I gave up wearing hiking boots. For one thing, my days of going on lengthy hikes over rough terrain are in my rear view mirror. Water-resistant linings and treatments for preventing water soaking through footwear can be somewhat helpful, but walking through Florida’s eternally wet grass is pretty much like wading a stream and your feet are just going to get wet. So I now have a pair of very comfortable shoes made for “trail runners” which let water in freely but dry quickly. To be clear, no running is involved, just the slow pace of an old guy with a heavy camera stopping every few steps.
So, there I was, with wet feet and wet everything else, exploring a local wetlands area at sunrise. No breeze, no clouds, plenty of hot sun and even more humidity. Yes, the Smart One was back at the house in the cool and dry comfort of an air-conditioned living room. She was preparing for a doctor’s appointment later in the day and I’m pretty sure I could hear her whining sighing wistfully as I drove away in the dark.
Itchepackesassa. It’s a small wetlands designed a half-dozen years ago to help control localized flooding of two creeks. I just like saying the name. During the planning phase for the wetlands, a couple of us local birding types provided a “before and after” census of avian visitors. We counted birds when the area was still a weedy field and again two years after the project was completed. Quite a difference. The field was converted into a series of ponds with varying depths and native aquatic plants were planted throughout. It’s been a great birding spot ever since.
Today there were overflights of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, White Ibises, Wood Storks, Sandhill Cranes, Black-crowned Night Herons and a couple of Roseate Spoonbills. An Eastern Screech Owl called from the adjacent woods. American Kestrels successfully nested here this spring. Soon the ponds will be winter homes for migrating water birds and the vegetation will provide protection for vacationing sparrows and wrens.
A relatively short morning provided some very nice sightings. We hope you agree.
Dew and sunrise highlight the beauty of Seven Sisters (Crinum americanum) blooming across the wetlands. Other common names include String Lily and Swamp Lily.
A Black-crowned Night Heron announces sunrise. Okay, she was more likely letting the neighborhood know I was lurking about.
Sexual dimorphism. As far as I know, it still applies to some members of the insect world. Eastern Pondhawks (Erythemis simplicicollis), to me, are attractive whether female or male.
The “Little Brown Jobs” of the butterfly world, grass skippers are large in number, small in size, frantic in flight and, for me, often a challenge to identify. This one remained long enough for a snapshot and is known as a Sachem (Atalopedes campestris).
One of the largest wading birds in North America, even a Great Egret can appear small in the relative vastness of the wetlands.
It’s a marsh. It’s a rabbit. It’s a Marsh Rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris)! Smaller than its Eastern Cottontail cousin, Marsh Rabbits inhabit brackish and fresh water wetland areas throughout Florida. Many people don’t know this little mammal is a strong swimmer. (Yes, that IS a mosquito on his nose.)
Common Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) is, well, common in many areas which remain wet most of the year. Protruding pistils from the ball-shaped flowers give the impression of pin cushions.
A touch of royalty this morning was provided by the presence of an actual Queen (Danaus gilippus). In the same family as the Monarch (Danaus plexippus plexippus), the Queen is a bit smaller but similar in appearance.
Another very common plant in the marsh, the Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), apparently contains some tasty nectar. It’s frequented by all sorts of thirsty pollinators, such as this Bumblebee (Bombus spp.).
A Green Heron grazes among a dense growth of Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) hoping for a breakfast of fish, frog, crustacean, insect, eel or snake. Mmmmm.
That bright white face, sky-blue eyes, racing stripe thorax – it could only be that speedster of the swamp – the dashing Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis)!
The Purple Gallinule is one of our more colorful members of the rail family. If you don’t see one, you will usually hear them chuckling at you from behind the cattails.
Matching the bright yellow of the sun’s early rays, several blooming Bandanna-of-the-Everglades (Canna flaccida) were scattered across the wetlands.
Even though it’s pretty common in a variety of habitats, Eastern Gama Grass (Tripsacum dactyloides) can look mighty decorative when in bloom.
There are four different color forms of the Rambur’s Forktail (Ischnura ramburii) species of damselfly. This is a blue-form adult female.
The bright red male Scarlet Skimmer (Crocothemis servilia) is most assuredly eye-catching. But don’t tell this lovely golden female she is not just as attention-getting.
Hot. Sticky. Wet. Hungry. No Gini. I’m going home.
Enjoy your search for a natural place and come back for a visit!
“Did you see that?”
“Nope.”
This is a frequent exchange between my brown-eyed beauty and myself. I often must gently remind her that when two of us are present, although we have twice as much chance of seeing something, it doesn’t work that way all the time. “But how could you miss that bird on the fence post?” “Because I was looking at the butterfly on the flower on the opposite side of the path.”
