Monthly Archives: June 2012

Crab hunting at Spruce Creek

by Amy Posted on 27 June 2012

Late last month, Arthur and I visited Spruce Creek Park in Port Orange. It was hot and birds were keeping a low profile. Once we climbed up the 15-foot observation tower we had a very nice view over the property. I spotted a heron sitting on a picnic table below us, and did a double-take when I realized it was a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron.

feeling peckish

The bird hopped off the table and proceeded to successfully hunt a large amount of crabs in the mud.

let's do this!

hunting

om nom nom

Timestamps on my photos tell me we watched the heron hunting for about a half hour, and I would guess it caught and ate a crab or other tasty morsel at least every two minutes.

hunting

hunting

We climbed down the tower and proceeded with our hot mid-morning walk. Later we came across another YCNH, this one awkwardly perched on top of some kind of weather apparatus (I think). It didn’t stay perched long.

awkward in black and white

bye

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Posted in Behavior, Florida, Volusia Birding | Leave a comment

Up to no good

by Amy Posted on 17 June 2012

before

Sandhill Cranes are omnivorous. They feed on grains, berries, small reptiles, invertebrates, aquatic plants, and more. They will feed on nestling birds, if the opportunity arises.

attaaaack

At Rollins Savanna last month I observed a small group of Sandhill Cranes foraging in a marshy area. A male Red-winged Blackbird was giving them a hard time, dive-bombing and attacking the backs of the large birds.

apulets

banking

rawr

The blackbird may have thought the cranes were up to no good, but during my stay I didn’t see the cranes discover any tasty nestlings. The blackbird eventually left the cranes alone.

bomber

This wasn’t the first time I’d seen a blackbird attacking cranes at Rollins Savanna. Back in June 2009 I saw a small mob working together to drive away a pair of cranes.

after

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Posted in Behavior, Illinois, LCFPD | 1 Comment

Give beach-nesting birds a chance

by Amy Posted on 9 June 2012

The Dutch branch of BirdLife International, Vogelbescherming, came up with this great animated clip that shows the stresses and dangers beach-nesting species face. The original Dutch animation was recently translated into English:

Not everyone understands the gravity of the many stresses facing birds who nest on the beach. Share this video – spreading knowledge will help our feathered friends.

If you leave near beach habitat, you may be able to help even more. There are bird stewards monitoring nests at Ft. De Soto Park in Florida, volunteers are monitoring Piping Plover nests in Michigan and Connecticut, and monitors check habitat for both sea turtle and shorebird nesting on Anna Maria Island, Florida. Search online for “nest monitoring” or “bird stewards” in your area and you may find there are volunteer projects you can join to can help birds that nest locally.

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Posted in Aside, Citizen Science, Conservation, Video | Leave a comment

Scrub-Jays at Lyonia Preserve

by Amy Posted on 8 June 2012

Florida Scrub Jay

The Florida Scrub-Jay is the official city bird of Deltona, Florida. Not many cities have official birds, but in this case it seems appropriate considering Deltona is home to Lyonia Preserve, which is in turn home to several families of the endangered Florida endemic. I think it’s safe to say that a hike through the scrub habitat at the preserve will reward birders with a Scrub-Jay encounter more often than not.

Florida Scrub Jay

Florida Scrub Jay

On a walk at the park last month, Arthur and I counted at least 9 individuals, some of whom were kind enough to pose for photos.

Florida Scrub Jay

Florida Scrub Jay

Like most corvids, Florida Scrub-Jays are highly intelligent, and extremely curious. They are also known to be tame, but this trait can be a serious problem for this endangered species. Although they may approach humans for food, people should never feed wild Florida Scrub-Jays. Habituation to humans is unsafe for a variety of reasons, one of which is that being provided food not normally available in their natural habitat can be disruptive to healthy development of growing chicks.

Florida Scrub Jay
Many of the jays at Lyonia sport color bands

Earlier this year, Arthur noted an online announcement for a field trip hosted by a local Meetup group: Lyonia Preserve: Hike. The main purpose of this trip was to “do a short hike and feed the Scrub Jays” (emphasis mine). Participants were advised to bring along pine nuts. What the HELL? Unfortunately, the fact that feeding Florida Scrub-Jays is bad for the birds, not to mention illegal, does not discourage some people from this practice. When we visit Lyonia, we are thrilled with every bird sighting and every natural, un-baited Scrub-Jay encounter.

