Animal Photography

Butterflies are calling!

2022-04-06T14:45:00.019-04:00

Two years ago I undertook a small effort in raising Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) from wild-caught (do you really "catch" a caterpillar?) larvae. I went to the local nursery, purchased some milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) with small larvae already on the leaves, and I watched. The larvae grew and ate, ate and grew. They ballooned up to chubby, beautiful caterpillars after about 2 weeks. They did their caterpillar thing by heading away from the weed, ascending the mesh walls of the butterfly tent, and began their meditation. They spun some silk to attach themselves firmly to the surface (cremaster) and then hung in the form of a J. After a few hours, they shed some skin and voila! A chrysalis was formed!

Over the course of about 3 months, I probably had 7 to 10 viable butterflies. They were healthy and had strong wings. My husband and I released them in the backyard and wished them luck.

It was a satisfying but rather labor-intense experience. Those caterpillars are voracious, messy little things. They eat the milkweed faster than I can grow it. And sometimes the local nursery didn't have replenishments. That was a bit unnerving. It's not like I could go to PetSmart and grab a different variety of food, like I can for my cats and dogs when their favorite brand is out of stock. Monarchs are particular to an extreme. Only milkweed will do, and the other species of milkweed native to northeastern Florida were not available anywhere.

This year, I am embarking on a much bigger effort. I don't plan on butterfly farming in the commercial sense. Instead, I want to catch wild monarchs on my property, test the imagines (adult butterflies) for parasites (Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE)), and release them, all the while tracking the OE. As the migration season approaches, I will order tags so that I can apply these identifiers to the wings of the adults, and then hope that they will be found by someone on their migration route.

So far, things have gone well enough. Of 12 that have eclosed so far, 5 have been too weak to fly. One didn't fully inflate her wings, fell, and dried up on the driveway. Another just hung out by the pool and stared at the water. I have euthanized those weak ones I have found. I have saved them and once I get a microscope I will test them for OE spores. I fear we have a case of it in the neighborhood.

So far I have 2 chrysalides I have raised from small larvae, and they should be eclosing soon. I hope they are strong and free of disease. I will need to test them before releasing, even if they appear healthy.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Roadrunners and Hummingbirds

2019-09-06T17:00:00.000-04:00

Florida is a great state, bird-wise, but we are generally lacking in the hummingbird department. Yes, there is the wonderful, evervescent, and bombastic Ruby-throated Hummingbird. There is the Black-chinned which I have seen in winter in the Ormond Beach area. And there is the Rufous Hummingbird, another winter resident. I have never seen a Rufous in Florida, though. But this is all there is. Three hummingbirds! How sad. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw059

Rufous Hummingbird - Albuquerque NM Aug 2019

Because of this dire hummingbird shortfall, I get rather excited when I visit other states where they are plentiful. New Mexico is one of those lucky states. And Mike and I recently returned from a quick trip.

There were Rufous, Broadwinged, and Black-chinned everywhere. I could hear their little electric buzzy sounds in front yards all around Albuquerque. I didn't even have to hunt for them.

And I also got a good shot ( or Mike got it ) of a lovely Roadrunner.

Greater Roadrunner - Albuquerque, NM Aug. 2019

Skippers in the Garden

2019-07-30T15:41:00.001-04:00

I get anxious over the most ridiculous things, and sometimes I just go to my local Ace Hardware Store and roam around the gardens to relieve some stress. I did just that this past weekend, and in the butterfly section I found some interesting creatures. It was full of Skippers! I love their big eyeballs and fuzzy wings and bodies. They just look so adorable. But as I watch them I can see that they take themselves quite seriously. They get into arguments with one another, fighting over flowers. I wonder if they can communicate with one another. Or do the Gold Skippers speak a different language than the Olive Skippers? I'm sure someone out there is working on a thesis for this.

