Ridge Redux: Birds
Driving along a dirt road in the dim light of pre-dawn is invigorating. The condition of the road demands slow speed. With the windows down it almost feels chilly, even here in sub-tropical Florida. Gini confirmed she was the smartest in the group (of two) by bringing a sweatshirt which was now wrapped loosely around her neck for maximum coziness. Suddenly, the day was bright and we were seeing flowers along the roadside and scattered to infinity in the surrounding scrub habitat. White-eyed Vireos greeted us with song, woodpeckers hammered in the distance, Florida Scrub Jays squawked nearby. Our first stop.
A new day!
We have returned to the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest to get an idea of how the fall bird migration is proceeding. Also, to check on fall flowers and their insect attendants. Nature rewarded our efforts with three scoops of sweetness on our exploration waffle cone.
(https://ournaturalplaces.com/2023/08/18/the-ridge-1/)
Although we didn’t exactly see a huge influx of migratory birds today, we found plenty to be excited about. Our endemic Florida Scrub Jays were especially active. Gini heard the “rubber-ducky” squeaks of Brown-headed Nuthatches long before we saw them. Bright yellow Pine Warblers swarmed among the treetops and we seldom traveled more that a dozen yards without hearing Eastern Towhees calling.
Somebody took too many photographs. Again. Therefore, there will once more be multiple posts of our day on The Ridge.
Florida Scrub Jays remain in loose family groups throughout the year. If you find one, a half-dozen will be nearby. They are not shy. And they are loud! (I liked the second image which shows the rich color and detail of this beautiful bird.)
Ā “Look up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a Peregirne Falcon!” Not a good photograph, but the darn bird is so fast!
Large and in charge. Brown Thrashers are quick to challenge any intruders. Those golden eyes are pretty intense.
A White-eyed Vireo takes time out from singing to snag a bug.
Florida’s “othter jay”. The Blue Jay is common throughout the middle and eastern portion of the United States. They are important members of the avian neighborhood watch committee and are the first and loudest to scream about potential danger.
We counted over a dozen Eastern Towhees today. The normal population of this section of forest has been bolstered by migrants from the north. The photograph is likely a local resident as Florida towhees have pale eyes as opposed to the red of their northern cousins.
Small and very active, gangs of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers seemed to never stop chasing insects all day long. During migration, these small songbirds gather in groups and join with Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees and others for greater safety from predators.
Tops of longleaf pine trees were adorned with bright yellow decorations all over the woods. Pine Warblers jumped, ran and flitted along the branches scooping up whatever they could find as they fueled up for the trip further south. Many of these lovely warblers will remain here throughout the winter. That’s just fine with us.
Pugnacious. Some small birds such as wrens just seem to have a whole lot of “attitude”. Brown-headed Nuthatches are like that. When one spotted us, he squeaked his warning and we were quickly surrounded by the little long-beaked fluff balls. Watching them run head-first down a tree trunk is always fun.
A male Downy Woodpecker found something he liked in the crack of a dead snag. His sticky tongue darted in and out as he gobbled up whatever was in there.
We saw and heard plenty of Red-headed Woodpeckers but only one immature bird ventured close enough for a photograph. Its dark head will become bright red by spring.
The day was simply superb. We would have been quite happy to have just seen a few birds. As it turned out, we saw more. Much more. Stay tuned.
Enjoy your search for a natural place and come back for a visit!
Our Natural Places 
Okay, trying to see if I can successfully comment here. Having a frustrating time with WP lately. I was not aware your towhees have pale eye – very interesting. Love the Brown-Headed Nuts. Those squeaks (Linda refers to them as dog toys) are so cute – problem is trying to get those hyper things in the tin ha. Great collection of birds!
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Two different browsers, multiple submissions and one finally made it through.
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Ahh. I should have read your second post first.
š
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Gini totally agrees with Linda’s description! (Hmmm, we should start carrying some doggie toys along …)
Let me know when you figure out how to get the little things to hold still.
The WP issue seems to affecting many. I think whatever change they recently made has been giving some browsers a security problem. One work-around I’ve found is to use a different browser for commenting on some blogs. Firefox has been working most of the time.
Hopefully, WP and the tech controllers will put us all back on the same page one day.
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It’s such a treat to see the Florida Scrub Jay. I think I’ll go to the preserve here in hopes of seeing them tomorrow. Looks like a beautiful day to be out and about. I hate staying inside today…or any day! lol Happy weekend!
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Good luck on the Jays!
Yep, it’s tough to remain indoors when the outdoors is so nice.
The weekend was great.
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I see many of my birds have made it safely to your neck of the woods for a warm vacation! š I just love your Scrub Jay photos. That jay has eluded me every time I visit Florida!
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Thank you Donna.
Those Scrub Jays can be tricky as they seldom sit still.
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Our birds are getting fewer and fewer. The bluebirds are gone, as are the meadow larks and swallows. Soon we will only have our 8-10 that we see throughout the winter. These hardy birds are some of my favorites.
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We’ll try to take good care of your birds and send them back in the Spring.
Some environments require very hardy birds – and people – in order to survive year ’round.
Hope your weekend is a good one.
(I can smell venison roast from here …)
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Terrific photos! I’ve never seen the Florida Scrub Jay; it is now on my list of birds to watch for in your neck of the woods. I had grown up with “scrub jays” in Colorado, but from the maps on All About Birds, it appears those must have been Woodhouse’s Scrub Jays. The Florida is very handsome. Kudos on your action shots, and on snagging the Peregrine before he disappeared!
