HART BEAT: BACKYARD BIRDING, FLORIDA STYLE, PART 2

Sandhill Cranes

Unfortunately, I had a brief relapse after my recent hospitalization and had to return once again to the hospital for three more days of treatment. Consequently, I am now strictly confined to the condo and only able to bird from our sunroom and occasionally able to get out onto the back patio. Nevertheless, the birds continue to cooperate and I have been fortunate to get numerous photos from both of these spots, and believe it or not, I will have enough different species seen from these two locations to get another month’s column right out our back door. So, stay tuned for Part 3 next month.

To begin, the Sandhill Cranes are so friendly that they often come right onto our patio (top). When I opened our sunroom door to take this picture, I thought for a brief moment that the close one was actually going to come right in with me, as he actually took a step toward me just before I closed the door. We specifically do not feed the Cranes for it is absolutely illegal, but I sometimes wonder if they are so brazen because other residents of our complex may sometimes be feeding them. Then again, as I said last month, the Sandhill Cranes act as though they own the roads, lawns and everything. This is so different from our area up north, in Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic, where Sandhill Cranes are quite unusual, mostly at a great distance, and birders are really excited to occasionally find them.

Another critter we will never see in our backyard in Pennsylvania is this Green Iguana (photo 2, taken by Jewel with her cell phone). Last month’s column included a photo of a larger gray Iguana, but this green one has accommodated us for this month. Recently we have been seeing a pair of Egyptian Geese (photo 3) hanging around our lake. Egyptian Geese are now spreading throughout south Florida and I would not be surprised if they showed up later in the season with a number of little babies trailing along between them, but probably not in time for next month’s column.

Our resident scofflaw, this Belted Kingfisher, (photo 4) loves to use this perch to launch into the lake for his next meal. There have even been a couple of occasions when he catches his fish and brings it back to this very perch to devour it. Pretty cheeky!

While we occasionally have Great Blue Herons (photo 5) show up around the larger pond on our Pennsylvania farm, we definitely will not ever see them right in our backyard as we do here in Florida. Note that this Great Blue is just beginning to get the tell-tale blue patch around the eye indicating that he/she is just coming into breeding plumage.

Limpkins (photo 6) have been showing up around our lake also. I am somewhat surprised by this, for their favorite food is the Apple Snail which I am sure are not found anywhere near or around our lake. There are a number of Limpkins in the Savannas County Park which is adjacent to our condo complex and a location where Apple Snails are abundant. In the December 1, 2020, Hart Beat column about Apple Snails there is a photo (No. 7 in that column) of Limpkin parents that have brought their offspring to our lake for feeding. So I guess they must find something in their diet here even if it isn’t Apple Snails.

There is a pair of Mottled Ducks (photo 7) that hang around our lake constantly, often with their best buddies, the White Ibis. I have not seen any sign of breeding activity, nor is there any really appropriate place here for them to nest or raise young. Mottled Ducks are closely related to Mallards and Black Ducks, but are pretty much a Florida, and Gulf coast bird, ranging north only as far as Georgia and South Carolina and strictly along the coast. This photo of the Mottled Duck distinctly shows the unique speculum pattern of the wing with the black terminal bands on each side of the blue wing patch which separates it from Mallards which have white in their terminal bands. Black Ducks, as the name implies, are much darker birds over all, particularly in the head and face, even though they have the same black terminal bands as the Mottled Ducks.

Common Ground Doves (photo 8) are another southern species that we will never see under the feeders at our Pennsylvania farm. They also range as far north as Georgia and South Carolina and also along the Gulf coast and into southern Texas, Arizona and southern California. This one was foraging just off our patio and hopefully will soon be nesting. I have never understood why ornithologists who name birds use the modifier “Common” on so many species of birds. The iBirdPro app on my cell phone lists 30 species of birds with “Common” as the first word in their name. It seems to me they should be more imaginative and descriptive in the bird’s name, as there is nothing common about many of those “Common” species, such as this “Red-billed” Ground Dove. I could not find any other dove species with a similar red bill.

Rounding out this column is this Double-crested Cormorant (photo 9) who loves to sit under the fountain in the middle of our lake. Adult males and females look alike, but juveniles have pale necks and breasts. I’m sure Cormorants fish our lake, but I have never seen one actually make a catch.