White Peacock

2019-07-25T09:30:00.000-04:00

White Peacock, copyright E. Gilley 2019

I don't know much about butterflies. What I do know is that they are pretty. I'm familiar with a few species, like Monarchs, Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, Buckeyes, Gulf Fritillaries, and Zebra Swallowtails. I had a run in with a dainty butterfly the other day on my lunch walk, and I had just enough time to get a crude smartphone picture. After a bit of investigation online, I discovered that this is a White Peacock (anartia jatrophae) https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Anartia-jatrophae . A little more investigation taught me that this butterfly feeds on Shepherd's Needle (which I have always referred to as Spanish needle). Shepherd's needle is typically considered a weed. It's not an elegant flower, but it's a cute, hardy little plant. I will think again before pulling Shepherd's Needle out of the ground now that I know that this could be someone's lunch!

Valles Caldera

2019-07-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

In 2018 I got to see a park in New Mexico that I had never heard of. It is the United States newest national preserve and it sits in the remnants of an ancient volcano. The Valles Caldera National Preserve was not what I expected. When I think of New Mexico I think of cactus, deserts, tumbleweeds. But instead I saw coyote, vast green pastures with grazing cows, gorgeous winding streams, and a host of prairie dogs.

Bosque del Apache - December 2018

2019-07-24T13:25:00.001-04:00

Although the blog looks a bit sparse since December 2016, I have actually been doing some photography and travel in the intermediate years. Since 2016 I have been to New Mexico several times, camping in North Florida and Georgia with my sister, scalloping the Gulf Coast of Florida, and visiting family in New Jersey and New York. While in New Mexico I was able to make it to the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge. Due to budget cuts, the visitor's center was closed, but Mike and I made the most of some unusual weather. The sky was ominous and strange, to say the least. But the Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese paid no mind to that. I saw a variety of ducks in the various ponds in the park. It was altogether an unforgettable trip!

I loved the golden and burnt orange colors of the reeds and pastures. They made for a starke contrast to some of the darker birds I photographed, like the Common Raven (no Chihuahuan Ravens for me) and the Coot. The ponds looked like pools of molten gold.

I hope to get back to the Bosque. I have a feeling that I could go there over and over and always see something new.

Visiting Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk

2019-07-24T09:30:00.000-04:00

Red-tailed Hawk, copyright E. Gilley 2019

I believe we have a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in our midst. What makes me think it's a juvenile RTHA? Well, it's a matter of elimination.

It's large, bigger than a Red-shouldered Hawk. It's almost as big as a Bald Eagle. So I have eliminated Red-shouldered due to size. The bill isn't large enough to be that of a Bald Eagle, so the eagle is out. The tail is big and fans out while he flies. Most of the Cooper's Hawks and Sharp-shinned's that I have seen have a a long but straight tail. So Coopers and Sharp-shinned is crossed off the list.

So that pretty much leaves me with a Red-tailed. But the tail isn't red. It's a muddy color. And from my readings, the juvenile does not get the characteristic red tail until its about one year old.
So this may or may not be a juvenile, but that's what I'm going with. This hawk was seen in northeast Florida in July.

A Whole New World

2019-07-23T13:20:00.000-04:00

photo by Tabitha Baldwin

Things have changed considerably for me in the past years since I started this blog, all for the better. As you may know, I started my bird photography in 2005 when my beloved late husband became housebound. He was ill and trapped in bed, so I thought setting up some bird feeders outside his window would be a nice break from staring at a TV. In reality, it was I who found the birds to be so captivating. Fast forward to 2019, and here I am, about to start a new adventure with a wonderful man who loves animals even more than me (he's a veterinarian). We are engaged to be married in November!

So, I feel that this is a great time to start fresh and put some happiness, fun, and all-around joy into my animal photography. I am the happiest I have been in many years, and I want to celebrate.

And what better way to kick off a new life and new marriage between two animal and photography-loving individuals?

A wedding at the Zoo!

There will be more to come. More birds, more frogs, more tortoises, more dogs. I hope to make this a fun place to stop and pass the time while learning a little about animals and interesting places.

Where to go? What to do?

