Birding before Christmas

The week before Christmas has kept us busy with choir practices and performances. Birding does not interfere with this schedule as we usually walk out into the Wounded Wetlands well before sunrise and are free for the rest of the day... except that record rainfall has intervened. 

We totally missed getting out on December 18, 19 and 21. On December 20 we drove over to nearby Chapel Trail Nature Preserve in mid-morning, between showers. Convenient parking and and shelters along the boardwalk are attractive features on rainy days. 

It turned out to be  a great day to be there, as a lingering migratory Magnolia Warbler was present...





...as were other warblers, a female Northern Parula...



...a Black-and-White Warbler...



...and a female Downy  Woodpecker who was so close that she did not fit into my viewfinder:

 

The chatter of hundreds of Tree Swallows brightened the somber sky:



In the adjacent pasture, a Cattle Egret accompanied our favorite Longhorn cow:



On the next day we had record-breaking rainfall which caused local flooding along the Atlantic Coast. On December 22, a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird visited our back yard feeder. She seemed to have displaced the male which arrived a week or two earlier. These photos were taken through a rain-streaked window:

  



The Bald Eagles are now sitting on one or more eggs which we believe should hatch around January 4th. During a break in the showers I visited the nest, but the incubating adult was so deep down that I never saw more than the top of a white head. Despite the soggy turf in front of the nest, I got down low to obtain a decent side view of a tiny (about 2 cm) Dainty Sulphur:

 

Getting up was more difficult than laying down! I knelt for  this shot of a chummy pair of slightly larger (2.5 cm) Barred Yellows on a Largeflower Mexican Clover blossom:



On December 23, the day started clear and I reached the rookery at sunrise:



I found three adults and one immature Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. Adult:



Immature Yellow-crowned Night-Heron:



Clouds suddenly gathered, and not wanting to chance being caught in a rain storm a mile and a half into the wetlands, we cut the walk short. The shower was brief, so we visited Chapel Trail for a second time. We were rewarded with more warblers...

...another Northern Parula, this time a male in a Red Maple which retained some of its leaves...

 



...a Palm Warbler in a Bald Cypress, which also waits until spring to shed its needles:



...and a Yellow-rumped Warbler:



Another Yellow-rump (aka Butter-Butt) on the boardwalk displayed its namesake backside:



There were Blue-gray Gnatchatchers...



...and I captured a rare image of a Gray-headed Swamphen in flight:



A cool front passed through and the sky was clear before sunrise on Christmas Eve. In a dark and starry sky, the Cold Moon had waned to a crescent:



A Great Egret flew up to catch the morning rays before they reached the ground:



A male American Kestrel looked down from his perch high atop a Royal Palm spire:



At 8:00 AM, an hour after sunrise, I saw an unfamiliar form in the shadows along the gravel path. It was a Bobcat, likely one of the resident females. Bright sun fell on the foliage behind her, causing my subject to be underexposed. If I had taken time to increase exposure compensation, my photos might have shown the cat's green eyes:



She stopped to look at me before creeping off:







Christmas morning was overcast and cool. Highlights, among others, were--

Male Red-bellied Woodpecker:



Female Common Yellowthroat:



A year-old Bald Eagle, probably one raised in the local nest, had returned from its wanderings to the north:



Four Blue-headed Vireos gathered in a Bishopwood Tree (Bischofia javanica), which was laden with fruit. I think the vireos were more interested in eating insects which were attracted to the fruiting tree:








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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Our World Tuesday by Lady Fi

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue

Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh
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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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Yellow-throated Warbler

Admittedly, I have some favorite birds among the locals we see out in the Wounded Wetlands. This one is a rather dull monochrome black and white nymph, save for a bright yellow throat which it seems so happy to display. 

It is a true "southerner" among the warblers, breeding throughout  much of the southeastern US but mostly farther north of us on the Florida peninsula. Many spend their winters here in south Florida. It is in the process of invading the more northern States. I even photographed some which were breeding near our (then) second home in northeastern Illinois. 

The Yellow-throated Warbler loves to forage high in the trees, often creeping along gleaning insects among the leaves. :



These elusive habits frustrate my photographic preferences. I encountered one on November 29. I had fleeting views







On December 8, at another location, I was surprised when one of two which were foraging in a Live Oak posed out in the open for a few seconds, enough for burst of photos. The next four were among about a  dozen which I took during a two-second interval:









It showed itself on a higher branch:





They are rather solitary, sometimes appearing in pairs, but I have never encountered them in flocks. They seem disposed to flash their golden throat patches:



This is my first photograph of the species, back on March 1, 2010. It was in a palm tree:



In our our south Florida neighborhood they often glean insects among the flowers and fruit of the many Royal Palms, so high up that the birds are difficult to spot:



Royal Palms carry clumps of both male and female flowers (the latter are to the left) in the same tree, along with ripening nut-like fruit. 



The wispy male flowers attract many insects. Pollen sometimes covers the ground beneath a Royal Palm, "Florida snow:"



Here is MaryLou walking out in front of me with her flashlight just before 6:00 AM on December 11, nearly an hour before sunrise. I took this photo with my new iPhone 11 Pro Max. The gravel road is lined with Royal Palms and the Full Cold Moon was setting in front of us. It was almost pitch dark save for the waning moonlight. Remarkably, the low-light resolution of this camera even captured the stars in the sky (click on image for enlarged view):



Here is an iPhone photo of the pine bank in the lake at 6:47 AM that morning, looking westward about five minutes before sunrise:




= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Our World Tuesday by Lady Fi

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue

Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh
_______________________________________________

Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

________________________________________________