The area has a new group of guests this year. In fact, these visitors are quite rare. A flock of Atala butterflies has found their way here from southeastern Florida. They were once feared to be extinct in Florida due to the elimination of their host plant. The butterflies only lay their eggs on the coontie plant.
Atala Butterfly Feeding on a Sweet Almond Bush
They are striking little butterflies with black wings highlighted in iridescent dark blue with brilliant teal spots and bright orange bodies. The caterpillars are bright orange with yellow bumps along their backs. Unfortunately, as with many types of caterpillars, they can do a lot of damage to the leaves of the host plant.
During our visit, we also decided to have a little fun with some honey bees. They were feeding on little purple Florida Pulsey flowers and were covered in pollen. We tested the limits of our camera to see if we could freeze their wings in flight. It took an astonishing 1/16000th of a second to capture details in their wings. Even at that speed, their wings were often still a little blurry.
Honey Bee Flying off from a Purple Florida Pulsey Flower
Attached is a great article for more good reading about the Atala butterflies.
Over the holidays, I joined my friend Art Nadelman for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The event takes place across all North America and parts of South America. This was the 123rd Christmas Bird Count. We were assigned a specific area to record.
We started around 7:30 am and completed around 12:30 pm. We managed to see 1300 birds across 62 species! The most numerous birds were the robins that are migrating through the area now. We counted almost 500 and likely missed more. Many of them will stay here until early March before beginning their journey back north.
American Robin Landing in Brazilian Pepper Bushes
Attached is an article about the Audubon Bird Count.
This past Friday my good friend Art Nadelman and I got back out with our cameras again after a 3 month hiatus. Art’s arm has healed enough that he can carefully carry his equipment. We decided to visit the Celery Fields which is a favorite among local birders.
Over the course of a little more than 3 hours, we managed to see over 50 species of birds. We also had some good photo opportunities. One bird that is beginning to expand quickly across the region is the grey-headed swamphen. They’re related to coots and gallinules and have a lot of the beautiful blue colors of the male purple gallinule.
Grey-headed Swamphen Walking through the Marsh
An uncommon bird that has returned for the winter is the bronzed cowbird. You would normally think of a cowbird as a rather ugly, nuisance bird but the adult male is striking. Its jet-black body is highlighted with areas of light blue above the shoulder. But the real distinguishing feature is its red eyes.
Bronzed Cowbird Perched in a Shrub
It was great to get back out again. Expect to see the posts pick up as the northern birds return for the winter.
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
It’s been 3 months since my last post and a lot has happened. September began with a bout of Covid for Pam and me. As soon as we started to feel better, Mother Nature sent us hurricane Ian. We spent the last week of September making preparations for the storm and then spent the first week of October cleaning up the debris. Thankfully our damage was minimal compared to those a few miles south, although we did receive over a foot of rain. Unfortunately for my photography buddy, Art Nadelman, he tore his bicep muscle tendon while cleaning up his yard and had to have surgery.
Ian delivered quite a blow to our birding activities. Many parks and preserves were flooded or sustained severe wind damage making them inaccessible. One of our favorite state parks is still closed. The bald eagles that we’ve watched and photographed for the past several years have been displaced. The tree with their nest blew down as well as all the trees surrounding their nest. This is a great loss for photographers because the nest was so accessible. We’ll be watching to see where they choose their next home and hope that we can get another great shooting spot.
If the hurricane wasn’t bad enough, we lost one of our 4-legged babies on October 13. Gabby, our beloved 12-year-old Bichon Frise was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer on October 7 and passed just 6 days later. Needless to say, it was a devastating loss.
Backyard birding has been the norm this fall. The good news is that our male painted bunting returned to our feeder in mid-October, and we’ve been fortunate to attract a pair of ruby-throated hummingbirds to a feeder since the end of September. Our winter waterfowl migrants are just beginning to arrive so it will be good to start getting out again.
One of our favorite all-around photography locations is Fort De Soto Park in Tierra Verde near St. Petersburg. For this visit we decided to target the shore birds. With 3 miles of beach, there are LOTS of shore birds. The park is located where Tampa Bay connects to the Gulf of America. In the spring and fall it is a stopover point for many migrating birds. The park is also a seasonal home for several migrants.
