This week I am refreshing memories of events three years ago, looking for favorite memes: critters of all kinds (especially birds), skies, reflections, fences, butterflies and flowers... and tranquil scenes which speak for themselves.
We began the month with a rather unusual sighting in our local south Florida Wounded Wetlands. An American White Pelican startled me as it flew in directly overhead:
This species usually travels in fairly large flocks, as they are cooperative feeders. Typically they swim in a line and circle in on schools of fish, herding them together in shallow water for a feast. This one settled on the lake, alone. It was present for one day only, on February 2:
That same morning, a roadside American Kestrel was grasping a prey item as it perched on the top shoot of a Royal Palm:
I tried out my pocket camera, a Canon PowerShot SX700 HS, on a rather distant Merlin which was eating a little bird. With the optical zoom fully extended to 30X it produced a fairly decent image of the small falcon:
As if to help me round out my falcon images for the month, a Peregrine showed up:
Wispy pink clouds appeared over the wetlands:
I liked the glow of sunrise on the sheltered still water. Its reflection illuminated the Great Blue Heron against the lake, its surface stirred by waves which picked up the blue sky:
A male Northern Cardinal stood out against a gray sky:
A visit to Peaceful Waters Park wetlands in Wellington, Palm Beach County provided intimate views of Purple Gallinules...
...a Sandhill Crane at its nest...
...a Little Blue Heron on the prowl...
...and a Loggerhead Shrike:
At Wellington Environmental Preserve, Mary Lou walked along the marvelous boardwalk...
...with an American Alligator in open view...
...a well-hidden Limpkin...
...and a cluster of American Coots:
More images from the wild lands back home in south Florida; a light morph Short-tailed Hawk soared :
A female Anhinga showed off her "turkey tail:"
This male Anhinga developed a fancy "hairdo" as breeding season approached:
A male Ruby-throated Hummingbird sipped nectar from a Ligustrum flower:
Northern Flicker female:
Female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on our back yard Mahogany tree:
Most winters we are lucky to see even a single American Robin. This one appeared on February 11:
View from the lakeside marsh on a foggy February morning as the sun touched the Pine Bank:
Back yard sunrise on February 11:
Zebra heliconian on Balsam Pear:
Female Julia heliconian on Bidens alba (Shepherd's Nettle):
A "weed" with tiny yellow composite flowers:
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
We departed from our south Florida home on April 21, just as spring migration was beginning. Our destination was our condo in NE Illinois, just emerging from two weeks of unusually cold and wet weather.
The next morning we headed to nearby Nelson Lake Marsh/Dick Young Forest Preserve, where we were surprised to find a large flock of migrating American White Pelicans. I counted at least 60. This is at the eastern edge of their northbound migration from wintering grounds in the Western and Central US.
American
White Pelicans commonly winter in Florida and along the Gulf of Mexico
but migrate in a northwesterly direction, generally avoiding the eastern
coastal areas. (*See end note)
During breeding season the adults grow a vertical fibrous plate on their upper mandibles which is shed before they migrate southbound:
The prairie was just starting to geen up. This is the east entry path, looking towards the viewing platform which overlooks the lake:
On our way back to the condo we stopped at Jones Meadow Park, where the path had been flooded because of rain and snow-melt. The bare trees cast nice reflections:
A Tree Swallow defiled the warning sign:
Seeing an American Robin is quite a thrill. While they migrate into Florida, they rarely appear in our neighborhood:
The next day we visited Lippold Park in Batavia, Illinois. The Canada Geese were nesting. At the end of the boardwalk an especially protective pair guarded their eggs and even attacked some visitors. We steered clear:
We observed the incubating female from across the pond:
Three male Mallards swam in closed ranks:
I obtained one of my nicest photos of a male Red-winged Blackbird as it sang "Conk-ra-lee!"
In the wooded area, a Brown Creeper was almost invisible against the bark of a tree:
I finally obtained a side view:
A sweet little Golden-crowned Kinglet posed very briefly:
We are in the throes of marketing our condo-- so much stuff to move out and donate or give away. Our granddaughters were given two new puppies this week-- so much excitement! They will never forget Siboney but the girls are absolutely thrilled with their pets...
...a tiny (but eventually full-sized) Poodle puppy named Cazador ("Hunter" in Spanish) meets old Tibetan Mastiff Agramonte for the first time:
The next day, Moncada (4 month old Tibetan Mastiff, named after General Guillermon Moncada, hero of the Cuban War of Independence and civil rights advocate) arrived-- here napping after having great fun with his new little "brother"...
...and they got along splendidly, even after Cazador jumped on him and woke him up!:
With so much going on I may need to take a break but will try to get out as much as possible while my emails pile up! Sorry if I have not yet gotten back to everyone who have posted such great comments (they get a priority position in my in-box!).
*PS: We have had them in our local south Florida "Wounded Wetlands," where in 2012, I documented their cooperative fishing style (pardon my New Jersey accent):
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Like many birders, I try to make time to see birds at every opportunity when not engaged in higher priority activities. This was the case earlier this week when we received word that Mary Lou's brother Richard was admitted to the hospital and had taken a bad turn. We drove almost 300 miles to Leesburg to visit him, and stayed at a hotel in Lake Mary, a community in The Villages. We spent the better part of two days with him and family members, getting back to our hotel late in the day.
Knowing of our passion, Mary Lou's younger brother Ray had researched the Internet and, early on our first morning, led us to a couple of birding spots. The first was Paradise Park, only about a half mile from the hotel. We had little time to spare but spent an interesting half hour, during which time I logged 12 bird species.
The sun was rising out over the lake, creating very difficult photographic conditions. I rescued a few poorly exposed images, among them...
A flock of five Long-billed Dowitchers with a Lesser Yellowlegs in the foreground:
A poor shot of the dowitchers, which are large sandpipers with substantial straight bills:
Three Lesser Yellowlegs...
...which took flight:
Two small flocks of American White Pelicans soared over the lake and then 14 joined together in the sky. Appearing ungainly on land, they are majestic in flight:
On the way back to the hospital, Ray pointed out Veterans' Memorial Park a small park right next door to our hotel. That evening, just before sunset, we walked out from the parking lot and visited it.
Beautiful old Bald Cypress trees bordered the far side of the small lake:
A Tufted Titmouse was singing vigorously:
It flew down to the ground and poked around in the leaves:
It was getting dark but I was able to get some of my best shots ever of two pairs of Lesser Scaup in the lake. I loved the way the low light played on the ripples. This is one of the males:
Female Lesser Scaup:
We returned the next morning just after sunrise. The old cypress trees cast beautiful reflections:
We were amazed to find two Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks in the small pond, next to a busy highway:
A Hooded Merganser photo-bombed the whistling-ducks:
The merganser paddled over nearer to us...
...where it joined another, possibly its mate:
They swam out under a bridge into a larger lake. The effect of early morning sun and the reflection of the hotel created a dazzling effect:
Before we departed, one last scan revealed a Limpkin!
An Anhinga dried its wings in a cypress tree next to the hotel. The wall is my substitute for the fence meme:
