Limpkin nest

Mom limpkin eyeing me from the nest. I was standing on the boardwalk.

She stood up to stretch and you could see the eggs.

She was looking at the eggs. Think she was counting them?

Later the other parent showed up.

I had heard there was a limpkin nest near the boardwalk at Lake Seminole Park. They had built a nest out in the water on a shallow section that had reeds growing on it. The eggs incubate for 27 days. Since I'm not sure when these were laid, I may have to check back several times to see when the babies are born. I've never seen limpkin babies so I'm excited to see them grow up. Although they have some odds against them. It's now rainy season and it's been raining hard every night. That area may flood. There are also alligators that live in that lake. Still, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Below is why the limpkins hang out near that end of the lake. Lots of apple snail eggs were all around there. Limpkins eat apple snails, as well as frogs and bugs.

75 Years And Counting

A trip to New England this past week led me to meet up for some great food, family, and a little wildlife observation outside of the state of Florida.



Though it was great to see all, most importantly was in mom, Marie, celebrating her 75th birthday August 14th, 2010.

My sister Nancy spent dozens of hours researching rental properties on Cape Cod with the help of my sister-in-law, Maria, and niece, Krisztina (labor possibly induced this coming week).



The property chosen in East Sandwich was pulled off the rental market at the last minute and a beautiful alternative was found in New Seabury on Cape Cod.

Uncle Mike arrived on the scene with a pair of feathers in his hat.



He described his stop at an Osprey nest on the way in which explained one of the feathers, but it was undecided which species the other had come from.

When I told him of my personally exciting sighting of Wild Turkeys recently made, he pulled out his camera and showed me the same species that he had photographed the day before.



Nancy and her husband Jack told of their experience of observing a bird eating a rabbit on their way in.

An Osprey was heard and seen every day at the property while a Great Blue Heron made its way overhead on a few occasions.



The first day was the most active for birding by ear with a lot of action though it became quieter thereafter.

Brothers Jim and Jack were at the helm of a day trip to the east while a stop was made at a few points of interest.



Jim brought to my attention a bird collection at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History.

Nancy had made her way to the marsh there overlooking Wing's Island Conservation Area and advised me of an Osprey nest she had seen.



The historic Lighthouse Inn, approaching its 73rd year, overlooking Nantucket Sound at West Dennis Beach, offered Double-crested Cormorant that shared a jetty with Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, and gulls.

In addition, a solitary Least Tern working the surf over several hundred yards showed evidence of its bill turning black as the breeding season ends.



On 13 April 2010, a Piping Plover egg was observed on a private beach in Hyannis Port which was the earliest seen plover egg by four days in Massachusetts.

A bumper sticker at a local t-shirt shop noted that Piping Plover tastes like chicken, in reference to disruptive beach closures, while none of the stickers were observed on any vehicles in the area.



My nephew, Larry, and his wife and children had made a trip to South Cape Beach State Park early in the week to amazingly observe a small plane crash in the water which is still under investigation as to the cause as of this writing.

On the final morning of the trip, I observed a Carolina Chickadee at close range at the rental house which I remember mom favored in her porcelain work with the delicately painted birds perched on Dogwood.



The flight home offered a great view of Fort Myers Beach, Estero Lagoon and Lovers Key State Park on the plane's final approach to the airport.

The camera was stowed away as I had used up all the memory on the 2GB card.



Happy 75th Birthday Mom!

Skywatch Friday - Big ball of fire

Another stop on the Courtney Campbell Causeway late last week provided a great sunset. As the sun was getting closer to the ground it kept getting bigger and bigger. Of course, this week it's been raining every night on the way home. My husband loves to say "We need the rain". I tell him "That sounds like something an old person would say." When we lived in a townhouse we didn't have to worry about the yard. Now that we have a house with a yard my husband wants it to rain all the time.

For more skyscape photography from around the world, visit http://skyley.blogspot.com/.

Neighborhood ducks getting big

The baby ducks having been hanging out in the channel in our backyard for a while now. I can't help but take more pictures. They are so cute. I wanted to get a few more before they grow up.

Action at the fishing pier

As usual, dolphins were everywhere at the fishing pier.


Snowy egrets fighting over bait fish territory.

Sandwich tern in flight.

Royal tern in flight. The above sandwich tern has a black beak with a yellow tip. The royal tern has an orange beak. When the royal tern is not flying, it looks like it has a toupee on his head.

A quick stop at the Fort Desoto fishing pier provided a lot of sun but not too many birds. I'm not sure why the fishing piers are surrounded by so much bait fish. It does bring in the terns and gulls. They were all flying around the pier and snatching the bait fish. The usual dolphins were also swimming around. It was sunny and hot so I did not stay too long. I headed down to the beach for a swim with the hubby.

The bird that started it all

I have often been asked (by birders) "What bird was your spark bird?" or (by family and friends) "How did you ever get started watching birds?" I probably answered with "I don't know for sure, maybe the Ruby-throated Hummingbird" or "Watching a hummingbird". I was fascinated by many birds when I was young, so I never really put much thought into the one bird that started the ball rolling.

But as I look back, I remember one bird that I could not ID for anything. I was only 11 years old at the time and wasn't what one would call a "birder". I did not own a field guide, but I often would look at my dad's old Golden Guide to Birds. It only contained the most common or most likely to be seen birds, plus some of the pages were missing. The bird that I was seeing was not in it. I remember asking my dad and grandfather what the bird was with the response "I don't know". Back then, there was no Google, I didn't have the internet. I searched and searched to no avail. I then started on a mission to find out what bird it was that I was seeing.

I remember seeing many of them flying over the fields around my house in the evenings. I thought to myself that they must be some kind of seabird. Given their shape and flight style, I thought maybe a gull or a tern at the time. I started to look at more bird books and my grandmother bought me a membership into the Cincinnati Nature Center. Before I knew it, I had become a birdwatcher. Oh yeah, that bird?

Common Nighthawk / Bob Hines, USFWS

That's right, the Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor). I don't remember how or when exactly I came to the conclusion as to what those odd, crepuscular birds were that I was seeing. I only remember there were many of them and that they were quick fliers.

Common Nighthawk / Dave Herr, USFS

Today, I don't see nearly as many as I did when I was younger. I remember watching them for long periods of time as they migrated south around the end of August. They seemed as if they would never stop coming, a constant stream of birds.

I also later participated in a project designed to learn more about the Common Nighthawk's migration called Project Nighthawk (from 1999-2005). This also heightened my interest in the Common Nighthawk. Participation in this project put me outside for the last two hours of daylight of every day from mid-August till I stopped seeing nighthawks. As it is almost that time again, I still look forward every year to seeing the large, migrating flocks of Common Nighthawks on their southward journey!

Common Nighthawk chicks / Patrice Lynch, USFS

P.S. - (I have never seen CONI chicks before, by the way)

Pelican Feeding

Still no oil here. I was on the Fort Desoto fishing pier last weekend and watched this beautiful pelican fishing for a while. He seemed to be keeping to himself and doing this weird looking down thing that I've never seen a pelican do before. Not sure if there was something wrong with his eyesight. He seemed to be catching the fish though. Below is one of the type of fish he was diving for. The water around the pier is full of bait fish.