Steve from Woodlawn emailed. "Saw the Wood Ducks bobbing head courtship behaviors. Time to watch them." Yesterday I watched for over an hour and noticed that 2 hens are tending the nesting box! This photo is early morning; perhaps this is the nesting wood duck family.
Late morning, I can almost hear this hen say, "Your turn." Notice the change in light quality?
Maureen reported Red-shouldered Hawks mating at the corner of Wildewood and Oak Drives. If these red-shoulders have chicks, they'll look like this.
Maureen is a Lakeside neighbor who regularly picks up trash in and around our neighborhood. Maureen, do I say thank you enough? Thank you.
Faith saw an Osprey carrying large nesting material to their nest in the neighborhood and later, a pair perched together atop a tree on Wildewood Drive. She also saw one fly while carrying snake (a delicious meal if you're a raptor). So here is a photograph of a Wildewood residing Osprey taken by neighbor, Marc Holtsberg. Maybe its chick from last season is one Faith saw returning to its nest to have a family.
(Faith also saw 3 otters playing in the big pond. I photographed one in the Pineneedle pond this morning.)
Walter saw a Green Heron. I saw one of the pair flying back and forth nearby and then perch. I photographed it with Walter's camera. He loaned it to me when mine was recharging. Thanks, Walter.
Lois paints from her second story porch. While painting she said she had a visit from a small bird nibbling small insects from the window. Maybe it was a Blue-grey Gnat Catcher.
Betsy mentioned that her sister who is visiting Wildewood thought that she saw an Oystercatcher since it had orange on its beak. This is possible, though I've not had a sighting in Wildewood. Head to the beach and you'll see them.
Using that orange on the beak for a clue, I've seen the Black Skimmer skimming the big pond. Mostly I see them at the beach in large groups. Here is one of 3 skimming the water and some other photographs I took of their courting behavior.
Or, perhaps Betsy's sister saw a Common Moorhen or Common Gallinule. There are regular sightings of this bird here, especially on the edge of the big pond.
Or maybe, it was a Muscovy Duck. Here's one I photographed near Timberlake. The fun part is that with our clues, we can check bird books and websites for help with identification.
Some exciting news!
This week Jeanne and Tom Higbee and Toni had their first sighting of a Yellow Crowned Night Heron in the Slash Pine that held multiple nests for over five years. Though they are year-round residents in Florida, this is the time of year that they nest. Betty Pander wrote to say she saw the Herons on the bleached branches across from the Pineneedle and Woodlawn pond. Their sightings inspired me to go outside and look. There were 3 on the bleached branches.
Then they flew off in the direction of the Slash Pine they favor.
