Robins Choose Cedar Today

Have been seeing the Robin flocks in different parts of the local areas in large swarms. Mostly they have been gorging on Camphor tree berries and resting in the oaks in between. At our house a few days ago they were at the Beauty Berries. Today, however, they decided to hit the Cedar tree a few houses down.



Round and round they went from tree to tree and settled in and grabbed berries from each branch of the cedar.



Only stopping to run from a loud car rumbling down the street, they soon would come back in to grab more and more delicious fruit.



Wonder which berries they will select next. Enjoying it while it lasts.

Evil Gnatcatcher

I was working away at the computer and heard a familiar sound outside. Now that it is warming up, I can open the kitchen window again and get a bit more ambiance from outside. So when I heard a Blue-grey Gnatcatcher call really loudly I knew it was right by that window.

Once I looked outside I could see two Blue-grey Gnatcatchers flying around snapping at emerging insects in the morning sun. I could actually hear their bills clicking together as they grabbed bugs from the air.

I ran out to try for a photo but knew it would be difficult as they were moving so quickly. I activated the flash and pointed where I thought they might end up at some point and managed one shot. One danged ghostly, evil looking gnatcatcher!



Several seconds later, this bird actually moved right next to me as if to see what I was doing. It landed on a branch literally 2 feet from my right elbow before moving off into the trees. In my experiences, gnatcatchers are very unconcerned about humans when they are feeding, they are that focused and probably do not see us a real threat.

An exciting quick moment in the yard.

Goldfinch Acro-BAT-ics

One fun thing about this Audubon BirdCam is the fact that I can study the Winter plumage of our visiting Goldfinches. They usually flit about so quickly it is sometimes difficult to judge whether one is a male or female at this time of year.

Now, I can get them side by side every now and then and compare the feather patterns. For example, here is a male and a female right next to one another. The males have the yellow shoulders and the females are more drab.



My other favorite sight is when they hang upside down to feed even though they could easily feed from the port right in front of their face.



I need to study why this is sometimes preferred. Lots of fun to watch!

The First Robin Frenzy of the Year

I was starting to hear a certain buzz outside around 1 PM. I checked the backyard and noticed a lot of fast-moving shadows streaking through the oaks. I stepped outside and found this.



American Robins were gorging themselves on the Beauty Berry fruits in the neighbor's yard and ours. Robin calls were everywhere and the birds were dropping in from every direction. Eventually, they began to find the bird baths and started taking drinks. I was scrambling to get the camera in a good position and first got this male at the bath.



I was moving slowly as not to scare them off and then they began adding up in the yard.



Near that bath, a Palm Warbler dropped by the grab a few seeds before disappearing into the brush.



Back at the bath, the Robins continued to swoop down and drink.



While back at the Beauty Berry bushes, the limbs could barely support the weight of the swarming birds.



Even by the front door the Robins were found raiding the Camphor tree. Robins all over!



I love this time of year, especially once the temperatures rise a bit more, and there should be a few more waves of Robins in the yard before they head back North.

This Weather is Silly

In my recollection, this is the longest cold spell we have had in a very long time. Usually, we will have a cold snap about this time but it lasts about a day or two. This has been hitting us for over a week!

This weekend was the coldest of days. It dropped into the mid-20s in Orlando for most of the night. Northerners may scoff but this is not normal for us. It gnaws at you day and night. Luckily, we have not had tremendous winds to deal with. The air, as is, is cold enough to make us all gripe.

Predictions of snow and sleet held true in some spots but all we had here was a brief spate of sleet in the early hours before dawn and then just cold. I worry about the birds in the yard. Why? Because it is a time where my meager bird baths freeze over.

We added this blue tray a while ago. It is usually held on a low resin table in the center of the backyard. Frozen solid. Looks like the raccoons got their paws in there adding dirt before the freeze.



For the past two days I have seen the resident birds hanging out in the trees in the cold. Seemingly staring at the frozen water. Even the larger cement bath was solid today.



Once I thawed out the baths and filled feeders, fingers freezing in the slight breeze, the birds hurried down to get a drink and relax and feed.

Higher temps are said to be returning by the end of next week. Can't wait.

More Goldfinches but COLD!

Our little Goldfinch who was unhappy with the Titmouse visitor the other day (scroll down to the post below) doesn't seem to want any of her own kind there, either!

We now have three Goldfinches, at least, and there the yelling continues. Finally starting to hear the Goldfinches up in the trees in the mornings so their numbers are growing.



Bad news is, it is an extremely cold week here in Central Florida. We usually get a day or so of a cold snap but this blast of Arctic air is still pushing in. Suppose to be in the upper 20s through coming weekend. Not looking forward to it. Our 'normal' low is 50!

Bundle up.

Thistle Feeder Fight!

Happy New Year!

During all of my backyard viewing I have NEVER seen a Titmouse at a thistle feeder. In fact, I have only seen Goldfinches while waiting for some stray Pine Siskin to show up.

Today, I noticed a Titmouse kind of following the Goldfinches from feeder to feeder but not actually landing on the feeders themselves. Before I headed to bed I got the SD card out of the BirdCam to review the images from the day. There were only 18 recorded images so I wasn't expecting much.

In one image, I noticed that never-before-seen image. A Titmouse at the thistle feeder! Cool.



It appears the the Goldfinch is none too happy about it, though.



Can't wait for the next exciting find using the cam.

