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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Cardinal meets the enemy and he is...

While observing the local Bald Eagles, nest watchers parked their cars in a grassy area adjacent to a woodland where Northern Cardinals maintained nesting territories. Often, even before the drivers completed parking and exited from their vehicles, a cardinal would attack a side mirror.

This behavior continued through the winter and up to the present.

January 18, 2021:

February 6, 2021. The scary image on the truck's mirror  did not dissuade this warrior:

On June 16, a male cardinal watched me as I walked away from the car:

His mate flew in to watch the battle:

A double reflection. His rivals have multiplied!

No amount of effort intimidated the enemy (* See note):

On the home front, the Mangos were ripening and we picked as many as we could reach, giving most of them away to neighbors. Those higher in the tree ripened on the tree and later fell to the ground, where we competed with the birds, squirrels and iguanas. Out early, we collected dozens more, ready to eat. We brought bags of them to church and neighbors who shared in our largesse:

A Green Iguana got to some Mangos before we did:

A Muscovy Duck mom brought her 9 ducklings to the feast. When she saw me she rushed to the edge of the lake with seven ducklings. Two were left behind as they were still eating the fallen Mangos:

Two drakes joined them. They had been competing for her attention and often try to mate with a hen even if she is tending to her young:

She gathered her ducklings together and then ran up to fetch the other two. All nine ducklings then rested together on our lawn. Some fell fast asleep:

I did not get out much this past week, but a visit to Chapel Trail Nature Preserve in nearby Pembroke Pines yielded sightings of four Great Egrets, a species which has been absent from our local wetlands for more than two weeks:

Overhead, an immature Red-shouldered Hawk screamed continuously:

Several recent downpours have increased water levels:

Rain was again threatening:

Swamp Lilies were flourishing:

In a dry patch, I found a pretty yellow flower with distinctive leaves, but am not sure of its identity and whether it is wild or an invasive alien:

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* REF: "We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo in Walt Kelly cartoon

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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
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