Category: Dick Brewer

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See what’s flitting around Bird Rookery Swamp this week!

Special thanks to volunteer naturalist Dick Brewer, who regularly visits the CREW trails and compiles wildlife counts. This valuable citizen science is shared with the CREW Trust staff and our FWC biologists and helps give us a glimpse of all the wildlife using the trails.

Needham’s Skimmer, identified and photographed by Dick Brewer


Bird Rookery Swamp

Thursday, March 28 ~~ 7:25 AM – 2:10 PM

temperature: 59.3-77.8º ~~ RH 83.9-44.9%

sky: clear ~~ wind 7-12 mph

BIRDS

Common Gallinule – 1

Double-crested Cormorant – 1

Anhinga – 10

Great Blue Heron – 2

Great Egret – 12

Snowy Egret – 1

Little Blue Heron – 5

Tri-colored Heron – 1

Black-crowned Night Heron – 2

White Ibis – 72

Black Vulture – 3

Turkey Vulture – 4

Swallow-tailed Kite – 7

Red-shouldered Hawk – 23

Belted Kingfisher – 4

Red-bellied Woodpecker – 23

Downy Woodpecker – 3

Pileated Woodpecker – 5

Great-crested Flycatcher – 3

Eastern Phoebe –  1

White-eyed Vireo – 19

Blue Jay – 1

American Crow – 2

Tufted Titmouse – 9

Carolina Wren – 17

House Wren – 1

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 2

Gray Catbird – 13

Common Grackle – 9

Palm Warbler –  2

Northern Cardinal – 13

BUTTERFLIES

Palamedes Swallowtail – 3

Tiger Swallowtail – 1

Ruddy Daggerwing – 1

White Peacock – 61

Gulf Fritillary – 1

Phaon Crescent – 1

Tropical Checker – 3

DRAGONFLIES

Eastern Pondhawk – 72

Blue Dasher – 82

Blue Dasher, identified and photographed by Dick Brewer

Needham’s Skimmer – 18

Regal Darner – 3

Halloween Pennant – 1

Slaty Skimmer – 1

REPTILES

Alligator – 41

Brown Anole – 1

Red-bellied Turtle – 3

MAMMALS

White-tailed Deer – 1

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Brrrrrrrr! Who is roaming Birdy Rookery Swamp in these wintry conditions?

Too cold to head to the trails? Thinking the animals will be huddling somewhere for warmth?

That is true for many of our reptile friends, but the weekend’s heavy rain combined with the cool temperatures made for a lot of wading birds out and about Monday morning at Bird Rookery Swamp!

CREW Trust volunteer naturalist Dick Brewer braved the elements and sent in his wildlife count from yesterday’s chilly excursion.

Photo credits: Dick Brewer

Bird Rookery Swamp

Monday, January 28, 2019 ~~ 7:20 AM – 1:20 PM

temperature: 47.1-54.0º ~~ RH 84.0-76.8%

sky: overcast ~~ wind 7-10 mph

BIRDS

Muscovy Duck – 1

Double-crested Cormorant – 2

Anhinga – 29

Great Blue Heron – 16

Great Egret – 34

Snowy Egret – 2

Little Blue Heron – 19

Tri-colored Heron –  7

Black-crowned Night Heron – 35

White Ibis – 145

Roseate Spoonbill – 2

Black Vulture – 38

Turkey Vulture – 9

Red-shouldered Hawk – 14

Belted Kingfisher – 5

Red-bellied Woodpecker – 15

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1

Downy Woodpecker – 1

Pileated Woodpecker – 7

Great-crested Flycatcher – 3

Eastern Phoebe –  3

White-eyed Vireo – 9

Blue-headed Vireo – 2

Tufted Titmouse – 3

Carolina Wren – 10

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 8

Gray Catbird – 28

Northern Mockingbird – 1

American Goldfinch – 1

Common Grackle – 11

Black-and-white Warbler – 1

Common Yellowthroat – 10

Palm Warbler –  19

Northern Cardinal – 9

Painted Bunting – 3

HERPS

Alligator –  7

MAMMALS

Gray Squirrel – 2

River Otter – 2

Raccoon – 5

White-tailed Deer – 1

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Check out what you might see at Bird Rookery Swamp this week!

