Cryptic Critters

When I took this photo of a Great Blue Heron and its reflection, I did not know that a deer was watching from the seclusion of the wooded grove on the other side of the water:

 

Sunrise from our back patio:

 

Early one morning, I almost stepped on these three newly hatched Killdeer chicks, huddled at the edge of the gravel track. I had unknowingly walked by their nest many times previously:



Killdeer eggs are also very hard to find. This courageous female stood defiantly in my way. At first I did not see the four eggs in the nest she was protecting, just to the right in this photo:



Another incubating Killdeer is nearly invisible:



It's hard to believe that a male Painted Bunting might be included among the "Cryptic Critters" I have encountered: 



Yet, here he is in a Brazilian Pepper, almost overlooked against the green leaves, red berries and blue sky:



The bright green female Painted Bunting can sometimes be very hard to find among the leaves:



A Wilson's Snipe is very easy to overlook amid the grass and sedges. It is in the center of this photo at the edge of the water (click to enlarge):



See it better in this crop of the above photo:



It is nice when one comes out into the open:



I almost did not see this Limpkin, standing right behind a White Ibis:



This is a clearer view of a Limpkin hunting for Apple Snails:



This American Bittern is watching me intently:



A study of stealth in slow motion, the bittern can disappear right before one's eyes:







So, the lesson in all of this is to tread lightly and watch where you step. Fire ant nests are often not this easy to find:



WARNING TO OPHIDIOPHOBIAS (I know who you are)-- DO NOT LOOK AT THE NEXT PHOTOS!

When birding in marshy areas I spend almost as much time looking down at my next footfall as looking up. I followed a little muddy deer trail and nearly stepped on something even more dangerous. I did not see it as I was taking photos of scenery and distant falcons. Then, as I turned to walk back to the main path, I saw something next to my foot which looked like a small yellow insect fluttering its wings-- an odd dragonfly or moth? No, as I bent down for a closer look I saw it was the vibrating yellow tail of a juvenile venomous Cottonmouth water moccasin .

It was in a defensive posture. When I moved, it opened its jaws wide and straight up. However the lining of its mouth was not white as is the case of adult Cottonmouths.

It was so well camouflaged that I could not see it in the viewfinder. The muddy foot path is on the left in this photo and I took several shots just to be sure one of them included the snake. It is on the right side of the path just beneath the very center of this picture (click to enlarge).



Its yellow tail is near the upper left corner of this photo:



It is only about 10-12 inches long. Here its mouth is partly open:



Baby Cottonmouths are born alive. Unlike adults, they are colorfully banded and "...juveniles have bright-yellow tail tips that they use as a caudal lure to attract prey. They undulate the tail tip slowly back and forth to lure prey, such as frogs, within striking distance." Ref: LiveScience.com

Here is a better photo of a "Yellow-tail" which I took back in 2011. It was sitting out in the open in the middle of a muddy path:




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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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Crops & Clips: Snipe hunt

My weekly potpourri gathered from the archives features... a snipe hunt.

SKYWATCH: Kiva

Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico, June 21, 2010



Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY 

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CRITTER: Wiley Coyotes

Hiding behind the fence and thinks we can't see him.

Buffalo Lake NWR, Texas, November 12, 2008



My goodness, those stripes on its back-- an extinct Tasmanian Tiger?

Nelson Lake, Batavia Illinois, August 13, 2009:



Curious about us, out in the open on February 25, 2013 in Sugar Grove, illinois:



Spooky-- just outside our cabin door!

Estes Park, Colorado, June 15, 2010:



Linking to CAMERA CRITTERS,

Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

and 

GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

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REFLECTIONS: Snipe hunt

That's a snipe right in the middle of the photo, reflected in the water. Where's Waldo? Keep looking!

Miramar, Florida, February 2, 2013:



Gave up? Here's Waldo!



Better view of Wilson's Snipe, Miramar, Florida, January 2, 2013:



Now that you have had practice, find the American Bittern right in front of your nose, March 23, 2011 at Chapel Trail Nature Center, Pembroke Pines, Florida:



I will finish with an easy one, its smaller cousin, a Least Bittern, about to join the reflected reeds on September 5, 2009 at Green Cay Wetlands, West Palm Beach County, Florida:



Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS 

Snipe hunt

I must admit that during the winter I'm always looking for snipe in our local South Florida birding patch. Up until now I had only gotten fleeting glimpses of single birds, usually flying away from almost underfoot at breakneck speed. Taken from a distance in poor light, this photo shows the characteristic shape and bold vertical markings on the sides of the breast of a Wilson's Snipe.



I came to believe that there is no such creature as a snipe that sits in one place and poses for the camera. So frustrating. Was I being victimized?

As a Boy Scout tenderfoot, I learned the hard way about "snipe hunts."

Urban Dictionary: "You've never heard of snipe hunting? Dude we should go this weekend."

A North American prank and rite of passage wherein older adolescents take younger boys into the wilderness for the supposed purpose of “snipe hunting.” Snipes are an imaginary game bird purported to resemble quails or pheasants or what have you (the fictional snipe is not to be confused with the extant North American shorebird of that same name). Snipe hunts take place on moonless nights; the victims are provided burlap bags with which to catch the birds, while the conspirators spot them with flashlights. The conspirators make birdcalls, through rocks in the bushes, and urgently cry out “snipe” to make the victims believe that there are actually birds in the area. The victims don’t want to be the only one who can’t see the imaginary birds, so they claim to have seen them also. Pretty soon the victims have convinced each other they are surrounded by snipes and proceed to run about foolishly in search of the non-existent birds.

A recent encounter resulted in my first photo of one on the ground in our patch. I had flushed it while walking out on a small peninsula. It flew some 50 yards to an area of shoreline that was rimmed by high grasses. There had been no time for a photo, and I scanned with binoculars but could not find the bird. I took a single photo of the area where it landed, just to remember the experience. Back home I displayed it on the computer screen.

"Where's Waldo?"



Look closely at the enlarged image, and note how its cryptic plumage blends with the background.



Not a very satisfying record, but I added it to my collection of bird species photgraphed on my patch. This past week my luck changed. My "burlap bag" is now full and brimming!

One morning last week Mary Lou and I set out into our local wetlands patch about 15 minutes before sunrise. It was overcast at first, and darker than usual. As we passed along the lake, I caught movement at the near shore. The silouhette of a bird contrasted with the soft glare of the water's surface.

Despite having the ISO cranked up to 3200, I obtained only a grainy image of the bird's head, but its markings confirmed that it was a snipe! While Mary Lou continued her "power walk" another mile into the wetlands area, I remained at the spot, waiting for better light. On her way back she stopped for a while, but the bird had hardly moved and was hidden in the vegetation.

Finally my patience was rewarded. After almost an hour of getting only tantalizing shadows, a snipe walked out into the open, acting as if I were not even there!



It walked out into the water...



...took a bath...



...and preened its feathers.



To my surprise, three more snipes appeared, as if out of nowhere.



This short video illustrates the feeding behavior of the Wilson's Snipes.

FLICKR Link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosyfinch/8346840919/



VIMEO Link: http://vimeo.com/56789503


Wilson's Snipe from Ken Schneider on Vimeo.