Monday, October 27: Flint Pen Strand
Today seemed like the nicer day, weather-wise, to visit. It turned out to be a great day, especially for birds, with 49 species identified plus a couple of mystery birds.
Warblers were more common. In addition to 27 Palm Warblers, which were expected, there were also a dozen Common Yellowthroats and American Redstart, Pine Warbler, and Northern Parula. Additional nice small bird sightings were a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a Savannah Sparrow.
It was a nice day for wrens as well. As well as the usual Carolina Wrens, five House Wrens and one
Marsh Wren were observed. The Marsh Wren was in the same area as it was last week -- in the reeds and willows between the two lakes.
It was joined there by Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, White-eyed Vireos, Common Yellowthroats, and at ground/water level, Common Gallinules.
The gnatcatcher in the photo was one of many birds in an unexpected area and has its landing gear down as it approaches an oak branch. At the end of the walk, I stop at the picnic table near the lakes parking lot because it's shady and a good place to get ending temperature and humidity readings.
While waiting for the readings to settle, a couple of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were actively foraging near the top of an oak while an American Redstart, a Brown Thrasher, House Wrens, a Carolina Wren, Gray Catbirds, and Northern Cardinals called from the in dense vegetation while Eastern Phoebes, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and Northern Mockingbirds were in the open areas near the trees and under story.
One of the most cooperative birds during the morning was the Northern Harrier in the photo. On most days, I see them as the fly away and have nice view of that white rump. But today, the harrier circled over me several times before heading off. It glided close to the ground searching for prey, but I didn't see it drop down and catch anything.
Water levels were down a little more but wading birds were more plentiful as prey become isolated in puddles and shallow water. Tops among those waders were 31 Little Blue Herons, 17 Great Egrets, 14 Tricolored Herons, and 13 Snowy Egrets. Only one Roseate Spoonbill was present, sharing a spot with a Little Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron, two Snowy Egrets, and two Common Gallinules. A large gator rested nearby but didn't show any interest in the birds.
The only ducks were three Blue-winged Teal that flew out early in the morning.
Smaller birds around water were Killdeer, Limpkins, Greater Yellowlegs, Green Herons, and Belted Kingfishers. There were even a couple of Cattle Egrets perched in one bush with some Snowy Egrets.
The mystery birds were in a group of seven just after sunrise and flying away from me. They appear to be gulls judging by size and the shape of the wings when they were in the air. Colors were hard to determine in the dim light, but they appeared to have black heads, white bodies and wings with black on the wing tips. Laughing Gulls fit that description, but those gulls shouldn't be anywhere near this far inland. They'll have to remain a mystery.
One new insect species was found. It's one of the thick-headed flies that doesn't have a common name but does at least have a unique scientific name: Physoconops excisus. "Thick-headed Fly" is much easier to say. It looks impressive in the photo but in real life was very small.
Just ten species of butterflies and 11 species of dragonflies were seen. Dragonflies were ubiquitous including 106 Halloween Pennants, 61 Scarlet Skimmers, 34 Band-winged Dragonlets, and 32 Four-spotted Pennants. Other species were Black Saddlebags, Carolina Saddlebags, Blue Dashers, Eastern Amberwings, Eastern Pondhawks, a Little Blue Dragonlet, and a trio of Roseate Skimmers.
Fifty-two Gulf Fritillaries were the most often found butterfly species followed by 28 White Peacocks, and eight Cloudless Sulphurs.
The only herps were just six gators in the two lakes, and the only mammal was a lone Cottontail Rabbit.
Wednesday, October 29: Bird Rookery Swamp
Weather conditions were ideal for a walk with temperatures in the mid 60s and an overcast sky. Bird Rookery Swamp is close to my house, so that seemed like a good option, plus I hadn't been there in a while.
The walk was just under four miles, so even that was nice. The parking lot area and shell path were great birding spots with 23 of the 31 species of birds seen there.
The willows on the west side of the shell path were full of little birds just after sunrise but before the sun actually reached the trees. Tops were two Black-and-white Warblers and two American Redstarts. Palm Warblers, Eastern Phoebes, lots of Gray Catbirds and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, White-eyed Vireos, and Northern Cardinals were mixed in with them.
The light was terrible for photographs, so even when there was available light, the photos were a little grainy.
The most often seen birds during the morning walk were 23 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, 20 Gray Catbirds, 19 White Ibis, and 14 each of Eastern Phoebes and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.
Another nice sighting was a female Indigo Bunting near the start of the boardwalk.
Lots of Alligator Flag was in full bloom. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are attracted to those blooms, but no hummingbirds were seen.
Other nice to find blooms were several Eulophia alta orchids in bloom. Their common name is Wild Coco orchid, but they're sometimes called Mule-eared Orchids. Several Rigid Epidendrum orchids were on the cypress along the boardwalk, but none were in bloom.