2016-12-28T09:24:00.000-05:00

I've received my new lens (Nikon 80-400mm), I have my Gimbal head for the tripod, and I'm ready. I'm ready to get some good photos and make some useful observations.

But here's my quandary: where do I go? How do I plan out next year and the years to follow? I like to plan my vacation/photography/birding trips. About 75% of the fun is in the planning. I don't want to do this all willy-nilly though. I've done the haphazard thing, and I've come back with little to show. My photos are my trip souvenirs and they're more meaningful than any T-shirt or shot glass could ever be. Therefore, it's important to get good photos.

All this rededication to birding and photography has come in a roundabout way. I've been a birder since 2005. Next year will mark my 12 year birding anniversary. Some years have been more productive than others as can be seen via my ebird.org checklists. For example in 2015 I had one checklist. One! I'm a bit ashamed of that, but I was really focused on running. My weekend long runs took precedence over birding.

After I ran a 25k in February I noticed that my attitude towards running was becoming one of desperation. I'm a runner. That's how I defined myself. But as small injuries plagued me, I began to panic. What if there comes a time when I can no longer run? Who will l be?

I began meditating earlier this year, and I found it worked in conjunction with running. Why not go on a running/meditation vacation?

That's what I did, and I got more than I bargained for. I came to realize that I am more than just a runner, that my life will not end if I can no longer run. Slowly, since that vacation, I've been exploring, or re-exploring, many of my old hobbies. I started doing a little drawing, I'm back at the piano every so often, and I'm writing more. These are all activities I have always enjoyed, but I just haven't found the time for them.

After my running/meditation vacation in August, I came to a conclusion. It was time, finally, to sell my house. The house was no longer serving its purpose, it was too large, and it was chosen on the basis that it would be a comfortable place for my disabled husband to live. Well, he had passed away only 10 months after purchasing the house, and I had lived the next 4 years not really able to get up the gumption or energy to move.

But it finally made sense a few months ago. I had the energy and the strong desire to live in a house of my own choosing. It would be a house that served my purposes and not those of anyone else. I was ready. I found an adorable little house closer to my sister, brother, and father. It's much smaller, but it suits me.

Immediately after settling in the house, I noticed tons of birds in the surrounding oak trees. I was, and still am, seeing bunches of American Robins, European Starlings, Northern Cardinals, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chikadees, and some woodpeckers. I even got a picture of a Baltimore Oriole. I'm amazed since my new neighborhood is far more urban than my old neighborhood which was surrounded by woods and the river. But I can't account for the birds likes and dislikes. They go where they want.

Now that I'm surrounded by far more birds, I've come to realize that I want to photograph them again. And my Nikon 70-200 2.8 just does not cut the mustard. I needed more reach, so I purchased a used Nikon 80-400mm, and I'm thrilled! I can finally get details that I just couldn't capture with half the magnification.

With my new lens and my renewed attitude toward bird photography, I am ready to get some new birds. Not SOME. ALL. I want ALL of the birds. And my photos don't need to be National Geographic quality. I just want to capture the details, the important field marks for good identification.

So, where do I go first? Alaska? Ecuador? Ireland?

Grand Re-Opening of the Blog

2016-12-07T22:29:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure why I abandoned this blog. It's not that I stopped writing blog posts. If you take a look at my other blog, http://tripscribbler.blogspot.com, you'll see that I never stopped blogging. But this one has such a long history. I've decided to reinstate it. And since I'm rededicating myself to my bird photography pursuits, it seems like a perfect time to do it. l'll start posting my bird checklists here, my trip reviews, and so forth.

Let the Grand Re-Opening commence!

Why Dippers Dip | Audubon Magazine

2013-10-03T07:31:00.001-04:00

Why Dippers Dip | Audubon Magazine

Pre-Vacation Jitters

2013-05-07T14:53:00.001-04:00

Alaska looms closer and closer. Not literally, since I'm still safe on the ground here in Florida, but the day approaches. Tomorrow morning I leave for Anchorage, and hopefully by tomorrow night I will be attempting to photograph the Aurora Borealis. I'm not packed yet, but I have already checked into my flights and paid the ridiculous baggage fee.

