2014 Jay Watch, Part 1

I headed out for the next Florida Scrub Jay count called Jay Watch for the 7th year? Loosing count by now. I have been there since the beginning. I was split between two sites this year and the first was at Buck Lake near Mims just North of Titusville, Florida. This area has had over 8 inches of rain in the past month and was wetter than any previous counts I have helped with.

Once the sunlight broke through the clouds the humidity was nearly overwhelming. Luckily, we found our first, and only, group of Scrub Jays at our first point. At least three birds were in this group and we began to try to get band colors as the sweat began to soak our clothes.



The Florida Scrub Jays were not too cooperative and flew into and out of the oak nearby. Getting the birds in any good lighting was a chalenge.



Finally, one of the Florida Scrub Jays came out to the edge of the branches and provided a good look for us to get a verify Green/Green/Dark Green/Silver on this adult bird.



One more quick look before they all headed back into the branches and then we were off again to our next stops.



We found no other Scrub Jays on our route today but that is how it goes from time to time. Other groups had some birds in their areas. On one of our last points I walked deeper into the scrub to try to locate other birds. Instead, I nearly stepped on baby Gopher Tortoise wandering through the landscape.



I was drawn even deeper into the scrub in hopes of getting a shot of the calling Bob White Quail I was hearing when a Loggerhead Shrike also honed in on the calls to investigate. Appears to me it was a juvenile checking out the noise.



One of the members of today's watch managed to get a group shot of the bunch before we all left for the day. That's me in the green shirt with binoculars. I had been wearing my Jay Watch shirt for the past two years but I wore that one totally out. Back to my banding outfit.



I couldn't resist the chance to get over to Black Point Drive in Titusville on the way home. I hadn't been there in ages. I had forgotten that they now charge a fee to get in there now. Had to dig around for the five dollars left on me. Not the best time of day or year to visit, but... Without many birds in view, I had to settle for a shot of flowers like the Gallardia blooming all along the Drive.



Midway along the drive I found a pair of Reddish Egrets bickering over feeding spots. Nice to see them again.



Trying to hide among the mangroves, a female Anhinga watches as I cruise by in the backstretch of the area.



The most seen species at Black Point today was the Red-winged Blackbirds. Females were flying here and there but the males were up and calling from spots all along the property.



Tomorrow I head back to the other Jay Watch area, Lake Monroe Conservation Area and hope to find more Florida Scrub Jays to add to the count. I also find other interesting discoveries there from year to year. We shall see.

Mute Swans Half-way There

The Mute Swan family finally came out into the open and on the easier side of the lake so I could get some pictures.



They drifted toward me and Dad quickly took the point between me and the young brood which is quickly getting near full size.



Hard to believe that back in May this bird looked like this...



...and is already grown to this.



I was checking on the facts about Mute Swans and it appears that there are often different colors in the young, either gray or white. Doesn't seem to be any reason. They all turn out pure white when grown.



Nice to see then looking big and healthy. I will be continuing to follow their progress when I can.

Surprising Swallow-tailed Kite Find

It has been a pretty bird-less couple of weeks for me. Just not much out there this time of year but I have been checking the local lakes everyday. Today I had to head over to the banding site for one of our Summertime weeding chores before we begin banding birds again in August. As we headed out toward the middle of the net lanes I could hear a strange kind of chirping that I could not identify right away.

Once we got more out in the open we could see them. Ten Swallow-tailed Kites roosting in the snags above us!



A pair of Swallow-tailed Kites nested here earlier in the year and we knew the two chicks had hatched. At that time there was only one additional Kite hanging around that we could tell.



A couple of weeks ago, Richard and Christine reported that they found seven in this same spot.



I am thinking that this is one of the chicks as it is so fluffy.



I consider this another candidate since it has a bunch of tan on the feathers instead of this solid white of the adults. But I am no Kite specialist...



As I carried on with my hacking and weeding I heard the calls again. Upon looking up, I noticed all of the Swallow-tailed Kites soaring above me. Seven were riding the thermals in a spiral while three others circled closer to my head.



I haven't had a good opportunity to photograph Kites in flight in a long time so I was thrilled to get a few shots in today.



This bird was even preening as it flew!



A minute later and the Kites gave out a series of calls and joined together before zipping off to the East to forage. Another day in paradise.

Mute Swans Growing Fast

Been a while since I have seen the Mute Swans out on the lakes. I was beginning to think they had left us. I finally spotted them the other day but they were deep in the reeds. Today, as I was headed to the store, I drove by the far side of the lake and found them all under the shade resting and preening.



I only counted five babies which means another was lost since I last counted. These remaining birds are getting pretty big and pretty quickly. I didn't want to bother them so I shot these photos from the car.



If they ever get back out in the open I will stop for better pictures.

Tangled Anhinga

So, a friend of mine, Marcus, calls me and is really concerned about an Anhinga that had some type of material wrapped around its bill and could not feed. Wondering if I could do anything about. Maybe we could catch it somehow and since I have nets for catching birds...

However, the mist nets I used to capture small birds at the banding site do not fare well against larger birds, such as Anhinga. Larger birds have a track record of ripping straight through them. That won't work. I decided to at least head down to Mead Garden and check the situation for myself. The first bird I actually saw was a Great Blue Heron hanging out in the creek.



I found Marcus and he told me the bird was just being harassed by a young hawk. It flew over to another perch not far from us so I observed and took a bunch of photos. It spent a lot of time rubbing the bill along the side of the tree trunk in attempts to free itself.



