Walking the Levee Trail

The Levee Trail provides access to the Bar Ditch Trail which traverses the wildest part of the Wounded Wetlands. The latter trail is now under about a foot of water, shortening the walk but inviting more careful exploration. Spending more time at "sit spots" along the levee, I get a bit less exercise as well as some nice finds.

A feisty Brown Thrasher:

Migrants, including bright male Cape May Warblers...

...and less conspicuous females and immature birds of the same species:

Yellow-throated Warblers...

...which seem to advertise their names:

American Redstarts are hard to follow as they move erratically in the trees...

...sometimes offering only a quick click as they blaze away like wildfire:

This demure redstart is probably a female. The immature male is very similar but usually shows more of an orange tint:

Northern Parulas nest just to the north and are early arrivals during fall migration. These are males:

Females lack the red breast markings:

Active and acrobatic Black-and-White Warlbers do not nest locally but are sometimes seen here during breeding season. This could be an adult female or first year male:

This is an adult male on September 29, 2020:

In spring, the adult male is more boldly patterned with black markings (April, 2020):

Palm Warblers arrive a bit later and many stay here for the winter. Their long legs are an adaptation for feeding on the ground:

Prairie Warblers are back:

This male Scarlet Tanager was a bonus bird this past week. The male sheds his scarlet coat for a green one:

On my way home yesterday as I emerged from the high brush at the trailhead, I cautiously looked around before walking out into the open. Occasionally I surprise a mammal such as a rabbit, Raccoon, deer or Bobcat. This time I almost missed seeing a Coyote which had stopped to answer the call of nature:

When finished with doin' business, it continued across the gravel road:

We are in the heart of the wet season. Cloud formations can be very entertaining. Can you see this poor guy being knocked out by one  thief while the other sneaks off with his stolen horse? (or is it a rooster or a seahorse?

A record number of tropical storms have developed this year. Thankfully, south Florida has been spared a direct hit so far. Morning walks have been interrupted by "pop-up" showers associated with some of them.  Storms brewed rapidly before sunrise on October 3:

This was the scene to the south 25 minutes before sunrise on October 5. The clouds formed rapidly and I had to cut the walk short.

I got to the exit gate only minutes before the deluge:

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Linking to:

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Camera Critters

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

Our World Tuesday

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World

Timeless Thursday

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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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Crops & Clips: Flashback to May, 2016

Poring over my photo archives from three years ago, I reflect that my life is now much less active. Having given up our second home in Illinois, we are more homebound. Excursions are mostly for shopping, choir practice, church and of course, visits to the dentist and various doctors. Our early morning walks into the adjacent Wounded Wetlands highlight each day.

We started out the month of May, 2016 in Illinois. Our son-in-law hosted their traditional backyard Cinco de Mayo pig roast with over 100 people in attendance. Since it is also a birthday party for our daughter, donations to a local charity are requested in lieu of gifts. Spring migration was underway. At every opportunity, MaryLou and I visited the numerous municipal parks and county forest preserves.

At Bliss Woods in Sugar Grove we found Yellow Warblers in full song:





We encountered one Orchard Oriole:



Common Grackles in Midwestern US were formerly called "Bronzed Grackles" as opposed to the eastern "Purple Grackles," as I knew them as a kid in New Jersey. They were originally considered separate species. This photo illustrates its iridescent brown back:



At Jones Meadow Park near our condo in North Aurora, Flocks of Sandhill Cranes were arriving and passing overhead:



This Virginia Rail was a real treat as it posed in a cattail patch:



A Canada Goose tends to its goslings. This photo was taken from some distance away, as they can become violently aggressive in defense of their young:



A male American Goldfinch is reflected on the surface of a brook:



We visited the Japanese Garden at Fabyan Forest Preserve in Geneva, providing some of my favorite photo opportunities:



Blossoms enveloped a small outbuilding in the garden:



There, a Great Horned Owl tended its owlets...



...and a beautiful Yellow-throated Warbler sang in a treetop:



Oh, my-- this only brings me up to the 6th of the month-- So many more photos to review! Scarlet Tanager, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and an Indigo Bunting on April 12:







On May 15, the day before we returned to Florida, a Baltimore Oriole perched nearby:



Back home, MaryLou is ahead of me as she enters our local wetlands:



A Great Egret takes flight:



A little Blue Heron and a smaller Green Heron interact:



A young doe prances across the gravel track:



Before sunrise, a storm is forming to the west over the Everglades:



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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

 Linking to Fences Around the World by Gosia

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

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ROY G BIV: Birds of a spectrum

Just after sunrise, a rain shower passed to the north of the lake in our local south Florida wetlands. A rainbow reflected on the  surface of the water:



The human eye can discern electromagnetic radiation in a rather narrow band of wavelengths of about 390 to 700 nanometers, a frequency of 430-770 THz. The visible colors of the spectrum may be arranged in the order of their frequency, from low to high (wavelengths from long to short). 

Thanks to a profusion of retinal cones, humans can see colors better than most other mammals. However, birds generally see a wider range of colors, snakes are able to detect infrared, and spiders, bees and many other insects (and rats) are sensitive to ultraviolet light. Many flowers attract pollinators with ultraviolet hues.

As a child I learned to recite the colors of the rainbow, from top to bottom (long to short wave) by reciting the mnemonic  "Roy G Biv."

"Another traditional mnemonic device has been to turn the initial letters of seven spectral colors into a sentence. In Britain the most common is "Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain." The mnemonic is said to refer to the defeat and death of Richard, Duke of York at the Battle of Wakefield. To avoid reference to this defeat, people from Yorkshire developed the alternative "Rowntrees Of York Gave Best In Value." Alternatively, the biblically inspired "Read Out Your Good Book In Verse," or the more anarchic "Rinse Out Your Granny's Boots In Vinegar," may be used." (Wikipedia) 

More rainbows--

Partial:





Our neighbor Estelle's home is at the end of one:



Full:





Fogbow:



Rainbow effects--

Clouds:



Spider webs:





ROY G BIV Birds--

Red: Scarlet Tanager



Orange: Baltimore Oriole



Yellow: American Goldfinch



Green: Painted Bunting female



Blue: Mountain Bluebird



Indigo: Indigo Bunting



Violet: Common Grackle




YOU TUBE:

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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to FENCES AROUND THE WORLD by Gosia

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

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

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