Jay Watch 2015, Part 2

The second morning of my Jay Watch duties found me at the Lake Monroe Conservation area at dawn. Once I signed in and gathered my gear I dod a bit of exploring in the parking lot before we started. One shot I missed since it was so quick was an adult Bald Eagle that flew straight past us on the road about 10 feet off the surface. Then it was gone.

Instead, I had to settle for an illuminated Spiny Orb Weaver and its web.



Gaura is a Florida native but I don't see it too often. It was all over this little lot.



Eastern Towhees are always calling out on this property but I could never get in a good position, lighting-wise.



Once I turned around I did have perfect light for the Rusty Lyonia.



One pf my favorite flowers out in the scrub is the Tar Flower. I always make a point of trying to find the best bloom while I am searching for Jays.



My point shift was over so I walked up toward the next point. Out in the distance was a single Florida Scrub Jay feeding around the vegetation. I played the Scrub Jay tape quickly and the bird flew our way. Too bad it was the only one I would see today but the photos do prove it is an unbanded bird.



At the next count point I found some Lyonia sporting its small white blossoms.



Loblolly Bay flowers are hard to miss. Especially once you get nearer to thicker forest on property.



Out in the more open areas out here we know there are not any Jays here but there are other birds that come through like Great-Crested Flycatchers perching on any high snag. Sometimes we find Blue Birds and we had several Bachman's Sparrows flying by.



I was putting my clipboard down and prepared to play my Jay calls when I noticed this pink bloom in the middle of some rather barren ground. Not sure of the species yet. Most likely one of the Sabatia family species.



Off in the distance a pair of women on horseback were winding their way through the scrub. A couple of times they halted for a while but I couldn't tell why. By the time they passed me I said Hello and they said, "Wow, they aren't scared of you!" and they rode on. Turns out those pauses before was as they tried to go past the others in my party the horses spooked and would not go directly past the ladies. Go figure.



I was watching a Northern Mockingbird when suddenly a Brown Thrasher emerged from the scrub to pose for a bit.



Several of these large stalked plant came into view. I have know idea what they are but they always intrigue me.



A really close inspection revealed a small batch of purple blooms at the top.



A very large ant came scurrying past me as the morning wore down. It looks kind of like a velvet ant but...not.



My last count point was pretty quiet but there was a very small dragonfly that landed next to me.



As I headed up the trail I was finding much larger dragonflies swaying in the rising breeze.



Around the corner was a plant full of seed heads. Kinda pretty.



Swaying around with the dragonflies was a small patch of tall Yellow-eyed Grass. My last photo of the day.



We headed back in the truck to the parking lot and said our good-byes. Rain was moving in as I headed home. There are other spots I could have visited but this year I am too tired to stand in the heat any longer. I will be back out to count again next year, after all.

Jay Watch 2015, Part 1

It's that time again! Back out into the Summer heat to count Florida Scrub Jays. This weekend I was stationed at Buck Lake Conservation Area near Mims, Florida. Always nice to meet up with old and new friends and hopefully get some shots of the Jays and other discoveries in the scrub.

While the instructions for our procedures were given to the new volunteers I spied something more interesting. Up on one of the powerless I spotted a Great-Crested Flycatcher. A few minutes later it actually stuck its head into on end of the large pipes and then flew back to perch. Another flycatcher arrived and then the two seemed to have a bit of a quarrel leaving the original bird sitting on the wire. I can only surmise they have a nest in that pipe. Cool.



The group leaders seem to have finally nailed down how to get group photos of the daily volunteers. Used to be they would wait until the end of the morning but by then either half the group has gone home or is just too exhausted by the heat. Now we get the shot before heading out for the counts.



I had the closest count points with Jane and Maria (who runs the event on this side of the state). Approaching our first count point I spotted a pair of jays on a dead tree snag. We had to walk past the birds to get on the best side of the morning sunlight. Shortly after we settled in with our binoculars to get the leg band data. Soon, one of the Florida Scrub Jays flew among us, grabbed something from the ground and found a spot to cache it in the sand.



It then hopped up into small tree right in front of me allowing me some nice shots.



Maria had been looking for a photo that showed the pattern on the back of adult Florida Scrub Jays and our bird was happy to oblige me as I moved behind it and I got some excellent shots. Turns out that this shot serves a duel purpose as it is also a good example shot of tail molt.



That bird flew back to the tree but the second one soon replaced it, again, right in front of me. This is a good shot of the leg bands on this bird which would be recorded Silver/Black/Mauve.



