Osprey: The Ultimate Angler!

Our Friday Fun Fact species on the MyGFBT Facebook page was the Osprey. Today in Tallahassee I got to watch one up close and personal for a couple of hours as it hunted for fish on Waverly Pond. I managed one sequence of photographs that captured it catching its lunch. Awesome to see!

Splashdown!

Taking off

He got one!

So powerful...

...and graceful

Anyone know what kind of fish he has?

soaring

by Andy Wraithmell

Backyard Birder: Great Egrets

Our backyard is a 45-acre cypress swamp.  The water’s low, but we have what is possibly the largest Great Egret rookeries that we’ve ever had, with at least 8 active nests as of March 25^th. 

Last year I watched a male Great Egret display for days on his chosen branch.

2011-03-17 Great Egret displaying from Tara Tanaka on Vimeo.

On March 19^th of last year a female joined him on his branch.  After mating he began bringing her sticks for their new nest.  Honeymoons don’t always go smoothly, and theirs was no exception.

2011-03-19 And then there were two... from Tara Tanaka on Vimeo.



On that day I photographed him bringing her the first branch for their nest.

The branch is a great photography spot, but not so great for nest construction. They built their nest but it had serious stability problems.

2011-03-22 Great Egret's wobbly nest from Tara Tanaka on Vimeo.



The outcome of last year’s nest is not known, as we went out of town for an extended trip, but I’ve been watching again this year.  Around March 12^th I saw what I believe it the same male displaying on the same branch.

He’s really perfected the beautiful display in the last year:

I watched him for a week, and checked early in the afternoon on March 19^th to see if he had a mate, but he had none.  About 5:30 pm I walked out to take photos of him and saw him preening instead of displaying.  I was thinking that he really needed to start displaying if he was going to get his girl, and just then he bent forward and I saw that there was a female on the branch beside him—exactly one year to the day.  I think it’s the same female.  Once again, they had communication problems.  He was trying to get a stick to span a large, barely supported area, and she was preening.  Occasionally she’d try to help, but he wanted to do it himself.

Great Egrets having nest building difficulties from Tara Tanaka on Vimeo.



I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were able to build a nest that’s slightly less tippy than last year’s, and on March 24^th, just five days after mating, they have an egg!

Great Egret nest with egg, five days after mating from Tara Tanaka on Vimeo.



To see more of Tara’s photos and videos, please visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/focused-on-birds 

Adventures with Gabe: Bird-a-thon Craziness

I am not very happy about getting up at 5am but when it comes to helping the Florida Keys Hawkwatch, it’s worth it!  This past weekened, I was involved in a Bird-a-thon put on by the Space Coast Audubon to help raise money for the Florida Keys Hawkwatch.  There were several teams of birders whose goal was to find bird species between 6am-6pm anywhere in Brevard County and the team with the most species won.  Each team asked for sponsors to help raise money for the Hawkwatch.  My team was my mom and I and then later in the day, my dad joined in.  I was SO happy to get several sponsors and our goal was to find 100 birds by the end of the time. 

Gabe at Jetty Park

We knew the day was going to be interesting when we spotted what we were 99.9% sure was a Peregrine Falcon flying over us on I-95 and then about 2 minutes later, a Bald Eagle flew over us! We started out at Kelly Park East in hopes of getting early birds as the sun came up and then we moved onto Jetty Park at the beach.  There were SO many shorebirds and I spotted a Great Black Backed Gull – boy was he huge!

Great Black-backed Gull

We quickly moved onto the Cape Canaveral Locks to look for Black Crowned Night Herons and we spotted 3.  After spotting a few other birds, we decided to head to the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge where we attempted to look for Peregrine Falcons…but no luck.  Peregrines are my favorite animal on the planet and I was really disappointed that we didn’t find one…especially after hearing at the end of the day that another team spotted one on the refuge….so I plan on heading back there soon to do another search! At the refuge I did find some Sora, a Red Breasted Merganser and a whole group of American Avocets.  After the Refuge, I had to take a short break to race my Pine Wood Derby Car in our Cub Scout Event and then we were back on the road. Our next stop was the Viera Wetlands and the Click Ponds where we watched a Northern Harrier soar over us and I found the Gray Kingbird that has been seen often in the area.  My dad was able to join us for the Wetlands and I was very surprised at how our time was running out – 12 hours goes really quickly when you are birding!  We decided to hit the Helen and Allan Cruickshank Sanctuary last in hopes of finding a Scrub Jay.  It didn’t take very long before the Scrub Jays found us by landing on my dad’s head and we were able to find a Yellow Throated Warbler and a Red-Bellied Woodpecker.

Florida Scrub-jay found Gabe's dad!

