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Thursday, October 25, 2018

Walking the boardwalk at Chapel Trail

This winter we are looking forward to a series of  monthly nature walks at Chapel Trail Nature Preserve in neighboring Pembroke Pines. 

Before Mary Lou and I moved from New Mexico to south Florida in 2004 we learned about the planned opening of this wetland preserve. During visits prior to our relocation we had visited the site, watched the construction of a boardwalk and anticipated its imminent debut. 

Unfortunately, vandals set a fire which caused extensive damage and the area remained closed for repairs. A hurricane hit only a couple of years later and turned over almost half of the boardwalk structure, necessitating another closure. Since then we have made many visits and often found it to be hospitable to a nice variety of resident and migratory birds.

These are views of the boardwalk last November:

Chapel Trail 02-20171128

Chapel Trail 04-20171128

To anticipate what we might see this year, a few of last year's November sightings from the boardwalk vantage points follow.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher:

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 01-20171128

Female Northern Cardinal:

Northern Cardinal female 03-20171104

Pine Warbler:

Pine Warbler 03-20171104

Tricolored Heron:

Tricolored Heron reflection 20171104

From earlier years--

Prairie Warbler:

Prairie Warbler 3-20151227

Great Egret:

Great Egret HDR 05-20160808

A Bobcat track in the dew on the boardwalk (Mary Lou saw it, but this is all I have to remember it by):

Bobcat print on boardwalk 20151111

An Eastern Towhee with yellow eyes, a Florida specialty as this species has red eyes in its northern range:

Eastern Towhee 05-20160305

Gray-headed (formerly called "Purple") Swamphen:

Gray-headed Swamphen in spikerush 20151212

A young Marsh Rabbit:

Marsh Rabbit young 01-20160808

These are the first two pages of my Chapel Trail photo album from back in 2015. I now have processed over 1000 photos from this location:

Chapel Trail FLICKR Album

Chapel Trail FLICKR Album2

Although it is cut off from the Everglades and fed by rainwater and drainage canals which can cause unusual fluctuation of its water levels, the hydrology of this wetlands roughly mirrors that of the River of Grass-- flooded during spring and summer and gradually drying out as winter advances. 

This year, an extremely wet month of May and the need to reduce the water level in Lake Okeechobee in preparation for the hurricane season placed a burden on the canal system and water backed up into the wetlands. This dispersed aquatic prey, and resulted in a lower concentration of  herons and egrets throughout the summer. Water conditions should be more favorable this November.

A prominent plant in the flooded areas is Spikerush, which favors longer periods of flooding (hydroperiod), quite the opposite of Sawgrass which declines if its roots remain submerged over several seasons. At Chapel Trail, the Sawgress flourishes on the higher ground, but areas of Spikerush provide habitat for microorganisms and invertebrates which attract fish and wading birds. Swamphens and other wildlife eat their nourishing seeds, shoots, roots and tubers.

Spikerush  in a flooded prairie on a rainy morning in November, 2017:

Rain over Chapel Trail 20171104

We normally visit Chapel Trail Nature Preserve in order to observe wildlife FROM its 1/4 mile boardwalk. I started thinking about what we might have seen ON rather than FROM this structure, so I searched my photo archives and turned up quite a few creatures!

Click here to see critters ON (not FROM) the boardwalk at Chapel Trail 


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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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Thursday, October 18, 2018

The eagles have landed

The 2017-18 breeding season was another success for the local pair of Bald Eagles. By mid-October 2017 they were working together to reconstruct their nest (click on images for enlarged views):

Bald Eagles work on nest 06-20171025

Egg-laying commenced during the second week of December and by mid-January 2018 the parents were observed feeding unseen eaglets in two positions. However, photos near the end of January revealed only one eaglet, so mortality of the second chick was presumed. 

