Countdown to the equinox (#877)

In our local south Florida birding patch, land-bird migration usually peaks in October. I have seen 22 warbler species here during fall migration, of which 11 species have persisted into the winter months. Among them were these early arrivals--

Black-and-White Warblers breed just to the north and are commonly present by August. They creep along the trunks and major branches, mouse-like. The fall male Black-and-White Warbler has a dark face patch:



In spring the male is more densely streaked and may have an entirely black chest (April 14, 2019):



Females and first year males have pale faces:



They are very acrobatic as they seek insect prey hidden in the bark:



Winter adult male (January 29, 2019): 



The Northern Parula is another early-arriving warbler. The dense foliage sometimes makes them difficult to locate. I nearly discarded this photo because I assumed that the bird was hiding out of sight...



...but look closely:





This male Northern Parula just caught a spider:



Prairie Warblers are most numerous, as they breed in Florida's coastal mangroves during May through early July and return to the interior for the rest of the year.

This male was very photogenic as it posed on a Pond Cypress in perfect early morning light:







Blue-gray Gnatcatchers often join the warblers. They also breed down into south Florida, although we do not see them here during mid-summer:



Brown Thrashers nest locally and stay year round, but migrants from the north swell  their numbers in fall and winter:



The Northern Cardinal is resident all  year round. No matter where they breed, they do not migrate and usually remain in close proximity to their nest. This male has not yet finished his post-breeding molt:



In a grassy area along the path, a White-tailed Doe grazed as her yearling fawn eyed me suspiciously:

 



A young spike buck walked out into the clearing, but moments later the trio bounded away:



Before sunrise on September 9, the dark shadow of a thunderhead out on the ocean interrupted the rays of the morning sun as they converged on the opposite (western) horizon:



Five minutes before sunrise, the clouds were partially  shaded by the horizon and glowed warmly:

 





About 35 minutes before sunrise on September 15 the Harvest Moon shone brightly over the  lake:

 

20 minutes later, the clear sky had brightened up:

 

At sunrise on September 9, my shadow pointed towards the Everglades, beyond the lake. On the day of the equinox, like a sundial, it will have moved a bit more to the right and pinpoint 270 degrees, true west.



At our location in south Florida, on September 23 the sun will rise at 90 degrees (due east) on the horizon and set directly opposite (270 degrees), but the length of day and night will not be equal until September 27. 

Factoid:  In Singapore, located almost directly on the equator, sunrise and sunset will likewise be at opposite points, but the lengths of day and night will never be equal, this year coming closest near our (Northern Hemisphere) winter solstice on December 25, when the day will still be 12 minutes and 16 seconds longer than night.) Read: Why are days always longer than nights at the Equator?   

This week I celebrated my 13th Blogaversary. Way before I started blogging (as the term became known), in the mid 1980s, I wrote columns on health care issues and uploaded  them via an acoustic modem to the Fort Worth (Texas) Star Telegram web site, StarText. This pioneering “electronic newspaper” started in 1982 and was freely accessible on a computer. 

The Star-Telegram is the nation's oldest continuously operating online newspaper. StarText was an ASCII-based service which was eventually integrated into the paper's current website. 

I composed my columns on the world's first "laptop," a Tandy TRS-80 model 100 computer, upgraded to 24 KB RAM and which ran on 4 AA Batteries. In 1989 I spent $999.00 upgrading to a Tandy 1100FD laptop with an impressive 640 KB RAM and a 3.5 inch floppy drive. Adjusted for inflation, it cost $2500 in today's economy.  

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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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