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Thanks, Sam. We had a fun day.
Florida Scrub Jays look similar to their cousins out west but are apparently genetically distinct.
Me and action shots = lucky.
Enjoy the upcoming weekend.
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I
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Me, too.
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Hi Wally and Gini. I admire your joint getting up early but I hope you had time for a cup of English tea and a slice of buttered toast with jam before you set out in the cold dark morning. It will help you of course knowing that the Florida weather can be relied upon to be sunny and warm 24/7 and 365. Unlike here where it can be relied upon to be mostly the opposite.
You did well to snap the Peg. I have given up trying to photograph birds in flight as my current Sigma 600mm is too heavy and slow compared to my previous faster Canon 400mm. On balance I get more pictures and bang for my bucks out of the Sigma so stick with that.
Good to see those migrants finding the insects to their liking. I hope they stay around for a day or two.
Take care with those doctors. They will fill you with pills and jabs if they can ā follow the money back to Big Pharma.
Good news. The weather may relent enough for a ringing trip Friday with a big star in the diary. Unbelievable. With luck we may catch a Red Crossbill or two.
PS. I think I sussed out WordPress
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Earl Grey, orange marmalade and very white bread lightly toasted. We felt positively – civilized.
You are so right about the Peregrine in flight. I should know better.
Many of the migrants will hang around all winter unless we have a severe cold spell for more than a few days. But you already told us it shall be sunny and warm, so, no worries.
We finally figured out what our collective allergy is – modern medical practitioners.
We hope you catch a break on the weather as there are already reports from as far away as Dumfries of birds showing up sans leg bracelets.
Gini and I overall in good condition and having way too much fun meandering about the countryside. We both wish you and Sue all the best.
(You may need to sell me your secret decoder ring for access to WP. Frustration continues to mount.)
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I smiled at Gini’s description of the sound of the Brown-headed Nuthatch as being rubber-duckish. That’s a sound I’d love to hear. I was especially taken with the view of the scrub jay from the back. I’ve always thought of those birds as being far less colorful than our bluejays, and perhaps even a bit dull. This one’s color is gorgeous, and the pattern of blue and gray is really something.
Between the mid-air snatch of the insect and the view of the towhee’s tongue, it’s impossible to pick a favorite. I’d say your photos turned out as superb as your day.
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Our son-in-law is a collector of rubber duckies so Gini as become an expert in assessing the quality of squeaks. One section of forest that morning sounded like his entire collection was escorting us!
Too often, I fall into the trap of being one-dimensional in photographing nature. Now I strive to think outside the tiny box which contains my brain. I reveiwed past images from my archives which might show the Scrub Jay’s bright blue and found exactly = zero.
Nature provides the subject material. I happily click away and hope for a presentable result. Occasionally my technical photo motto succeeds. (“Better lucky than good..”)
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Thought that I’d left a message, Wally, but it never appeared. Not sure if it’s the gremlins or my failing faculties. I’ll try again.
If this was just a part of your morning’s observations, it was clearly a fabulous morning out. The birds are absolutely wonderful and your photography is superb. I’m eagerly looking forward to the next instalment.
My very best wishes to you and Gini – – – Richard
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No worries, Richard. I believe the controllers of the blogging universe play games with all of us now and then.
Our day was, indeed, a good one. We counted over 40 species of birds but couldn’t get pictures of them all. (And the crowd sighs in relief.)
That area covers a lot of territory and we seldom see another person. Our kind of place!
All of our doctors are trying to schedule us for a visit before the holidays so squeezing in a day for exploring has become a challenge.
Gini and are well and wish all the best to you and Lindsay.
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I enjoyed the wildlife photos Wally. Always nice to see critters from other parts of the country; some new and some familiar.
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The internet, for all its faults, has certainly brought a lot of us nature lovers togather. As you say, it’s fun to see what lives in someone else’s Natural Neighborhood.
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I was just reviewing my profile bird map in eBird and surprised myself.
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I truly enjoyed this post and all the cute birds. Jays are pretty indeed, even our Eurasian Jays, even though less colourful. I particularly like blue or azure birds, I must say. Thanks for sharing. š¦
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We’re happy you liked the birds today. Gini agrees with you about the blue-colored birds being a favorite.
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You got a lot of great shots on this morning. Love the ones of the Florida scrub jay. I have still not seen one yet. I did find western ones in Colorado but those don’t count.
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The Scrub Jays have the same traits as the cousins, the Blue Jays, That makes for fun bird watching!
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Echoing Steve. Digital photography has made life soooo much easier in many ways. Not least the ability to take a kazillion photos and delete the duds. And the severely reduced cost. And the storage issues.
Thank you and Gini (so much) for sharing the feathered enchantment that greeted you.
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I shudder to think about what my typical day afield would cost in film.
Thank you, EC. It’s a great place to explore.
What are “duds”? You seem to imply all my images are not perfect. š
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Show off. Some of my images can charitably be described as crap.
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Whew. I thought I was the only one.
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Your opening landscape looks like an old European painting.
Is there really such a thing as too many photographs? In the days of film, cost imposed a natural limit. With digital, though, images are almost free, other than the time to take, catalogue, and process them.
We had blue jays aplenty in the Long Island neighborhood where I grew up. My mother once rescued an injured jay and kept it in our house.
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Thank you, Steve.
I sometimes hesitate to put so many (too many?) images in a post as I think many people may have limited time to look at them all. Which ones to edit is my challenge.
It seems your mother was talented at rescuing birds and raising a son. We appreciate the results.
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