Black Terns

Ah, a nice vacation day. Time to head to Titusville and try and find a bird I have previously been unable to locate: Black Terns. There have been reports of them in the Cape Canaveral area for a solid week so I hoped to find at least one bby getting there as fast as possible.

I turned onto Bio Lab Road (adjacent to the NASA launch facility) just around 10 AM. The first bird that I saw was feeding low over the marsh. Could it be...?

Yes! A Black Tern. Then another. I hopped out of the van and tried to get a shot as they sped over the marsh and occasionally dove into the swallow waters to grab a fish.



They flew along the roadside and sometimes across it to provide some very nice views. A nemesis bird, no more.



Farther along the road I noticed a shadow in the waters of the Indian River Lagoon. I had seen this shape before so I slowed to see what would happen. It was, as suspected, a large alligator that soon breeched the surface with its tail and head arched upward.

Soon, it grabbed downward onto some prey, But what had it caught?



Upon closer inspection, it seemed that it had caught a Horseshoe Crab and was trying to figure out how to swallow the thing without getting that barbed tail stuck in its throat. An awesome sight to watch.

One the way home, I stopped at Parrish Park to see if any shorebirds were hanging out. I found many but my favorites are the Ruddy Turnstones at this time of year. The plumage is just striking.



Not a bad day. Except for the tons of mosquitoes hanging around Scrub Jay Ridge. No Jays. Only the bugs and a few migrating Prairie Warblers. Danged blood suckers nearly drained me dry!

Barn Swallows Feeding

As I sat at work, I noticed a blur of several birds whipping through the parking lot. In the past, I have seen this when the Tree Swallows return and pick off emerging termites. This seemed too early in the season for Tree Swallows so I grabbed the camera and ran downstairs.

Several Swallows were skimming the parking lot, all right, but they seemed to be larger than Tree Swallows. Once I processed the photos I saw that I had captured one pretty good shot. They fly so fast that tracking them and keeping them in focus is quite a chore.

Turns out that they were a nice wave of migrating Barn Swallows.



A very fun spectacle to behold. Especially when they zip straight overhead only feet away.

Hurricane Fay Brings Surprises

Well, the storm has been sitting basically on top of us for days. Not much birding to be done. However, the lakes are finally getting recharged and that is a very good thing. Some parts of the state are being flooded to the south. I like our higher ground.

Once I picked the boys up from school I made a detour through the neighborhood to see if Lake Lancaster, one of the hardest hit lakes during the drought, was filling enough to even be considered a lake again. Indeed it was!

The rain was still falling and the oldest son said he thought he saw something in the lake. Possibly an Otter. We got out to investigate in the drizzle.

Sure enough, there was an entire family of otters having lunch!



It appeared that they had caught some kind of carp (Grass Carp, I am pretty sure).



They kept a watchful eye on us humans but were chirping away as they swam and decided how to share their catch.



This is the kind of surprise that I like.

Two More Lake Lotus Birds

Right before I headed out to get the Gallinule family shots I had two more shots along the trails to share.

There was a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers tearing up the trees in search of a snack. They were pounding the trunks so fast that pictures were quite a blur of heads and bill. Finally, one of the birds dug deep enough to extract a grub.



Also, just after the shots of the Barred Owl, I found a Great-crested Flycatcher feeding in the lower branches.



Still working on getting all the final details ironed out to start banding here. Hopefully soon.

Purple Gallinule Family

While making a courtesy call on the rangers of Lake Lotus to make preparations for scouting the area for proposed banding this weekend I got to do a little birding, too. Didn't see any rangers upon arrival so I wandered down the boardwalk and as I was heading along the side of the river I heard a familiar call.

There is a pair of Barred Owls that make Lake Lotus home so I veered off of my original path to track the hoots not far away. Sitting in a cypress tree over the boardwalk toward the lake I found what I was searching for.



This owl was calling from this spot while the other returned the call from much farther away.

Satisfied with those shots I got back on track and heard the golf cart rumblings of one of the rangers back near the parking lot. I found Frank and he mentioned that there was a family of Purple Gallinules down by the lake just a few minutes ago. "Think they are still there?", I asked. "Hop on and we will go see.", he responded.

