Listing bird species in the Wounded Wetlands

My list of bird species seen in our local south Florida birding patch (West Miramar Water Conservation Area aka the Wounded Wetlands) had reached 182 at the end of 2020. Over the years the productivity of the patch has followed the Law of Diminishing Returns. I began keeping my sightings records in eBird in 2009, when my yearly total for this location included 47 different species. 

The year 2010 began with a flourish, adding 6 new species on January 10, including my first Short-tailed Hawk. It was this light morph. Its tail looks red due to refraction of sunlight:

The year 2010 finally yielded 33 new species, which increased the patch's total output to 80 species, about 70% of the prior year's productivity. The pattern continued during the next 5 years (2011-2015), with new species numbering 27, 13, 14, 15 and 9, during which time the productivity rate gradually decreased to 49% (averaging about 10% per year) despite an increase in my total to 158 species.

Grasshopper Sparrow, February 2, 2011

Each of the next five years (2016-2020) added only single-digit new species counts, bringing my total to 182 with an average productivity rate of 13% (pitifully, only 2.6% annually).  

Clay-colored Sparrow, November 17, 2016:

Despite the pandemic, I added five new birds in 2020. Indeed, it was liberating to walk mask-less in the Wounded Wetlands. 

My highlight new species in 2020 was a Yellow Warbler (actually there were two), my only Florida sighting of this species, on August 18:

The Law of Diminishing Returns was working against me when 4 Semipalmated Sandpipers appeared at the edge of the lake on May 24, 2021. This species can be difficult to distinguish from the Western Sandpiper. 

Over the years I have seen small sandpipers, but never well enough to distinguish their species unless they had the yellow legs of a Least Sandpiper, another member of the Calidris genus. 

Yet I assumed that I must have reported the species earlier. Nope, it was always entered as a Semipalmated/Western Sandpiper, not "countable" by eBird. I had backed into a new species! 

Semipalmated Sandpiper #183 in the Wounded Wetlands, foraging in very early morning light. Note the webbing which covers only the base of its toes, hence its name:

Here are Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers in much better light, feeding in a pond near our second home in Illinois, July 17, 2012. The Least Sandpiper displays its yellow legs:

Diminishing returns indeed. So far this year my addition of one species has raised my total count for this patch by only 0.54%. 

As my musing maysuggest, I have not been out in the field very often this past week.  Avian highlights were a Pileated Woodpecker...

...and a juvenile female Northern Cardinal:

A young Raccoon silently watched me from behind a tree trunk:

In the lake, Longnose Gar:

The pilot of a motorized parachute was checking his phone:

Before sunrise on May 30, Jupiter and Saturn were lined up with the Moon in Aquarius (iPhone photo):

Hand-held DSLR photo of Jupiter and three of its moons, a bit jittery:

Storm clouds to the east  broke up the rays of the rising sun...

...which reflected on the smoke from several wildfires and converged on the western horizon:

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Linking to:

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 May, 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. 

This was our final stay in our Illinois condo. It had served as our second home for eleven years, but keeping two residences was getting to be a chore. We vacated it late in May and closed the sale remotely during the next month. 

Early May is the height of songbird migration in NE Illinois, providing lots of color in the May photo archives. The first entry was a Baltimore Oriole:

Yellow Warbler:

Red-headed Woodpecker:

Rose-breasted Grosbeak:

Eastern Bluebird:

Common Yellowthroat:

Tree Swallow:

Less colorful but nonetheless intriguing, a Great Horned Owl:

A few years earlier, within walking distance of our condo, we had discovered the first nesting Lark Sparrows in the county. To be honest, MaryLou spotted them and noted that they were unusual. 

When I looked at them through the binoculars I  recognized their strikingly bold face patterns. Lark Sparrows were back again this spring:

They can be difficult to see out on the dry prairie:

In the same field were Savannah Sparrows...