We were hoping to squeeze in some more birding as we headed back to the meeting spot but we didn’t want to be late because for every minute you were late, they were going to take a point off your score.  In the last 2 minutes of the Bird-a-thon we were able to add one last bird…Cedar Waxwings, as a whole flock flew right over us in the parking lot.



Glossy Ibis



At the end of the competition, I had spotted 91 species.  We were so close to our goal and I was so proud. The winning team spotted 114 species and we came in 3rd place.  Our team was able to raise over $150.00 for the Florida Keys Hawkwatch.  The Florida Keys Hawkwatch is very special to me and is an amazing program that counts migrating raptors in order to look for any changes in the bird populations which helps track changes that may be occurring in the environment.  I had SO much fun with the Bird-a-Thon that I wanted to keep going but, it is kind of hard to bird in the dark…..so many birds, not enough hours in the day!  Can’t wait for our next birding adventure!

Royal Tern

Pictures and text by Gabe & Jen Cenker

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Blast from the Past: Birding and the Florida Ornithological Society.

This fall we will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Florida Ornithological Society. By the early 1970s, it was apparent that an organization was needed which would bring together the growing number of birders in the state with professional biologists and ornithologists. The Florida Audubon Society was finding more of its time and efforts being aimed at addressing the many conservation issues facing Florida with less time to devote to the growing hobby of birding. In the spring of 1972, a number of ornithologists, biologists, and birders met in St. Petersburg with Hal Scott, the Executive Director of the Florida Audubon Society. The suggestion was to form a state ornithological society that would promote the study and enjoyment of birds in Florida. In order to give the organization the ability to form itself, develop its goals and mission, attract members, and begin to publish a journal, Hal Scott offered the “umbrella” of Florida Audubon to assist until the time the FOS could function financially and otherwise on its own. During the summer, by-laws were drawn up along with the necessary legal documents to organize the society. The first meeting was planned for the fall of 1972 in Lakeland, a birding “hot spot” during fall migration.



Florida Ornithologists Dr. William B. Robertson & Dr. Glen Woolfenden



At the meeting in Lakeland, over 100 people gathered to welcome the Florida Ornithological Society to life on October 14, 1972. Dr. William B “Bill” Robertson, Jr. of Everglades National Park was elected the first president of the society with Dr. Henry M. Stevenson of Florida State University appointed the first editor of what would become the journal, The Florida Field Naturalist. The meeting pattern of initial flocking, field trips, paper sessions, banquet, and guest speaker began with that first meeting. Allan Cruickshank was the first banquet speaker, presenting a great program of his photos from the Bear River Marshes of Utah.

Vol. 1 No. 1 of the journal was published in the spring of 1973 with the lead article by Fred E. and Charlotte E. Lohrer of Archbold Biological Station on “Inland Nesting of the Least Tern in Highland County. Florida”. Fred continues active with FOS today and was honored a few years back as an honorary member of the organization. For several years, The Florida Field Naturalist was published twice each year, however, with Vol. 9 in 1981, the journal expanded to four issues each year. A joint newsletter was published with Florida Audubon for many years, eventually splitting off and becoming “The Snail Kite”. The newsletter is now available online at the FOS website.

Spring meeting in St Petersburg - 1985

The Special Publications series began in 1978 with Maggie Bowman’s “Species Index to Florida Bird Records Audubon Field Notes and American Birds, Volumes 1-30, 1947 - 1976. Six more special pubs have come out over the years with at least one more almost ready for release.

In the spring of 1980, the dues were increased from the original individual cost $5 a year to $10. As of today, the $25 a year is one of the least expensive dues of any comparable organization. The vast majority of the dues are used to cover the operating expenses of FOS, the main expense being the publication of the FFN journal. In recent years, color plates have been introduced on a limited basis.

One of the major goals of FOS has been to assist with research and educational projects in Florida and the Caribbean. Three separate endowments have been established in honor of Allan and Helen Cruickshank and Bill and Betty Robertson to award grants each year to applicants who submit proposals to FOA grant committees.

During the fall meeting each year, student researchers present programs on their studies on Saturday afternoon in a friendly “competition”, with awards for the top programs.

From 1986 - 1991, the FOS was a major sponsor of the Florida Breeding Bird Atlas. The society is now actively sponsoring the Florida BBA II, a 5-year project beginning this year.

Fall meeting at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary - 2001

The society continues to hold two meetings each year in various locations around the state. Please visit the FOS website at www.fosbirds.org for information on the upcoming spring meeting in May. The 40th anniversary meeting will be held at Archbold Biological Station in October. Please plan on joining us there!

David Goodwin

FOS founding member and President, 1986 - 1988.

