Common Yellowthroat

The weather is beginning to change. I can feel it deep down. Even a few points off the humidity make the outdoors in Central Florida tolerable. Either that or the pull of migrating birds makes me think that.

I have been staring at my computer at work pretty intently for the past few days. The humidity is really down a bit and my legs could use a stretch. Time to reinstate the lunchtime walk over to the trees.

The fresh air was nice but there weren't a lot of birds around here at midday. I searched the wooded edges of the buildings and heard Mockingbirds and Cardinals but not much else. Finally, I did have a nice surprise when a female Common Yellowthroat hopped up out of the palmettos and onto a branch right in front of me.



Pretty little thing. I used to see Common Yellowthroats all over Central Florida nearly year round. Now it seems that they are in decline as it usually takes migration to bring any of these small warblers into view.



However, I have seen several in this little patch of woods and suspect they might be living here. That would be nice. But kind of weird as you usually find them closer to water and this spot is landlocked. The closest water in half a mile away. In all directions.



So, I will keep an eye out as we move along. Maybe I can find signs of breeding next Spring. Thanks for the photos, Ms. Yellowthroat!

Blackburnian and More at Mead

Despite the lackluster day yesterday, I decided to return to Mead primarily because there was a sighting of a Black-billed Cuckoo a few times in the past few days. I need that one for my collection.

We have been having rain off and on but I guessed I might have enough time before the next round after our banding morning. Rain has been good for the lakes, THey are way up and about back to normal levels.



No luck on that bird today but things were a bit more birdy and gave me many opportunities for photos. Once I arrived, I headed into the wooded area near the parking lot but only managed to find some Carolina Wrens and a pair of Cardinals. The male posed nicely in the shade.



I spent some time behind the amphitheater to see if the Cuckoo might be hiding there where it was last seen. Instead, all I found were some Redstarts. Then, another bird flashed through the branches but kept to the back of the oaks. It was an Acadian Flycatcher!



I swung down the river's edge and onto the boardwalk. No birds here so I stopped to get a shot of the Primrose Willow blossoms. They are invasives but I do love these flowers.



Fairly quiet until I approached the butterfly garden. There I found the Mockingbirds in the trees and flying about.



Many of the younger birds were grabbing berries when they could but I was more interested in the adult perched up in the watch tower.



As I admired the Mockers, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher drifted in and gave me a gaze before heading on.



This was followed quickly by a female Cardinal who brought her own food to snack on. She was a bit damp and undergoing some molting but I still found her pretty. In a birdy kind of way...



Besides the Flycatcher earlier, the most interesting birds were found as I made my back to the parking lot and found a few fellow birders staring at the trees. Turned out a feeding flock was moving through there and there were many Blackburnian Warblers in the flock.



I haven't seen too many Blackburnian Warblers in my life so it was nice to have this bunch around for some photos. Even though the sky was fully overcast and the light was poor.



Even got a pair together in one shot.



Here is that same scene cropped to show the lower bird better.



We tried to follow the flock but they dispersed. I got to end the day with a cuddly moment before heading home. A Rabbit was out on the grass, nibbling away.



Not a bad walk in the park, eh?

Get That Cat Outta Here!

Different time of day to check on the Teals but I wanted to see the place in better light. As expected, there was only a couple of Teal but not much else here around midday. In the smaller pond there were a couple of Wood Ducks in alternate (non-breeding) plumage.



Near the shore of the bigger pond was a Little Blue Heron. A Snowy Egret was up on the railing that surrounds the drain. A few Mallards hung out in the center of the lake.



Suddenly, the peaceful scene was exploded by the shriek of the Snowy Egret just as I was taking the shots of the heron. I glanced up to see a flash of white and then noticed something that really surprised me. A cat was all the way out on the railing!



That rail is only an inch wide and smooth. Couldn't believe the cat was keeping balance after an attempt at the egret. The Snowy made it away safely and flew over to join the Little Blue.



A little unexpected excitement for the day.

A Prairie Warbler Flashes into View

I headed over to Mead Garden for a trip through in search of any migrants. For the most part I was disappointed. A Mockingbird here. A Brown Trasher there... Sigh.

I was heading out after an hour and finally saw a flash bolt into an oak. I had to work my way around the structures near the butterfly garden and I finally could tell it was a migrant. A Prairie Warbler. Jumping into photo-mode I tried to anticipate which direction the feeding track would take it.

The bird chased an insect through the branches and, surprisingly, the path took it about a foot over my head. The warbler grabbed the bug and took it to a lower limb nearby. I got out to a good angle for my few seconds of clicking.



Yes! In the open and in the Sun. Then it was off and so was I. Almost makes me forget how dead the rest of the morning was.

Kinda like golf. A whole bunch of disappointment is erased after a single good play. Weird how that happens.