While I remain confined to our condo and patio, tethered by a 50-foot tube connected to an oxygen generating machine, 24/7, rather than being able to get out with birding friends to all the wonderful birding locations we would normally visit, I am finding it quite rewarding enjoying all the different species that are right here in our backyard. There is always a silver lining in every situation, I suppose, if we take the positive view. Certainly I have come to appreciate the wonders that are right here close by, many of which are some of the same species we travel miles to see.

Over the years we have seen some additional species, such as Woodstorks and Roseate Spoonbills on our lake that have not made an appearance yet during my recovery. Perhaps while paying more attention to the backyard and with the camera ready something completely different and exciting will show up in time to present to you, Dear Readers. A Snail Kite would quality or perhaps something truly rare such as a European vagrant of some kind. It could completely change my life just as Jewel did 33 years ago. We are never too old to hope and dream.

HART BEAT: BACKYARD BIRDING, FLORIDA STYLE, PART 1

Having just spent a week in the hospital for some pulmonary problems I now find myself confined to the condo on oxygen for a few weeks and limited to birding from our back patio. This happenstance provides an excellent opportunity to document some of the backyard birds that we encounter here in Florida, which as you can imagine, are vastly different from the backyard birds we have on the farm in Pennsylvania. In fact, there are so many here in Florida that both this column and next month’s will feature some of them.

To begin, first featured is a photo of our Florida backyard (top). It is a panorama that was shot a number of years ago featuring a nice rainbow over our clubhouse and swimming pool area. I must confess that right smack in the middle of the photo, if completely accurate, would be an unsightly concrete electric pole and an equally ugly electric junction box and cable connector post which I have removed from the photo. I hope you, Dear Readers, will forgive me this indulgence. In addition, two creatures found in our Florida backyard that would never occur in Pennsylvania are the alligator (photo 2, a cell phone photo that Jewel took) right up about 25 feet off our patio, and a large gray iguana (photo 3, also Jewel’s cell phone photo) in the grass nearby.

A flock of about 40 White Ibis hang around our pond daily and sometimes seem to be herded about by some Sandhill Cranes (photo 4) The Sandhill Cranes act as though they own the entire condo complex as they commandeer the streets and make drivers maneuver around them. They also occasionally venture right up onto our patio and sometimes peck at the screens in our sunroom windows doing significant damage to them. We have had to replace several of our screens a couple of times. We suspect they see their reflection behind the screens and are actually pecking at their own reflection.

There are also a good number of Palm Warblers frequenting the shrubbery around our condo units. They spend a fair amount of time right on our patio (photo 5) and apparently find some kind of food there. I haven’t yet figured out what it is but they definitely seem to be eating something there. Ducks often come to our pond, such as this Lesser Scaup (photo 6) which spent the better part of a day here, but never gave me an opportunity to get a photo with which I was particularly happy.

There have also been Ring-necked ducks, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, and of course, the Mottled Ducks which hang around much of the time. I have so many other photos of these ducks from other locations, that I haven’t bothered previously to take them on our pond and they haven’t accommodated me during my recuperation.

There are three Purple Martin houses across the pond by the club house and the Purple Martins, which arrive here about the end of January (April on our farm in Pennsylvania), are well into nest building at this time. They gather material at a corner in the pond which is a difficult location for me to get their picture (photo 7).   This female Anhinga, (photo 8) featuring breeding plumage as shown by the bright turquoise circle around its eye, was drying its wings on the far side of the pond. Finally, a Cattle Egret (photo 9) caught its dinner in the grass about 20 feet off our patio. The Cattle Egrets just love to search the lawn behind our unit and next door for food.

My recovery is going well and I am looking forward to being able to get out and about once again as the migration is underway and there are so many wonderful birding locations here in Florida. In the meantime, I have a brand new appreciation for being able to go birding without restriction. My birding companions here in Florida are visiting such excellent birding sites and I would normally be with them taking many photos and having a wonderful time. Right now I am birding vicariously with them seeing what fantastic photos they are posting and believe me, it really sucks not being able to be there with them.

The lesson to be learned is to enjoy the here and now to the fullest, for one never knows when it might come to an end, or at least a period of time when one is not able to do so. For the time being I am enjoying birding from our back patio or occasionally even from inside our sunroom off the patio.

That is my here and now and I am looking forward to expanding my horizons, hopefully sooner rather than later. It’s a little like being in high school and enjoying that first infatuation or relationship and looking forward to what the future might hopefully bring. Except that now, at 90 years of age, I have a pretty good idea of what those infatuations and relationships have been. And indeed, they have been really great. Actually, REALLY GREAT!

