Mother Nature has given us some beautiful gifts this holiday season in
conjunction with unusually warm weather. The insect world has been especially
active. This spectacular mangrove skipper was attracted to a Mexican mallow in
our yard. A pair of Dorantes skippers was found in love near Arcadia. The long
"tails" of this relatively recent arrival in Florida may be of benefit in
deflecting the attacks of birds to a non-vulnerable area. Many caterpillars are
quite difficult to find due to their camouflage and these two are no exception.
The remarkably colored banded sphinx is a classic example of disruptive
coloration and was found on a primrose willow; surprisingly its "coat of many
colors" makes it cryptic. The cloudless sulphur caterpillar has a very
different type of design that mimics the color and pattern of its food plant of
senna/cassia quite well.
When I found a large female softshell turtle in early December on land at
Wildflower Preserve I knew that it was looking for a sandy site to lay its
eggs. Aside from occasional times of basking, these highly aquatic turtles
rarely leave the water. They are even able to obtain oxygen under water across
their skin and the mucous membranes of the throat. They compensate for their
lack of a protective bony shell by their rapid swimming speed and a snappy
disposition.
Winter is the time for eagles to breed despite the warm weather and this
impressive adult bald eagle was working on a nest along the Myakka River.
Most beach birds breed in the spring/summer, sometimes locally but often far to
the north, and spend the winter feeding and resting along our beaches. Some of
the best mixed flocks can be found at public parks such as Chadwick Beach on
Manasota Key where they are mostly protected from people, dogs and other
predators and feel safe. It is a win win situation where the birds benefit and
people can enjoy them. An up close view of one of the many black skimmers is
memorable and emphasizes the improbability of the bizarre bill structure. I
think that if this bird were only known from fossils, we would find it
difficult to believe that they could actually feed by skimming small fish from
the water's surface.
One of my most interesting beach finds was this snowy plover with holiday bling
on its legs. It had yellow/yellow bands on its upper left leg and orange/black
bands on its upper right leg. By contacting bandedbirds.org I was able to
identify this as a male snowy plover banded on its nest area in the Gulf
Islands National Seashore near Pensacola, FL, in the summer of 2014. I had
photographed this very same plover on Dec. 25, 2014, in almost the same spot on
Palm Island just south of Stump Pass. I found it again a year later on Dec. 10,
2015, a remarkable illustration of the site fidelity of birds which tend to
move to the same places year after year to breed and during migration.
So let us all be eternally thankful for nature's fantastic bounty of wild
creatures and work to protect them and their habitats.
Bill Dunson
Englewood, FL and Galax, VA
http://lemonbayconservancy.org/news-blog/nature-notes-by-bill-dunson/
http://pieenvironmental.blogspot.com/
http://www.galaxgazette.com/blogs
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Mangrove skipper on Mexican mallow in FL yard 12.14 15 Bill Dunson IMG_0456 aa.JPG
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Dorantes skippers mating Mike K yard Arcadia FL 12.5.15 Bill Dunson IMG_0211 aa.jpg
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Sphinx banded cat on primrose willow My Isl Pt 12.6.15 Bill Dunson IMG_0270 aa.jpg
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Cloudless sulphur caterpillar FL yard 12.14.15 Bill Dunson IMG_0472 aa.JPG
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Softshell at WF 12.7.15 Bill Dunson IMG_0306 aa.JPG
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Eagle at nest Myakka Isl Pt 12.6.15 Bill Dunson IMG_0281 cc.jpg
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Flock at Chadwick Beach 12.23.15 Bill Dunson IMG_0562 aa.JPG
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Skimmer black at Chadwick Bedach 12.23.15 Bill Dunson IMG_0564 aa.JPG
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Snowy plover banded Palm Island 12.10.15 Bill Dunson IMG_0364 aa.jpg
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