My Patch list # 1-10

My health condition now (hopefully temporarily) prevents me from straying very far from home. Therefore I will take advantage of my forced leisure to reflect on the birds I have seen since moving from New Mexico to south Florida. This list only includes bird species seen in our back yard and the preserve adjacent to our home, the West Miramar Water Conservation Area in Broward County, Florida (AKA "Wounded Wetlands"). 

We moved to Florida in 2004, but I only started to report sightings on eBird late in 2008. I did not take up photography until 2008 and deemed two of my earlier sightings important enough to report retroactively. I  picked out a representative photo of each species, not necessarily the first one taken, but always one among many from the Wounded Wetlands. My checklist includes a total of 185 species to date for this location, most of which I eventually photographed here. 

# 1. American Flamingo, 12 Jul 2005

I was fishing in our back yard lake when I looked up in amazement as a flock of four long-legged, crooked-billed flamingos coursed from south to north right over in front of me. I was not sure at the time that this was a most unusual sighting, indeed the first flock reported locally in several years. I saw four again over the lake the next evening, flying almost the same course. 

Flamingos once roamed extensively over South Florida, but in recent years the only reliable sightings were of a flock at the southern tip of the peninsula at Snake Bight. Inquiries about all known captive flamingos confirmed that none had escaped. Here is a photo of those in the nearest flock, confined in Flamingo Gardens:

I put the word out on the Internet and others discovered them, a flock of "seven or eight or up to twenty" foraging in a wetland preserve adjacent to the north end of my Patch. I was not carrying a camera, but David Tringo, a neighbor, took this photo and kindly permitted me to publish it: 

# 2. Savannah Sparrow, 26 Dec 2008. This is a photo of one in November, 2018:

# 3. Rock Pigeon, 23 Oct 2009. That day I photographed a feral albino specimen, very likely an escapee from a wedding celebration or peace demonstration:

# 4. White-winged Dove, 23 Oct 2009. This one was looking for nesting materials on our driveway:

# 5. Mourning Dove. 23 Oct 2009. 

# 6. Killdeer, 23 Oct 2009

# 7. Anhinga, 23 Oct 2009

# 8. Double-crested Cormorant, 23 Oct 2009

# 9. Great Blue Heron, 23 Oct 2009

# 10. Great Egret, 23 Oct 2009

Our walks usually started out about an hour before sunrise, to take advantage of the cooler temperatures and listen to the owls and nightjars. The peninsula in the wetlands lake provided a wide open view over the Everglades to the west.   An advantage to being a stay-at-home birder is that I can see the sunrise on the eastern horizon, which is obscured by the trees out in the wetlands. 

The morning after I got home from the hospital this was the view of sunrise from our back patio:

A flock of White Ibises foraged on the lawn of a home across the lake:

Later in the day the overcast sky provided a shadow-less view of a Great Egret, which hurried along our lawn. It appeared to be intently watching a prey item along the shore:

It plunged and came up with a small Peacock Bass:

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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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A quiet wet week with few butterflies

In early August, morning rain and some necessary appointments have limited and shortened my excursions into the Wounded Wetlands. Predictably, bird counts were low, averaging about 15 common species. We also escaped dual threats from tropical storms Fred and Grace. 

Most photos were taken in bad light due to cloud cover or very early observations.

This Belted Kingfisher was a surprise on August 5, the first County record for the fall migratory season. 

An adult Bald Eagle provided me with a distant early morning view:

In one frame it ventured into full sunlight:

These pre-dawn fly-over shots of a Pileated Woodpecker barely revealed its red crest:

Some mornings I returned with no images at all, so I must reach back a few weeks for some photos not shared in earlier posts:

On August 2, a Great Egret settled into the grass along the path, probably hoping to capture insects and lizards:

The Northern Cardinals were reclusive and not singing, but a juvenile male peered out at me on August 5: 

A Mourning Dove foraged on the gravel track:

A Great Egret rested in a treetop:

I obtained a better flight shot of a female Pileated Woodpecker back in July:

Loggerhead Shrike on July 19:

Our local Wounded Wetlands are bordered by residential properties. I fear that insecticides are having an adverse effect upon butterfly populations. Many residents are utilizing automated  backyard "mosquito misting systems." They dispense aerosols into the air "a few times per day" around the clock. 