Twenty five dollars!? That makes me mad. Argggghh.

Well, baggage fees aside, I'm nervous. My stomach is jumpy and I feel like I am having heart palpitations. I'm not. Actually I'm sitting here in the doctors office, waiting. My blood pressure is 115/65 and my pulse is 72. So I'm just fine. It's all in my head.

Most issues are just a figment of my imagination, except for that rotten sinusitis I had two weeks ago. I thought certainly that was going to ruin my vacation. Who wants to be in Alaska with a stuffy nose? And the constant, droning headache that never ceased! Terrible. I'm much better now.

So, on to animal-ly subjects...I have some goals. First, I am hoping to get 40+ new birds added to my life list. Will it happen? We'll see.

Second, I want to see some moose up close and personal. I've seen them in Maine when I was young, but they were skittish... Not the gregarious and blithe creatures I imagine their Alaskan cousins to be.

Third: Dall Sheep. Cute white sheep roaming around mountaintops.

Fourth, some whales. Any whales will do. I'm not particular about my mammalian brethren in the sea.

And then, I would really like to get some nice, wide landscape photos. I've never been much of a landscape expert, but I blame that on Florida's flat, boring topography. A mountain here in Florida is when you're 75 feet above sea-level.

So tonight I pack. I pack every camera I own.

Off topic - Symphony

2013-04-27T00:38:00.001-04:00

I know that this is an animal photography blog, but I had to mention my experience at the Jacksonville Symphony this evening. I'd been waiting all season for this particular performance because it featured Dvorak's "From the New World" symphony, a favorite of mine. I'd never heard the entire symphony as a whole, only the most familiar parts of it.

It's rather curious the thoughts that passed through my mind as I listened. For the most part, I heard the direct predecessor of Aaron Copland and John Williams. Maybe I'm incorrect, but I have a hard time believing that Copland and Williams were not greatly influenced by this piece. They had to be.

Beyond that, I saw so many images...I saw Lewis, Clark, and Sacajewa braving the rapids. I saw pioneers in covered wagons. I saw the desperate American men at the Alamo. I saw women working in factories. There was great tension and intense hope. There was hard work and small yet meaningful rewards. And sometimes I saw Dvorak's home in Bohemia. I saw my mother as she arrived in the United States for the first time, a fearful yet hopeful 17 year old girl.

It was a wonderful experience. Every American should hear this piece. Besides, if you've ever watched a Bugs Bunny cartoon or seen a John Wayne film you'll probably recognize the music.

Alaska Countdown

2013-04-16T17:30:00.001-04:00

Only 3 weeks left until my shorebird trip. For the past month I've been studying shorebirds of the Seward Peninsula. I have a "bird of the day". Today's bird, for example, is the Hudsonian Godwit.

I've never seen a Godwit of any kind.

I need to get my act together and get things as organized as possible before my departure. I'm going to make a file folder full of maps and my itinerary. Although I have my itinerary on my calendar on the phone, I'm afraid that the phone battery may die at the most inopportune moment.

I was afraid that when I scheduled all of my bird trips for the festival that I had overdone it by packing too many activities in a day. But now, looking at my itinerary, it seems that I'll be alright. I was smart enough to allow some time to get from place to place, and I also allowed time for side trips on my own. There's a pancake breakfast on the Saturday of the festival, and I certainly don't want to miss that!

It's going to be strange to be so far away from home. Even Costa Rica is much closer to home than Alaska. Someone in my local birding group said that I may never want to come back from Alaska. I wonder if he was right. I grew up in a pretty cold, wet and gloomy place. I don't know if I'm going to want to repeat the experience. Who knows? Maybe this is where I will want to spend the rest of my life.

Or maybe it will just be a vacation spot. That's good enough for me right now.

