Purple feathers and green goggles

At nearby Chapel Trail Nature Preserve in Pembroke Pines, two purple relatives exist side by side. One is a newcomer, appearing first in the wild after escaping from a local private bird collection in 1996. The Gray-headed Swamphen (Porphyrio Poliocephalus) is related to the gallinules, coots and rails (Rallidae family). Native to the Middle East through India and southern Asia into northern Thailand, the species has adapted to Florida's wetland habitats and has spread widely in the State. 

At first considered to be a threat to native birds, in 2006 it was subjected to an eradication campaign in which over 3,000 were gunned down by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. This futile attempt to exterminate the species did not stop their expanding population.

The colorful Swamphen uses its prehensile toes to dig up the roots and emerging shoots of water plants such as this Spike-rush:

Gray-headed Swamphen in flight:

Gray-headed Swamphens were first considered to be a subspecies of the Purple Swamphen before being reclassified as a separate species. Large and muscular, they are often said to look like a "Purple Gallinule on steroids." . 

A Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica) was foraging for one of its favorite foods, the buds and seeds of Spatterdock (AKA Cow Lily or Yellow Pond Lily). Its long toes allow it to "walk on water" over the bed of lily pads:

Also at Chapel Trail, another Rallidae family member, American Coot...

...and Common Gallinule:

A male Anhinga was roosting on an island out in the wet praitie:

During breeding season the bare skin around the eyes of the male turns bright green. Lady Anhingas must find this irresistible:

On the adjacent pasture, a Cattle Egret is chummy with a Longhorn calf:

The boardwalk at Chapel Trail preserve:

Sunrise at our corner on February 23:

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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

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 November, 2017

I combed the archives of photos taken 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 November 2017 at our principal home in Florida and saved 340 images. 

On the first day of November, a Great Blue Heron allowed my close approach before lifting off over the local wetlands:

A male American Kestrel roosted on top of an Australian Pine and then took flight:

At nearby Chapel Trail preserve, a Cattle Egret chased insects attracted to a Longhorn cow:

Great Egret roosting lakeside:

An immature Little Blue Heron struck a nice pose as it foraged energetically:

Before sunrise, a Great Egret made a graceful landing against a pink sky:

Another reflected as it occupied a blooming Melaleuca:

A "fogbow" over the lake:

From a distance I thought this heron had captured a large snake, but it was an amphiuma. I watched as it dispatched it and then swallowed it whole (November 5, 2017):

The Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means) can grow to a length of 3 feet or more—one of the largest salamander species in the world. Two-toed Amphiumas have tiny, nearly useless front and hind legs with two toes on each leg:

The local pair of Bald Eagles were busy restoring their nest on November 11:

I caught a distant view of a Bobcat as it strolled along  the barrier fence on the "road to nowhere:"

Most of the migrating warblers had passed through by the end of October, but the Pine Warblers made their usual appearance in early November. This was a drab immature female...

...and a somewhat more colorful immature male:

Nearby, a beautiful female Northern Cardinal:

Female Northern Flicker:

A glimpse through the foliage of a White-eyed Vireo (well-named!):

Female Painted Bunting, our only truly green songbird:

This was one of the few White-crowned Sparrows recorded in our County, on November 14. (Actually I reported and photographed 1 back in 2012, the first County record of the century, then 2 in 2014 for the highest count ever). This immature bird will trade the dark brown on its crown for bold white when it molts into breeding plumage:

A Red-shouldered Hawk flew off:

This Gray Squirrel seemed to be eating flowers of the exotic and invasive Melaeuca tree. They smell like turpentine and must taste awful:

Garden Spider in her orb:

The canal which separates the residential area from the Wounded Wetlands, November 24:

Chapel Trail Nature Preserve boardwalk, November 28:

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Linking to:

Fences Around the World

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

________________________________________________

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

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Barn Owl and Coyote howl on morning prowl

About two years ago we started taking our morning walks about an hour before sunrise. We were always out "early," meaning after the sky began brightening up. Since I like photographing the setting Full Moon, we occasionally got out when it was very dark. After we became full-time (summer) Florida residents it became a habit. 

During the summer we escaped the heat of the sun and came to enjoy trekking out with flashlights and listening to the sounds of the night. We heard the calls of Eastern Screech-Owls and experienced the pre-dawn songbird chorus.

On April 8 I heard the eerie scream of a Barn Owl. It was high in a Royal Palm next to the gravel road which leads into the wetlands.  It was 6:20 AM, about 45 minutes before sunrise.  I could only see it using my flashlight. It was so dark that my camera would not click, even though I manually cranked the ISO up to 16,000. 

I had to hold my flashlight beam on the owl to permit the camera to focus, and the photos turned out to be very soft, with "red eye" which I corrected during processing:





Years ago, when I first heard heard its unfamiliar scream I thought it was a mammal, perhaps a Bobcat. This time, the Barn Owl called unexpectedly while I was recording the song of a Chuck-wills-widow. 

AUDIO FILE-- Chuck-wills-widow and Barn Owl

This was my tenth, but by far the best local sighting of (or hearing) a Barn Owl since first discovering one in 2015. I found a wing feather in 2018 in the same general location:



The owl first called from on or very near the top of the trunk of this dead Royal Palm. It could be a nesting or resting place, so I am checking it carefully:



On March 25 I heard several Coyotes barking and wailing along the Big Levee Trail. By the time I reached the spot they had departed, but a treed Raccoon may have been their intended prey:





Nearby Chapel Trail Nature Preserve has since closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but my last visit there started with a peaceful stroll along the boardwalk, which starts out through a wooded area:



Among the birds and butterflies at Chapel Trail, a Blue-headed Vireo was a cooperative subject:



A Black-and-White Warbler foraged along the trunks and larger branches:



Cattle Egrets walked along with a Longhorn cow and bull in the adjacent pasture:



A Prairie Warbler flitted high up in the canopy:

  



Out on the wet prairie, there were a dozen of these established exotic Gray-headed Swamphens:





Swamphens were joined by a pair of Mottled Ducks on the flooded prairie:



A Zebra longwing butterfly sipped on wild Lantana blossoms:

 

A male Queen butterfly provided two nice views:





White Peacock wings are often damaged by their fighting,  so I never pass up a chance to capture a near-perfect specimen :



A Magnolia tree bloomed in a light rain shower:

 

The sun rising over the entrance to our local Wounded Wetlands:




The April Pink Moon setting:



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Linking to:

Fences Around the World

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Camera Critters

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Our World Tuesday

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World

________________________________________________

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

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