The eaglet, called P Piney 19 (the 19th known hatchling produced at this nest) at 26 days of age on February 5:

Bald Eagle Pride with P Piney19 20180205

The eaglet, judged by its large size to be a female, fledged on April 2 and returned to the nest to be fed. She was free-flying on April 11, and often foraged with one of her parents:

Bald Eagle eaglet P Piney 19 04-20180411

"P Piney 19" lingered near the nest longer than usual and was last seen flying over the local wetlands with one of the adults on July 23, 2018:

Bald Eagle immature 07-0646AM 20180718 

Bald Eagle immature 06-0646AM 20180718

Interesting-- the eaglet was carrying some grass in her talons:

Bald Eagle immature 05-0646AM 20180718

Now the adults have returned to begin a new nesting cycle. Here they are, roosting in a tree near the nest on October 7, 2018. The male (Pride) is to the left, while his mate (Jewel) is perched higher up. Note that the male's smaller body is more tapered towards the tail end while Jewel is much more filled out "below the waist.:"

Bald Eagles - Pride and Jewel 01-20181007

The pair spent much time preening:

Bald Eagle female Jewel 01-20181007

Bald Eagle male Pride 01-20181007

When Pride finished preening he got all ruffled up:

Bald Eagle male Pride ruffled 05-20181007

Bald Eagle male Pride ruffled 06-20181007

A closeup of Jewel's talons shows the elongated hind toe (hallux), characteristic of the female:

Bald Eagle female Jewel talons 05-20181007

Jewel is checking out something on the ground below:

Bald Eagle female Jewel 04-20181007

Pride sees it too, but I do not have eagle eyes:

Bald Eagle male Pride portrait 09-20181007

The nest appeared to have some new sticks added:

Bald Eagle nest 20181007

A pink sunrise in early October:

Pink sunrise 20181007

Two female White-tailed Deer did not see me at first as they walked up to the guard rail of the unfinished road in the Wounded Wetlands:

White-tailed does 20181007

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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

________________________________________________

Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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Thursday, October 11, 2018

Crops & Clips: Fall arrivals

Having sold our Illinois condo in April, this was the first time since 2006 that we spent the entire summer (except for two weeks in early September) at our permanent home in south Florida. 

This Northern Cardinal has finished molting into a new, brilliant coat:

Northern Cardinal 01-20181009

The weather continues its summer routine of heat, humidity and pop-up showers. I have added a new piece of equipment to my hiking gear-- a folding umbrella, which has come in handy several times.

Days usually start out clear, such as this morning under the waning crescent Harvest Moon:

Harvest Moon waning crescent 20181005

 A Great Egret may be out on the lake before first light:

Great Egret dpp-hd 02-20181005

However, one morning the sky looked very threatening at sunrise...

Storm brewing 20181004

...rain approached...

Rain coming 20181007

...and the shower was followed by a rainbow.

Rainbow 01-20181004

The earliest of our arriving warblers was a Louisiana Waterthrush. It showed up on July 30 and has been present every day through this morning (October 10), an unusually long stop-over. According to eBird, for the past ten years, except for a single sighting in December, 2008, this species has not otherwise been recorded in our County after the end of September. A very early migrant, it usually arrives in south Florida by mid-July and disappears to wintering grounds in the Carribbean or Central America by early September.

Louisiana Waterthrush:

Louisiana Waterthrush 03-20181007

Louisiana Waterthrush 04-20181007

A similar Northern Waterthrush arrived only this morning.  Louisiana Waterthrush has a broad white eye line which contrasts with its undersides and buffy flanks. The Northern Waterthrush has a relatively shorter bill, its eye line is buffy and is darker than or matches the color of its undersides, which are more densely streaked, often up into its throat.

Northern Waterthrush 09-20181010  

Northern Waterthrush 08-20181010

Other arrivals included American Redstarts...

American Redstart male 04-20181001

American Redstart male 02-20181001

...Blue-gray Gnatcatchers...

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2-20191001

...Red-eyed Vireos...

Red-eyed Vireo 1-20181007

...Ovenbirds...

Ovenbird 01-20180924

...Black-throated Blue Warblers, eating the Fireweed berries...

Black-throated Blue Warbler 091-20181009

Black-throated Blue Warbler 095-20181009

...Palm Warblers...

Palm Warbler 02-20181005

...Northern Parulas...

Northern Parula 20181001

...Eastern Kingbirds...

Eastern Kingbird 03-20180924

...Ruby-throated Hummingbirds:

Ruby-throated Hummingbird at Firebush 03-20181009

New arrivals bolstered local populations of Prairie Warblers...

Prairie Warbler 01-20181009

...and Common Yellowthroats:

Common Yellowthroat 01-20181005

Days are getting shorter. Sunrise is later each morning and has shifted to the south of the gate in "Sundial Alley:"

Sunrise 2-20181007


= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

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

________________________________________________

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


________________________________________________