With the gray and cool weather, insects and other critters were scarce. Only three species of butterflies and one dragonfly were seen. When the sun finally peeked through the clouds late in the morning, Honey Bees appeared at all available blooms. The Red-and-black mason Wasp at the left was on the kiosk at the start of the boardwalk.
One new insect was added to the CREW/FWC list, but it wasn't a welcome one. The eggs and larva of Giant Whitefly were on the undersides of several Alligator Flag leaves between the end of the boardwalk and Ida's Pond. They are not native and are rather destructive pests. They weren't documents in Florida until 1996.
Herp sightings weren't much better with just one gator, a couple of Brown Anoles, and the Green Treefrog in the photo. The only mammal was a Gray Squirrel.
Friday, October 31: Pepper Ranch Preserve
The preserve opens to the public on weekends starting November 1, so everything was cleaned up a bit. The individual campground and path to the observation platform were freshly mowed, picnic tables were moved from the shelter to their assigned spots, parking areas for Tuscawilla, Bear Berm, Panther Pass, Kite Flight, and Sunflower Trace trails were mowed, and part of Tuscawilla Trail was mowed. The center part of that trail was still too wet to mow. Sunflower Trace trails were still very wet, so they weren't mowed at all.
I arrived about 25 minutes before sunrise, so it was still relatively dark. There was enough light to see but it wasn't great for photography. I spend the first 50 minutes at the observation platform overlooking
Lake Trafford watching birds fly out from their nighttime roosts. That resulted in 25 species of birds identified before even starting in the preserve proper. Numbers were impressive: 297 White Ibis, 200+ Common Grackles, 20 Tricolored Herons, 49 Red-winged Blackbirds, 58 Boat-tailed Grackles, and 14 Double-crested Cormorants. And that was just counting the birds that flew over or into the preserve; it was without counting any of the birds roosting on the western edge of the lake, and they numbered in the hundreds.
A Red-shouldered Hawk perched on the eagle snag by the individual campground while the Bald Eagle at the right was moving about. It stopped in a pine near the entrance gate.
While much of the preserve is drying out, there was one wonderful wetland on the east side of the Sunflower Trace road and a little before the first trail parking area. Birds in the wetland included 28 Mottled Ducks, 14 Glossy Ibis, and some White Ibis, Limpkins, and Great Egrets. A Northern Waterthrush called from the denser vegetation by the swale in front of the wetland.while a House Wren chattered and Gray Catbirds called in the willows along the edge of the wetland. Sadly, that area will dry up fairly quickly, but it was nice today.
Other warblers were the Ovenbird that likes to hang out by the path leading to the observation platform, Palm Warblers, and Common Yellowthroats.
Mottled Ducks weren't the only ones in a large flock in the air. At Marsh B later in the morning, a flock of 52 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks flew over heading in a southeasterly direction.
Other species with greater than normal numbers were seven Common Gallinules, 32 Wood Storks, and seven Pileated Woodpeckers. All of the Wood Storks were in one group foraging in a swale near Caracara corner. Part of the group is in the photo at the top of the page.
In all, 48 species of birds were identified. That was a really nice number considering the sky was totally overcast, it was the coolest morning since last winter, and there was a steady breeze. Of course, that was lousy weather for insects. One Monarch was the only butterfly seen and no dragonflies were out and about. Even gators were staying under water where it was warmer; just two were spotted in Lake Trafford.
Similar to last week, a Crested Caracara was spotted, but it was not inside the preserve boundary so it didn't count in the tally.
My yard
Nighttime visitors have been the regulars. Painted Buntings are still here during the day with the Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, Tufted Titmice, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and Common Grackles.
On Wednesday evening while putting out raw peanuts for the Virginia Opossums and Southern Flying Squirrels, an Eastern Screech Owl trilled somewhere in the front yard. The owl box had already been cleaned out and fresh cedar chips spread in the bottom, so hopefully, the owls will return and use the box again this season.
Night mammal activity picked up Wednesday night into Thursday morning. In addition to Raccoons and Virginia Opossums, a cluster of Southern Flying Squirrels lit up the palm tree at the right of the video on Wednesday night.
Then early on Thursday morning, the juvenile female Black Bear showed up at the side of the house. She was disappointed, because by then the Raccoons and Opossums had already eaten most of the peanuts.
An hour later, the Bobcat wandered through the front yard and headed toward the house, but it didn't show up on either of the house trail cameras.
During a walk in the yard Tuesday afternoon to eradicate Acacia and Carrotwood trees that are trying to get a start, some other interesting native plants have appeared with bloom. Lots of Pickerelweed is blooming in the wooded ditch in the middle of the yard and one of the Swamp Lilies in the bottom right photo are beginning to bloom.
Lots of the Golden Asters are in full bloom in drier parts of the yard as are Forked Blue Curls, Senna, and Purple Porterweed.
The photo at the top right is Deer Moss, a type of terrestrial lichen. There is a really nice patch of it near one of the large Live Oaks.
