April 11-17.
Monday, April 13: CREW Cypress Dome Trails
Swallow-tailed Kite nest monitoring continues. As of today, there
are seven known nests in the CREW area -- four at the Marsh Trails and
three at the Cypress Dome trails.
There are more than enough kites at the Cypress Dome trails to suggest that there ought to be more nests in the area where they are hanging out in the morning. So today's goal was to try and find another nest or two.
The nest in the photo is one of the already known nests, but it was nice to see it anyway. The kite is probably still on eggs because it hadn't changed positions between when it was first seen around 8 o'clock and a second time a little after 10 o'clock. It would be restless and moving around if there were chicks under it.
The search went through a lot of bushy, wooded areas well south of where the public trails are. Only 18 species of birds were identified. Other than 16 White Ibis, a Wood Stork, and a Great Blue Heron that flew over one of the marshes, all of the birds were woodland birds. The most frequently observed were 19 Red-bellied Woodpeckers, 17 Great-crested Flycatchers, 11 Mourning Doves, and 10 Northern Cardinals. The only warblers were Common Yellowthroats at the edge of one of the marshes.
However, it was a great day for dragonflies and damselflies. There were undoubtedly more than the count indicates because when I was in potential Swallow-tailed Kite nesting areas, I was looking up rather than down.
Nevertheless, nine species of Odonata were identified. The most common were 56 Eastern Pondhawks. Those are the assassins of the dragonfly world, catching and eating other species of dragonflies. I've never observed one eating another of its own kind. One species they leave alone, just because of its size, is the Common Green Darner in the above photo. It is more than three times larger than the average pondhawk. Mostly what the pondhawks prey on seem to be Blue Dashers.
Other dragonfly species seen today in addition to the pondhawks and the Common Green Darner were Blue Dashers, Band-winged Dragonlets, Little Blue Dragonlets, Golden-winged Skimmers, Scarlet Skimmers, Needham's Skimmers, and the one damselfly species, Citrine Forktail.
Wednesday, April 15: Dinner Island Ranch
The spring migratory bird survey actually turned out well with two new bird species identified for the preserve list. One was a Blue Grosbeak in the campground about 10 minutes before sunrise. It called from somewhere near the top of a huge oak near the edge of the hammock, but it was too dark to see anything. Merlin confirmed what was suspected.
The second new species was the Chipping Sparrow. Three were identified early in the morning just after sunrise. Both of the species were passing through on their way north.
Some of the snowbirds that were here all winter had already left. No Eastern Phoebes, Belted Kingfishers, Palm Warblers, or Yellow-rumped Warblers were seen or heard.
It had been almost a month since my last visit, and it
was noticeably drier this time. Wet spots in the marshes were gone and
even the deep swales were down to mud in many spots. No ducks or shorebirds
were found; however, 
there were enough wet areas for a few of the regular waders.
One popular spot was along the new, higher berm that was built last fall along the southern border. It was created to hold water in the preserve for a longer time during annual dry downs, and it was doing its job.
Three of the five Black-crowned Night Herons were in there. All were juveniles. The only adult was found in an isolated wet spot in one of the swales farther north.
In addition to the night herons, three of the four Limpkins that were seen were in that new wet area, plus Great Egrets and a Great Blue Heron.
The Wood Stork at the lower right was foraging in the same spot as the adult Black-crowned Night Heron. A Great Blue Heron was there, too, but it flew away as my car approached. The stork and the night heron stayed put, let me take their photos, and move on.
A total
of 35 species of birds were identified, which is a reasonable number for
mid April. Tops among those were 63 Eastern Meadowlarks. That's not a typo:
sixty-three meadowlarks were seen and heard.
Their preferred habitat greatly increased as the pastures and fields dried up and the grasses began to grow. They were almost everywhere.
Other birds with high individual numbers were 42 Northern Cardinals, 21 Red-winged Blackbirds, 20 Mourning Doves, 20 White-eyed Vireos, 18 American Crows, 18 Cattle Egrets, and 15 Great-crested Flycatchers.
The low number of Cattle Egrets was a little odd because there were lots of cattle.
Nice sightings in addition to the Blue Grosbeak and Chipping Sparrows were three Northern Parulas, three Northern Bobwhite, and four Northern Harriers. All of the Northern Harriers were females, and three of the four were foraging low over pastures and fields on along the side road that led to the new berm area. The only other warblers besides the Northern Parulas were Common Yellowthroats.
Other wildlife was scarce. It was mostly cloudy all morning
and much of the time was spent birding by car, so insects were there but
not counted. The only mammals seen were a White-tailed Deer, a very fat
Virginia Opossum, and a pair of Feral Hogs. Herps were just a Black Racer
sunning in the road and three gators. During March's survey, 37 gators
were seen collecting at deeper water spots. As those spots dried up during
the ensuing four weeks through today, they have moved elsewhere.
Thursday, April 16: My yard
My Canon camera was at the Canon factory in Virginia for repairs at the start of the week, so a backup Nikon Coolpix had to be used this week. It's not as good as the Canon but adequate for identification and for wildlife that is reasonably close. All of this week's photos were with the Nikon. My Canon was scheduled for a FedEx delivery sometime during the day on Friday that requires a signature, so I needed to be home for that.
But there was plenty to keep me occupied in the yard.
I was a little premature thinking that the Palm Warblers had all left.
The one at the right was in the side yard on 
Thursday morning. It has molted into its summer plumage, but it
hasn't left. Or maybe it spent the winter farther south and it was just
stopping for a little R&R before continuing on. Whichever, it was nice
to see it.
Painted Buntings and Gray Catbirds are still here. The five female buntings are all still here, but I've only seen two of the males. The other three may have left.
Still no baby Screech Owls but the adult is ever present. Not much seems to bother it. I was standing directly below its box for the photo at the right and it barely opened its eyes.
A walk through the north part of the yard had some nice surprises. One was that the Weeping Bottlebrush has blooms. Those blooms frequently attract hummingbirds, but I haven't seen any of them. However, I'm not in that part of the yard as often.
I also found a "nursery" for air plants beneath one of the oak trees. There are hundreds of baby Tillandsia balbisiana plants growing there. The was nice to find, too.
A pair of Pileated Woodpeckers and a pair of Great-crested Flycatchers seem to have made that part of the yard their territories as well. There are plenty of snags with nice holes in them to keep both of those species plus the Red-bellied Woodpeckers happy.
The Brown-headed Nuthatches are probably in one of the snags as well. I hear them frequently and have seen individuals around the house, but I haven't found their nest cavity.
No large nighttime mammals have passed by any of the trail cameras. I wish some company would market a Raccoon repellent. They chase the Opossums away and the Southern Flying Squirrels don't come down when the three Raccoons are present.