This continues my monthly exercise of looking back three years, remembering events and inspiring me to appreciate and enjoy the subtle changing of the seasons in south Florida. My photo archives include 625 images processed that month. As usual I will try to find examples of favorite memes: Birds and critters, sky views and reflections, fences and other interesting scenes which speak for themselves. We spent much of our time monitoring the fragile relationship between our local male Bald Eagle and his new young partner.
The first day of February dawned warm and bright over the local wetlands:
That same day a male Painted Bunting appeared unexpectedly as I was scanning the lake for waterfowl. Although I see a good number of the green females and immature birds, the males seem more reclusive and certainly are much less numerous. It is not a very sharp photo, but luckily my auto-focus ignored the intervening branches:
The next day, I was able to focus on a Great Egret as it flew by:
After it landed, the egret cast a nice reflection:
Later that morning a Wood Stork was feeding in our back yard lake:
On February 4 there was an interesting formation of altocumulus clouds, portending a change in the weather:
A pair of Mottled Ducks (female has orange-ish yellow bill vs greenish yellow of male) flew over the lake:
On February 28, we visited Stormwater Treatment Area 5 (STA-5) in Hendry County, where a large flock of Roseate Spoonbills gathered...
...and a group of Black-necked Stilts also visited the pond...
...as a Snail Kite hovered overhead:
Much of our attention was focused on the local pair of Bald Eagles. During the first half of the month the male (Pride) was seen in the company of his new "bride" (Jewel) away from the nest. Jewel seemed not to have any inclination to stay on the nest. On February 11, Pride visited the nest alone and dropped some prey, perhaps in an attempt to attract Jewel to join him:
The nest was observed for over an hour, but Jewel never appeared and Pride finally flew off:
During the next week Pride was barely visible, sitting very deep in the nest, possibly incubating one or more eggs, but Jewel never was reported to be present. On February 19 we were watching the nest, thinking it to be empty, when suddenly Jewel flew in. Only after reviewing this photo did I realize that Pride was already in the nest, as the very top of his head can be seen just above the sticks, far to the left (ignore the white object near his bill, as it is a reflection from the nest structure):
A moment later, Pride was standing there (on the left) next to Jewel! At the time, we did not know where he came from, thinking he must have flown in from behind unnoticed:
Pride then flew off, raising hope that this was an exchange of incubation duties. A single eagle, especially if it is a male, rarely if ever succeeds in hatching out an eaglet:
However, Jewel never settled down and also departed, continuing her habit of roosting away from the nest:
Although she retained some dark feathers in her tail, her head was almost completely white. Perhaps she was simply too young and inexperienced to start breeding.
SPOILER ALERT: The pair did not breed successfully during the 2014-15 season, though they continued to keep company into the next breeding season. Visit the Bald Eagle FORUM to see current and archived reports on the status of this nest, including many photos.
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Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Our World Tuesday by Lady Fi
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh
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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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A few times a year we try to visit some of the wetlands in Palm Beach County, about an hour's drive north of our home. Before our arrival back in Florida from our second home in Illinois, we were greeted with the news that a Smooth-billed Ani had appeared in the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. Midsummer is not the best time to visit muggy and buggy wetlands Though I had seen this species in Puerto Rico I have never encountered it in the "official" American Birding Association (ABA) area. This was a good excuse to drive up to the refuge and pick up a new "lifer" as soon as our schedule permitted. We departed from home in predawn darkness and arrived there at 7:00 AM.
Smooth-billed Anis formerly bred in Loxahatchee but have been absent for about 15 years. This pair of anis were first located about three weeks previously and their nest was subsequently discovered near the Marsh Trail observation tower in the largest of the two trees to the right of this photo (click on photos for larger size and additional images):
We were immediately rewarded with great views of one member of the pair. The other was sometimes visible through the foliage and is presumably incubating.
The ani is classified as a member of the cuckoo (Cuculidae) family. Its closest relative is the Hoatzin. Like the latter, the ani is normally a cooperative breeder, with several families sharing a nest and helping raise the young. Indeed, more than one female has been known to lay eggs in a nest as it is being built. The dominant female often will bury the eggs of those deposited earlier, incorporating them into the nest structure and assuring that they will not hatch.
The ani's large bill is most interesting, as it is arched and parrot-like. Overall it looks like a large blackbird (14.5 inches/37 centimeters), about the length of our Boat-tailed Grackle. Its long tail hangs down and appears to be loosely attached and its wings are short and broad.
Bill detail:
Residents of south Florida and the Caribbean, they were much more abundant locally about 30-40 years ago. Severe winters in the 1970s and habitat loss due to development are partly blamed for their reduced numbers. Now they are found in the USA almost exclusively in southern Florida, in scattered locations in the Florida Keys and along the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Okeechobee. They feed primarily on insects and small lizards and frogs, but also eat fruit, especially during the dry season. They typically nest at the beginning of the rainy season (summer, here in Florida) when insects are most abundant.
We did not stay very long as we had afternoon obligations, but had time to look for threatened Snail Kites, including this one with color-coded leg bands placed by researchers. This species depends heavily upon declining numbers of Apple Snails, but is adapting to another large exotic snail that is displacing the native species.
The Snail Kit's narrow and sharply curved bill is specialized for extracting the flesh from the snails:
This Little Blue Heron is transitioning from its first-year white to the adult plumage that gives it its name:
Wood Storks and a Great Blue Heron roosted in treetops along the trail. The two young storks have fuzzy heads and lighter bills than the adults:
Black-necked Stilts and Glossy Ibises foraged in a flooded agricultural field near the entrance of the Refuge:
A Passion Flower attracted a Honeybee:
We proceeded to Green Cay wetlands, a waste water treatment area that is a great birding "hotspot."
The 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) of boardwalk are well-maintained:
That's Mary Lou in the blue shirt, well in front of me (as usual):
Purple Gallinules were particularly abundant, both adults...
...and immature birds:
A Snowy Egret pranced on golden slippers in the mud flats:
Green Herons foraged patiently, ...
... and Anhingas dried their wings and preened:
Striking red native Swamp Hibiscus bloomed along the boardwalk, ...
...contrasting with white Marsh Lilies..
...and purple flowers of Pickerel-weed:
A Tricolored Heron posed so nicely that I was inspired to render it in HDR images by creating and layering different exposures from single RAW photos (I used this technique for the landscapes included in this post):
It was only mid-morning, but thunderheads loomed to the south over the Nature Center when we departed. We arrived home in the rain:
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Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa).
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to I Heart Macro by Laura
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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display