Saharan dust

South Florida has settled into a rather boring but typical wet season pattern following the spate of tropical storms which culminated in Elsa. We are also in the middle of the Saharan dust season. Dry air masses laden with dust have been coursing over from the African continent. This has the welcome effect of reducing the intensity of the tropical storms which spawn cyclones in the eastern Atlantic ocean.

Visits to nearby Chapel Trail Nature Preserve were not very productive. The high water levels dilute out aquatic prey and wading birds are free to forage over a much greater expanse. 

Often I can find a dozen or more Gray-headed Swamphens, but this morning there was only one:

A pair of Northern Cardinals foraged on the boardwalk for the fallen fruit of an overhanging tree:

The male cardinal perched on the boardwalk railing near an interpretive sign:

A male Anhinga, partially hidden in the spike-rush, dried his wings:

A juvenile Red-bellied Woodpecker searched for food on the trunk of a small tree:

White-winged Doves nest along the boardwalk:

Swamp Lily:

Brown Basilisk:

The Sarahan dust is said to stabilize the weather, which has been rather monotonous, with warm days and nights along with intermittent "pop-up" showers. This past week's forecast was remarkable (32.2 to 25.5 Celsius):

The dust can produce very colorful sunrises and sunsets. Fifteen minutes before sunrise this past Saturday morning, the unseen sun was reflecting off a pink mass in the upper atmosphere:

Within minutes, sunlight had illuminated the expanse of the dust cloud:

While the sky directly overhead was otherwise clear, storm clouds were lined up along the Atlantic coast to the east. The shadows of the tops of the clouds broke the rays of the rising sun. The rays reflected off the dust layer and converged over the Everglades on the opposite (western) horizon. The anti-solar rays were creating a "false sunrise," so I hurried to the lake to catch the reflections on the still water:

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Linking to:

Garden Affair

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 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

________________________________________________

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

Early morning sightings

Sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic interrupts the familiar routines which formerly made each day of the week special. Now the days flow, one into another. There are no "weekends," no choir practices or church gatherings, all the parks are closed. Grocery orders and even routine doctors' appointments are handled on computers and iPads. The highlight of most mornings is our walk into and around our local wetlands preserve. Here is a random sample of our encounters...

Blue-headed Vireo:



Male Common Yellowthroat:



Gray Catbird:



Red-bellied Woodpecker:



Prairie Warbler:



An energetic Northern Parula warbler:





Iridescent neck feathers are highlights on this Mourning Dove:



A Red-winged Blackbird sings next to a cattail patch:



A Ruby-throated Hummingbird is about to fly north:



A White-tailed Doe graces the morning scene:



Fog lifts along the shore of the placid lake:



Very early one morning we were surprised when two Eastern Screech-Owls began calling along the path. One perched on a signpost for flash photos (I darkened its pupils in these two photos):





The second owl landed on the ground and my flashlight produced a "red eye" in this poor photo.  As with all owls, their pupils react independently of each other.  



Owls have the uncanny ability to rotate their heads 360 degrees in an instant. The slow exposure created this funny "bottle owl:"



Florida normally has a dry season which lasts from late October into early May. This winter we experienced near-drought conditions. Water levels in our local wetlands had been unusually high almost all year around for the prior three years. High water dilutes aquatic prey and wading birds must range far and wide to find food. Trails which we have explored in the past had been flooded and inaccessible.   

Low water now allows me to walk some of the trails created by ATV riders out in the local Wounded Wetlands. I call this one the North Lakeshore Trail. It provides a unique view of a sunrise which softens the ugly scars left by the off-road vehicles  :



A few minutes later, the sun climbs into the open sky:



The low water reveals a labyrinth of ATV tracks through the woodlands, previously out of sight:

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Linking to:

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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