Stepping outside to look up

Good, beautiful morning, about 7:00 am, 4/9/23 (Easter)

I begin the day by stepping outside to look up. I see this sky. 

Often I walk and then sit down for at least 20 minutes. When I still and sit, I notice what's around me.

I heard someone say again, "There are no birds now." Maybe this was a comment about migration. The many different warblers that filled the oak behind our place have left. But, oh my goodness, there are birds. 

10 Wood Duck ducklings a few days ago. I saw them leave a natural area and hop into the pond. Maybe this was their first day. 

Saturday afternoon, 4/8/23 - there are 6 ducklings. A Little Blue Heron is in the foreground.

Female Downy Woodpecker, April 2023. Difference between Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers? HERE.

There are many ducks. Here is a Lesser Scaup, male.

Blue-winged Teal Duck, male and female (dabbling)

This (I think) Mallard female duck is going to get in trouble.

An Eagle flew overhead.

Susan Herman shared a photo of a soon-to-be Monarch chrysalis.

From the butterfly garden, I took a photo of a soon-to-be-born Monarch butterfly.

Behind Pat and Cathy's place, a Belted Kingfisher in the Southern Live Oak.

Cardinals are plentiful! A male portrait.

 A female looking for Betty, or its male partner.

Yeah. She's looking for him. A male Cardinal looking back at that female.

Tri-Colored Heron, breeding plumage. This photo shows its neck. That is a good identifying clue.

The TCH used its wings to hop along the shallow water to catch fish.

It caught one!

A Brown Thrasher. Not as good a photo as Barb would get, though you get the idea.

Three male Wood Ducks, big pond.

Behind our place, a pair of Great Blue Herons. One in the water spray mist.

The other a distance away. They kept an eye on each other.

Keeping an eye on us. This curious juvenile Raccoon came down far enough to peek out over the yellow orchid blooms into our back window. Happy spring morning little masked-guy.

Brown Anole often checks us out, too. After all, we share a neighborhood and world.

Enjoy this beautiful day! Take a chair outside and sit in the shade. After 15 minutes, the birds will get used to your presence, and if you're like me, you'll wonder why you don't spend more time in nature. This wonderful photo was taken by Terry.

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. 

Annoyed and annoying birds, an example

American Fish Crows, Great Blue Heron, Thursday, May 19, 2022

I didn't see the cause of the commotion, but two fish crows dove-bombed a Great Blue Heron for about a half hour. Raucous and determined, the message was probably about staying away from their nest. These majestic herons are known to eat the eggs of other birds.

I have read that sometimes crows will harass a Great Blue to cause a release of a caught fish. But, there are two crow nests nearby, so it was probably about protection. They were so loud that a raccoon came out to see what was happening.

This post is a reminder that birds continue to nest in Wildewood Springs. Marc Holtsberg photographed a female Wood Duck returning to one of the nesting boxes in Springlakes. 

Curious though wary is a healthy response

 

A family of raccoons donning their cuteness in this photo op yesterday,

 April 21, 2022

A family of four raccoons scurried along the pond yesterday. I grabbed my long-range lens camera to get a photo for you. When I headed outside to hide in the butterfly garden to observe them they noticed me, though I was across the pond. They quickly ducked into hiding.

This is a good sign. 

They were skittish of my presence, which is a healthy reaction to humans. My first thought after "gosh, they are darling" is a bravo to our neighborhood for not feeding birds and wildlife. Had they been fed, they likely would have approached me.

Another sighting from afar: an otter pair playing in a pond off Wildewood Drive and then a tumble about on the grass before jumping back in to fill up on fish.

One said in otter-speak to the other, "Come back in and fish with me."

I was grateful that this female Muscovy (established feral) and her chicks were not nearby at this time. 

Hot - late July days, Red Tide

This Yellow Crowned Night Heron (adult, not breeding) is a regular early morning squawker. Photograph taken 7.26.21, edge of Pineneedle/Woodlawn pond. 

It's hot. 100 degrees forecast today. The air feels heavier because we haven't had rain in a handful of days. Where are the birds you wonder? Like us probably, hiding wherever there's shade.

A few things.

Faith reported an Anhinga nest overhanging the big pond. I found the nest last week, but no Anhinga in it. I checked again a few hours ago, no again.

I saw this female nearby. Is that your nest, I wonder? 

While scanning the pond, I peek at a raccoon that peeks at me and recall reading the kid's classic titled Rascal by Sterling North, 1963 to young children. It's a memoir about North as a young boy living in Wisconsin and how he finds and cares for an abandoned baby raccoon. Super touching.

A young Spoonbill notices a duck dabbling. Another dries its wings.

Not Wildewood, but a short drive away: Sanibel Island. 

If you haven't been, then let neighbor Barb Reis' photographs entice you. These photos were taken several years ago. Spoonbill Roseates:

And get this, Barb sent a local news article from a place in Michigan she visits. They had a Spoonbill Roseate sighting in Saline, MI. "First time ever." Birders were ecstatic! 

Blue Heron and chick - Sanibel.

I've reported that the Yellow Crowned Night Heron prefers crab, especially Fiddler Crab. Here's proof from Barb. 

Palm trimming is happening in many villages. Vermin love palm drupes! Trimming fruiting palms (and raptors, owls, Blue Herons) help control the vermin population. We save money and safely support the habitat by not feeding birds or any wildlife and trimming palms. What drupes you ask? They are bright orange, yellow, or red. Here's one type:

Red Tide bloom continues. Here is a map to see Red Tide Current Status and a screen-grab of it.

I'm grateful to live in a village with many gardens (which reduces grass and the need for fertilizers and herbicides for pests such as mole crickets - these chemicals get into the water via storm water runoff). Manatee County has a fertilizer ordinance which disallows distribution from June through November to help reduce Red Tide blooms and improve water quality. I've lived in Florida for 40 years - the Red Tide (though naturally occurring algae) intensity and duration these last years is nothing I can remember.