Thursday, August 5, 2021

Crops & Clips: Flashback to August, 2018

As is my habit at the beginning of each month, I combed the photo archives from three years back and searched for images which reflected favorite memes: critters of all kinds (especially birds), skies and clouds, reflections, flowers and fences, as well as scenes which speak for themselves. We spent the entire month of August, 2018 at our home in south Florida and processed 366 images. 

We welcomed the arrival of Prairie Warblers on the first day of the month. Although this colorful species is fairly common here most of the year, they suddenly disappear from our local wetlands at the beginning of May and usually reappear in early August. 

Their absence is explained by their breeding habits. They migrate laterally to preferred breeding habitats in coastal mangrove and scrub areas. The population of local Prairie Warblers is then augmented by the arrival of fall migrants from all over eastern USA which funnel into Florida on their way to wintering grounds over the southern part of the State and the Caribbean islands.

Our first of the season Prairie Warbler, August 1, 2018:


That same morning, a Pileated Woodpecker was another nice find:

On August 3, we were out early, under a waning gibbous Buck Moon:

Anticrepuscular rays converged to the west just before sunrise that morning:

An introduced exotic Brown Basilisk was shedding its skin. Only its head and feet were free of the old layer:


On August 4, a young White-tailed buck struck a nice pose in a scenic setting :

He allowed a fairly close approach...


...before gracefully bounding off:

In the marsh, a Snowy Egret was dwarfed by a Great Egret:

An Anhinga along the canal protested my intrusion:

The highlight of the day and into late autumn was a Louisiana Waterthrush. They are usually rather transient, but this one or perhaps another subsequently occupied a marshy area in our patch into late October.

A Tricolored Heron hunted in our back yard:

A male Julia longwing sipped the nectar of a Lantana blossom:

Other sightings were a Common Ground-Dove, which has since become much more difficult to find...

...a Carolina Wren...

...an Egyptian Goose in flight...

...a Halloween Pennant:

...and a Tropical Checkered-Skipper:

A migrating Solitary Sandpiper arrived on August 28:

Also on August 28, a male Bobcat walked into view:

The next day, my birthday gift was a Great Blue Heron:

A tiny Brazilian Skipper rested on a flower of Pickerelweed. Their larvae are leaf-rolling caterpillars which favor the Canna Lily, a native perennial in Florida wetlands:

An eerie red sunset turned our back yard lake into a pool of blood:

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Linking to:


Fences Around the World

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Camera Critters

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

Our World Tuesday

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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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22 comments:

  1. I love the warblers! They are so flighty!

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  2. Just beautiful..What a wonderful series..It's hard to pick out one or two..so many goodies..Thanks for sharing..Enjoy the rest of your week..

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  3. Hi Kenneth! :) That Prairie Warbler is such a sweet little bird! :) Wow. I have never seen a Brown Basilisk before, great photos! Nice photo of the bobcat. I loved the sunrise photo too. You live in such a nice area, loved this post! :)

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  4. Beautiful collection. Love the pink sky.

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  5. Hello Ken,
    First, wow the last sky capture is just gorgeous. But, I love all your sky photos. Cute shot of the Warbler, all your bird photos are great. I love the Buck and the Bobcat. I have never seen a lizard shedding it's skin, neat find. Great nature and critter post. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post! Take care, enjoy your weekend!
    PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

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  6. You have so many beautiful photos to share. I like to look back at the same time of year to see what we might see or what we are missing. We saw a Ground Dove yesterday. That was nice! Happy weekend!

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  7. I love the photos of the buck. You have the most beautiful skies!

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  8. Great shots! That's a spectacular sunrise.

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  9. These are wonderful gems from your archives.

    My latest post:
    https://craniumbolts.blogspot.com/2021/08/what-haul-from-saul-kere.html

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  10. Lots of eye candy here! Each photograph is a work of art!

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  11. Glorious archives Ken. Each & all!
    Here's hoping your week ahead is super. Thanks for linking in. HAPPY BIRDING!

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  12. Amazing photos! I especially like the images of the Egyptian goose in flight and the skipper moth on the pickleweed. Hope you have a great week!

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  13. What an enjoyable photographic feast, Ken!

    I'm jealous of your Waterthrush! I can rarely find one and you had one spend the season with you!

    Hard to believe it's almost time for migration. Now, if you can just adjust the outdoor thermostat down a tad ......

    Hope your current year is as good as this flashback was for the last one!

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  14. beautiful images as always. this time Brown Basilisk skin shedding made me laugh a lot.

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  15. Hi Kenneth, beautiful serie photos. I like the bobcat. We don't have them in the Netherlands. Have a nice week.

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  16. That sunrise is something else alright. Fantastic!

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  17. To find a Prairie Warbler here is a great prize! One showed up this spring at Lakeside Park in Kitchener and birders from near and far thronged to see it. Wonderful photographs. demonstrating serious skill with a camera.

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  18. As usual all your photos are a delight to see Kenneth. I love the way the light has caught one of the Deer's ears and that sunrise is stunning. Was at physio yesterday again and she is please with my progress, as I am also but still a way to go. Have a safe and lovely week.

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  19. I've never seen anything like the basilisk. The lizards we have here are small and mostly have bright blue stripes.
    Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2021/08/some-gentle-wisdom.html

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  20. What wonderful creatures! I always see some familiar critters and some I've never seen before. I'm so glad you share with us each week :)

    Thanks for sharing your link at My Corner of the World this week!

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