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