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Gator Love!

Posted by Gary on June 1, 2013 in Reptiles and Amphibians

Bellows reverberate in a Florida cypress swamp. I assume the noise is from cars with bad mufflers on a nearby highway, but Anne points out that it is alligators making that guttural roar. The sound is so loud at times that it vibrates the wooden walkway we are on. That is astonishing since alligators don’t have vocal cords.

It is late May – prime season for alligator love. The males (bulls) are roaring to attract females and ward off other males. It is an interesting behavior to experience. The bull arches his body so his head is out of the water pointing upward and its tail is also up out of the water. The females swim over to the males, facing them in a “staring” contest. Sometimes the females swim off, other times the bull will push down on the female as they disappear for a few moments under the water. It is thought this is a way for a male to measure the strength of a female.

In addition to the growls, snorts, and bellows is the cacophony of dozens of nearly fledged and fully fledged herons, egrets and wood storks perched in the trees and shrubs surrounding the wetland. It is a an eerie setting punctuated by the protests of a 4-year-old girl scared that the alligators are going to get her. She insists her parents take her to the safety of her home.

I wonder how the first native Americans reacted and what they thought when they arrived in the southeast swamps – before the invention of the light bulb and before businessmen drained and filled in the wetlands. Nights must have been terrifying with reptilian roars and hundreds of thousands of frogs croaking in addition to owls calling from cypress trees. Add lightening and rumbles from distant thunderstorms and you have the setting of a horror film. It must have been awesome!

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Who’s That Knocking at My Window?

Posted by Gary on May 26, 2013 in Birds of Prey
What happened?
Preening Feathers
Watching the Mockingbird
That was a close one.
Are you talking to me?
Attack og the Mockingbird!

Thump! Anne and I hear coming from our Florida room. “What was that?” I ask Anne. I was thinking one of our pet prairie dogs climbed to the top of the cage, then it dropped down to the floor. “I think it was a bird crashing into a window,” Anne tells me. A short time later Anne gets up to check on the prairie dogs and calls me; “Gary, come quick and grab your camera!” I join her in the Florida room and to my surprise, a red-tailed hawk was sitting on the backyard fence. It may have been shaking off cobwebs after it saw prairie dog dinner and attempted to grab them only to collide with the window.

A mockingbird was very upset with the hawk’s presence and squawked at it and dove at it over and over. Though this raptor remained on the fence it did peer over its shoulder and kept a watchful eye on the pestering mockingbird. This was the same bird I saw eating a squirrel a few weeks ago and probably the same bird that reportedly grabbed a snake to eat. (I missed that photo opportunity!)

Although the prairie dogs seemed oblivious to the hawk, we moved their cage away from the window to be sure the hawk didn’t break its neck trying to snatch one of them. The red-tail hung around for a bit, then flew off into the twilight of the evening sky.

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Lake Tsala Apopka – Florida

Posted by Gary on May 21, 2013 in Aquatic Life, Reptiles and Amphibians, Wading Birds, Wildlife
Sunrise Hernando Pool
Pied-billed Grebe
Otter
Alligator

A chain of lakes, wetlands and islands consisting of 19,000 acres makes up Lake Tsala Apopka. Three large “pools” – the Floral City Pool, the Inverness Pool and the Hernando Pool – are within Tsala Apopka Lake. It is part of the Withlacoochee River system. The chain of lakes was once linked to the river through water draining from the wetlands into the river, but canals now connect these waterways.

The lake supports much wildlife. Blue gill, sunfish, crappies, catfish and large-mouth bass are caught here, but there are a variety of  “bait” fish and even alligator gar.  It is not unusual to see otters swimming in the lake waters and of course there are American alligators everywhere. At night choruses of a variety of frogs and toads can be heard in the spring especially after heavy rains. Wading birds including great blue herons, snowy and great egrets, tri-colored herons, ibis and limpkins feast on fish, tadpoles, frogs, fresh water mussels and snails that are abundant here. Osprey, kingfishers and cormorants also frequent the lake to hunt for fish.

The beauty of the Tsala Apopka Lake is not just in its wildlife, but it provides peaceful scenic views for those who live along it, visit it and boat on it.  Anne and I are glad we live near this remarkable lake system.

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Tri-colored Herons

Posted by Gary on May 9, 2013 in Wading Birds
Hunting Prey
Beautiful Heron
Adult Heron Watches Over Nesting Mate
Adjusting Eggs

During our routine morning walk along Lake Tsala Apopka, I spy an unusual looking heron, with slate-blue feathers, wading in the shallow water at the edge of one of the small islands. Upon closer examination, I see that it is the beautiful tri-colored heron, formerly named the Louisiana heron. It is searching for fish, tadpoles and other aquatic life.

It is May, the nesting season for these and other herons and egrets. This bird may be from a nearby rookery, a colony of herons and egrets all nesting in the same site, probably in willow thickets along the edge of this waterway. Both the male and female construct the stick nest where 3 to 4 blue-green eggs are laid. Both mom and dad will incubate the eggs and care for the young.

Anne and I watch the heron for some time until it flies off and out of our sight. We look forward to seeing more of this species during our morning walks along the lake.

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Cattle Egrets Swarm Livestock

Posted by Gary on May 3, 2013 in Wading Birds, Wildlife
Male stands tall to attract a mate,
Showing off to attract a female.
Resting in a tree.
Incubating eggs.

When you drive pass the cattle ranches here in Citrus County, Florida you will see cattle egrets. The insects attracted to and stirred up by the cattle are readily eaten by these egrets. It is not unusual to see flocks of cattle egrets following behind the ranchers’ farm equipment. These birds feast on the grasshoppers, crickets, spiders and other insects stirred up by the machinery. The egrets will even stand on the backs of the cattle to glean flies and other insects attracted to the livestock. The cattle egret also eat frogs, lizards and even small birds if the opportunity arises.

Cattle egrets nest in rookeries, alongside tri-colored herons, great egrets and snowy egrets. After pairing the male and female build a stick nest and 2 – 5 eggs are laid. After 23 days of incubation, the chicks hatch, are fed by the parents and will be ready to fly in about 30 days.

Cattle egrets were not always native to North America. This species originated in Africa where they followed herds of African buffalo, zebras, elephants on the African plains. These egrets appeared in South America in the late 1800’s and traveled north into the U.S. via the Florida peninsula in the early 1940’s. I guess that the livestock “appreciate” the cattle egrets being here since these birds eat the insects that must annoy the cattle.

 

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