Advertisers of these multiple continuous dispersion devices emphasize the dangers of insects in Florida and push them as effective in preventing insect-borne diseases. Most claim to use only pyrethrin, touted as a "natural" or "organic" product derived from chrysanthemums. While non-toxic to humans and pets, pyrethrins can be deadly to bees, butterflies, caterpillars and other insects which commonly visit residential gardens. Pyrethrins are relatively safe when applied to individual plants, but it is also used as an aerosol to "knock down" flying insects. 

Alone, pyrethrins are not very potent when dispersed in this manner. To make them more effective they may be mixed with other ingredients to increase effectiveness. For example, a "pyrethrin" aerosol may contain piperonyl butoxide (PBO), a toxic non-organic ingredient which retards the breakdown of pyrethrins. Some mosquito control systems advertise that they utilize innocent-sounding combinations of natural oils and unspecified EPA-approved control products. (Then there is the fact that many home and residential insecticides contain neonicotinoids... but that is another story. End of rant)    

Butterflies have been unusually scarce in numbers and variety. This is a Zebra longwing, the State Butterfly of Florida:

White Peacock:

A tiny Dainty Sulphur:

This Orange-barred Sulphur (Phoebis philea) is a very large tropical species with a wingspan of 2 3/4 - 3 1/2 inches (7.0--8.9 cm). It is fairly common in south Florida, but its habits of flying erratically and usually high in the trees makes it difficult to identify and photograph. This was my first image of one from a distance, visiting a Firebush (Hamelia patens), heavily cropped and over-exposed:

Often, before sunrise, I stop on a peninsula which thrusts out into the lake, listening for owls and nightjars and watching the morning light play over the clouds. It is interesting to see how the rising sun illuminates the clouds as it moves up towards the horizon. These two photos of the same clouds were taken 5 minutes apart, just before and after sunrise on August 11:

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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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Missing my MDR of twenty species

Although I do not keep a running total of species seen as I enter them into the eBird app, I usually reach my Minimum Daily Requirement (MDR) of  20 without trying very hard. I just noticed that my last eight eBird checklists (since May 18) never got above 21 species: 20, 19, 19, 16, 20, 21, 13, 14. 

Warblers and vireos (even a couple of locally breeding species), egrets, Killdeer, and Common Nighthawks have been scarce or absent from the Wounded Wetlands. Some birds are less conspicuous because they are tending to nests and young. Cardinals and Carolina Wrens are singing less often or are silent, but doves and mockingbirds do fill the air with their songs. 

On one of those dull mornings this past week, standing vigil lakeside just after sunrise, I heard the call of a Green Heron. "Heard only" birds are accepted by eBird, but I tried unsuccessfully to find it-- until it walked out into the open:

A shaggy immature Great Blue Heron cast a reflection:

A Loggerhead Shrike hunted for grasshoppers from a low perch and a hungry youngster waited:

A singing Northern Cardinal was only visible with my flashlight:

An Osprey flew low overhead:

This adult Mourning Dove allowed a close approach:

Nearby, an immature of its species eyed me with suspicion:

A Little Blue Heron foraged along the canal:

Overhead, Purple Martins dined on mosquitoes:   

Sunlight brought out the iridescence in the plumage of a male Boat-tailed Grackle:

A venomous Cottonmouth Water Moccasin lounged near shore:

Close look at its black mask and slit pupil:

This curious Gray Squirrel was far from any trees and dashed off to find one as I approached:

At sunrise, a sunburst:

The sky was brightening up, but the Pine Bank had not yet been touched by the sun's rays:

UPDATE (MAY 26): Sad news about the youngest Bald Eaglet P Piney 27

The Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland, Florida released this statement about P Piney 27, the first eaglet to fall from the nest, at the age of about 5 weeks on April 18:

“The Audubon Center For Birds of Prey is saddened to report that the first eaglet rescued from the Pembroke Pines nest had to be humanely euthanized due to the severity of her injuries and lack of response to treatment. These difficult decisions are not made lightly and are discussed with a consulting vet and US Fish and Wildlife to determine what is best for the bird and their future quality of life. While this is not the outcome we all hoped for, we are grateful to those who watched this nest and helped rescue this young bird when her nest collapsed. The prognosis for the sibling who also has a wing fracture is still uncertain, but we are doing our best to give it every opportunity to heal and get a second chance at life. We appreciate your support and understanding.”

This was my first photo of P Piney 27, on March 18, exactly one month before he (we assumed a male because of its slower growth and passive behavior in the nest) fell from the damaged nest. He was probably a little over one week old at this time: 

This was my last photo of him with P Piney 26, his older and larger (presumed) sister in the nest, on April 7: 

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Linking to:

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

Bird D'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
________________________________________________