Bird trip planning

2013-03-16T22:56:00.000-04:00

A bunch has happened since my last post in November. The holidays were quite rough for me, so just getting through November, December, and early January was a feat. I did a short vacation at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge for the Spacecoast birding festival in January, and I saw those wonderful Florida Scrub Jays. Why are they not our state bird? It makes no sense. Maybe I will start a petition.

I think I have finally determined, after so many years of toying with this birding hobby of mine, that I will take it up a notch. In order to do that, a serious birder really should have one important tool:

A Florida Scrub Jay, leaping. Merritt Island NWR, Jan 2013

a spotting scope

Oh, yeah, I'm now in the ranks of the serious bird nerds. I joined the American Birding Association as well. And I booked a trip for a shorebird festival in sunny Alaska. You can find me in Kachemak Bay in early May. Hopefully, I won't be hurling as I try to steady myself on one of the 3 boat trips I signed up for. Unfortunately, I know that I have a tendency toward seasickness. But at least I can go armed with this knowledge, and maybe I can take some preventative measures. Do those nau-sea bracelets really work? How many hours before the boat trip do I need to take my dramamine? Is there a prescription the doc can give me?

I have lots of research to do, and not just nausea-related research. Most nights I spend some time reviewing the list of 80+ bird species I may see while in Homer, Alaska. So far, I think I will be able to spot a Marbled Godwit, a Hudsonian Godwit and a Fork-tailed Storm Petrel without having to refer to a book. Only 77 more species to commit to memory.

Just in reviewing this post, I am noticing a more upbeat attitude than in most of my previous submissions. I think that planning this trip to Alaska has done wonders for my mental state. I did it because my doctor told me to. Well, she didn't actually say,'Go to Alaska.' She did, however, tell me that in order to circumvent those rough periods of time (months I know will be difficult like May, the month Chris passed away, or November/December holidays) I should plan trips or vacations or something that will keep me focused. So far, it has kept me very single-minded and not nearly as depressed. May will be rough, I'm sure. There's no avoiding it. May 19 will mark two years since Chris left. But I think I'm finally getting to a more stable point.

And I have certainly already started planning the next bird trip. Arizona in November! I'm working through all of the 'A' states, I suppose. Look out, Alabama and Arkansas!

Birding as Mental Therapy

2012-11-20T21:04:00.003-05:00

When all seems lost and the days are gloomy, no matter the weather, I find that there are few activities that distract me from my doldrums. Drinking copious amounts of alcoholic beverages does nothing for me. Movies and television hold no power over me (I haven't watched television in 4 months and I don't miss it a bit). Painting is usually a fun activity, but when I'm already in a sour mood my paintings appear more juvenile and ridiculous than ever. So, how do I get out of the nasty mood?

Not sure yet. I am still stuck in one and haven't wriggled my way out yet.

But truly, I am trying to feel better and in order to do that I resort to 4 activities. Let's start at 4 and work our way up...

Number 4 gets me in a calmer mood in a strange way. When I am stressed or anxious, I go to the rifle range and shoot one of my 3 favorite rifles. When I am handling weapons I think of nothing but the task at hand. I am paying complete attention to every move I make, to how I hold my weapon, how I breathe, and how I behave on the range, especially when I am not alone. I must say that shooting paper targets is an exceptionally relaxing, almost zen type of activity.

At number 3 is "Playing my piano". I can usually lose myself for a solid hour and a half practicing the piano. I recently bought a brand-spanking new piano just for that purpose: practice. And I have logged many hours on it. Whether or not I have really improved is a matter for debate. But I don't really care. I believe that I'm improving, and it's something I have always wanted to do. So, even if I do sound like a monkey pecking at the keys, I just don't care. It's fun, it's distracting, and I finally feel that I deserve to have this piano and to spend as long as I want playing it.