We picked a morning where the tide was out which creates a large area of tidal pools. The pools trap fish and little crustaceans that provide a feast for the birds. It turned out to be a very calm morning, so the pools made for great reflections.
American Oystercatcher Eats a Morsel
We were fortunate to capture shots of many different species such as American oystercatchers, roseate spoonbills, brown pelicans, gulls, plovers, marbled godwits, ruddy turnstones, willets, great egrets, snowy egrets, and a reddish egret chasing schools of small fish.
I’ve included a link for more information about Fort De Soto Park.
This past week my friend and fellow photographer Art Nadelman and I ventured down to the Fort Myers area in search of snail kites. I’ve written about snail kites on a couple of occasions in the past. Most recently we had a great day photographing kites near Gainesville. But this week was the best yet for capturing images of these beautiful birds.
Snail kites are on the Federal Endangered Species list. They are only found in certain areas of Florida in the US. Their diet consists primarily of large apple snails. It’s fascinating to watch them hunt for and grab the snails from the water. They go in feet first and pluck the snails out of the shallows then fly off to a nearby perch to pick the meat out of the shell. Apple snails are aptly named because they can grow to the size of a small apple. For reference, here is a photo of one in my hand.
Apple snail
We see snail kites occasionally throughout the year but rarely find more than a couple at a time. This week we found a larger group that included 3 males which is very unusual. The males are a beautiful blue-gray color with bright orange feet and bills and red eyes. Two of the males were banded.
I’ve listed some links for more information on snail kites.
Summertime in Florida is generally a quiet time for bird photos. Many of our winter visitors have gone north and won’t return until fall. But there are some species that migrate here for the summer to nest and raise their young. One of those is the beautiful swallow-tailed kite. They travel all the way from South America and stay here from March to August.
Swallow-tailed Kite Soaring to the Right
My good friend and fellow photographer, Art Nadelman, and I, talked about our aspirations for this year and at the top of our list was to capture some good shots of kites. Since swallow-tailed kites spend most of their days in the air, our goal was to get them before they left their morning roosts. The challenge is finding those locations. Kites typically nest and roost in very remote areas near water which makes them inaccessible.
As the breeding season winds down and the return flight back to South America approaches, the kites begin to congregate in large groups in just a few spots around the state. The numbers can reach as many as 1500 birds. The peak time for gathering is usually mid to late July. I’ve included a couple of links to read more about these amazing birds.
This week we had the opportunity to achieve another goal. We went out with a guide that we learned about from a friend. The experience was incredible. We loaded up our gear on his boat before sunrise and headed out on a 4-mile journey through channels and floating water hyacinths to get back to the birds. When we rounded the last of what seemed like endless turns, there at the tops of the giant cypress trees were hundreds of the bright white kites. It was a “WOW” moment!
Our guide worked with us to quietly maneuver the boat into great spots for us to get the best shots. We finally got our photos of swallow-tailed kites on perches. As the sun rose higher, the birds began to awaken and start preening for their day long flights. Eventually a few would test the breezes and search for the thermals that they would ride the rest of the day as they headed out to feed. Then more would take off and begin circling and rising – a process called “kettling” because it resembles stirring a kettle. Occasionally one or more birds would drop down and swoop across the water to get a drink or sometimes just to splash their feathers. This makes for a favorite shot for photographers. Unfortunately, we only had 2 “swoopers” that morning and my only shot was of a bird flying away.
Swallow-tailed Kite Swooping for a Drink
By around 10-o-clock, the trees and skies were empty, and the birds had gone off to feed for the day. According to our guide, they usually start returning a couple of hours before sunset to settle in for the night. In between, they soar all day looking for bugs, lizards, frogs, or small snakes. In a few weeks, they’ll be on their way south again.
I’ve attached some links for more information about these magnificent birds.
Springtime in Cape Coral, FL means one thing …. burrowing owls. Nesting season is almost finished and most of the new owls have grown as large as their parents. They can fly and are learning to hunt. The family units are still intact so it’s fun to see several together outside their burrows.
Four Burrowing Owls Outside Their Nest
The city of Cape Coral does a great job protecting the owls. They even have a Burrowing Owl Festival. Cape Coral has the largest population of burrowing owls in Florida and many people visit just to see the owls. It’s easy to get within 30 or 40 feet of them for some great photo opportunities. The owls are used to people, so they are tolerant. And photographers are very respectful of these little treasures.
