A View of Bird Rookery Swamp: Water is slowly receding….

Osprey that landed on a cypress
Osprey that landed on a cypress
Osprey that landed on a cypress
Bird Rookery Swamp observations
Saturday, October 31
7:25 am-1:00 pm

“The water is slowly receding, but there are still wet areas and muddy spots between markers 6 and 3. Heading out early in the morning, I could only find 11 gators, but on my way back in the late morning and early afternoon, 38 more had appeared. I think Ida moved from her pond to the ditch beside the gravel path, close to the kiosk. She was in
the water there right around sunrise and was basking on the far bank in the early afternoon. Baby gators were chirping close to her vicinity.

An interesting sighting around 1 o’clock in the afternoon was an immature Common Gallinule foraging in the southeast corner of the parking lot pond near Shady Hollow. It had the adult call and size, but its shield and bill hadn’t turned adult colors.”

juvenile Common Gallinule
juvenile Common Gallinule

BIRDS
Anhinga – 14
Great Blue Heron – 6
Great Egret – 7
Little Blue Heron – 17
Tri-colored Heron – 3
Green Heron – 12
Black-crowned Night Heron – 11
Yellow-crowned Night Heron – 1
White Ibis – 54
Black Vulture – 24
Turkey Vulture – 10
Osprey – 1
Red-shouldered Hawk – 18
Common Gallinule – 1
Limpkin – 1
Belted Kingfisher – 8
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 20
Pileated Woodpecker – 1
Great-crested Flycatcher – 7
Eastern Phoebe – 13
Blue Jay – 1
American Crow – 4
Tufted Titmouse – 9
Carolina Wren – 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 19
Northern Mockingbird – 2
Loggerhead Shrike – 1
Gray Catbird – 39
White-eyed Vireo – 1
Palm Warbler – 8
Common Yellowthroat – 5
Northern Cardinal – 5
Common Grackle – 20

BUTTERFLIES
Palamedes Swallowtail – 9
Tiger Swallowtail – 9
Ruddy Daggerwing – 3
White Peacock – 106
Viceroy – 2
Phaon Crescent – 7
Pearl Crescent – 3
Cloudless Sulphur – 1
Barred Yellow – 13
Brazilian Skipper – 32
Dorantes Longtail – 2
Tropical Checker – 2

DRAGONFLIES/DAMSELFLIES
Eastern Pondhawk – 27
Needham’s Skimmer – 16
Blue Dasher – 5

MAMMALS
Gray Squirrel – 2

REPTILES/AMPHIBIANS

Green Anoles.
Green Anoles.

Alligator – 49
Brown Anole – 14
Green Anole – 3
Yellow Rat Snake – 1
Red-bellied Turtle – 3
Green Treefrog – 11

 

By Dick Brewer

http://www.dickbrewer.org/CREW.html

A View of Bird Rookery Swamp- Belted Kingfishers are Back

Belted Kingfisher
Bird Rookery Swamp observations
Saturday, August 22 ~ 7:15 am-12:35 pm
“It was a good day with 33 species of birds. Nice ones were a dozen Barn Swallows flying over the gravel path on my way out, and a pair of Prothonotary Warblers in the cypress/maples between markers 6 & 3 and a pair of Belted Kingfishers around the parking lot pond. Also had a Marsh Rabbit scurry across the tram.

Tutriculata in tree
By Dick Brewer

Attached are some photos from today: a Polystachya orchid in bloom with another on the same branch showing buds; one of two Tillandsia utriculatas with flower stalks that had fallen onto the trail and which I put up into trees, although much lower than they originally
were; and an Eastern Pondhawk eating a Halloween Pennant. I was just getting ready to photograph the pennant when the pondhawk swooped down, grabbed it, and flew to another perch.

Totally absent this week were Common Green Darners after there were 18 last week, and Limpkins when there were a half dozen last week and also the week before.

Dragon Flies
By Dick Brewer

BIRDS
Anhinga – 3
Great Blue Heron – 1
Great Egret – 1
Snowy Egret – 11
Little Blue Heron – 12
Tri-colored Heron – 11
Green Heron – 5
Black-crowned Night Heron – 2
Yellow-crowned Night Heron – 1
White Ibis – 3
Black Vulture – 37
Turkey Vulture – 9
Red-shouldered Hawk – 11
Mourning Dove – 2
Common Ground Dove – 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo – 1
Belted Kingfisher – 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 15
Downy Woodpecker – 1
Pileated Woodpecker – 2
Great-crested Flycatcher – 3
Barn Swallow – 12
Blue Jay – 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 3
Tufted Titmouse – 6
Carolina Wren – 9
Northern Mockingbird – 1
White-eyed Vireo – 10
Prothonotary Warbler – 2
Louisiana Waterthrush – 1
Northern Cardinal – 8
Red-winged Blackbird – 10
Common Grackle – 7

BUTTERFLIES
Palamedes Swallowtail – 9
Ruddy Daggerwing – 8
White Peacock – 11
Viceroy – 5
Common Buckeye – 1
Pearl Crescent – 2
Cloudless Sulphur – 1
Brazilian Skipper – 8
Tropical Checker – 8

DRAGONFLIES
Eastern Pondhawk – 43
Needham’s Skimmer – 2
Halloween Pennant – 1
Blue Dasher – 5

MAMMALS
White-tailed Deer – 2

Belted Kingfisher
By Dick Brewer

Marsh Rabbit – 1
Gray Squirrel – 1

REPTILES/AMPHIBIANS
Alligator – 25
Green Anole – 1
Brown Anole – 23
Pig Frog – 45
Greenhouse Frog – 3
Green Treefrog – 1
Cuban Treefrog – 5  “

By Dick Brewer 
 Visit http://www.dickbrewer.org/CREW.html if you would like to read his weekly observations. 
%d bloggers like this: