Holding steady in the summer heat with all our friends

 Snowy Egret, holding steady in the sea. Coquina Beach, July 4, 2022

We headed to the beach early enough that it only took @6 minutes from Wildewood to see the rising sun's exquisite light play in the sea. 

Waves coming and going.

Like this Black-Crowned Night Heron. Landed on the Woodlawn side.

Then turned around and flew off!

That quick peek was the opposite of this nursery of raccoon kits. Four of them watched us watch them with equal curiosity. We were looking from inside our place. 

Then they dispersed. It felt like Where's Waldo? trying to find them. (Their nest is high in the Laurel Oak tree. A squirrel nest is on the opposite side of the tree.)

Marc Holtsberg said he was at the Springlakes pool when this male Pileated Woodpecker lit nearby. 

A juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night Heron visited Deb Coomer.

The Zinnia I planted a few springs ago said on its container that they could grow to 4 feet. They are that tall! I only planted a few. They self-seed. Plus birds eat and disperse their seeds, so there are now some along the pond edge.

Summer rains bring rainbows. Have you ever thought about what makes a rainbow? Just right atmosphere, amount of light and water, temperature? It appears, but it's intangible. As soon as one of the factors contributing to it is missing, the rainbow disappears.  

Last and important.

Summer also includes a family of Coyote nearby. (I've written about coyote HERE). Neighbors report 3 very active, cute cubs. BUT, we need your help to keep a safe environment for our residents, pets, and wildlife. How to help? It is so important that you do not feed any wildlife. No bird seed. No bird feeders. No feeding peanuts to squirrels. If you eat lunch on your front garden, patio, or courtyard, double check that no food is outdoors. Please tell your neighbors nearby and in other villages.

Additional help:

Wash your recycling materials before placing them in the bin. (This is required by the County, too.) 

No containers with food waste in recycling bins.

PS Our WS2A Board and HOA will share care and guidance information regarding Coyotes with residents and other HOAs. 

Everything changes

Adult Black-Crowned Night Heron, photographed 6.27.21

"Like waves in an ocean everything changes; so I will accept what happens and make it my friend."

I think of that saying when it feels forever hot and humid without rain to clear the air or when I wake agitated and can't shake it. It reminds me that things change. That's a good thing. I know that morning agitation can soften and pass.

Here are a few ways I'm using that "everything changes" thought in birding.

I wondered if I'd ever see a Black-Crowned Night Heron close enough to share here. Then there it was in all its white-plume-head-feather glory! BCNH spends its days concealed by foliage and branches. But, before heading out to forage, it landed briefly on the pond bank. Long enough to get this photograph.

And other noticings.

The Yellow-Crowned Night Heron chicks are now juveniles who've begun exploring the habitat around them. 

They found the pond. This is what curiosity looks like in a juvenile YCNH.

What was so interesting? These three. (Excuse the blurry photo! My concern had not yet changed to delight that this juvenile escaped being their lunch.)

The YCNH kids are lousy foragers so far (sticks and leaves). Notice the low pond level. This is normal for spring and drought in Florida.

But that's okay because they're still fed by an adult YCNH twice a day. A juvenile scanning the sky waiting for its meal.

Rain! The pond will fill. A parent of those 3 juveniles stands in the rain. 

Storms in the Gulf bring the Magnificent Frigate inland. Here, two overhead. Did you know that they spend their days soaring endlessly over the ocean? Though they have webbed feet, unlike other seabirds, their wings are not waterproof. How do they get food? They steal from birds in midair!

Things change. 

See the wood duck box that Steve says holds 13 eggs. Any day now the leap will happen. What leap? Well, it will look like this. Eggs to fluff ball-chicks. Maybe I'll see it to show you.