HART BEAT: FLYING AT THE STICK MARSH

Vermillion Flycatcher

It was another one of those spur of the moment decisions: Jewel said, “Let’s go to the Stick Marsh today and see if we can see that Vermilion Flycatcher that’s been reported up there.” Since the Stick Marsh, more officially known as the T.M. Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, about 10 miles north and west of Fellsmere, Florida, is only open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Thursdays, it’s a good thing she made her suggestion early on the first Thursday in January of 2023.

When we arrived at the fence just before the parking area where the Vermilion Flycatcher was reported to be hanging out with a number of Savannah Sparrows we knew at a glance that we were not going to find the bird that morning. There were already a number of clueless idiots out of their cars, walking up and down the fence line, close to the fence on both sides, busy spooking any self-respecting bird that might have any inclination to use the fence as a hunting area. We had arrived early to look for the bird about an hour before the gates into Goodwin opened, so we pretty much cooled our heels for that hour.

Fortunately, after we had completed a very successful and satisfying tour of Goodwin, we decided to leave around 2 p.m., well before all the other birders would be finishing up their day. This time, when we reached the fence area, there was not another soul anywhere to be found. The Vermilion Flycatcher (top) was there putting on an excellent show along with a number of Savannah Sparrows and a Palm Warbler. We watched the Vermilion Flycatcher swoop down several times and appear to play with the caterpillar it caught before flying off (photo 2) to finish its meal in peace. Using the car as a photo blind, I was able to take over a hundred photos of the bird including these two that I have inflicted upon you, Dear Readers.

We have previously seen Fulvous Whistling Ducks (photo 3) at the Goodwin area, but they never before put on a show like the one we were treated to on this day. Several times individual ducks (photo 4) would rise out of the water and flap their wings almost pretending to fly. There were also countless groups of Fulvous Whistling Ducks, but I particularly liked this one pair (photo 5) because they raised a question for me. The books and mobile phone birding apps all say that male and female Fulvous are identical. But I wondered whether this was a pair, with the male on the left showing a browner face, and the female to the right, slightly smaller and with less brown in the face. It’s definitely a question for more research someday.

The Black-necked Stilts (photo 6) sat out in the marsh pretty well obscured by the foliage until they got up and flew with their pink legs shimmering in the sun. It is a wonder that they don’t bump into each other when they all rise up together to fly like that. There were also a large number of Black Skimmers (photo 7) well off in the distance. They simply would not fly anywhere that did not include a lot of distracting powerlines in the photos. Also, you can earn extra credit if you are able to identify the gulls in the photo. Hint: one of the birds is a tern. American White Pelicans (photo 8) also put on an excellent show including these three that flew in tandem and in unison. Finally, an Anhinga (photo 9) almost appears to be flying motionlessly as it spreads its wings to dry after having been fishing underwater.

All in all, it was an excellent day at the Stick Marsh. Very good friends of ours go there virtually every Thursday and it is easy to see why they do. In fact, we ran into them there that day. All in all, I took over a thousand photos on that trip and it took hours just to cull through them and discard the vast majority. I finally kept photos of only 19 species of all that we saw. Many of those photos will also end up on the discard pile when I finally get to the job.

The only downside to a day at the Stick Marsh is the long Fellsmere Grade Road, all dirt and dusty, from the paved highway back to the starting area for the days birding. The road is heavily traveled, for there is a new fishing area with a boat launching ramp about three-quarters of the way back, and another smaller boat launching ramp at the parking area just before entering the Goodwin WMA. With all the hurrying fishermen and their boat trailers passing us on the way back for our day’s birding, as well as on the out at the end of the day, our car always requires a bath. First stop on the way home is always a drive-through car wash. Still, that is a small price to pay for an excellent day of birding and outstanding photographic opportunities at a birding location that still does not have an entrance fee.

I hope that by saying that out loud in this column I am not planting any ideas in someone’s head that might come back to bite us birders in the rear. I often think my rear end is already sore enough from all the other stupid things I have done or said at one time or another in my life. Anyone else share that life-long experience with me?

For an earlier column on the Stick Marsh, see Hart Beat column No. 72 “What’s Sticking Around Stick Marsh” at page 280 of the Hart Beat “Hard Cover Book” book, accessible at the top of the Hart Beat page. Simply “Download Part 2” of the “Book & 2015-17” link and scroll to page 280. The column was first published on July 1, 2015. Fourteen different photos and only one bird species duplicate: a Fulvous Whistling Duck photo, taken on December 29th, 2011, which you might want to compare with the current photos.