Wood Duck Box Adventures at Piney Z Lake

Spring is upon us, and if you have not already done so, it’s time to get your nest boxes ready for 2012’s new occupants! Michael Hill, a biologist with FWC, recently asked for help to check and to clean out all the Wood Duck boxes he maintains at Lake Lafayette Heritage Trail Park in Tallahassee. So one frigid, windy, but otherwise bright and sunny morning last week, my wife Selena and I hopped aboard Michael’s airboat for a whirlwind tour of the lake. With nearly a dozen boxes to visit, it was apparent right away this was going to be an adventure; just keeping the boat positioned in place under the boxes was challenging enough. Working off a kitchen stepladder (either delicately poised on the front of the boat, or jammed down into the mud) was another matter!

The FWC’s Michael Hill on the job, removing last year’s nesting materials (and keeping those eggs at arm’s length).

Armed with a telescoping pole, we took turns carefully removing the active paper wasp nests (no one was stung, thankfully), plus the mud dauber nests, old wood chips, feathers and spider webs. Of course there were quite a few rotten eggs from last year in the boxes as well (multiple females often “dump nest” in the same box, resulting in numerous unhatched eggs). Michael warned us in advance to keep the rotten eggs from falling into his nice clean boat, and happily we obliged (although a few came rather close).

Last year’s unhatched eggs from one box. Oh that sulfur smell!

We used paint scrapers and a stiff brush to scour the box interiors clean, and then we filled each box with four or five scoops of fresh cypress chips for the ducks to use as nesting material. In less than three hours, the boxes were once again “open for business.” Michael plans to return soon to replace several predator baffles that are no longer functional, and to replace one box that is no longer serviceable. Some of these boxes made from cypress wood have been in use out there for several decades!

FWC volunteer Selena Kiser preps a box for new tenants.

So if you have any type of nest boxes on your property, be a good landlord and keep your tenants safe and happy! Clean out the interiors, make any necessary repairs, add a predator guard to the entrance hole or below the box if appropriate and let the birds know the “vacancy” signs in your yard are lit!

All photos and text by Mark Kiser (FWC)

Big Dunk, Little Dunk: Where the poop goes!

Hey Everybirdy!


Big Dunk-  Jack and I didn’t have to travel far to visit one of the GFBT’s (and Titusville’s) hidden gems.  Blue Heron Water Reclamation Facility is located just on the outskirts of Titusville and their wetland area is an excellent microcosm of the Space Coast’s wildlife and fresh water habitat.  You can find an amazing array of wildlife from mammals such as White-tailed Deer and Bobcats, reptiles such as the Florida Green Watersnake or American Alligators, amphibians of all shapes and sizes, and birds!  Lots and lots of birds!!

All visitors are required to sign in and out at the front office but from then on, be prepared to be surprised!  While there is a lot of vegetation to peer through at certain points it makes for some seriously gratifying treasure hunting at times.  Peek time to go is in the winter when the ducks and winter raptors (Bald Eagles, Sharp-shinned hawks and Northern Harriers) arrive.  It’s one of the most reliable places to find an American Bittern as well. Depending on water levels even the shorebirding can be good during migration in addition to warblers.  There’s plenty of year round residents such as Common and Purple Gallinules, Double-crested Cormorants and many waders including Black-crowned Night Herons.

But hey, why don’t I let Jack tell you about all that?

Little Dunk-  My favorite part of our trip was getting close up shots of a Great Blue Heron. Pretty cool since that’s the name of the place!  Made me feel great to get my first flight shot of it too!



This was as close as I've ever been to one, my favorite of the day.



My first Great Blue heron flight shot.

We heard a bird calling and my Dad said it was a Purple Gallinule.  Once I knew what it was I heard a bunch of them but we never saw them. 

Gray Catbird:  It looked like it was really enjoying the sun.

Dad used to take me here all the time when I was real little and he said I would always take a nap.  Not any more!  Driving through the plant might smell kind of funny but it gets better once you pass it.  He says it where all of Titusville’s poop goes but he didn’t use that word. You know Dad!




                      Damselfly (Florida Bluet):  My Dad let me put his macro lens on my camera because I really wanted to photograph this damselfly that flew into our car. 

 I even spotted more American Bitterns than he did, we found at least six.  Hard to get a picture because they were chasing frogs.  They must have been pretty hungry.

I can’t wait to go back!

All pictures & captions by 7 year old Jack Dunkerton, aka Little Dunk.

Backyard Birder: Red-bellied Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker (male) by J V O Weaver

One of the prettiest and most interesting birds in our Niceville, Fla backyard is the Red-bellied Woodpecker.  We have a couple of families of them that feast on our birdfeeder.  We keep it filled with safflower seeds (the squirrels don’t seem to care for safflower seeds) which the Red-bellies really like.

