Crops & Clips: Flashback to July, 2018

As I do each month, I enjoyed looking back over my archived photos, taken three years previously, to remember how things were then and maybe get some idea of what to expect this year.  

As usual, I 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 in Florida, having just completed sale of our Illinois condominium. 

My first bird photos of the month, on July 1, were of a female Red-bellied Woodpecker on the paper bark of a Melaleuca tree...

...and a Common Nighthawk in flight:

The next morning a male Red-bellied Woodpecker exhibited the more extensive red on his crown:

A Red-winged Blackbird looked down from his perch in a Swamp (Red) Maple:

The streaked breast of this Green Heron indicates that it is an immature bird:

A Great  Egret flew over against the dawn sky:

A Halloween Pennant, true to its name, faced  the wind like a flag atop a grass stalk: 

Quite a distance ahead, a Bobcat strolled across the gravel path. I captured a burst of photos and later stitched them together to form a composite image:

A Killdeer posed in warm morning sunlight:

West Indies natives descended from escaped pets, Curley-tailed Lizards were becoming more common:

A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron roosted in the rookery:

The adult Bald Eagle from the local nest flew over the Wounded Wetlands, followed by the juvenile:

The tail of this male Anhinga is corrugated, a feature which reduces drag while it is swimming underwater:

A Great Egret reflected nicely:

Loggerhead Shrike against the full Moon:

Monarch Butterfly on Lantana:

White Peacock:

Phaon Crescent:

The Blood Buck Moon of July set behind the trees on July 27:

Sunrise from our back patio on a typical rainy season morning, July 28:

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Linking to:

Garden Affair

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 June, 2018

To kick off the month of June, I have once again turned to my photo archives, bringing back memories of three years ago, searching for favorite memes: birds and butterflies, flowers, reflections, colorful skies and scenes which speak for themselves.

We spent June, 2018 entirely in Florida. Early in the month, our Texas family visited and we drove to Shark Valley Visitor Center in Everglades National Park.

The range of Limpkins is nearly confined to Florida, so they are much sought after by visiting birders. Although they look somewhat like herons, they are more closely related to rails and cranes. Limpkins were abundant, as were Apple Snails, their favorite food:

"The Limpkin's bill is uniquely adapted to foraging on apple snails. The closed bill has a gap just before the tip that makes the bill act like tweezers. The tip itself is often curved slightly to the right so it can be slipped into the right-handed curve of the snail’s shell." (All About Birds, The Cornell Lab)  

Next to the parking lot at the entrance to the Visitor Center, an immature Red-shouldered Hawk cried out incessantly:

Alligators inhabited the canals, thrilling the many tourists:

At the local Bald Eagle nest, only one of the two eaglets survived to fledge. P Piney 19 was 5 months old, ready to leave the care of parents and likely migrate to the north where fish are easier to catch as the water is cooler and they are closer to the surface.

Out in the neighborhood wetlands, male Common Nighthawks patrolled nesting territories along the path. I accidentally captured the waning Strawberry Moon in this photo:

Killdeers also protested as we walked past their nests:

A Raccoon walked out into the open and looked at me before fleeing:

In the marsh, Pickerelweed thrust up their blue flowers...

...intermingling with the white blooms of Broadleaf Arrowhead (aka "Duck Potato" for its edible root tubers)...

...and Swamp Lily:

A "piebald" Little Blue Heron was molting from white juvenile to dark blue adult plumage:

A White-tailed Deer doe thrust up her tail as an alarm as she bolted for cover:

An immature Green Heron rested in a small Pond Cypress tree before flying off:

Young Wood Storks awaited to be fed at the rookery about 10 miles north of our home:

Along the path I encountered a Florida Box Turtle. Unfortunately, many people bring them home as pets, often not knowing that they do not live in the water or what to feed them:

Among the insects, A white Peacock...

...a Halloween Pennant...

...a Phaon Crescent...