Escaping the Heat

Clouds broke early and so did the shift at work. I had time to go get the oldest boy from school. The best way there is by going around Lake Lancaster and do a little birding on the way. The day was heating up nicely and the first bird I saw stopped me in my tracks. A Great Egret was cooling down by resting chest deep along the shore. Odd.



I got to my waiting spot to wait to the school bell to ring. The jays and Titmice were calling out alarms so I had to look for the cause. Probably a hawk. Yep. Deep in the shade keeping cool in its own way was a Red-shouldered Hawk.



My son and I will just head back to house and grab some AC.

Golden silk Orb-weavers

I was going back through the photos from Central Winds Park and forgot to add a couple shots in yesterday's post. Forgot my spiders!

I am starting to find some nice specimens of Golden silk Orb-weavers (Nephila clavipes) in different places. I can't recall seeing too many last year. They kinda just took a break or something. I think I am happy to start seeing them again, scary looks and all.

Found this pair along the path as I headed back to the van. Yes, I said 'pair'. If you look closely you can see both the male and female on the web. The male is only a third the size of the female. He is in the top portion of this photo.



Also in the photo is the reason for their name. They weave portions of their webs in a golden hue. The photo below shows a close-up of the web to highlight the golden strands.



These spiders just hang there and being so large they are usually easy to see and avoid. If they do get on you at least they move so slowly that they can be brushed off effortlessly. Once you stop freaking out!

Central Winds Park

I have been hearing about a park along the southern end of Lake Jessup more and more as migration ramps up. It is called Central Winds Park. Never heard of it before. I figured after our banding session that I would run out there and check it out. See how long it takes to get there, find out what it is like and time the ride home. Turns out to be a really nice area.

I had mapped it earlier and saw that there was a big open space that led to the lake. I thought that might be a good place to start. The view was promising form the parking lot.



However, once I crested the top of the lawn my heart sunk a bit. There was a fence around the pond just before the lake so I would not be able to get under those nice trees down below. I decided to walk the edges anyway in search of bids. Not a lot here but some nice Passion Vine flowers.



I made my way back up the far side and had 2 choices. Head left into some inviting oak trees or head right into a canopied path into the woods. Mysterious paths into the woods wine with me every time! Along this sun-dappled trail I found myself watching a Spicebush Swallowtail gathering nutrients from the moist soil.



At the bottom of the trail I made a startling discovery. My old friend Dexter was scanning the treetops. Hadn't seen him in person in months. He has been coming here for years and he granted me a quick tour of some good spots. While we watched Northern Parulas and a Prothonotary Warbler I noticed a nice small forest of fungus in the underbrush.



Dexter showed my an unmarked path into the trees that led us down toward the water's edge. Cypress and other trees grew tight around one another. We were in the shade finding birds and watching gators cruise out on the water.



Red-eyed Vireos and a Black and White Warbler were way up high. In the shallow water, a Cypress tree provided a nice perch for a female Anhinga.



Back on the main trail we found more species of birds. Yellow Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, more Northern Parula, and American Redstarts fed really high. The only warbler to drop low enough for a photo was a Yellow-throated Warbler that was finding insects every couple seconds.



At one point it fed along a branch and strands of moss just a few feet over our heads.



Throw in a few more local species and it was a very nice walk. Definitely a place I need to check again. Not too far from home and it seems to be a nice warbler hot spot. Beginning of next month should be excellent.

Mr. Grebe Gets Some Company

Well, well...looks like all that yellin' finally paid off!

Checking in on the Pied-billed Grebe again and I was pleasantly surprised to find him in some good company. A female has arrived.



More interesting is that they appear to be setting up house. The male is sitting on a nest-like spot and I saw him actually swim out and bring in more vegetation to improve the situation. It is very late in the season but these two are at least keeping up appearances.

Time will tell...

Downy Woodpecker

One of the things slowing down my regular posts here is that we have begun the next session of banding at Lake Lotus. This time of year we mainly catch the local birds but the migrants are on the way. Today we caught a couple of Downy Woodpeckers.

They were both females and I had been hearing them in the willows all morning. As we were extracting the females, the male was right nearby. He was busy feeding and seemed to barely notice the calls from his girls. Gave me some great photo ops, though.



We banded the birds and brought them back down to the same area for release so they could reconnect with the big boy.

I mention it every now and then and it is time to do so again. I have a lot of photos of our banding days over at the Wekiva Basin Banding Station site so feel free to head over there for more nature and birding excitement!

Early Blue-winged Teal

I still check the church pond every day but hadn't found anything different in the past couple of weeks. Until today.

I counted up the Mallards and herons and made sure I had the Grebe on the list. As I was about to leave the scene, I noticed a couple other birds in the reeds.



Sometimes I take shots and move on quickly when I have other chores to do and don't think too hard about the shots until I get a chance to see them on the computer. Once I got a full view, I could tell these were not your typical Mallards. The full black bills proved that but I was still scratching my head. The plumage was different, too.

