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.

A chilly day , nestled birds - and Marc's photos

Great Egret, breeding plumage, Saturday, January 29, 2022. 

Just before sunset, I stepped outside. I noticed a Great Egret in breeding plumage nestled in the foliage next to the pond. It's chilly. Tonight will be one of the cooler nights according to Dark Sky. 

I walked toward the pollinator garden and saw these two, a Wood Stork and another Great Egret also in breeding plumage. I wondered if it was the other's parter.

Marc Holtsberg had a fascinating birding day, too. He photographed, Great Horned Owlets in a nearby nest (not in Wildewood Springs). 

This is a pair of Red-Bellied Woodpeckers in Wildewood. Marc said the nest was destroyed in the winds.

I checked the Blue Heron nest today, late afternoon. The herons are probably very low in the nest.

Before I came inside from the backyard, Wood Stork gazed my way. Hello beautiful bird.

Wood Storks like most of the species of storks lack a syrinx, a vocal organ, and so, are mute. They clatter their bills against each other as a mode of communication in their colonies and nests. The clacks sound like this. Chicks though are loud in the nest. Their sound is nasally and sounds like a braying donkey.

One story ends

“Sometimes,” I said, “you have to let one story end so the next one can begin.”

“How do you know when that will happen?”

“You don’t,” I said. “Which is why you should always carry on.” - Lindsay Mattick, Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear 

When I arrived at the nest and found an owlet (Great Horned - learn more) perched at the top of the tree (called branching), I knew the owlets would fledge soon. Then I saw owlet calling to the adult great horned owl (top photo). The adult didn't budge. I imagine she wanted the owlets to fly to her. 

I returned two days later and they were gone. These photos are from my last visit. 

I’m carrying on, but miss them.

NOTE:

Neighbors Lois and Walter Goodrich and Jim and Betsy Smith visited Selby Gardens this week. Guess what they saw? Two Barred Owls in flight, and then perch in a tree on in Selby. It's not just beautiful flowers you see there! The plantings and trees attract birds. This is one reason the Pineneedle Village Association approved planting three large, Florida-friendly butterfly gardens in the common element areas.

Owlets are out of the nest

What a surprise! I visited the owlets this weekend and they were out of the nest. They looked like adolescents clumsily hopping branch to branch. It felt like they were pretend-hunting. Looking at the field below, crouching. Like this.

I watched as the sunset and realized that they were waiting and looking for their parent. Sometimes the owlets looked up and over at each other.

Then I noticed that they were looking over the field at another pine tree. They were looking at their parent. 

I thought of Henry David Thoreau's words, "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." They see their dinner! Soon mama Great-Horned Owl will fly in with what looked like a plump meadow vole.

Owlet noticed, turned, and was ready for mama's gift. I was so awed to witness the event, I put the camera down and watched. 

NOTE: My Nikon P900 allows me to remain a protective distance away so that I do not interfere.