On this day, we saw almost 40 owls, which is a very big number. It was a positive sign that, despite a lot of new construction, the owls seem to still be thriving. The mannerisms of burrowing owls are so different from other owls. Typically, great horned owls, barred owls, and screech owls will sit very still in trees. Their movements are usually slow and smooth. Burrowing owls are like bobbleheads. Their heads are constantly moving as they stay on alert. The most feared predator of burrowing owls is a hawk so you will see them often looking up. It also makes catching a photo of them staring directly at the camera a challenge. Burrowing owls are beautiful little birds that are smaller than a crow. They are only found in Florida east of the Great Plains.
The link below provides more information specific to the Cape Coral owls.
Now that the summer is upon us and the weather is getting hot, a favorite location for us to visit is Highlands Hammock State Park just outside Sebring. Like many other parks in Florida, it has a diversified habitat. The park transitions from a dry, primitive area with scrub oaks and pine trees to a deep woodland swamp with huge cypress trees. In between is an area called the hammock which is covered with large hardwood trees.
Our favorites are the primitive and swamp areas. On this occasion, we didn’t make it to the swamp because there was so much activity in the primitive area. Highlands Hammock is known for having a population of Florida scrub jays, which are endangered. We were fortunate to find the jays. This time of year, the red-headed woodpeckers, northern flickers, and eastern towhees return to nest. We often see great horned owls, bobwhite quail, eastern bluebirds, American kestrels, and other woodpeckers.
You can learn more about Highlands Hammock at the link below.
Just outside of Gainesville in the town of Micanopy, FL lies Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. It is one of the largest parks in the state with almost 23,000 acres. It is designated as a National Natural Landmark. The preserve is known for snail kites, which is why we traveled there. There are also herds of bison and wild horses in the park, but we didn’t see them because high waters prevented us from reaching certain areas.
We did, however, see several very large alligators. Since it was mating season, the males were bellowing all over the marsh. It’s an intimidating noise that sounds a lot like a lion roaring. At one point we thought we would witness a showdown between two very large gators but when they finally faced off, the smaller of the two hustled away into the grass.
Large Male Alligator Bellowing in a Marsh
But our trip was to see the snail kites and they did not disappoint. We counted a total of nine. It’s uncommon to see more than two or three so it was a great day. The only place in the US where Snail kites are found is Florida. They are considered endangered because of habitat loss. The main staple of their diet is the apple snail which are the size of a medium apple. They have a hooked bill which helps them dig the meat out of the large shells. Years ago, their main habitat was in the Everglades. But steady loss of the wetlands has forced them further north in search of more shallow lakes and marshes with apple snails.
Female Snail Kite Perched on a Dead Limb
The links below contain more information about Paynes Prairie State Park.
A great location that is often featured on many photography websites and in magazines is Fort De Soto Park in Tierra Verde. The park has a very diversified environment which includes several miles of beaches. Fort De Soto Park sits at the end of Tampa Bay where it flows into the Gulf of America. In addition to the wide range of shore birds by the water, there are also hardwood areas where we often find warblers and songbirds.
Hooded Warbler Resting on a Branch with Green Leaves
During the spring migration, the variety of birds increases significantly. The park is known for the migratory stopovers, which sometimes last for only a day or two. Every day in late spring brings different birds on their way back north. There are abundant ospreys and pelicans. It’s also common to see bald eagles.
The link below provides more information on Fort De Soto Park.
The Celery Fields nature preserve in Sarasota is another top destination for birders and photographers on the gulf coast of Florida. It’s also a popular place for runners and walkers with a series of trails.
From the 1920s to around 1995, the fields were used for growing celery crops which is how the area got its name. The Celery Fields is also on the Great Florida Birding Trail.
What makes the Celery Fields so popular is the wide range of bird species. We generally see several birds of prey, wading birds, songbirds and during the winter months, many ducks. The preserve is managed by the Audubon society, and they maintain feeders which are frequently visited by nanday parakeets, red-winged blackbirds, and other songbirds.
Bluebird Male Sitting in a Small Pine Tree
The past two years, a yellow-headed blackbird has appeared at the feeders, and he stayed there for the entire winter.
The link below provides more information about the Celery Fields.