At number 2 is a not so great hobby. It has the potential to be destructive if I don't monitor my behavior closely. But there is almost nothing as distracting, which is all that I'm looking for. It's shopping. Not grocery shopping or car shopping. Just perusing the aisles at Stein Mart, Tuesday Morning, TJ Max, JoAnns Fabrics, PetSmart, and Best Buy can make me feel so much better. I think it's because the act of shopping is a real blinder, a wall that I can put in front of what's making me miserable. When you're looking for the perfect hat, how can you possibly be worried or depressed? Unfortunately, I find that when bad things happen ( like my 20 year old cat dying 3 weeks ago), I go nuts. I dropped $400 bucks that weekend. I don't remember what I bought. When my 16 year old Basset Hound passes on, I fear I am going to make a big dent in my savings account.

Paige, female Bald Eagle Ambassador. I met
her at a recent Duval Audubon Society meeting

And finally, at numero uno, is....drum roll.....you guessed it: Birding! I used to go birding by myself but now I am starting to bird in groups more often. It's nice to know that there are people out there, much like myself, who get freakin' stoked when they see a Chestnut-sided Warbler or a Virginia Rail. I am not sure why birding helps me. Maybe it's the complete distraction, yet again. Anything to get my mind off of the depressing thoughts. And nothing seems so completely engrossing as birding. Even after I finish a 4-hour birding trip with the local Audubon Society group, I will continue to another park to do some birding on my own. Time passes quickly when I'm out there. Another benefit is that even when I'm not at a park or kayaking down the river with my sister, I can spend my time studying up on the birds I want to see. I can plan trips using eBird to determine where I might find a particular species. I can sift through my tens of thousands of bird photos. I can charge up my cameras, clear my memory cards, and get ready for another day of distraction.

Someday, I hope that these activities will not be just a distraction. I hope that I will do them because of the pure enjoyment I get from them. But for now, they serve a meaningful purpose. I'm thankful that I can resort to these things as opposed to drinking, smoking, gossiping, etc.

Day 6: Birding on the trip home

2012-05-10T23:54:00.002-04:00

Wilson's Plover

Black-bellied Plover

It took me 7 hours to go 111 miles. That's because I stopped along the way home, a lot. I left at 7:30 am and made lots of stops along the way north. I stopped at Bulow Creek State Park where I saw a hummingbird that looked like it was on steroids, 2 white-tailed deer, and bunches of Blue gray Gnatcatchers,Northern Parula, and Tufted Titmice. I went on to North Peninsula State Park where I saw Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings, and elderly women who should not have been wearing bikinis. I then went on to Fort Matanzas where I saw an Eastern Kingbird (yay!), Least Terns, a Ring-billed Gull, and a Willet with a limp.

My number for today was 7, and I have a total of 84 on my Big Week List. Here's a rundown of today's birds:

Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruddy Turnstone
Willet
Least Tern
Wilsons Plover
Eastern Kingbird
Ring-billed Gull

Sanderling

Ruddy Turnstone

Day 5: Birding at the nude beach

2012-05-09T22:59:00.001-04:00

I didn't need a telephoto lens for this encounter. I think I saw the real-life version of Peter Griffin from The Family Guy, naked. Not a pleasant sight.

Despite being blinded briefly today, I did manage to seen some birds. Here's the rundown:

Anhinga
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Mottled Ducks
Purple Sandpiper
Black-bellied Plover
Common Ground Dove
Snowy Egret
Semipalmated Plover
Roseate spoonbill
Black-necked Stilt
Cormorants
Barn Swallow
Sanderling
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Sharp-shinned Hawk

Day 4: Attack of the Florida Scrub Jay

2012-05-08T20:15:00.001-04:00

Well, my numbers for today aren't great, but it doesn't matter. I finally got my Scrub Jay! And I didn't just see a Scrub Jay...I was greeted by one as I got out of my car. Then, I was escorted by this same Jay on a one mile hike. He not only followed me. The bird actually sat on my head. I'm not kidding. He flew from behind, landed on my head and sat there for about five seconds. Then he jumped into a saw palmetto . He continued to escort me throughout the hike and we talked to each other. Well, I talked and he squawked.

It was awesome.

So, my numbers of new species is low (8), but I have two that are completely new to my life list, the Scrub Jay and the cute little Bobwhite.

