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Hey, You’re not a Duck!

Posted by Gary on May 26, 2012 in Birds of the Field and Forest

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During one of my afternoon walks along Lake Tsala Apopka, I see what appears to be a small olive-brown duck in the shallow water of the lake some distance away. I am excited that I am seeing a bird I haven’t observed before. What can it be? I raise my camera with the telephoto lens to get a closer look, but even with this powerful lens I still cannot see it well. I walk closer to get a better view and hope I don’t scare it away before I identify it. Raising my camera again, it is not a duck, but a Mourning Dove.

What is a Mourning Dove doing in the water? Is it stuck in the mud? I am able to get within a 100 feet of the bird to discover that it is bathing in the shallow water of the lake, splashing furiously. I am still excited because this sight is new to me even after being in this business for over 40 years. I stood there enjoying the “performance” the dove put on for me. I wonder how many other shows I missed because I overlooked the everyday activities of common wildlife.

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The Comeback Kids

Posted by Gary on May 24, 2012 in Birds of Prey

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Sitting at an open bar at King’s Bay in Crystal River, Florida, I hear a familiar sharp whistle. I look over to see a tall pole with a platform on top where there are four black and white heads looking over its edge. Above the platform are two adult osprey soaring overhead looking down, probably checking on their fledglings. Then mom and dad glide over the water hovering from time to time looking for an opportunity to snatch a fish from the water.

My mind wanders back to the late 1960s, when I attended a seminar where Dr. Charles Wurster from New York’s Stony Brook University, presented evidence on the impact of DDT on egg-shell production in osprey. DDT caused a thinning of its eggshells resulting in a 90% decline in breeding pairs in the northeast U.S. Dr. Wurster and fellow scientists, lawyers and citizens fought the use of DDT to kill mosquitoes in Suffolk County, NY and the Environmental Defense Fund* (EDF) was born. Through the important work of Dr. Wurster, the EDF was responsible for a nationwide ban on the use of DDT in 1972.

Little did I realize that several years later, on a cold March day in a state park preserve, I would be nailing large oak branches to a platform that would be erected on a pole by the local utility company to provide a nesting prospect for osprey. By April of that year, a pair arrived and completed its nest and raised two youngsters. This was a record breaker – the westernmost osprey nest on Long Island. Today osprey breed as far west as New York City.

High pitched chirps ring out again from the youngsters at the top of the platform when they see the adults fly nearby. They all lift their heads and flap their wings anticipating dinner. Yes, the hard work of Dr. Wurster that resulted in the banning of DDT, donations of nesting platforms by utility companies and the work of conservationists is why I can sit here and enjoy watching these beautiful birds.

*Now called Environmental Defense

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What the Heck is that?

Posted by Gary on May 22, 2012 in Aquatic Life

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That is what my friend said when I snapped a picture of it and sent it to her. And it was my first thought too when I saw it washed up on the mudflats of Lake Tsala Apopka. It looked half-gator and half-fish. You see, I am relatively new to Florida and in New York we do not have such strange looking fish in our fresh water.  My educated guess was that it was a gar and since it had an alligator head, could it be called an alligator gar? Is there such a beast? Well, yes.

I knelt over this fish and pondered how its desiccated body ended up here on the edge of the lake. This fish has few enemies, especially when it reaches full size of over 6 feet. If this is a female it could have lived up to 50 years; if it was a male – half that age. (Sound familiar guys?)

A splash on the water draws my attention to the plethora of small fish that forms the basis of the food web that the gar is intertwined with. The alligator gar is protected in Floirda becasue it is such an important part of the ecosystem and has declined in recent years. I stood up and looked out over the lake and wondered how many more alligator gar are here and what would happen if these unique fish disappeared from this ecosystem. Hopefully, this will never happen.

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Why My Wife Feeds Lizards at the Pool

Posted by Gary on May 21, 2012 in Reptiles and Amphibians

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Anne has a weakness when it comes to wildlife in stress. And it is not just for cute furry creatures. Like Loren Eisly’s story, “The Starfish”, where a young girl saves one starfish at a time, Anne saves one earth worm at a time during our morning walks after a night rain. She stops at each worm, picks it up and tosses it on the grass. Even when we swim in the community pool, she will scoop out any drowning insect and carry it to the edge of the pool tossing it onto dry concrete.

One late afternoon, Anne is rescues a small drenched beetle “swimming” in the pool. She scoops with her hand and tosses it out. The beetle uprights itself and flies right back into the water. Anne tells me, “The stupid thing flew right back into the pool.” She scoops it again, walks over the edge of the pool and tosses it onto dry concrete. Yet again the beetle turns over, flies and lands in the pool. Anne asks it, “What do you have a death wish?” For the third time she tosses it out to safety. With that a green anole lizard jumps off a nearby rock, runs over grabs the beetle, chomps on it and swallows it. I tell Anne, “I guess it was that beetle’s time.”

Anne continues to fish drowning insects out of the pool, but now she stands guard to keep the lizards from eating the bugs. But I think the lizards think of Anne as the lunch lady. lol

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My Morning With a Tricolored Heron

Posted by Gary on May 19, 2012 in Wading Birds

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On a recent Florida morning, a Tricolored Heron flies onto the mudflats of Lake Tsala Apopka. This attractive wading bird steps gingerly into the shallow water and wades into knee-deep water. It pauses and looks intently into the water. No fish. It takes short, slow steps making as little splash as possible. This slate-blue colored heron wanders back and forth and suddenly, it sees a fish. It stalks the fish as it drifts slowly along the waterway. Suddenly, the heron crouches, recoils its long slender neck and without warning strikes the water snatching breakfast in its long pointed bill.

I continue watching this beautiful bird stalk fish until it flies away when a Great Egret lands where the Tricolor was eating breakfast. This is surely better than watching the morning news.

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