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Posted in Endangered, Florida, Volusia Birding | Leave a comment

Birding Gemini Springs, May 2012

by Amy Posted on 6 June 2012

I birded Gemini Springs five times during May, tallying just 45 species for the month.

A lot of my birding time at the park was spent watching a family of Barred Owls and a pair of Red-shouldered Hawk fledglings. I will have some separate follow up posts with these birds of prey in the coming days. The photos below represent the non-baby-raptor highlights from May.

New for the year list: Swallow-tailed Kite; Northern Bobwhite (heard only; may have heard them earlier but not noted); Roseate Spoonbill (flyovers – first ever for my Gemini Springs list); Ruby-throated Hummingbird (another Gemini Springs all-time first for me). The complete list is at the end of this post.

Anhinga
Anhinga | 2 May 2012

Black-and-white Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler | 2 May 2012

Anhinga
Anhinga | 4 May 2012

Gulf Fritillary
Gulf Fritillary | 4 May 2012

itchy
Great Blue Heron | 4 May 2012

RBWO
Red-bellied Woodpecker | 4 May 2012

Raptors were not the only juvenile birds I saw at Gemini Springs in May. On the 4th, a family of Pileated Woodpeckers worked a few trees together, traveling from trunk to trunk.

PIWO
Pileated Woodpeckers | 4 May 2012

PIWO
Young Pileated Woodpecker | 4 May 2012

Gemini Springs
Foggy morning | 7 May 2012

Gemini Springs
Foggy morning | 7 May 2012

Common Snapping Turtle
Common Snapping Turtle | 7 May 2012

Great Crested Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher with prey | 27 May 2012

May 2012 bird list, Gemini Springs

Northern Bobwhite – Colinus virginianus
Double-crested Cormorant – Phalacrocorax auritus
Anhinga – Anhinga anhinga
Great Blue Heron – Ardea herodias
Great Egret – Ardea alba
Snowy Egret – Egretta thula
Little Blue Heron – Egretta caerulea
Tricolored Heron – Egretta tricolor
Green Heron – Butorides virescens
White Ibis – Eudocimus albus
Glossy Ibis – Plegadis falcinellus
Roseate Spoonbill – Platalea ajaja
Black Vulture – Coragyps atratus
Osprey – Pandion haliaetus
Swallow-tailed Kite – Elanoides forficatus
Bald Eagle – Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Red-shouldered Hawk – Buteo lineatus
Common Gallinule – Gallinula galeata
American Coot – Fulica americana
Sandhill Crane – Grus canadensis
Black-necked Stilt – Himantopus mexicanus
Mourning Dove – Zenaida macroura
Barred Owl – Strix varia
Ruby-throated Hummingbird – Archilochus colubris
Red-bellied Woodpecker – Melanerpes carolinus
Downy Woodpecker – Picoides pubescens
Pileated Woodpecker – Dryocopus pileatus
Great Crested Flycatcher – Myiarchus crinitus
Red-eyed Vireo – Vireo olivaceus
Blue Jay – Cyanocitta cristata
Fish Crow – Corvus ossifragus
Carolina Chickadee – Poecile carolinensis
Tufted Titmouse – Baeolophus bicolor
Carolina Wren – Thryothorus ludovicianus
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – Polioptila caerulea
Northern Mockingbird – Mimus polyglottos
Brown Thrasher – Toxostoma rufum
Black-and-white Warbler – Mniotilta varia
Common Yellowthroat – Geothlypis trichas
Northern Parula – Setophaga americana
Swamp Sparrow – Melospiza georgiana
Northern Cardinal – Cardinalis cardinalis
Red-winged Blackbird – Agelaius phoeniceus
Common Grackle – Quiscalus quiscula
Boat-tailed Grackle – Quiscalus major

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Posted in Gemini Springs, Volusia Birding | Leave a comment