Wildflowers

The goal is to get better at identifying wildflowers. So I’m starting to use my bird routine on flowers: photograph, go home, and identify. Yesterday, KT and Peanut and I went for a drive around the Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest, south of LaBelle, off Hwy 29. I was hoping for an afternoon shower, but it was clear and hot with plenty of flying insects. (Maybe insect IDs will be next.)

By far, the most plentiful, showiest blooms were the swamp rose-mallows.

The swamp rose-mallow flowers close by by mid-day.

Hibiscus moscheutos, swamp rose-mallow, later in the evening.

Pluchea odorata, saltmarsh fleabane

Two sandhill cranes in a wet field dotted with saltmarsh fleabane.

Empty Nest

Back to the Venice Rookery for the third consecutive week. The Great Blue Heron nest that I’ve been watching went from three chicks to one to an empty nest. Late Monday afternoon, saw this egret swiping twigs from the Blue Heron’s nest to add to its own.

Great Egret with twigs from heron’s nest

Later, the egret flew to the near bank for a drink.

Same egret (I think) in the brighter, orange morning light.

A Complete Year

Bonnie and I got around as much as we could last year. We squeezed in a few days in the Everglades and a few at St. Marks NWR in the panhandle. We’ve explored new forests and returned to old favorites as often as we could. We’ve run across countless potholes. My car has started to pay the price, there’s more than one loud rattle. “It’s the hamsters under the hood,” I explain to passengers.

Among the year’s highlights:

• Spring migration at Ft. DeSoto Park. Have never seen so much color and so many new birds. Also so many birders.

• The St. Mark’s trip, and staying at the lodge in Wakulla Springs State Park. A stay at the lodge is like stepping back in time, from the creaky elevator to the historic rooms to the big band music wafting through the dining hall. One disappointment: the swim area is gated and locked during the evening and early morning hours. We’d been looking forward to seeing the springs packed with manatees, but there was no access. On the way out of the park, though, we pulled over to photograph a small spring. While we were there, a manatee drifted a few feet from the bank. I think of it as one of the “magical moments,” like when a flock of birds flies close overhead, or hearing the sound of wing beats in still air.

A manatee swims a few feet from shore at Wakulla Springs State Park

• Running across our first bobcat, on the Florida Trail.

• Discovering a family of Snail Kites in Plant City.

• Getting a photo of a Crested Caracara on a fencepost, on a day we set out to find a Crested Caracara on a fencepost.

I’ve printed the annual 2wingpictures bird calendar and sold a few photographs at the Boyd Hill Art Arbor. I’ll be displaying and selling photos at Suncoast Arts Fest, at the Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel, Florida, Jan. 19 & 20. Come on by!

I’m grateful for your encouragement and support. I’ll keep working on this photography stuff in the New Year.

4wingpictures

On Friday, Bonnie, Tammy and I spent a full day out. We drove down to Sarasota, first to Celery Fields, then to Rothenbach Park, and finally Myakka River State Park. These dragonfly photos are from early morning at Celery Fields. I think I’ve identified them correctly…

These bright purple Roseate Skimmers didn't land often, so it's not the best shot. I wanted to include one to show the vibrant color.

Golden-winged Skimmer 1

Golden-winged Skimmer 2

Golden-winged Skimmer, dewy grass

Golden-winged Skimmer in sunlight

Orange Golden-winged Skimmer

Scarlet Skimmer

Cape Coral Burrowing Owls

On an afternoon during our January Everglades trip, Bonnie and I sat in the car and waited and waited in the Cape Coral library’s parking lot. We had hoped to see one or two of the Burrowing Owls that nest there. Apparently, they’re morning birds — we didn’t glimpse a feather that afternoon. Finally, today, I was able to get to Cape Coral in the early morning (before 7 am) to find the owls and take a few shots…

There were only two active owls, which was surprising because it’s a big field with lots of burrows. The burrows are marked off with stakes and perches. While I was there, the owls snacked on a spider and a very large grub and dug a little in the ground.

Burrowing Owl on a perch

Burrowing Owl in the library field

Eating a grub

Circle B

For the second week in a row Bonnie and I have spent the good part of a day at the Circle B Bar Preserve near Lakeland. It’s become one of our most cherished places. We’ve never been disappointed after spending time there. Last week, we were fortunate to have as guests Don and Jan from upstate NY. They got up early and drove over two hours to meet us at Circle B around 8 a.m., and said they added seven new birds to their life list that day. Very cool.

Circle B is a birder/photographer’s favorite, and we notice heavier and heavier use. I’m trying to learn to be patient with groups out birding. Sometimes they come in handy, spotting things we might have missed, like this muddy otter across the bank.

Circle B Otter

You can tell it’s spring because everyone has their breeding plumage. The glossy ibis are aglow with  glossy colors, which I hadn’t noticed before. The morning started out foggy and dark, and the partly cloudy day really helped show off the Ibis’ deep colors. Ibis, by the way, are in the same family as Roseate Spoonbills.

Colorful Glossy Ibis

I learned about Mottled Ducks this week. According to the “interesting facts” in  iBird (which is loaded on my iPhone), Mottled Ducks can be found Florida’s wetlands, along the Gulf Coast through Texas and Mexico. The Florida population is a subspecies occasionally called the Florida Duck or Florida Mallard. Until recently, no other ducks of its genus, Anas, nested in Florida marshes, and the distinctive male plumage has vanished. The two sexes are colored the same. The Mottled Duck is a relative of the Mallard, and is in danger of being displaced (by hybridization) as Mallards are introduced into the same habitats.

Mottled Duck

Flight of the Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks

A pair of Sandhill Cranes built a nest right off the Rabbit Run trail. The eggs are due to hatch mid-March.

Sandhill nest