Red-bellied Woodpecker (female) by J V O Weaver

Field marks for the Red-bellies are very pronounced.  One sees the ladder-back stripes on his or her back, the scarlet red head, and the buff reddish or brown underbelly, and a white tail. Sex is easily determined by looking at the birds head:  Males have the full red crown and females have a half-crown red on the nape of her neck.  Juveniles have no red on their crown, initially, but it develops as they age.



by J V O Weaver



While observing the Red-bellied Woodpecker, one can see both sexes feed the juveniles, The juvenile will follow mom or dad around and beg for food.  The parent obliges by depositing the food in the juveniles mouth.  This goes on for several weeks and soon the juvenile is foraging for his or her own food.

Male by J V O Weaver

This photo (above) is a great shot of the reddish-brown underbelly and the full red crown of the male.  He has an effective beak which he uses to roust out insects from Oak and Pine trees, and of course to hollow out nest cavities.



Male by J V O Weaver



The Red-belly’s claws are ideally suited to grasping the tree bark and allow him or her to securely grasp the trunk.  This gives him leverage to use his powerful beak to hammer away at the tree, chase insects or perch.



male by J V O Weaver



male by J V O Weaver

All text and pictures by J V O Weaver

Backyard Birder: Bald is Beautiful!

I had a big surprise in December when a Bald Eagle was in a tree in my yard in Tallahassee.  It and some Turkey Vultures were apparently interested in a dead squirrel.  I got a few photos as the Bald Eagle maneuvered in my neighborhood. 

A year ago I watched three juvenile Bald Eagles fight over a fish in the skies above my neighborhood.



drying his wings



A favorite spot of mine to view Bald Eagles is at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge from around late August through  May. 

text and images by Judy Lyle.

Adventures with Gabe: Young Birders of Brevard Begins!

Gabe Cenker (pictured below) is a 9 year old Raptor Fanatic. The Peregrine Falcon is the love of his life and his passion for raptors and birding grew by leaps and bounds after volunteering at the Florida Keys HawkWatch this past October. Gabe has shared that he is very interested in the possibility of becoming a Falconer when he is old enough. He wants to share his love and excitement about birding and the outdoors with other people. Gabe will be writing a monthly feature titled "Adventures with Gabe" for our blog, and we are very excited to have him onboard.

Hi, I’m Gabriel and I love birding!  My spark bird [the bird that got Gabe interested in birding] is the Peregrine Falcon.  The Peregrine is so fast and can do such cool maneuvers. Do you know that they can actually turn upside down in flight to catch prey?  I love birds so much that I started the Young Birders of Brevard, which is a birding group for kids. We will be meeting every month at different locations in Brevard County to teach other kids about birding.  I started this group because whenever I went on birding trips or outings,  I noticed that there were no kids.  So I started this group to get more kids interested in birding.  Did you know that birding can be really cool?  One of my favorite parts of birding is the challenge of identifying a bird, especially sandpipers or shore birds! Those can be impossible because they might have one difference in their markings to tell them apart! It’s like a treasure hunt, but with birds!

We had our first meeting of the Young Birders of Brevard at the Viera Wetlands on Feb. 28.  We had at least 10 kids who came out to explore.  I taught them how to identify birds using field guides, and explained about the Wings Over Florida Program.  Everyone was given a special packet that had a Jr. Checklist and several birding flyers.  After we talked, we took a walk around the wetlands and I helped others identify birds they found. 



American Coots by Gabe Cenker



Several exciting things happened on our walk. An Osprey dived right in front of us and caught a big fish and landed on a perch nearby.  A Crested Caracara also flew right over us, which was pretty cool since he is a rare bird! 



Blue-winged Teal by Gabe Cenker

At the end of the walk, everyone saw at least 15 bird species and they earned their Wings over Florida Jr. Birding Certificate.  We had several volunteers from Space Coast Audubon Society come out to help us with our first meeting and they shared extra binoculars and had a scope for closer looks at birds. Everyone had fun together and we are busy planning the next meeting!  So, what are you waiting for….GO BIRDING! 

Bluebirds on Webcam

Check out these cool webcams set up inside an Eastern Bluebird nest box and watch these beautiful birds raise their young. The webcams were set up by the Florida Bluebird Society.

Eastern Bluebirds by Judy Lyle

Live Video app for Facebook by Ustream


Live broadcasting by Ustream

Kite Tales: Florida's Most Beautiful Raptor

Ken Meyer is our nation's pre-eminent expert on Swallow-tailed Kites and we are delighted to announce that he will be our keynote speaker on Friday March 23rd at the Chinsegut Conservation Center, nr Brooksville in Hernando County. Come listen to Ken talk about this amazing raptor and enjoy dinner prepared by local restauranteur Papa Joe!



Ken Meyer holding a Swallow-tailed Kite. How cool is that!

Buy your ticket via PayPal here.

Dinner provided by Papa Joe’s

Please click for more information on Chinsegut Conservation Center.

Hotels are located at the intersection of  I-75 (exit 301) and route 50.