Long-time CREW Trust volunteer naturalist Dick Brewer is a treasure-trove of information and brilliant citizen scientist. This week’s critter count includes a chicken turtle, almost 30 red-bellied woodpeckers and a great photo of two crested caracaras. Interested in making your own critter count during your next hike? Print out Dick’s BIRD ROOKERY SWAMP Wildlife Checklist and take it with you!

Bird Rookery Swamp

Wednesday, December 19 ~~ 7:05 AM – 1:00 PM

temperature: 54.0-76.0º ~~ RH 85.5-60.5%

sky: sun early, clouds late ~~ wind: calm at start, then 8-12 mph

BIRDS

Wood Duck – 2

Double-crested Cormorant – 5

Anhinga – 28

Great Blue Heron – 11

Great Egret – 10

Snowy Egret – 3

Little Blue Heron – 7

Tri-colored Heron – 3

Cattle Egret – 1

Green Heron – 4

Black-crowned Night Heron – 11

White Ibis – 22

Roseate Spoonbill – 1

Wood Stork – 2

Black Vulture – 12

Turkey Vulture – 26

Osprey – 1

Red-shouldered Hawk – 14

Crested Caracara – 2

American Kestrel – 1

Common Gallinule – 1

Killdeer – 5

Mourning Dove – 2

Barred Owl – 2

Belted Kingfisher – 8

Red-bellied Woodpecker – 28

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 4

Downy Woodpecker – 1

Pileated Woodpecker – 8

Great-crested Flycatcher – 1

Eastern Phoebe –  7

Carolina Wren – 13

House Wren – 1

Blue Jay – 1

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 21

Northern Mockingbird – 2

Gray Catbird – 21

Common Yellowthroat – 1

Palm Warbler – 5

Pine Warbler – 1

Northern Cardinal – 4

Common Grackle – 77

BUTTERFLIES

White Peacock – 21

Phaon Crescent – 1

Barred Yellow – 16

Tropical Checker – 1

HERPS

Alligator – 11

Brown Anole – 1

Banded Water Snake – 1

Red-bellied Turtle – 5

Florida Chicken Turtle – 2

MAMMALS

River Otter – 2

Raccoon – 1

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Chirp chirp CHECK! Take these wildlife checklists with you when you hit the CREW Trails.

Our volunteer naturalist of many years, Dick Brewer, is well known on our website, blogs and social media for his hours of work as a citizen scientist in the field and for his almost-weekly critter counts.

Now you, too, can complete a critter count! Even if you aren’t quite sure what animals are out there.

Dick has combed through years of observations by himself and others and created two wildlife checklists: one for Bird Rookery Swamp and one for the Cypress Dome Trails. The lists have everything from alligators to skippers, bitterns to bats. Check them out and print a copy for your next visit to the trails!

CYPRESS DOME TRAILS wildlife checklist

BIRD ROOKERY SWAMP Wildlife Checklist

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This week’s Bird Rookery Swamp critter count

Wondering what there is to see – or what may be seeing you – at Bird Rookery Swamp this week? Check out volunteer naturalist Dick Brewer’s critter count!

Bird Rookery Swamp

Monday, September 24 ~~ 7:05 AM – 1:25 PM

temperature: 76..0-93.8º ~~ RH 88.8-56.1%

sky: mostly sunny ~~ wind 0-5 mph

BIRDS

Anhinga – 5

Great Egret – 1

Snowy Egret – 1

Little Blue Heron – 2

Green Heron – 1

Black-crowned Night Heron – 3

White Ibis – 1

Black Vulture – 7

Turkey Vulture – 3

Red-shouldered Hawk – 20

Mourning Dove – 4

Common Ground Dove – 2

Belted Kingfisher – 2

Red-bellied Woodpecker – 26

Pileated Woodpecker – 6

Great-crested Flycatcher – 5

Eastern Wood Pewee – 1

unknown flycatcher – 1

Carolina Wren – 16

Blue Jay – 3

Tufted Titmouse – 6

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 3

Northern Mockingbird – 3

White-eyed Vireo – 29

Louisiana Waterthrush – 3

Northern Cardinal – 13

Common Grackle – 4

BUTTERFLIES

Tiger Swallowtail – 4

Palamedes Swallowtail – 23

Viceroy – 5

White Peacock – 49

Ruddy Daggerwing – 3

Phaon Crescent – 10

Cloudless Sulphur – 2

Barred Yellow – 1

Brazilian Skipper – 4

Eufala Skipper – 3

Three-spotted Skipper – 53

Tropical Checker – 13

Red-waisted Florella Moth – 2

DRAGONFLIES

Eastern Pondhawk – 22

Halloween Pennant – 12

Needham’s Skimmer – 3

Blue Dasher – 9

Eastern Amberwing – 1

Citrine Forktail – 3

HERPS

Alligator – 57

Brown Anole – 13

Pig Frog – 7

MAMMALS

White-tailed Deer – 3

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What you can see this week at Bird Rookery Swamp: Kites, limpkins and calico pennant dragonflies

Volunteer naturalist and CREW Trust citizen scientist Dick Brewer shared his most recent critter count and photos from Bird Rookery Swamp. We hope you find time to hit the trails and maybe catch a few glimpses of these birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians and mammals!

BIRDS
Black-bellied Whistling Duck – 6
Anhinga – 1
Great Egret – 3
Little Blue Heron – 6
Tri-colored Heron – 3
Black-crowned Night Heron – 2
Black Vulture – 8
Turkey Vulture – 9
Swallow-tailed Kite – 3
Red-shouldered Hawk – 8
Limpkin – 8

Mourning Dove – 5
Common Ground Dove – 5
Yellow-billed Cuckoo – 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 23
Pileated Woodpecker – 8
Blue Jay – 1
American Crow – 1
Tufted Titmouse – 2
Carolina Wren – 13
Northern Mockingbird – 5
White-eyed Vireo – 10
Northern Cardinal – 20
Common Grackle – 4

BUTTERFLIES
Tiger Swallowtail – 7
Palamedes Swallowtail – 19
Viceroy – 10
Queen – 3
White Peacock – 33
Ruddy Daggerwing – 20
Phaon Crescent – 15
Cloudless Sulphur – 1
Barred Yellow – 1
Brazilian Skipper – 3
Least Skipper – 1
Tropical Checker – 3

DRAGONFLIES
Eastern Pondhawk – 35
Needham’s Skimmer – 3
Blue Dasher – 31
Band-winged Dragonlet – 5
Little Blue Dragonlet – 2
Calico Pennant – 2

HERPS
Alligator – 33
Green Anole – 1
Brown Anole – 15
Pig Frog – 88
Green Treefrog – 3
Southern Leopard Frog – 7
Water Moccasin – 1

MAMMALS
Raccoon – 1

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Observations from the Cypress Dome Trails and Caracara Prairie Preserve this week

Volunteer naturalist Dick Brewer donates a lot of time to FWC and the CREW Trust collecting data. From his animal counts on hikes to assisting with Swallow-tailed kite nest monitoring, Dick plays a valuable role as a citizen scientist. This week he spent a long morning hiking the Cypress Dome Trails and Caracara Prairie Preserve. The area is getting quite wet with the week of rain and the marshes are filling up, attracting a lot of wading birds. Check out his observations below from his hike – and this amazing photo he snapped of a Swallow-tailed kite flying back to its nest with a tree frog as a snack.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

7:10 AM -11:40 AM

72.8º-84.4º, overcast

BIRDS

Black-bellied Whistling Duck – 3

Great Egret – 3

Snowy Egret – 17

Little Blue Heron – 9

Tri-colored Heron – 1

Green Heron – 11

White Ibis – 12

Glossy Ibis – 5

Black Vulture – 25

Swallow-tailed Kite – 34

Red-shouldered Hawk – 14

Short-tailed Hawk (white phase) – 1

Common Gallinule – 7

Limpkin – 1

Killdeer – 4

Mourning Dove – 12

Common Ground Dove – 2

Red-bellied Woodpecker – 19

Pileated Woodpecker – 1

Great-crested Flycatcher – 4

Blue Jay – 5

Carolina Wren – 4

White-eyed Vireo – 4

Pine Warbler – 1

Northern Cardinal – 23

Common Grackle – 3

 

BUTTERFLIES

Bella Moth – 1

Queen – 1

White Peacock – 1

DRAGONFLIES

Eastern Pondhawk – 7

Carolina Saddlebags – 5

HERPS

Brown Anole – 9

Pig Frog – 7

Florida Cricket Frog – 4

Greenhouse Frog – 2

Green Treefrog – 15

Squirrel Treefrog – 28

Cuban Treefrog – 2

MAMMALS

Raccoon- 1

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Critter Count: Caracara Prairie Preserve

Bird Rookery Swamp is closed for boardwalk construction, so today’s critter count from Dick Brewer comes to us from Caracara Prairie Preserve. Brewer noted it is very wet in some areas and that he was knee deep in one small marsh.