Florida Scrub Jay
Turkey Vulture
Boat-tailed Grackle
Bobwhite
Brown Pelican
Reddish Egret
Tricolored Heron
Forsters Tern

Day Three - A better photo day

2012-05-07T22:49:00.000-04:00

Reddish Egret

I had a little more luck today finding new birds for my week list. I went back to LC Ringhaver thinking that last night's rain would have drawn out some interesting birds. I did see a couple of warblers, but I could not identify them by sight or sound, so they can't go on my list. But I did get a photo of a Barred Owl! I love owls. They are so large and silent. I briefly looked down at my camera LCD while taking photos of the owl and when I looked up he was gone. I never heard him move. Even the tiniest bird usually makes a slight amount of noise as he flits through leaves and twigs. Not the owl though. They are eerily quiet.

Today's total is 16 bringing me to a three day total of 53. And here are today's birds:

Barred Owl

Rock Pigeon
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser yellowlegs
Green Heron
Red-shouldered Hawk
Eastern Bluebird
Wood Thrush
Wood Stork
Laughing Gull
Sandhill Crane
Black-crowned Night Heron
Blue-winged Teal
Wood Duck
Common Gallinule
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

Day Two Total...

2012-05-06T20:50:00.001-04:00

Only 11 new species today. So I am at a total of 37. I had hoped to hit 50 today, but I ran into a snag. I went birding in the forested area near my house early this morning. It's about a quarter mile of thick cypress and pine trees that lead into a swampy area near a retention pond. When I last made the trek, it was winter time and the foliage was either dead or very short. This time,the forest was completely overgrown with tall reeds that obstructed my view to the retention pond. But I did discover exactly where all the love bugs in the world come from. When I arrived as close to the lake edge as I could get, I saw a thick sea of love bugs rising from the reeds. It was surreal. They were like a black cloud rising up from the swamp. I am so glad love bugs don't bite!

But I did see a Cooper's Hawk being chased by 2 Northern Mockingbirds, a Great Blue Heron, and a male and female Common Yellowthroat.

Once I got back from this little trip, I went to Tillie Fowler Regional Park where I heard (but didn't see) a Red-eyed Vireo and a Northern Parula, little songbirds. Then I walked the half mile or so to the tower only to discover that the tower was closed! No luck today! But while I was sitting near the tower contemplating my next steps a cute tiny black warbler with bright orange wing patches showed up. My first American Redstart.

And here is today's rundown:

Coopers Hawk
Great Blue Heron
Gray Catbird
Carolina Wren
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Canada Goose
American Redstart
Great Egret
Carolina Chikadee
Cattle Egret
Mallard

Day One Bird Total is....

2012-05-05T22:24:00.000-04:00

Osprey at LC Ringhaver

26 species. That's an OK start. I am more tired than I expected to be. I rode my trike into Jennings State Forest, and about a mile of it was hard packed dirt road. I kept bouncing all over the place, slipping and sliding across the road. All the bouncing left me with a headache that still hasn't gone away.

Bachmans Sparrow

The super species of the day was the Bachmans Sparrow. This bird is a plain, brown bird that looks similar to the little sparrows you might see at a Wal-Mart parking lot. But he can sing!!

My super photo of the day was of an Osprey at LC Ringhaver Park. This is the closest I have ever managed to get with my camera.
And here is my list of birds for the day:

Black Vulture
European Starling
Northern Cardinal
Mourning Dove
Wild Turkey
Eastern Towhee
Northern Parula
American Crow
Pileated Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Great Crested Flycatcher
Blue Gray Gnatcatcher
Pine Warbler
Bachmans Sparrow
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Blue Jay
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
Little Blue Heron
Barred Owl
Eastern Phoebe
Tufted Titmouse
Common Yellowthroat
Red-Winged Blackbird
Osprey
Red eyed Vireo

Countdown to start of my Big Week

2012-05-04T22:54:00.001-04:00

Only 1 hour and 30 minutes till midnight. That's when any bird is fair game for my Big Week list. And yes, I do plan on starting at midnight. You will find me near the woods bordering my house calling for owls, Barred and Great Horned to be exact.

