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Lunch on Kings Bay

Posted by Gary on May 4, 2016 in Uncategorized

Anne and I enjoy eating out on the porch of a restaurant on the Kings Bay in Crystal River, Florida. The restaurant overlooks Kings Bay on the Gulf of Mexico.

Five boats are moored in the calm mirror-like waters of the large bay. An occasional small boat pulls into the adjoining docks, its passengers come ashore to grab a bite to eat. An eco-tourism boat tours stops in the bay and many of its occupants jump into the water, snorkels on, and each held onto a soft Styrofoam noodle. They float along the surface of the bay looking for wild, native manatees.

Brown pelicans fly back and forth across the bay, attracted to boats returning from their fishing trips. These large birds sit on dock posts and float on the bay in front of the fish cleaning station hoping that a fisherman tosses scraps into the water.

It is just another normal day on Kings Bay in Crystal River.

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Barred Owl

Posted by Gary on April 12, 2016 in Birds of Prey

Barred Owl in Tree

This evening a barred owl flies out of one tree into another. Since it was dusk, I pushed the ISO to 3200 on my camera to adjust for the dim lighting. The owl was hunting mice, rabbits and squirrels that were eating their last morsels of food before darkness set in. And I was hunting the owl to shoot a picture of it. I try not to disturb wildlife when taking photos; that us why I use telephoto lenses. Up on a tree branch with hanging Spanish moss was the owl. It turned its head, looked at me and I snapped a few quick photos, then retreated. To my delight when I downloaded the pictures on my computer, there was several great photos of the owl. Although I recently blogged about this magnificent owl, I thought I would share this new photograph with you.

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What Hawk is That?

Posted by Gary on April 7, 2016 in Birds of Prey

Walking along the shore of Lake Tsala Apopka on a recent spring day,  a raptor sitting on a post of a floating dock caught my eye. It was intently looking at the lawn, turning and titling its head looking for something to eat.

I was not sure what kind of hawk it was. It was a juvenile bird with indistinct markings. After showing pictures of the hawk to a friend of mine who use to band hawks during the fall migration on Fire Island in New York, she confirmed that it was a broad-winged hawk.

These hawks over winter in the northern forests of South America. This hawk was probably migrating back north to near where it was born. It hunts by surveying the ground from a perch; it will pounce on mice, lizards and other prey it sees.

It was a pleasure to see this small buteo and I hope to see others migrating through our little corner of paradise.

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The Piscivorous Double-crested Cormorant

Posted by Gary on March 24, 2016 in Uncategorized

 

 

Cormorant grabbing more than it can swallow.

Visit the any U.S. shoreline or inland waterway and you are sure to find this ubiquitous bird. It is one of the oldest birds; its ancestors date back to the dinosaurs.

The cormorant has an insatiable appetite for fish. It is a superb swimmer, using its powerful legs and webbed feet to propel itself under water to forage for fish, frogs and crustaceans. When chasing fish, it often uses its hooked beak to grasp fish.

Cormorant feathers are less water resistant than other birds which gives it an advantage at swimming under water. However, wet feathers are also a drawback. The Cormorant needs to perch out in the open with its wings outstretched to dry them off and to warm itself up.

If you see a large dark duck-like bird with outstretched wings in your lake or shore, it may be the cormorant. But be careful, the anhinga is another bird inhabiting the same waterways that also dries it wings the same way. But unlike the cormorant with its broad hooked bill, the anhinga is sleeker and has a pointed bill. (See my blog entitled: Water Turkeys in Florida)

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Laughter at the Beach

Posted by Gary on March 9, 2016 in Shore Birds
It takes 3 years for a laughing gull to mature. These birds undergo changes in their markings during this time.

If you were a paranoid person, you might mistaken the high pitched laughs at the beach for a women making fun of you.  In reality, you are hearing the LOL of the laughing gull, a medium sized gull of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

Dozens of these medium sized gulls hang out in the shallow lap zone of the beach at Fort Island Gulf Beach Park in Crystal River, Florida. These gulls eat fish, crustaceans, insects and the mollusks that live at the beach too. These gulls prefer warmer weather and migrate from the New England coast southward into Virginia and other points south.

So the next time you hear laughter at the beach rest assured no one is laughing at you but mother nature. Ha-ha-ha-ha-haah-haah!

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