We moved off to survey some other points before returning to this general area. I played my jay tapes and a pair of Florida Scrub Jays flew in from a quarter mile away. Took a few minutes to confirm but it was the same pair we hung with earlier.



While I was positioning myself in the oaks for the best angle I could get of the Jay above me a juvenile Northern Mockingbird flew in to see what all the fuss was.



The next set of points was near the large ditch that cuts across the property. It stays a bit more damp and typically have some interesting flowers blooming like one of our species of St. John's Wort.



Tucked down in the grasses, a few Rhexia swayed in the gentle breeze.



A yellow flower I have yet to identify caught my eye as I headed back to the roadside to meet my ride.



Once I got settled a flash caught my eye up in the blue. First the sky was totally blue but suddenly an area of white would appear like a rotating advertising sign an disappear again. Wood Stork flock I figured but I took a shot just to document it. I thought that the Anhinga following at the bottom of the flock was interesting, too.



Once I got the image on the home computer I was a bit more than surprised. Those weren't Storks. They were American White Pelicans! I am use to seeing them only in the Winter but I guess some do stick around sometimes according to records. Just a pretty rare sight for June.



I play my first round of Jay calls per instructions then have to stop before the full minute was up. A Swallow-tailed Kite was flying right toward me. Kites have been known to prey upon young birds so we try not to attract any jays when raptors of any kind are in sight. The Kite eventually headed out over the tree line and I played the tape for one more round before my time was up.



Grasshoppers were constantly flying out of the way of my step at every stop. This one posed for a nice morning shot in the road.



It was taking a while for Maria to get me for the next round. Maybe she had a bird or two at her stop. As I waited I spotted a small dot on the horizon, high in the sky. Didn't seem like a Red-tailed Hawk to me so I snapped a few shot to take home and analyze. Turned out to be a Short-tailed Hawk, another excellent bird for this time of year. I have only seen a few of theses birds ever and never got a shot as clear.



Maria finally headed down to get me reporting that she did, indeed have a bird at her area. It seemed to be unbanded so we hurried back with my camera to try for documentation. Sure enough, an unbanded Florida Scrub Jay panting in the warming morning.



The scope was brought out for a closer view and to verify there were no bands on this bird.



No more birds for us on our remaining spot but I am sure some of the other teams had some. Tomorrow is Part Two at Lake Monroe. Hopefully, we can keep the nice breeze around. It wasn't as hot as I had feared it was going to be today

A Trip to the Banding Site

This is a cross-post from my banding site blog but since it the only 'birding' I have done this month I thought I could share it here, too.

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I headed to the banding site to get a fell as to how much clean-up we might be doing next month especially after we had a couple of big storms roll through that could have felled some of the dead snags. Surprisingly, there was not a lot of damage and the water level was lower than I had expected. Some tree parts have fallen near Net 3 but it looks like the rangers may have moved them out of the main path.



I was also went to see if we had any beneficial beetles emerging but all of the Air Potato leaves near the banding table appear to be untouched. Just below the table in the river I spotted a few very large Armoured Catfish apparently digging out a burrow in preparations for starting a new family. Not good. These non-natives can be very destructive.



By the time I got to Net 6 I did start to see some encouraging signs. The Air Potato leaves higher up are showing some wear and tear.



A bit farther down the lane at Net 12 I noticed a lot of damaged leaves and a bright red beetle floated past me as I walked deeper into the ground cover. Under another leaf I found a pair mating. Bring on the larvae!



Behind Net 22 I found several Silver Argiopes (AR-GEE-OH_PEE) on their squiggly webs in the shade.



There was not a lot of bird activity out here today. I did spot a couple of our banded Northern Cardinals along the way and Titmice and Carolina Wrens were calling back in the woods but not much else. As I neared Net 21, a female Downy Woodpecker flew by at shoulder level, lit upon a tree trunk, and quickly faded back into the shadows. Just then, a Great-crested Flycatcher flew in across the river.



It silently followed me as I headed to the end of the net lanes but soon vanished in the direction of the woodpecker.



Most turtles dive back into the water when approached but this Red-bellied Cooter was pretty defiant as I walked the Net 21 bank. It never flinched.



The only other thing stirring in the breeze were scores of Dragonflies.



I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Swallow-tailed Kites but the only bird riding the thermals was a very distant Black Vulture.



On the way out I did some more exploring around Net 12 and found more and more Air Potato Beetles.



The adults was flying back and forth and nibbling on tender shoots of the Air Potatoes. I expect to find a lot of skeletonized leaves which will mean we can skip pulling vines, at least.



Get to work, beetles! I will come back to check on your progress soon.