackberry trail. They don't hold still for very long and are often hidden by leaves and branches in the dense wood; I'm going to need more practice with manual focus if I'm ever going to be able to get a good photo of these little birds.

Another bird that is not so common in the sanctuary is the ovenbird; you would have laughed if you'd heard me calling after him, but he came down to see what all the noise was about. Still, being in such dense shadow and still set on auto focus, this is the best (actually the only) shot I got of him.

Of course, what I came down here for this morning was to see how the leps are faring this month; it's been a spare year for many butterfly species. (I've only seen two zebra longwings, the state butterfly of Florida, since last year!) This is a common checkerspot nectaring on Spanish needles. Lovely, isn't it?

Ever wonder what those little brown butterflies are that seem to be flitting around everywhere you look? Too fast, usually, to get a really good look at them? Skippers, as they are known, are among my favorite butterflies! This is a clouded skipper, a species that seems to be doing well in Turkey Creek this year.

And no lepping expedition occurs without almost as many encounters with dragonflies as with butterflies. The common green darner occurs all across the US, but is difficult to photograph because it doesn't spend much time hanging around where you can see them. This isn't the best species ID photo, but I just love the quality of light in this pic.

Perhaps it's a benefit of developing the patience of a birder, but I'm seeing more dragonflies and finding more opportunities to photograph them now that I'm hanging around birders! (That could also be a factor of the early hour most birders get out, when dragonflies are still warming themselves in the sun and making themselves easier targets! And we're always startling them off their perches, from which they quickly find a new one.)

Of course, no visit to Turkey Creek goes without an encounter with the resident rodents! My little friend gray squirrel met me this morning with a gangload of acorns in his grasp! He sat there right in front of me and ate them, one by one, dropping their shells onto the boardwalk right in front of me. . .

Tomorrow I'm birding near Pelican Island, a new bird-walk destination for me. Since I'm going to be tagging along with an expert birder, I hope to bring you some interesting "gets"!

Sushi Lesson

This morning, while visiting Rich Grissom Wetlands in Viera, I was treated to a lesson in preparing and eating sushi. In this case, the main course is, I think, a grass carp?

Step 1: catch fish and head towards the shore:

Step 2: adjust your grip so that the fish head is held firmly between your jaws. Crunch down:

Step 3: Slowly rotate fish while firmly chomping:

Step 4: Take a little nap, repeat as needed, remember to keep a firm grasp on the fish while eyes are closed:

It is most important to keep rotating the fish, as you work on crunching all its bones. This should make it easy to extract the good parts and separate them from the rest later in the process:

Step 5: After about 10-15 minutes, you should begin to notice a nice separation occurring between the head and the body of the fish. Continue rotating and chewing and this should improve.

During Step 6, you may wish to check, from time to time, on whether or not the fish can be swallowed with the head attached:

Step 7: You should, as the head detaches, be able to begin separating the guts from the head by giving it a good toss:

A few additional crunches may be necessary to complete the separation process:

Step 8: When you are sure you have good separation, grab onto the guts and shake with all your might! This will detach the head and you can swallow the guts and spit out the head (No need to worry, heads are biodegradable!):

Step 9: Once the head is gone, you can pick up the body and swallow it whole:

Caution: All of that activity may draw a crowd of onlookers, in which case, you will need to back away very slowly and make a retreat from the shore to finish your meal in peace:

Note: the great blue heron was bold, but he got no sushi from this gator. Furthermore, he was definitely not interested in the head that got left behind!

Life List

This morning, I was thrilled to add the red-tailed hawk to my life list. When I first saw her from a distance, I wanted her to be an eagle; she certainly screamed like one as she flew down from the top of her snag as I approached with the dog. Because I did not want to miss this chance to photograph her, I took the dog home, grabbed my camera, and headed back out into the woods. She was still there and still unapproachable. It wasn't until I downloaded the photos and found her in Sibley's that I knew who she was, however. Not an eagle, but a big and beautiful hawk.