I emailed my buddy, Paul, and he suggested what I was starting to suspect. Blue-winged Teal! This species does start arriving on the coast about this time but I have never seen any in Central Florida interiors this early before. I start seeing "Winter Ducks" in late October and into November.

Then again, I have only been finding these tiny ponds earlier this year. They are here then but who knew they were here this early in the season? Now we can add them to the list.

Maybe they have always showed up here this early and we never noticed or maybe we might have a vey ducky year this time around. Time will tell.

Squawking Hawk

Another day of pond scanning. Searching. Counting. Mallards: 1...2..."Scree!!!"

I was jolted to attention of the call of a Red-shouldered Hawk calling right near me but hidden behind the branches of the trees. I had to climb around benches and near the fence line to finally find the bird. About 2 minutes later I got a lock.



No way to get a full shot but it kept calling until another joined in and finally flew nearby. Still a different experience for the evening.

Mead Garden Red-bellied Woodpecker

Made a fast tour through Mead Garden yesterday on the way home from banding. It was a very quiet day with very few birds captured.

Not much happening at Mead, either, until I finally found a feeding flock at the back of the park. There were many species there but I was fixated on a young Red-bellied Woodpecker feasting on the Elderberry fruits.



The bird didn't even mind my approach as I took a ton of shots. He was just loving the heck outta those berries!

A nice sight to send me on my way home.

Checking on the Grebe

Made a quick stop to see if the male Pied-billed Grebe was still hanging out and calling. He was.



Wonder if he will find a mate?

On the way back to the van I spied a Northern Mockingbird hopping across the lawn in search of food.



A scruffy little thing but he was finding bugs quite nicely.



Off to the next adventure!

Baby Red-winged Blackbird

Such a noise outside! I looked out back and found a male Red-winged Blackbird plucking seeds from the feeders and bouncing around the Frog bird bath. It was fun to watch for a bit. THEN...!

I noticed a bird slipping into view from behind the side of the deck. Next, Dad slid over and fed the young bird as it decided it was safe enough to make its way closer to the back of the deck.

I was stuck inside and ran back to get my camera for a shot through the back window.



Dad was feeding baby, our first arrival from the wetlands this year, and was very focused. I decided that I might be able to get a clear shot. I opened the door and for the first time ever Oscar, our cat, tried to get past me. I had to grab him, scaring the Blackbirds in the process.

Of all the times... At least I got a verified shot of fledged Red-winged babies. Time to watch for more chances and lock up the cat!

Muscovy Parade

We completed our first dat back at the banding site today and I headed around the local lakes on the way home. Nothing much out there at the moment so I was pleasantly surprised to round a curve and spy a colorful parade headed my way.



Mama Muscovy Duck was leading her newest brood from Lake Emerald toward Lake Weldona. They ran out of side walk along the way and had to jump the curb and make their way down the street.



I stopped far enough away so as not to interrupt their stride but Mama still had to give me a checking out just in case.



Muscovy ducklings are some of the cutest out there. Then, they get a bit more homely as they grow up. Some folks feel that way, anyway.



Muscovy, Wood Duck, and Mallards have all had 2nd broods this year. Ducklings can be found in every lake and pond around. No complaints!

Checking the Banding Site

I decided to take a walk through the banding site today to make sure it was in good enough shape for the grand re-opening tomorrow. Yep. Looks good. Not a lot of birds around right now but still a couple to catch my attention.

I was hoping the flock of Titmice and Chickadees would come out for a picture but they stayed in the trees across the river. I had to settle with the company of a Great-crested Flycatcher. I wanted a more direct angle but I guess this one is not too bad.



A Pileated Woodpecker flew in to join the party, searching along the branches before flying off into the park.



Of course, there are always plenty of butterflies around. I have a lot of photos of White Peacocks but how can you resist their excellent color scheme for just one more?



In the morning, dark in the morning, we begin our 5th Session of banding at Lake Lotus. I will put links to those findings when they are warranted. Hoping for a great year.

Backyard Quickies

Ah, August. How I have neglected you. For my usual followers and others, I have been remiss on getting the August posts going. So, for those of you that get reminders, you may be getting more than one a day as I play catch-up.

Been getting things ready at the banding site and just have been too distracted. Still recording birds but not being able to post them quickly is a pain. I should be up to speed shortly before migration gets too crazy.

SO! Just a couple birds from the beginning of the month.

I sat out back for just a brief time this day. All the baby Cardinals were about and I really like this shot of one trying to hide between the branches.



The squirrels broke the last small feeder out back so I found a new one. This one is interesting. A double stacker. Should be a hit with the smaller birds in the Fall. For now, the Red-winged Blackbirds like it and are stopping by more and more. Got a shot of Mom and Dad at the same time today.



A lot more sightings to catch up on! Stay tuned!! We start banding up the road and I will make a link to the banding site along the way.