July 25-31
Monday,
July 27: Flint Pen Strand
The Great Blue Heron chicks still haven't left their nest although both are now adult size and have their adult plumage. They seem to be milking the "I'm just a chick; feed me" thing for as long as they can. One adult Great Blue Heron was foraging in the emergent vegetation in the west lake. Talk about an overworked parent!
Meanwhile,
it was a very quiet morning bird-wise, both figuratively and literally.
The only sounds were occasional calls from Common Ground Doves and Red-bellied
Woodpeckers. Even the grackles were quiet.
With water levels continually receding, many of the usual birds have moved to better foraging grounds. Only 17 species of birds were identified, and the only sort of surprise was a Red-headed Woodpecker near the orange trail.
So my focus turned more to insects and herps. It was a decent day for them with 12 species of butterflies/moths and 10 species of dragonflies/damselflies identified. There were also lots of little Oak Toads in moist sandy areas. All of them were small, so they must have emerged very recently. A total of 29 were counted, but they were only seen when I was looking down and they moved as I approached.
Other nice herp sightings were young Squirrel Treefrogs in the dense vegetation in the ridge that runs north through the marsh. The one at the top of the page posed nicely while most of the others quickly jumped away looking for cover. The Oak Toads were the most observed of any wildlife after Gulf Fritillary butterflies.
The most common dragonflies were a dozen Eastern Amberwings and 11 Halloween Pennants. All of the dragonflies and damselflies are colorful in their own ways, but the most striking to see were male Roseate Skimmers.
The largest numbers of butterflies were Gulf Fritillaries, White Peacocks, Cloudless Sulphurs, and Coffee-loving Pyrausta Moths. The female Barred Yellow in the photo was one of just four seen.
The only insects counted are butterflies, moths, dragonflies, and damselflies. But there were many other insects seen and active. Most were bees, wasps, flies, and grasshoppers.
Three new insects for the CREW Wildlife Management Area (WMA) were identified that had not been recorded before. Two were wasps and one was a fly. Only one of the three had a common name. The wasp at the lower left is a Smith's Potter Wasp (Eumenes smithii). The wasp at the lower right is one of the square-headed wasps but it doesn't have a specific common name, which is a shame because its scientific name is a mouthful -- Ectemnius decemmaculaatus.
The fly in the center photo is one of the bee flies. It
doesn't have a common name either, but a good candidate would be a Fuzzy
Bee Fly. Its scientific name is Chrysanthrax cypris. That's almost
pronounceable, but Fuzzy Bee Fly is a lot easier to say. Its larva primarily
feed on grasshopper eggs.
Friday,
July 31: Pepper Ranch Preserve
A relatively quiet morning produced just 31 species of birds. Quite a few were juveniles like the Tricolored Heron at the right. The other Tricolored Herons that were seen were adults. There were also young White Ibis, Black-crowned Night Herons, Eastern Meadowlarks, Common Gallinules, a Wood Stork, and Wild Turkeys.
Marsh
B continues to dry down. Anhingas have given up on the place because the
water is too shallow for them to swim in. Today's Anhingas were all by
the shallow inlets at Lake Trafford. The young Black-crowned Night Heron
at the near right was at Marsh B along with a trio of Black-bellied Whistling
Ducks and one juvenile Wood Stork.
While 31 species of birds is a good day for the end of July, there weren't a lot of any one species. Thirteen Boat-tailed Grackles and 11 Wild Turkeys were the most populous. Even Cattle Egrets were hard to find with just seven spotted even though there were lots of cattle in the pastures.
But it was hot and muggy, so many of the cattle were camped out under trees where it was a little cooler in the shade, or they were standing in the water holes to cool off.
All of the turkeys started out in Field M. Three hens watched over eight mid-sized youngsters. They shared the field with a doe and fawn.
As
the turkeys walked under the barbed wire fence to leave, one hen and the
fawn stopped to eye each other, probably more out of curiosity than anything
else. Nothing excited either of them, so they each ambled off on their
own ways.
Insects weren't overly common either. Only eight species of butterflies and moths were identified along with two species of dragonflies and one damselfly.
The most often seen were two dozen Coffee-loving Pyrausta Moths and 20 White Peacocks. One new moth for the preserve insect list was identified -- an Ernestine's Moth -- but it was deep in Southeastern Sunflower plants and not posing for a decent photograph.
All of the Southeastern Sunflower fields are looking very nice and healthy, so this year's sunflower viewing in October should be a really good show. One very, very early sunflower was already in bloom in the field by the Bear Berm trail parking area. But it was a loner. None of the other plants had buds or even flower stalks.
Even Alligators were uncommon. One emerged and floated in front of the observation platform by Lake Trafford, but it was the only one visible in the lake as the sun rose. The other gator was in the mini marsh just before Marsh B.
Other herps were Brown Anoles, Green Treefrogs that called whenever the breeze picked up, and one Red-bellied Turtle in the swale near the entrance gate.
Mammals other than the deer were a couple of Gray Squirrels
and a pack of six, large feral hogs in the field just before the water
hole across from this year's Crested Caracara nest. None of the Caracaras
were spotted today.
My yard
Swallow-tailed Kites are still at the pre-migration roost, but their numbers are decreasing. Adults usually begin heading south at the end of July, so many of the earlier birds at the roost may already be on their way while other adults who nested farther north are just arriving for a short stopover to refuel before continuing on. This year's Southwest Florida fledglings ought to start leaving in another week to week and a half.
The kite in the photo is peaking through the leaves of a Butterfly Orchid growing at the end of a cypress limb.
Nighttime yard wildlife hasn't been as plentiful with just two Raccoons, two Virginia Opossums, and Cottontail Rabbits showing up regularly on the trail cameras.
However, on Sunday night, one of last year's Black Bear cubs returned for the first time since the end of last summer. This male is easy to distinguish because it has a noticeable limp. When it was a cub, it injured its left rear leg/paw and had a severe limp which is less noticeable now. It also appears to be blind in its right eye (no eyeshine in the video). But it looks healthy otherwise. That young bear is a true survivor!
His sister stopped by on Thursday night a little after 10 PM for some peanuts and a drink of water and made herself right at home (video). She left about a half hour later to rummage around the neighborhood and pass through the yard again around 6:30 AM on Friday morning before continuing back to the canal and farther north.
In between the bears and a visit by the Bobcat on the early hours of Wednesday morning, nighttime animals on the trail cameras have been Virginia Opossums, Raccoons, Cottontail Rabbits, and Southern Flying Squirrels.
Daytime mammals have been Gray Squirrels and Hispid Cotton Rats. Sometimes the rabbits and an opossum will show up while there's still light in the evening.
Daytime birds have been Mourning Doves, Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, Brown Thrashers, and Carolina Wrens.