Thinking about that term--life list--a term for the list most birders keep on which we record the first time we see a species alive in the field--made we wonder about all the birds I have never seen and all the birds I have seen and not been able to identify. How long will my life list grow to be? What small fraction of all the birds in the world will I ever see alive in the field? What difference does a list make in my life, anyway?

If I'm honest about it with you, my life list hasn't been physically updated in years . . . mostly just a checklist in my head and not very precise. I may tell you that bird is a lifer for me, then go home and find a photo I took a few years ago that I'd forgotten. Guess I'm just not a very serious birder. . .

Later, as I was reading a book by Pascal Mercer, something he wrote brought me back to that bird: "Given that we can live only a small part of what there is in us--what happens with the rest?" I remember thinking like that, years ago: that each moment presented endless possibilities, all but one of which disappears, forever, as we decide which way to go. I could have continued with the dog and lost the bird, I could have changed my shirt for one with less color that would have made me more able to approach her ("be one with nature . . .") and gotten spectacular photos, or just stood still and watched her for as long as the dog would have allowed and never known for sure what she was. Whatever the possibilities were, they no longer exist.

I suppose it's nothing more than confluence of energy that makes us move from step to step, to see or not see that bird, to pick up the binoculars and camera and go or to sit at the computer and type, to pick up a book and read or to walk out into the field and observe . . . And I'm thankful, today, that I've made it into retirement with enough good health, energy, and resources to be able to have these moments, whether or not the bird ever makes it onto my life list.

Oh, one last thought: I hope the hawks in that woods (there's a beautiful pair of red-shoulders) don't get all the wonderful glass lizards and five-lined skinks that live out there!

Earl Swings By . . .

Yesterday afternoon, waves from Hurricane Earl peaked at about 13' along the Spacecoast of Florida. We visited Melbourne Beach, just to see how big they were and to watch the locals try to surf the waves.

Unfortunately, the surfing proved to be not so great because of winds that were causing the waves to fill in quickly, but this guy managed to get a couple short rides on swells bigger than most they've seen in a while. Just getting out past the break looked exhausting, and the swells were moving so fast, most of the riders out there couldn't paddle fast enough to get over the top and down the face of the wave.

We arrived as the sun was beginning to leave the beach, and the birds were beginning to settle, which proved a great time to let my grandson try his hand at photographing them. You can see, from the picture below, that he's got the knack!

Well done! Not bad for his first sanderling on the shore, shot with a digital SLR! It would be great to see more young people out there shooting with cameras rather than guns, wouldn't it?

Not to be outdone, I clicked off a few shots of some of the birds, myself, as the pounding surf turned up some good stuff for the willets to collect.

Thankfully, Earl stayed well to the east of Florida; let's hope it stays off the entire U.S. coast!

Leatherback Hatchling

UCF research students, monitoring a leatherback nest on South Melbourne Beach.

I went to the beach this morning to check out the surf being kicked up by Earl, beginning to make its pass just east of the Florida coast. To my delight, these two young researchers were checking the nest of a leatherback turtle, where they were monitoring the hatch rate and checking for undeveloped embryos. While sorting through the eggs, they turned up a hatchling; did I want to release it? Hell, yeah!


This little guy (I really have no idea if its a guy or a gal; the masculine presumption is just something that was ingrained by dozens of teachers training us in "proper" grammar) wasn't moving much in the box, but his little flippers took off when I picked him up! He was ready to start swimming, that's for sure, and I wasn't so sure that he really wanted any help at all.

Here he is after his first encounter with the water. One small wave, and he knew exactly where he wanted to go! It's too bad he picked such a bad day to try to get into the surf! Earl was churning up the shore!

Wave #2 put him back up on the sand.

But that didn't stop him from flapping his way towards the ocean . . .

A local surfer was not so patient as I, and since he feared the little one might get picked off by a bird, he walked him into deeper water and he was gone, swimming strongly away from the shore.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8254841@N07/