As we neared the fishing pier, we could hear the Gallinules calling. The reason for this was the hawk sitting atop the gazebo at the entrance to the pier. I only had time for a quick shot as it spotted us and headed for the safety of the trees.



One of the adults continued to sound the alarm for 15 minutes after the hawk left. Reminded me of a party horn.



Scattered around the lotus leaves were 3 Gallinule chicks. The bravest kept checking me out as the clouds darkened and night was closing in.



The adults began searching for food, feeding themselves and then the chicks once they realized that mom and dad had found something worth tasting.



It was fun to watch the chicks maneuver across the leaves. Look at the size of those feet!



Mom was really good at snatching snails along the leaves and would prize out the flesh and the young birds would try to grab what they could. "Hey, Mom! Where is that snail?"



"Never mind. I found one!"



A planned quick visit turned into an hour and a half and 200 photos! Glad I stuck around.

Looking For Lunch

Dropped by Mead Garden to see if there were any warblers arriving. Not many. A Northern Parula and a female American Redstart.

As I headed back to the car I almost ran directly into a Red-shouldered Hawk hanging out in the low branches of an oak tree. We startled each other before it settled into another nearby tree.



Must be looking for warblers, too...

Cooper's Hawk on Patrol

Not much bird watching to do while the neighborhood is circled with Cooper's Hawks.



They have been dropping into the oaks when not soaring overhead. I have counted up the 3 at a time.

Oh, well. Something to watch, I guess.

It is a Boy!

Paused for a moment on the way into the kitchen and WOW! Big difference from last night. Now we can see the spots through the chrysalis. Better yet, as I watch, it is doing what one of my favorite bands, XTC, sings: "Pulsing, Pulsing"!

Every couple of minutes it convulses. I can't take my eyes off of it as I do the morning dishes.



I have to head to work, though. I have a feeling it is going to emerge while I am away. That is all I need. A long set of blogs with no payoff. Thing might take off into a ceiling fan and I will have no good ending. I go over many thoughts of how to contain it safely and finally opt for covering the entire plant with a grocery bag.

Should provide plenty of space for the butterfly to expand the wings, at least. Off to work I go...still pacing in my head. Hoping I can get home before the magic happens.

Instead, I get home to this:



Way too late. The rest of the family got home to see the dark shape of the emerged butterfly against the grocery bag walls. Once the bag was removed, I am told that the Swallowtail took flight and had to be trapped into a waiting plastic jug. There, a nice photo was taken just in case I couldn't see it.



I got it into a different position before we gave it a chance to see the world. We could tell it was a male by the color markings. Female Black Swallowtails are primarily black and blue compared to the generous yellow shown here.



The oldest decided he would help us release the butterfly into the wild. It was getting dark but not too much. I figured the birds would be out of the picture. I didn't mention the chance of bats finding it.



It flew up into the overhead branches of our oak trees and rested. We returned inside knowing we did our best to help this new butterfly make it into the world. It was fun to observe.

Now I will have so much less to do...until meteors in a couple of weeks. Swear I heard warblers, too.

Cocoon Watch. Day 10.

Literature states a 10-15 day time period until the butterfly emerges. This is evening 10.



Something definitely turning color here. If you scroll down to the last entry you can easily see the difference.

Starting to pace like an expectant father...

Cocoon Watch. Day 7.

One week on.

Decided to try a new angle to show the yellow markings on the back of the chrysalis.



A few more days to go. Hopefully it will emerge when one of us is here next week.

House Finch

Finally! A fairly good shot of these House Finches.



Since the young birds have stopped begging, the females are getting more bold when I walk outside if they are at the front feeder. The males are still jumpy but I hope that will change someday.

Saw a small flock of them at a nearby park this morning so they are definitely spreading around.

Brown Thrasher Child

I was taking bird feeders apart in order to clean out all the spoiled seed after the heavy rains of the past few days. While I was sitting out back I noticed a baby lizard on a leaf next to me. Decided I should try a macro shot. The light was nice.

By the time I returned, however, the lizard was gone but I sat for a break.

