Weeki Wachi Preserve

I'm back after that very nasty computer virus. My hard drive had to be wiped clean and restored to the original settings from the factory. It takes time to re-install everything and set up all the drivers again!

We entered through the main gate, and walked up the paved road to the first trail on the left hand side. I examined a snag with numerous holes at the intersection where we had seen a Pilated woodpecker last year, but no signs of activity. We inevitably encounter at least one Eastern Tohee on the first part of this trail. I heard it calling on the way in, and glimpsed it briefly on the way out.

Plenty of warblers flitted around the trees, not pausing long enough for a positive ID much less a photograph. We saw Sandhill Cranes overhead, a Snowy Egret and a Great Egret in one of the multitude of lakes, and watched sparrows in the grasses on both sides of the trail suddenly fly and go to ground as soon as we walked by. Fortunately, this one decided to pose for a moment. According to one source, the Savannah Sparrow is one of the more “social” of the sparrows, and easier to photograph.

Slight Pause due to Virus

Unfortunately, the very nasty malware/trojan/virus that is making its way across the internet infected my computer yesterday. Unable to fix it myself, I headed down to computer service group where I bought the computer. The computer behavior indicates it is likely this very nasty virus. According to the people there, at least forty other people are currently ahead of me for the same thing! Every other computer brought in lately has this virus. So, there will be no postings this week or probably next week. I hope to resume the following week with some photos of a Savannah Sparrow photographed at Weeki Wachi Preserve.
Thank you for your patience.

Nesting Osprey at Honeymoon Island State Park

The Osprey Nature Trail at Honeymoon Island State Park (Dunedin, FL), always a birder’s paradise, comes alive this time of year with the nesting season of some of its largest avian inhabitants. Each year the trail takes on the look of an outdoor photography studio, with photographers of all levels, from point-and-click, to outfits that require a golf bag or similar apparatus to haul down the trail, making their way along to get that special photograph.
The questions are similar each year: “Have the eagles nested yet?” and “Does anyone know where the Great Horned Owls are nesting this year?”. No one asks about the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). With so many nests, they call, swoop, and fly everywhere on the trail.
We watched several pairs patching their nests, coming back with fish, and even squawking a bit at others when they flew too close. The Osprey catches fish in its talons, swooping down into the water and taking off again. They always fly with the fish positioned with the head first.
I photographed a series of shots of this nest. One Osprey went fishing and brought the catch back to the nest for his mate. He spent a lot of time calling and flying before finally heading into the nest.

Christmas Bird Count 2011

We volunteered for the Christmas Bird Count in Central Florida as we do every year. This year we ventured to Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park in West Pasco County. I prepared by downloading the bird checklist for the park from the internet, and reviewing the winter bird species, particularly the warblers. The cold, dark morning of December 30 gave way to a beautiful day within a couple of hours. Our team, consisting of Karl, myself and one of our birding partners for many years did quite well. We sighted dozens of American Robins and Tree Swallows, many warblers, all the “usual suspects” of woodpeckers, and ended the morning with 36 separate species, not including a sparrow we could not positively ID.

I kept the count, so my photography took a back seat to finding and identifying birds and recording the findings of the team in my field notebook. I tried using the four letter abbreviation of common names for the first time. I suspect a few of my notations were more creative than correct. I made a note to review the letter codes before bird banding starts in spring.
We saw and heard several Pine Warblers. This male perched in an oak tree long enough for me to take a couple of shots. I also managed to get a shot of a Blue Headed Vireo. My big find of the day, a Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker, climbed a limb in a very shadowed area and then flew away, denying me the photograph. Oh well, it was a beautiful sight.

We hiked all the areas known for Ovenbird sightings with no luck. We encountered plenty of mosquitoes in those areas, and did add other species to the list.
Using some of the learning from our Wildlife Monitoring course, completed in December, I kept more accurate notes including weather, locations, and start times.

Dragon Tree: Story in a Picture

Can you see a dragon (or maybe a serpent) in the texture and lines of this tree trunk? This tree grows near the end of the Nature Trail at Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park in New Port Richey, FL.

Stephen Foster Cultural Center State Park

We chose Stephen Foster Cultural State Park as our October destination because of the Suwannee River. We toured and hiked the Lower Suwannee area two years ago, and wanted to visit the upper Suwannee area.

This park, on the banks of the upper Suwannee River, celebrates the memory of Stephen Foster. A museum showcases Foster’s music with dioramas and provides vignettes of his too-short life. Foster died at age 37, three days after falling and hitting his head in his hotel room. Two of Foster’s creations are state songs: “My Old Kentucky Home” for Kentucky, and “Old Folks at Home” (aka “Suwannee River”) for Florida.
The 97-bell carillon plays Foster music throughout the day, and also chimes out the hour and quarter hour. The bottom floor houses more memorabilia from Foster and his time.

Bell Tower in setting sun

A large gift shop and craft village adds to the different experience of this state park. Unfortunately, none of the volunteer artisans appeared for the four days we stayed. The ranger said that they more frequently showed up on weekends. For a listing of the artisans, see the Friends of Stephen Foster Cultural Park website (http://www.stephenfostercso.org/index.html).

We loved the campground. The Florida State Parks system provides very nice camping facilities, and generally the sites have some green area in-between for privacy. We found the campground lightly populated and quiet, but we camped when schools were back in session and before the snow birds came back.

Ghost Crabs

Our November trip to St. George Island State Park introduced me to a new crustacean for my life list: the Ghost (or Sand) Crab. The introduction occurred as we frightened each other causing it to scurry away and me to cry out. I walked along a stretch of beach and saw what appeared to be a shell. I poked it with my toe, and a large creature with long legs and black eyes on stalks jumped up and ran. Not expected a living thing, I exclaimed loudly causing Karl to stop and come in my direction.

Ghost Crab guarding burrow

Ghost Crabs blend into the sand perfectly, and are difficult to see until they start moving. At two to three inches of body size, then adding in the legs, they are a fairly large land crab. The black eyes perch at the end of stalks. As we drove out mornings we saw the crabs warming themselves on the pavement. Actually, we did not see them until they felt the vibration of the van and we suddenly would see them running toward the sand on either side.

 Ghost Crab Burrow

Hanging out on the boardwalk