Burrowing Owl
Florida’s dwindling population of Burrowing Owls are having trouble finding homes. These pint-sized owls were listed as threatened in 2017 by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Marco Island and Cape Coral on Florida’s Gulf Coast hosts Florida’s largest urban Burrowing Owl populations. Approximately 500 Burrowing Owls live on Marco Island with about 95% of them living on vacant lots.
In January 2020, the Marco Island City Council agreed to set aside $5,000 every year to pay residents $250 who agree to host burrows in their yard for these vulnerable birds. Wildlife crews will dig the holes, and then it’s up to the owls to move in. From 2017 to 2019, almost 100 burrows were dug with Burrowing Owl residency occurring in about 1/3 of them so far. How cool is that!
After my two previous visits and no sightings to one of their already established and protected grounds, this morning I was able to finally see and photograph my first Burrowing Owl.
Yes, another lifer for me; thank you #202, the Burrowing Owl!
Burrowing Owl habitat – can you spot the single owl? (dead center)
Burrowing Owl
Burrowing Owl on guard at the entrance of its burrow
Burrowing Owl
Burrowing Owl
See all the white spots around the owl’s burrow? It is shredded toilet paper!
Per “Owl Watch,” a volunteer-run group under the management of Audubon of the Western Everglades’ statement, “Looking for toilet paper? Ask the owls – looks like this pair has plenty! Burrowing owls decorate their burrows at the start of nesting season as part of their courtship, using whatever materials they can find around their burrows. This owl seems to have found a stockpile of toilet paper to shred and display!”
I hope that rose a chuckle from you in these trying, empty-shelf times. 😊
Series: Take A Moment and Enjoy A Sunset
Time to unwind from the day…..
Sunset over the Barron River
“When your world moves too fast and you lose yourself in the chaos, introduce yourself to each color of the sunset.” – Christy Ann Martine
Black-crowned Night Heron
Not only did I get great opportunities with the Warblers I shared in my last post, I felt very lucky spotting this Black-crowned Night Heron hiding on the tree branch over the water.
I’ve never had one of these herons pose so nicely for me instead of jumping/flapping away!
Black-crowned Night Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron – Closeup #1
Black-crowned Night Heron – Closeup #2
Black-crowned Night Heron’s feet
A nice view of their backside of feather coloring.
Black-crowned Night Heron’s backside
Some of my shots had him/her starting to droop its eyes for a nap. Mid-day….yep….nap time!
Three Warblers
I photographed these three warblers yesterday morning along a new location ventured, the scenic (dirt) Loop Road in Big Cypress National Preserve. The best part? One is another new bird for me. 😊
Welcome #201, the Black-and-white Warbler.
Black-and-white Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
My other two warblers aren’t newbies but both were a delight to hear and see.
A single Prairie Warbler; whew, I got lucky with just one good photo.
Prairie Warbler
Getting to experience again a flock of Northern Parulas moving high through a tree canopy, foraging and singing beautifully, was pretty awesome. Again, I got lucky as warblers do not stay still!
Northern Parula feeding on a Cardinal air plant
Northern Parula singing
Northern Parula singing
Northern Parula singing
Warblers are a delight!
And so wasn’t the Loop Road that had many more wonderful photo opportunities. 🙂
Pileated Woodpecker
Sometimes my get-around choice for birding when we’re RVing is a relaxing ride in my birding-mobile (golf cart) with cameras in tow, enjoying the scenery and looking for the ‘locals’.
Early this morning, I ventured off this way to see who I could find around Everglades City (golf carts allowed everywhere except Rt 29, how cool!).
One of the ‘locals’ that love the palm trees is the Pileated Woodpecker.
These are photos of a male, identified differently from the female by the red stripe on his cheek.
Pileated Woodpecker (male)
Flash back in time. Do you remember the cartoon character, Woody Woodpecker? He was created by Walter Lantz and designed after the Pileated Woodpecker.
Pileated Woodpecker (male)
Yep, took those two photos from my birding-mobile! It’s been a couple years since I last shared a photo. I love and have a lot of fun with it; and as long as I don’t get off, the birds aren’t bothered any more than with a car.
Donna’s birding cart
Can you see me cruisin’ the streets, looking for the ‘locals’? 😊
I hope I made you chuckle! Now go have one of those silly, crazy, Woody Woodpecker kind of days…. Wha ha hahaha! Wha ha hahaha! Hahahahahahahaha!
Southern Stingray
Looking down into the clear water while walking along a dock provided an amazing sighting for us, a Southern Stingray.
Southern Stingray
Southern Stingrays have a wingspan of up to 6 1/2 feet. This one was about 3-4 feet across and showed a cut injury on one wing.
Southern Stingray
The Southern Stingray has a venomous barb on its tail that it whips up when it feels threatened by a predator.