...and the smaller Grasshopper Sparrows:

A pair of House Sparrows snuggled on a fencepost:

Bobolink:

Also in the prairie, a Killdeer guarded two chicks:

Along the woodland path, Trout Lilies bloomed:

Wake Robin flowers were opening:

Blue Violets are the Illinois State Flowers:

Our daughter's family had gained two new pups within two weeks, a black Standard Poodle (Casador) and another Tibetan Mastiff (Moncada) to join Agramonte:

Agramonte greets the newest member of the pack:

The last of our furniture was towed away:

Sunset over neighborhood Jones Meadow Park:

On final approach to the Fort Lauderdale airport, we could find our house and familiar landmarks (click to enlarge):

We ended the month in Florida. A back yard highlight was a Tricolored Heron:

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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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Beauty is in the eye of the Barn Owl

I first encountered a Barn Owl in our local wetlands preserve in 2015, when I saw one on the top of a dead Royal Palm along the gravel entry path. That tree was subsequently removed and replaced by another which also died.  

According to Cornell University's global eBird database, this species has never before been reported to breed anywhere in southern Broward County. The nearest historical sightings occurred in undeveloped areas in Miami-Dade County about 4 miles / 6.4 kilometers to the south.and in Broward County 10.5 miles / 17 kilometers to the north. I never saw another until I photographed one in flight near this location in February, 2019.

Since then they have been present consistently. These are earlier photos:





Here is the topless palm tree in an undeveloped spot where I first saw a Barn Owl, in August, 2015:



Although I never saw them again until 2019, I was encouraged when I found this wing feather in October, 2018, very close to the old tree:



I suspected that they may have been nesting on the top of another Royal Palm behind a home across the gravel road. This tree had also died and lost its foliage. I heard and recorded a young owl nearby only a few weeks ago (Link to eBird checklist). 

This species nests all year round. This week there were two Barn Owls occupying the top of this second tree, too dark for my camera, so here is the daytime view (along with our neighbor's  regulation-compliant fence):





Our homeowners association contracts with landscapers to maintain the area along the berm where the nest tree is located.  Many people cannot stand the sight of an old dead tree and I feared they may be planning to remove and replace it with a more "fitting" representative of our refined community. The Barn Owl does not see it this way.

Therefore, I worked with the homeowners association on a plan to to protect the nest tree. A pair of Barn Owls and their brood can eat as many as 3,000 rodents in a single nesting season, so they are much more efficient than a pest control company. While they are protected by the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and they are the least numerous among Florida's 5 owl species, they are not threatened or endangered. 

Happy to say that my mobility and energy have vastly improved since starting on Prednisone. MaryLou and I have been out about an hour before sunrise almost every morning. We arranged for Juan, a fellow birder to meet us on the way in and he was treated to seeing both Barn Owls as they emerged from the palm trunk and flew overhead, their pure white undersides reflecting the glare of our flashlights.

As we were observing the Barn Owls we heard an Eastern Screech-Owl calling nearby. Juan located it and I obtained poor photos with the help of his flashlight:





That day I logged over 10,000 steps for the first time in almost a month as we trekked into a more primitive area of the preserve on the Bar Ditch Trail. As we walked westward, Juan turned around to capture the rising sun:



Were it not for the sound of airplanes and distant traffic, we could have been lost, deep in the wilderness:



A motley molting Blue Jay was missing his splendid head-dress:



Later we spotted one almost completely feathered:



A female Prairie Warbler appeared against the blue sky:



The male Prairie Warbler was partially obscured in the brush:



Blue-gray Gnatcatchers flitted about actively:



Northern Cardinals were numerous, a male...



...and female posed for photos:



An Ovenbird appeared briefly:





There were fresh Bobcat tracks...



...Raccoon hand-prints...



...and evidence of a large feral hog:



A White-tailed Deer with deformed antlers stepped out into the path in front of us:



A pair of Loggerhead Shrikes rested together in a treetop:



Two Yellow Warblers were passing through, southbound:





Among the insects, a richly patterned Horace's Duskywing...



...and a Band-winged Dragonlet (Erythrodyplax umbrata):



Back home and in seclusion, we enjoyed a visit from the mamma Muscovy Duck, who hatched out 15 ducklings in our back yard. She now was guarding the last four survivors of her brood. Turtles, bass, cats, herons and hawks are not kind to baby ducks:







White Ibises gathered along the shore:



Opposite to the sunrise, the anti-solar rays reflected on dust blown in from the Sahara Desert and the shadows of clouds intersected over the Everglades:



Morning sun touched the south wet prairie:



Great Egret in morning light:



The egret cast a meager reflection on the breeze-dimpled lake surface:




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Linking to:

Fences Around the World

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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