See what you can see - January 2023

White Pelicans, January 28,2023

This week I revisited Jon Young's, What the Robin Knows, a book that deepens the kinship between humans and species. In it, he offers a simple suggestion to foster that kinship: go outside for twenty minutes to see what you can see. 

I did that. Here's what I saw after immediately stepping outside. A Yellow-rumped Warbler and then a Blue Jay.

Then I headed to the big pond. Ringed-necked Ducks, male and female

This photo of the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher shows the color of its name. Contrast this photo with this one taken at sunset. This photo deceives - this bird is super tiny.

Red-winged Blackbird

A Common Snapping Turtle crossing Oak Drive. There are two types of snapping turtles in Florida. The Alligator Snapping Turtle has more ridges on its shell.

Two Northern Mockingbirds doing a spring dance - either territorial or mating.

And here's what neighbors saw recently. 

Vicki from Palm Village saw an Opossum. I've written in the past about our good neighbor, the opossums.

Kat tends a butterfly garden behind her unit, one with many Monarch caterpillars. She noticed a Monarch Butterfly just before it emerged.

Betsy saw a Monarch butterfly on the Mexican Marigold bloom in the butterfly garden.

Marc Holtsberg came upon a thriving hive of European Honey Bees. Beekeepers tell us this is a sign of a healthy ecosystem. 

Maybe those bees were the ones who found nectar from the Dombeya in front of our place.

Marc also took this beautiful photo of a juvenile Bald Eagle (at Robinson Preserve).

He also was delighted by the Great Horned Owl fledgling. Its nest is adjacent to the entrance to the north entry of Robinson Preserve.

Nadia noticed the sunset. Look at that color.

"What did you see?" Here are some recent sightings.

When I go for walks wearing my camera, neighbors often ask, "What did you see?" Here is a post of recent bird sightings.

I saw a Hermit Thrust on the shell road off of Wildewood Drive. I've seen this bird several times in this location. 

American Widgeon Duck. Breeding males have a green eye patch and females are brown and grey with a black smudge around its eye. The big pond hosts many different ducks, gulls, and terns. 

Downy Woodpecker

Red-winged Black Bird

A pair of Blue Jays looking for berries

A Juvenile Red-Shouldered Hawk 

(Maybe one of the 6 chicks from last year's nests?)

Anhinga drying its wings.

A Mallard in one of the Pineneedle butterfly gardens.

Not in Wildewood, but 10 minutes west in the bay off of Cortez Road, look — one female Red-Breasted Merganser. Pure delight! Did you know that these birds migrate from Alaska and Canada?

They are sometimes called the "sawbill." See why?