I would like to thank my lovely niece and housesitter extraordinaire for making this a possibility. Without her care of the dogs, cat, and bird, I would be stuck at home.

Schedule for Saturday
AM - Jennings State Forest with the Duval Audubon Society
Afternoon -at LC Ringhaver Park looking for Wood Thrush, Pileated Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers, and Sparrows
Evening - Tillie Fowler Regional Park looking for owls

Sunday-
Big Shoals in Lake City

Monday
Trip to Daytona to get my scooter trike conversion adjusted. On the way I hope to see a Swallow-tailed Kite. I will stop at the beach to look for some laughing gulls, pipers, and plovers

Tuesday
Heading out to Merritt Island NWR!

Wednesday
Merritt Island and St Johns NWR

Thursday
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve

Friday
Cary State Forest

Saturday
Bird-a-Thon with the Florida Audubon Society

Sunday
Review of photos and lists

Tropical Orb Weaver

2012-05-03T23:13:00.000-04:00

Imagine this:

Crazy woman wearing a xenon headlamp and mudboots goes out to her backyard at 10PM to inspect her broken fence before going to bed (the fence is being held up by rope and an improvised stake in the ground). She had tied the rope around 7:30 pm, and by 10:00 pm, a beautiful but somewhat scary looking Tropical Orb Weaver (a fat spider with a body almost the size of a dime) had built her nightime trap. In two and half hours or less, she had built the most lovely web only to destroy it all tomorrow morning.

Crazy woman with headlamp grabs camera. Hopefully, the spider did not eat the crazy woman, but it looked voracious.

A Big Year...ahem, Week

2012-05-03T17:43:00.000-04:00

I can't afford to do a true Big Year. Few people actually can, even the ones who go through with it. A Big Year is when a person commits to seeing as many birds in one year in a specific geographical area, usually the North American continent but one can also specify a state.

It's a costly competition with little in reward other than the satisfaction that one has completed a big goal and has possibly seen more birds that year than anyone else in the competition. There are no sports cars or trips to Disney World, no Birding Rings set in platinum or fancy optics given away. It's all for pure self pleasure.

I have been struggling with doing things that are meant only to please myself since my husband passed away. And it seems that a Big Year would definitely be something he would have LOVED to see me do. But I fight with myself about pursuing hobbies only to soothe my own soul. I am not accustomed to it.

But I have to get used to the idea that I can and should pursue hobbies, all the while knowing that they don't help anyone but myself. So to that end, I am will be pursuing a Big Year in condensed format… a Big Week.

It's kind of pathetic, I know. But I truly can't afford the thousands of dollars it would take to do it properly. Maybe someday when I am retired.

So here it is. My Big Week will be very limited. I will strive to see a total of 200 species and I will start in Jacksonville Florida, go as far south as Kissimmee, FL and as far north as the Big Shoals. Anything in that area is fair game. I plan on two days in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and St Johns National Wildlife Refuge. One day will be spent at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve. On one day trip I will head to Big Shoals north of Lake City. I may go to the Okefenokee Swamp on the border with Georgia and I always like a trip a to Jennings State Forest and Mike Roess Goldhead State Park. \

I have a lot of work to do to get ready. I have to completely clear my two 40GB photoviewer hard drives. I need to purchase a much larger CF card. I need to clean all my optics and I need to check the oil in my 400cc scooter. I need to put my saddlebags on the scooter somehow because I am not sure how I will carry a tripod, my camera equipment, binoculars, books, and my clothing, bug spray, etc.

This pursuit of mine is being funded, strangely enough, by the sale of a telephoto lens that I no longer used. So, I will post my travels and bird counts here everyday. This should be fun.

And, by the way, next year I just might do a true Big Year Florida. I think I could afford that. And it would be lots of fun to get ready for it, finding ideal spots to find specific birds. I don't even know yet how many birds have been officially counted in Florida, but I would love to try to reach that number.