Suddenly, up popped our most recent addition to the Brown Thrasher family.



This brave young bird has been very visible in the past couple of months. I am guessing that it is this year's addition to the pair I banded in the yard last Fall. They come out less often but I can make out the bands on them so they are still here.

Thrashers rule.

Black Swallowtail. Cocoon Watch Continues

Three nights later.

Doesn't look much different but here is a closer shot.

Black Swallowtail. What the...!?!

We must have blinked.



We were watching for signs of change all day. I am sure we checked it just before dinner. There were no indications of the skin splitting or anything. But as I took my dishes to the sink I noticed that it transformed!

Sorry I missed it. Now we wait for the next stage.

Return of the Screech Owl!

It has been quite a while since I have seen our resident Screech Owl. By a total fluke, I walked out back and there it was!



In other news, I have been proven correct. I have speculated for years that the sounds I have heard in the tree on many nights were those of Flying Squirrels. When I went out with the tripod to look for the owl I saw a small head peeking around the edge of the oak tree right next to the squirrel feeder.

Then it squeaked! Yes! Flying Squirrel sighting!!

I zig-zagged back up the tree, stopping to check that I wasn't following as it scurried and vocalized. I bet it is something that the owl is after.

But...Flying Squirrel confirmed!!!! Whoo-hoo!

Black Swallowtail Caterpillar

My wife received a potted Parsley plant a while back. The other day I noticed a caterpillar heading up a tender stalk. Soon, it was munching away like crazy. After another couple of days there was only one set of leaves remaining and they did not look too good.

I bought some parsley from the store and grabbed a small branch from the yard and made a quick feeding station. It fed and rested for the next day and a half.

This morning it was just hanging out at the top end of the stick I fastened the parsley to. Stayed there for most of the day before moving out of the flower pot. I returned it to try and get it to eat. It was having none of it. I let it roam and it seemed to really want to be over on our Christmas Cactus sitting right next door.

By early evening, it had settled in on one leaf and seemed to compress. We could tell it was pupa time! The night progressed and soon the caterpillar was starting to fasten itself to the leaf.



Once it appeared secured, it let go of the leaf and safety harness it had fashioned to connect to each side of its body and began to ease into a back-leaning posture.



It will be fun to watch the progress of the caterpillar into a butterfly. A simple free gift of a plant has led to a family science encounter! Since the birds are fewer, seems I have something else to add to the blog, after all.

Even though it has been a 3 blog day!

Time to take more photos...

Wood Duck Babies

Headed home from the store by circling a couple of lakes. Seems that a lot of ducks have been raising young quite well this year.

I couldn't get a shot of the Mallards I saw at one spot but I did manage a quick shot of a Wood Duck brood before they hurried away.



Been a while since I have seen young Wood Ducks. Rainy year probably helps.

Playing (with) Possum

I was looking out of the kitchen window to see what might be at the feeders. House Finch? Mourning Dove? Cardinal?

Nope. Possum.

It was a fairly small possum and it was climbing pretty quickly up the tree just outside. What is a boy with a camera to do? Head outside, of course!



Just stared at me, it did. Stared and dripped snot from that extra wet nose.



I felt for sure that it was going to just drop out of the tree and land on me and start going for my throat. I mean look at those fangs!



No high adventure today. It just stared. I was moving to get a better view when I glanced behind me. There was Mom!



She was creeping through the fence from the backyard. Seemed to be tracking junior by scent. Once she figured out I was there (possums have poor eyesight) she took off under the house.

I left the little one be and headed inside. It was gone before long. Sure I will see it again in the near future.

Great Blue Heron. Juvenile?

A co-worker called me over today to say there was some kind of crane over in the retention pond. Really?

I came over and saw this Great-blue Heron. Picture taken from our 2nd story window.



I informed him that is was a Great-blue Heron. "Doesn't look very blue.", he said. I figured it must be a juvenile. Note the grey overall appearance and the interesting white tail feathers.

There are other older herons around the complex but this one was a nice change of color.

Happy 4th!

Not much else was flying until the Sun went down.

Happy Birthday, America! All images shot near Orlando.