Not long afterwards, it decided a nap would be a good idea and we wandered around a little. It was way too high to even consider capture.



Another friend of Marcus showed up with a blanket. Soon, the Anhinga flew up the stream and we tracked it down. Marcus did have a net and he brought it down and we spent the 30 minutes trying to nab the darter as it swam up and down the waterway. I managed to get to net to touch it but it was too fast and eventually made it back to the pond and flew up into another tree. We gave up as to not stress the bird any further.

When I got home I looked at my photos and found some encouraging shots. The yarn was working its way loose some. I could see the gap it had created so it was getting close to being rid of it. Unless it was stuck on its tongue somehow.



Otherwise, this male in breeding plumage, seemed pretty healthy. It could fly and swim, and did not look thin. It could open its bill some and might be able to grab onto some smaller food and definitely could get water.



Told Marcus to keep an eye on it and let me know about it during the week in case I could make it back out to attempt to catch it again.

UPDATE: On the 19th, Marcus called to say a rehab person was able to capture the bird and remove the yarn. Problem solved!

Spoonbill in the Rain

I was doing my usual lake checks yesterday and thought I spotted a couple of pink dots on the far side of a retention pond but could not get a real clear view so I had to just assume it was a pair of Spoonbills and continued on to the store as part of my trip. On the way home the next day, I rounded Lake Emerald in the rain and...



Guess I was right! Only one here today but I do now see Spoonbills in Orlando a lot more than I used to. The first I recall was also in the rain. Hmmmm...

Checking in on the Swallow-tailed Kites

My son and I finished banding raptors as noted in the previous post and I wanted to go by our banding site to check on the new Swallow-tailed Kites at Lake Lotus. Hey, it was on the way home, so why not?

We arrived at the site and headed through the gate and we were quickly greeted by another critter with a Swallowtail but it was a butterfly. A beautiful Tiger Swallowtail.



Nearing the banding table we could hear the call of an adult Swallow-tailed Kite. He was soaring in quickly and landed at the nest, probably with some food, and then sped off again. It took a couple minutes to get Patrick in the proper spot to see the nest. I mentioned earlier that there is only one exact spot to see the nest and that spot is just below the banding table. He found it and we both took some photos.

Up in the nest was one of the juveniles. You can just make out the tan coloring on the feathers of a younger bird.



We will have to come back out to do some weeding soon and hopefully we can get some better views of the young. So glad we have access to witness this brood growing up.

Raptor Banding

I have been out to band some raptors before their release back into the wild a couple of times lately for our friends at the Avian Reconditioning Center and now they were ready to release some more. During this time, we have been helping to train Allison Miller in the hopes that she can be qualified to band them on their own.

We love heading out there but it is a good distance away and it would be more convenient if someone was able to do it whenever they are ready to set a bird free which can sometimes be at a moment's notice.

We had several species to band today and the first up was one of the last American Kestrel still on hand. We banded a bunch of them last month.



Next up was a species we have not banded here in a while. Eastern Screech Owls. We occasionally catch them in the wild at the banding station. Today we had four adorable young birds ready for jewelry. Most were waiting by the door to their enclosure.



Allison brought out the first Eastern Screech Owl. Notice the thick gloves they wear to grab the birds to avoid any injury. Raptor talons and beaks are super sharp and strong.



Once she retrieved a bird, she would hand it over to me (no gloves for me!) so she can do the actual banding procedure.



After being banded and the data recorded, the Eastern Screech Owls just want us to go away.



On to the largest birds of the day. Great-horned Owls. Here, Allison applies the band to the first subject.



Scott brought in the next Great-horned Owl. My son had the photography duties for these big guys, all juveniles.



Great-horned Owl have extremely strong claws to grab their prey. Also a deadly set of talons you don't want to be caught up in!



The last Great-horned Owl is brought...



...and Allison applied another band while we check that everything is secured properly.



You can see the band on this bird's leg and now we have a lot of birds about ready to be released.



Allison is doing a great job with the banding so we now just wait for the paperwork to clear and she will be on her way to taking over. We are now discussing the possibility of doing a banding demo for their next Owl Fest in November. We would only be catching our typical small bird species but it would give the public a chance to see the banding process in action.

Bald Eagles Still Here is June

June. Our most quiet birding month as migrants are all gone. Seems I haven't been finding too many birds out there in a couple weeks. Of course, one of those weeks was getting the boys through graduations and cleaning house. My typical lake checks have turned up virtually nothing to blog home about.

I did go back to Greenwood Cemetery to check in on the Bald Eagle's progress as the days grow hotter when not cooled off by the afternoon rains. I did see Momma up in the nest tree so I got out to get a view. Suddenly, a shadow passed over me and I looked up to see one of the fledglings fly out. Both young birds are now out of the nest and flying about the area.



I turned my attention back to the female and got a shot of her in the shade regulating the heat.



Both of the fledglings were now in the pine used by Pappa as his perch. This is a tree that was right next to the old nest site tree that was killed during the hurricanes (has it been 10 years?!).



I headed over there to try for some closer views of the juveniles. The one that flew over me had its back to me but was lower for a better look.



Rounding the tree, I got a more full shot of the eaglet.



Higher up, the other eaglet flapped its wings in the late morning light.



Both look healthy for now but had better be prepared to head North asap.