Viera Wetlands

Made a run out to Viera Wetlands for the last trip of the year to locate the Masked Duck drake that has been hanging out and first reported by fellow photographer friend, Donna Faylo. Nice spotting, Donna!

I got there right at sunrise so I swung around the Click Ponds to see if anything interesting was there. Not a lot of birds except for a lot of Wood Storks.



Once I got to the far side of the ponds I had a great view of the sunrise along with a large flock of Tree Swallows grabbing insects from the water's surface.



There were already a lot of car traffic near the Masked Duck spot but no duck yet so I made a short trip around the berms to see what else was waking. There were Caracaras flying over and the swallows here as well. Near the shore, a Limpkin grabbed and banged away at a snail.



Through my binoculars I could see photographers stepping out of their vehicles so the duck must have started its morning foraging. I made my way back around Cell 4 but was distracted by sparrows in the grass. There were several Savannah Sparrows hopping in the grass and dirt flinging dirt out of the way with each hop to see if they could uncover any breakfast. This one managed a nice treat.



On the opposite side, a Northern Harrier cruised overhead in the low light.



Closer to shore, a Great-blue Heron sat in a low palm tree.



I finally got back to the real reason I was here for the morning and the Masked Duck was out in the open.



Pretty little duck. Females were here a couple years ago but this is the first reported drake.



Right on schedule at 8:30 AM the duck began to move back into the reeds. This timing was observed in the preceding days, as well.



So, back to exploring the other cells before moving on. Other ducks are here, too, including the resident Mallards.



The wintering Blue-wing Teals were present in large numbers and often close to shore.



Green Herons are always a nice find but a bit more secretive most of the time.



Many Anhinga can be seen at close range drying their black and white wings.



Nearby, I spotted this small group of female Ruddy Ducks which were paddling just off of the shoreline.



One more bird to view on the way out of the Wetlands. A Glossy Ibis caught some sort of little eel (or something like it) and made a quick meal of it.



Time to head home but what is a trip to the coast without a stop by Merrit Island. Out at Parrish Park there was a large group of birds including Ring-billed Gulls and many resting Black Skimmers.



Just behind them was a very loud and begging Royal Tern. Another beautiful bird.



One more stop for the day (OK, two. I did go around Bio Lab Road but there was not much out there besides the alligators.) with a trip through Black Point. A lot of cars but not too much near the roads. There were Northern Pintails, Wigeons, etc. way out on the flats but not much more. Except for this nice flock of American Avocets near stop 7.



A nice way to round up the year. Time to head home and chill the champagne for New Year's Eve.

Goldfinches are Back

Goldfinches are back in the yard. Finally. How can I tell? Because the area under the feeders is gathering finch poop!



Plus, the yellow feeder is showing evidence of use.



They are later than usual but I am glad that they are back. Shouldn't be long before I hear their calls outside every morning. Will make the approaching cold more worth it.

New Bird Cam

Got a couple of fun Christmas presents this year. First was the Plant Cam from my wife which I will be using to record different plants as Spring gets closer. The other was the BirdCam which I am testing right now. The first test was setting it outside at the parent's house. I tried the bird bath first but that was quiet so I moved it to the ground under the other feeder.

Not a bad result with all of the activity at one point.



This is a crop of that image showing the House Sparrows.



Then I moved it back to the bird bath and captured a shot of the Blue Jay and Grackle.



Back home, I set up facing the tray feeder. Got some good shots of the Mourning Doves but often got too many shots of the raiding squirrels.



The only fun part of the squirrels is when they jump off and make the tray feeder spin. Makes for interesting images.



However, I want to get birds in these shots so I will have to change my position for the cam. More post from this cam to follow.

Gulf Beaches

Before heading back to Orlando, we spent some time over on the Gulf beaches for a nice walk and then a fine dinner.

Our first stop was over at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary at Indian Shores. As their web site states, this is non-profit is "...the largest wild bird hospital and bird sanctuary in the United States, based on the admission of up to 8,000 birds per year." They have all sorts of birds that they rehabilitate and then release back into the wild.

With all of the birds in the enclosed spaces other birds stop by to roost like this beautiful Black-crowned Night Heron.



We headed to the beach just beyond the sanctuary to let the boys play near the water. Of course, I was drawn to the other birds loafing on the beach and headed down to get some shots if I could. The gull I wanted to get a shot of was scared off by visitors before I could do so so I walked back to the family while combing the shore.

For some reason, this Ruddy Turnstone wanted to walk right up to me. Easy shot of one of my favorite shorebirds.



Fun! We then headed to rotating dining room to eat and then stopped down at the shore one more time. I thought I spotted a new type of gull for me but it turned out to be another version of the common Laughing Gulls. Gulls are tough for me. Especially since I hardly get to see too many.

Here are many variations of Laughing Gulls found right there down the beach. Version 1, a juvenille:



...then older...



...then older still...



...then adults...



...and another.



Still searching for different gulls on my travels.

The Parent's Backyard

Swung over to the parents for Day Three of Christmas and got a quick view of some of their local yard birds. There seemed to be some concern in the birds like they were watching for trouble out there somewhere. As I walked into the backyard, the Blue Jays were in frozen postures to keep from being seen.

Except by me.



Just a bit later, their female Cardinal came over to the same Crape Myrtle and posed for a while.



Always nice to see some other birds that visit others' yards in another part of the state.

Next post will showcase our trip to the beaches.