Our local Bald Eagles are spending much time at their nest and stepping up "nestoration" in preparation for the breeding season. The male of the pair (Pride) brings in the sticks and the female (Jewel) supervises and rearranges them in the ever-growing nest structure.
He places the stick under Jewel's watchful eyes:
They don't always agree on what to do with one:
Pride flies off to gather yet another:
As we walked into the Wounded Wetlands under a black sky on September 26, the Harvest Moon had waned to a crescent:
Before sunrise, an immature Tricolored Heron cast a reflection on the still surface:
Later, White Ibises overhead:
Migration routes for 118 bird species:
via GIPHY
Migrant warblers are arriving. This is a female Black-throated Blue Warbler. This species often lingers here into the winter if the berries of Lantana, Firebush, Brazilian Pepper and Trema are abundant:
The male Black-throated Blue Warbler's appearance is distinctly different:
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers often flock with the warblers:
A welcome, though less frequently seen migrant is the Worm-eating Warbler:
This species does not eat earthworms, but does favor dining on caterpillars ("worms" to gardeners and farmers; some have official names such as silkworms and bagworms). Their sharp eyes seem not to miss many:
:
Worm-eating Warbler eating Worm (Not quite a palindrome, but it reads the same backward and forward, and in this case, upside down!):
American Redstart warblers are distractingly abundant as they flit actively through the branches, fanning and expanding the bright wing and tail patches to flush out insects. The male has bright red patches...
...while females exhibit the same behavior and have more subdued yellow patches. First year males are similar to females, but show some orange as in this case:
Butterfly populations are starting to recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Irma, which wiped out adults, larvae, eggs as well as the leaves and flowers which protected and fed them. Some mornings I was lucky to see even one Gulf Fritillary, here depositing her egg on a spent flower head:
:
I followed her as she oviposited on a leaf. The egg is yellow:
I went weeks without seeing the usually abundant Julia heliconians. This newly-emerged male made me want to sing:
Just after the autumnal equinox, as I stood on a path oriented east and west (which I call "Sundial Alley"), my shadow pointed out towards the Everglades, 270 degrees true west :
It is only a "weed." This tiny composite flower measures only about 1/2 inch, or about 13 mm wide, but proves that beauty can come in a very small package:
I looked up when I heard something in the tree just above my head. Indeed, two Raccoons were lovey-dovey and waiting for me to depart the scene:
A female White-tailed Deer walked across the gravel path...
...followed by her yearling fawn:
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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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This post again finds me searching my archives for images which match the themes of critters, fences, skies, flowers, macros and reflections. It is a retrospective view of photos taken three years ago, in September 2013. Poring through all these photos reminds me of creatures and sights I might expect to see again at this time of year. Let's see how far I need to go into the month to find at least one for each meme. If I can get them all I will have won the game twenty-one months in a row since starting in January, 2015. This month I almost failed, as I encountered few fences, none of which was very interesting, and only one found its way into a photo.
We began the month at our second home in northeastern Illinois. I captured this memorable sunset as storms threatened:
On September 2nd we were pleased to find a Carolina Wren along the Fox River in Batavia. While not rare, this species is somewhat uncommon here:
At Nelson Lake we saw flocks of stately Cedar Waxwings:
A Cooper's Hawk roosted on a lamp post near our condo:
Among the southbound migrants were many Red-eyed Vireos:
Along the river, a Great Egret reminded us of Florida:
A Red-headed Woodpecker fed its nearly full-grown nestling:
By the middle of the month we were back home in Florida, where it rained almost every day, but we were greeted by favorite butterflies-- a Zebra heliconian sipping Ligustrum nectar...
...a male Julia heliconian...
...and a White Peacock on some yellow flowers:
Prairie Warbles were fairly common. Some breed locally but many more join us to spend the winter here:
Morning Glory bloomed:
The Harvest Moon was setting when we walked out to the wetlands on September 19th:
Northern Waterthrushes were moving through...
...as were Worm-eating Warblers,...
...Ovenbirds,...
...and Northern Parula warblers:
A White-tailed buck was in prime condition:
Searching my archives, I had trouble finding a fence. This wooden post does not suffice, but an Eastern Phoebe found it to his liking:
Upon re-reviewing all my photos, I needed a magnifying glass to see this incidental wooden fence. It was erected around an observation deck and shelter under construction at Lippold Park in Kane County, and taken on September 6th. Yes, the fence is really there!
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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 Today's Flowers Friday by Denise
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
________________________________________________
Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
________________________________________________
Prevailing winds made this autumn a rather disappointing one for the southeastern part of the Florida peninsula. Southbound birds were either driven towards the west coast or simply overflew us. When conditions were favorable they can make it from the northern part of the state to Cuba in a single flight.
As if to compensate for the lack of migrants, our local pair of Bald Eagles began loitering at their nest site during September, earlier than usual. This is the female:
Here, she stands guard at the nest. Their eggs are usually laid in December or early January.
By the middle of October the eagles were adding sticks to their nest. If we have a cold snap it is possible that it will trigger early egg-laying.
Prairie Warbler numbers increased early in the season:
Brown Thrashers, which may breed here in small numbers, also came in early:
Painted Buntings appeared. This was the best shot I could get of a male:
This female bunting was more cooperative:
Ovenbirds and waterthrushes were welcome arrivals. Ovenbird:
Northern Waterthrush:
Northern Waterthrush in flight:
The local population of Loggerhead Shrikes was supplemented by southbound migrants, many of which stay in our neighborhood all winter.
Gray Catbirds appeared in droves during the latter part of September:
Northern Parulas, one of my favorite warbler species, soon followed...
...as did Red-eyed Vireos:
Generally, when we did see warblers, they were few in number. Worm-eating Warblers are rather uncommon migrants in our wetland preserve:
Black-and-white Warblers can show up any time in the fall:
Palm Warblers became abundant in early October. Many will remain here for the winter season, becoming the most abundant dooryard bird, sometimes called "Florida Sparrows."
Cattle Egrets were flocking...
...and Black Vultures congregated in huge numbers:
Belted Kingfishers arrived to protect their winter feeding territories along the canal. This is a female; the male lacks the red belly-band:
This female Blue Grosbeak was the first I have seen on our local patch:
The last time I photographed a Blue Grosbeak was back in the 1990s, through the window of our New Mexico home, digiscoped using a pocket camera and my Kowa spotting scope. This is a male:
A single day in late October provided the best warblers of the season. Suddenly their numbers increased and we saw a couple of new species. The Bay-breasted Warbler is quite large-- when I first saw it from a distance I thought it was an oriole or tanager.
Several Cape May Warblers appeared...
...along with another of my favorites, the Black-throated Blue Warbler.
Finally, in mid-November the arrival of the Yellow-rumped Warblers signaled the end of warbler migration.
