SWFloridabirder: florida scrub jay

Showing posts with label florida scrub jay. Show all posts

Friday, May 15, 2015

Cape Coral's Signature Species'

Birding in southwest Florida in the late April and early May must include an effort to observe Cape Coral's Burrowing Owls and Florida Scrub-Jays.

The Burrowing Owl owlet above (image 1) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

Burrowing Owlets are easily seen at this time of year with the time of their hatching dependent in part on the weather (sometimes later due to flooding of the tunnels). The mating of the adults can be observed with greater effort in late March and early April.

The Burrowing Owl owlet above (image 2) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

The Burrowing Owl owlet above (image 3) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

The Cooper's Hawk above (image 4) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

The Cooper's Hawk above (image 5) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

The Burrowing Owl above (image 6) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

This presentation was made possible by a visit to Cape Coral on 5 May. I opted for another morning visit as thunderstorms have begun forming early this year and typically form in the late afternoon.

The Burrowing Owl above (image 7) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

The Burrowing Owl above (image 8) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

The Burrowing Owl above (image 9) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

The Burrowing Owl above (image 10) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

The Burrowing Owl above (image 11) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

While observing the Burrowing Owls, a Cooper's Hawk made a couple of flybys that caught the attention of all the other birds in the area. A flock of Monk Parakeets also made an appearance with their presence heard first.

The Burrowing Owl owlet above (image 12) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

The Burrowing Owl with owlet above (image 13) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

The Burrowing Owl with owlet above (image 14) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

The Burrowing Owl owlet above (image 15) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

The Burrowing Owl owlet above (image 16) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

I could not resist a long overdue return to Festival Park where I was confident I would observe Florida Scrub-Jays. A Bald Eagle was observed flying toward the northeast. A lone Burrowing Owl was also observed at the park.

The Burrowing Owl above (image 17) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

The Florida Scrub-Jay above (image 18) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

While the Burrowing Owl and Florida Scrub-Jay can be seen elsewhere in Florida, Cape Coral is a superb location to readily find both species.

The Florida Scrub-Jay above (image 19) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

The Florida Scrub-Jay above (image 20) was photographed in Cape Coral in May 2015.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Common Nighthawks At Festival Park

A trip to Festival Park in Cape Coral, Florida, was made on 5 May when I should have been at Captiva Island with family to view the sunset.

The Common Nighthawk above was photographed at Festival Park in May 2014.

Miscommunication in a rendezvous point and objective led to an image bonanza for me that includes my first observation of Common Nighthawk at Festival Park in this report. I believe there were three distinct birds of the species seen with one of them landing on a wire. It was my good fortune to have Karen show me the sunset from Captiva which made me feel much better.

The Eastern Meadowlark above was photographed at Festival Park in May 2014.

The Common Nighthawk above was photographed at Festival Park in May 2014.

The Common Nighthawk above was photographed at Festival Park in May 2014.

Though I have lost count as to how many visits I have made to Festival Park for wildlife observation and photography, the park will always remain indelible for visits including those with Chris Baker, Frank Constantin, Hemant Kishan, Artie Morris, Tom Obrock, and Adams Serra in particular.

The Common Nighthawk above was photographed at Festival Park in May 2014.

The Common Nighthawk above was photographed at Festival Park in May 2014.

Tom had given me the impression with a previous report from Festival Park that the Florida Scrub-Jay might have been displaced, but a small group of three jays were at the western fringe of the unassuming park where they should be expected this week.

The Common Nighthawk above was photographed at Festival Park in May 2014.

The Mourning Dove above was photographed at Festival Park in May 2014.

The Common Nighthawk above was photographed at Festival Park in May 2014.

The Florida Scrub-Jay above was photographed at Festival Park in May 2014.

The Florida Scrub-Jay above was photographed at Festival Park in May 2014.

While the nighthawks overwhelmed me on this visit with their interesting flight noise, the most common birds seen by their numbers were meadowlark and shrike with the latter on the wires.

The Florida Scrub-Jay above was photographed at Festival Park in May 2014.

The Florida Scrub-Jay above was photographed at Festival Park in May 2014.

It was unfortunate to not see owls of any kind on this trip to Festival Park with immature Burrowing Owls prolific nearer the Caloosahatchee River this time of year.

The Florida Scrub-Jay above was photographed at Festival Park in May 2014.

Friday, October 5, 2012

As The Crow Flies

When I received a reply from Alice Van Zoeren, affiliated with the University of Minnesota, advising me of details about the banded Piping Plover presented in last week's post, I immediately had a quirky title come to mind for this week's article.

The Florida Scrub-Jay above was photographed at Festival Park in October 2012.

Alice informed me that she spent a lot of time with the banded Piping Plover that was a chick this past summer at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The bird, possibly last seen by Alice, appeared in the Fort Myers area on 27 September or before. Alice has given permission to include here an image of the banded bird with one of its parents at Platte Point created on 29 June 2012. Out of curiosity of the distance the bird traveled between the two points it was observed, I remembered hearing the term "as the crow flies." The Great Circle formula is used to calculate such a distance while taking into account the curvature of the Earth. Using coordinates Alice provided me of her sighting and the location I observed the bird makes the distance traveled 1284 miles. I would imagine that the plover and the massive flock of birds it certainly made the journey with actually traveled a greater distance considering weather obstacles. The final destination of the plover on its migratory journey will hopefully be observed and reported. I made a trip to Festival Park in Cape Coral and Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers on 1 October. Festival Park offered a trio of juvenile Peregrine Falcon and a trio of Florida Scrub-Jay as highlights. Loggerhead Shrike were on the wires and an Eastern Meadowlark was heard, but not seen. In two hours at Six Mile, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher were observed as the most prolific species. No other photo opportunities arose along the boardwalk with a favorable weather event needed to cause a fall out.