Southern Stingray “Waving Goodbye”
How beautiful it was as it glided through the water and away!
White-crowned Pigeon is Crowned #200
I fretted about not having my long lens in Key West; but somehow I really lucked out with this next bird, the White-crowned Pigeon, crowned #200 on my photographed bird lifer list!
White-crowned Pigeon
White-crowned Pigeon
Just as other birds, if the lighting hits just right, you can see the White-crowned Pigeon’s iridescent green feathers at the back of its neck.
White-crowned Pigeon
A resident of the Caribbean islands and coastlines, the White-crowned Pigeon’s farthest northern range is south Florida. It feeds almost entirely on fruits of hardwood trees.
I spotted this pigeon in a tree along the outside walkway around our hotel’s third floor. Not only did it give me a few beautiful poses, it also dropped down in front of me on the below overhang to gather sticks. Hmmmm…..
White-crowned Pigeon
White-crowned Pigeon
White-crowned Pigeon
White-crowned Pigeon
White-crowned Pigeon gathering nesting materials
Instead of taking off and away, it was flying back up high into the tree. Ah-ha! I finally saw the nest with it’s mate brooding.
White-crowned Pigeon nest with mate brooding inside
I wondered if I could see the nest from the floor above. And there it was, at eye level, with an adult incubating. The nest was actually hidden quite well, had I not known to look deep into the tree from several angles.
White-crowned Pigeon incubating on nest
After two shots, I left and never went back to check on them so not to cause stress and also to not give a clue to other people on the nest’s hidden location.
The White-crowned Pigeon is threatened throughout its range. It is estimated the global breeding population is about 550,000 with 1% living in the United States and 4% in Mexico. Now protected in Florida, the White-crowned Pigeon is unfortunately still hunted extensively in Caribbean countries.
Stay safe in Key West, Florida, White-crowned Pigeon family!
Common Ground Doves and Magnificent Frigatebirds – Two New Lifers
What fun to get to share two new lifers #198 and #199 to my photographed bird list. 😊
Lucky #198 is the Common Ground Dove, one of the smallest doves in North America. It is about the same size as a Song Sparrow and is common across the southernmost parts of the United States from California to Florida. We have a pair visiting our RV resort daily; all along I thought it was a sparrow, finally paid a little more attention, and here it was a lifer. Geez Donna! I got it now!! 😉
Common Ground Doves (female foreground, male in back))
Male Common Ground Dove
Female Common Ground Dove
Common Ground Doves
Reaching the last of the climb to 200 is #199, the Magnificent Frigatebird, a large, black pterodactyl-like bird that spends most of its life flying effortlessly over the ocean, using its deeply forked tail to steer. It is also sometimes called the “man-o-war bird” as they steal food from other birds in midair.
We escaped the past week to Key West for some fun, and it was a delight to watch the Magnificent Frigatebirds soar daily over Sunset Key. Sigh, if only I had my long lens, that had to be nixed due to packing light…..never again.
Magnificent Frigatebird (female)
Magnificent Frigatebird (female)
Magnificent Frigatebird (female)
Magnificent Frigatebird (male)
Magnificent Frigatebirds
Hey, two lifers, ching ching! Bringing me finally to that magical 200 mark that seems to have taken forever to achieve.
But no need to wish me luck…..wink-wink. Next post!
American White Pelicans
My last post shared those pink-a-licious Roseate Spoonbills found, but they weren’t the only wonderful surprise at that location.
Lots of American White Pelicans were also there right alongside those Rosies! What a treat to see both of these at the same time!
Roseate Spoonbills, American White Pelicans (and more)
Roseate Spoonbills and American White Pelicans
Roseate Spoonbills and American White Pelicans
What a treat to see both of these at the same time!
The American White Pelican is twice the size of the native Brown Pelican. Unlike the Brown Pelican, the American White Pelican does not dive for food but instead scoops the water for fish.
American White Pelicans foraging for fish
They work together to herd fish for easy feeding.
American White Pelicans
American White Pelicans
American White Pelicans
A final wide shot to show all the birds habituating together during this photo shoot.
American White Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills, Great Egrets, Wood Storks & Snowy Egrets
Florida during the winter months is indeed a birder’s paradise!
Roseate Spoonbill in Flight
Many thanks to new birding friend, Ed, who showed me a location in the Big Cypress National Preserve where he had seen Roseate Spoonbills a few times. With it being early afternoon, we didn’t expect them to be there; but lo and behold, there were more than a dozen of those pinkalicious Rosies!
Roseate Spoonbills
Oh my, I took a lot of photos. With their distance and the high bright sun, I struggled some but felt real pleased with this photo series of a juvenile Roseate Spoonbill coming in for a landing.
Roseate Spoonbill in flight (juvenile)
Ahhhhh……those gorgeous pink wings!
Bay Photos by Donna 