Florida box turtle

BIRDS

Black-bellied Whistling Duck – 5

Great Egret – 14

Little Blue Heron – 6

Tri-Colored Heron – 2

Snowy Egret – 14

Green Heron – 4

Cattle Egret – 13

Black-crowned Night Heron – 4

White Ibis – 10

Glossy Ibis – 1

Turkey Vulture – 1

Black Vulture – 13

Swallow-tailed Kite – 15

Red-shouldered Hawk – 7

Common Gallinule – 4

Mourning Dove – 7

Red-bellied Woodpecker – 5

Downy Woodpecker – 2

Pileated Woodpecker – 2

Carolina Wren – 2

White-eyed Vireo – 1

Northern Cardinal – 5

Delaware Skipper

BUTTERFLIES

Palamedes Swallowtail – 1

Giant Swallowtail – 1

Zebra Longwing – 2

White Peacock – 1

Viceroy – 1

Delaware Skipper – 1

DRAGONFLIES

Eastern Pondhawk – 7

Needham’s Skimmer – 10

Carolina Saddlebags – 3

Band-winged Dragonlet – 1

Blue Dasher – 3

Rambur’s Forktail – 5

 

HERPS

Alligator – 1

Brown Anole – 9

Florida Box Turtle – 1

Pig Frog – 7

Green Treefrog – 3

Florida Cricket Frog – 5

MAMMALS

Gray Squirrel – 3

Raccoon – 1

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Tuesday’s Critter Count from Bird Rookery Swamp

 

Check out yesterday’s count from the almost 13 miles of trail at Bird Rookery Swamp!

photo by Dick Brewer

BIRDS

Wood Stork – 42

Anhinga – 25

Great Blue Heron – 8

Great Egret – 53

Snowy Egret – 11

Cattle Egret – 2

Little Blue Heron – 2

Tri-Colored Heron – 1

Black-crowned Night Heron – 22

Yellow-crowned Night Heron – 1

White Ibis – 5

Black Vulture – 68

Turkey Vulture – 28

Swallow-tailed Kite – 7

Red-shouldered Hawk – 39

Mourning Dove – 4

Common Ground Dove – 1

Yellow-billed Cuckoo – 3

Barred Owl – 3

Chimney Swift – 2

Red-bellied Woodpecker – 46

Pileated Woodpecker – 11

Great-crested Flycatcher – 18

Carolina Wren – 48

White-eyed Vireo – 21

Blue Jay – 1

Fish Crow – 2

Tufted Titmouse – 14

Gray Catbird – 16

Northern Mockingbird – 2

Common Yellowthroat – 1

Black-and-white Warbler – 1

Northern Parula – 3

Northern Cardinal – 23

Common Grackle – 2

 

BUTTERFLIES

Palamedes Swallowtail – 54

Tiger Swallowtail – 11

Zebra Longwing – 4

White Peacock – 29

Viceroy – 4

Gulf Fritillary – 1

Common Buckeye – 2

Red Admiral – 1

Phaon Crescent – 8

Great Southern White – 3

Cassius Blue – 1

Brazilian Skipper – 1

Palatka Skipper – 2

DRAGONFLIES

Eastern Pondhawk – 8

Great Blue Skimmer – 1

Blue Dasher – 3

Band-winged Dragonlet – 6

Halloween Pennant – 4

photo by Dick Brewer

REPTILES/AMPHIBIANS

Alligator – 246

Brown Anole – 1

Red-bellied Turtle – 4

Banded Water Snake – 1

Green Treefrog – 1

photo by Dick Brewer

MAMMALS

Raccoon – 5

White-tailed Deer – 1

Gray Squirrel – 1

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