...and a bee-like hoverfly:

A Great Egret reflected on June 27:

A foggy sunrise on June 29:

Along the path at 20 minutes before sunrise on June 30:

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Linking to:

Garden Affair

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
________________________________________________

Crops & Clips: Early Birds

It's odd how one's definition of "elderly" can change over the years. My private family medicine practice included delivering babies. I always referred my high-risk patients to an Obstetrician. These included any pregnant women who were at high risk, among them "elderly primigravida"-- those whose first pregnancy occured after they were 35 years old. When I was in my 40's I probably would have classified someone in their 70s as "elderly."

However, when I reached 70 years of age I would not have liked being called "elderly," Those are folks who are frail and "really old." They probably were hard of hearing, all went to bed early, got up several times to pee, and were up and about well before the sun was shining. I'm now a mid-octogenarian but that's not me, not quite. Happy to say, I must have made a pact with the Devil when given a choice between losing my hearing or my water. I can still bird by ear!

My advice to older people, both as a physician and in retirement, as a US Forest Service volunteer interpreter on high-altitude trails, was that they should guard against heat stress and especially dehydration. MaryLou and I follow these instructions by venturing out on our morning walks while the sun is well below the horizon. Although she often gets home before sunrise, I carry water and walk back on the shady side of the path. 

Encounters with nocturnal and crepuscular species are the rewards of early birding. More often they are heard but go unseen. This past week a pair of Eastern Screech-Owls stayed out late enough for me to take advantage of dawn's early light. The pair illustrated the two color forms of this species, gray and rufous. 

Gray morphs are more common, present in more than 90% of Eastern Screech-Owls. I enjoyed capturing their varied postures:







It was more difficult for me to see the rufous owl in the dim light. Indeed, in the dark, our eyes are less sensitive to red (high-wavelength) colors than to the the lower (blue) end of the spectrum. Perhaps this is the female of the pair, as rufous morphs occur more frequently in warm and moist climates and are more numerous in females:  







Screech-owls are quite vocal and sometimes continue to call after sunrise. They may attack a human who approaches too close to their nest. I had one hit me in the forehead and another nearly carried off my hat as I was trying to locate their nest hole in a dead palm. As a kid I remember when screech-owls which nested in a neighborhood church steeple attacked womens' hats as they walked into church.  

The Common Nighthawk, a species of Nightjar, seems to become more active during the half hour before sunrise. At least two pairs are defending nesting territories along our route. They circle overhead and dive down and pull up sharply to create a startling "boom."  

This male nighthawk (distinguished by large white markings on its wings, throat and tail) swooped down so close to me that I could not fit him in the frame:



The female Common NIghthawk has smaller white patches, restricted to her wings:



This female Common Nighthawk was almost invisible as she sat on her eggs, eyes closed:



Two other Nightjar species are more nocturnal. I have identified them by voice but so far have had only fleeting sightings and no photos. The Eastern Whip-poor-will is a winter visitor, replaced in spring by the Chuck-wills-widow which breeds locally.  This eBird bar chart depicts the weekly frequency of my local sightings of the three Nightjar species over the past ten years:  



In mid-June, we walked out under the waning crescent of the Strawberry Moon:

 

I enjoy standing at the shore of the lake and just listening to the sounds of nature. With the COVID-19 lockdown in place it was much more quiet and  peaceful-- few airplanes and greatly reduced traffic sounds. Sunrise occurs over the populated area, so its beauty competes with power poles: 



Opposite the sunrise, the view over the placid lake and distant Everglades is subdued but colorful:





The red epaulets of a Red-winged Blackbird glow in the gloaming:

 

This is a Little Blue Heron "shot in the dark" before sunrise:



A Fish Crow is a silhouette even by day:



The morning rays catch the outstretched neck of a partially-hidden Green Heron:



In our back yard, a dimly-lit Double-crested Cormorant hitches a ride on a decoy:



Lights, camera, action! A Great Egret reflects in front of a neighbor's fence:





A tiny Dainty Sulphur brightens up a grubby spot on the ground:

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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

Timeless Thursday

________________________________________________

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