Over time, our powers of observation in nature have evolved. We have learned to look for certain things within a certain environment. At the lake, we expect to find waterfowl. In the hardwood forest, we expect to find woodpeckers. Likewise, we react to the unexpected. A Green Heron untypically perched on a utility wire. An alligator walking across a plowed corn field. (An actual event.)
No matter how expert we may think we are, there is simply no way we can see everything. Gini comes close but she cheats. She was born with the “Mother’s Radar” gene and is able to “sense” things most mortals cannot.
When we pause to observe a field of grass and weeds bordered by a forest, we “look” and may see some wildflowers, an Ibis flying over the field, a hawk perched in a tree, a few dragonflies hovering above the grass. Closer inspection reveals a spider in the flower, a pair of quail skulking through the stalks of grass, mounds of dirt around a hole which is the den of a gopher tortoise, small warblers in the top of the tree where the hawk sits, a robber fly on the stem of a weed waiting for one of those dragonflies to come – just – a – bit – closer.
There is a difference between “looking” and “seeing”. We have not mastered the art of observation. Nor shall we ever. Remembering to slow down, not only with our gait, but also with our gaze is a challenge but we’ll keep trying to improve. Not only do we hope to see the field and the forest, but also the flower and the hawk, as well as the spider and the nuthatch.
Arthur Conan Doyle said: “You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of trifles.”
Herewith, some of our recent trifles.
Smallest of the sulphur butterflies in North America, the Dainty Sulphur (Nathalis iole) will become almost gray colored during the winter. It’s bright yellow of summer is a joy to find at any time.
Butcher Bird is the name applied to the Loggerhead Shrike by many due to its habit of impaling its prey upon the barb of a wire or thorn of a branch. This one was too hungry and simply inhaled its grub on the spot.
Master web-spinners, the orb weavers are represented world-wide by over 3,000 species with 180 in North America. This representative is an Orchard Orbweaver (Leucauge argyra) whose range is limited to central and south Florida.
Winged Loosestrife (Lythrum alatum Pursh var. lanceolatum) is one of our favorite blooms to find, not only because it’s Gini’s favorite color, but it attracts an incredibly diverse number of pollinators.
Speaking of Loosestrife pollinators, here’s one now. The common, busy but handsome Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera). Sweet.
Speaking of Loosstrife pollinators, here’s another one. I had to enlist the help of an entomologist to identify this one. It is “most probably” a Poey’s Furrow Bee (Halictus poeyi), which is in the same family as Sweat Bees (Halictidae).
Although I managed to identify this one on my own, I still asked for (and received) confirmation that it is a new insect for us, the wonderfully-named Feather-legged Scoliid Wasp (Dielis plumipes). It’s busy enjoying the nectar of a Shrubby False Buttonweed (Spermacoce verticillata)
Robber Flies! There are around 7,500 species in the world with over 1,000 in North America. About the best I could do here is identify the genus as Diogmites. Individuals in this genus are fondly referred to as “hanging thieves” for their habit of dangling from a twig as they munch their prey.
A Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans). Wait – what? Where is the Blue that’s so Great?? Patience, grasshopper. This is a young male which, as is the case with many young dragons, at the moment looks like his Mama. Soon he will morph into a pale blue body with bright blue eyes and Papa will be proud.
Wandering down the path intent on “seeing” and not just “looking” may occasionally cause one to stumble over a root or receive a face full of sticky silk. The latter occurrence might be due to the work of a really beautiful spider, the Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantius). Large spiders and large webs. Attractive on both counts.
Sometimes we become complacent about “common” subjects. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that Nature does not create anything which is insignificant. Our human eyes may not call it “pretty”. Our human brain may register it as “oh, just another _____”. We may have seen 40 White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae) butterflies today. The brain finally kicked in with “HEY! THIS IS GORGEOUS! TAKE A PICTURE!”. I just needed a gentle reminder.
We went. We looked. We saw. Forest/trees. Flowers/bees. We will try to improve our obervational skills but we still won’t be able to see it all. This is where you all come in. Get out there and help us!
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau
Enjoy your search for a natural place and come back for a visit!
We have turned back the clock to mid-July. I guess it is a testament of sorts to how busy we have been that there are several trips which have gone unreported. As we have an opportunity, we shall attempt to catch up.
Weather-wise, today in the first week of September, it could just as easily be the middle of July. High temperatures, equally high humidity. Regularly scheduled thunderstorms. We recognize that the calendar has advanced as we are beginning to see warblers arriving in small numbers with their autumn suitcases packed with plumage for warm climes. Additionally, our Swallow-tailed Kites have left the area in favor of insect rich pampas in Argentina. Recently, we were rudely reminded that it is actually late summer as Hurricane Idalia raced northward along Florida’s western coast.
Back to mid-July. We had brunch by the lake as a Limpkin stalked an Apple Snail. Overhead, we were entertained by the aerial prowess of a Swallow-tailed Kite. An alligator peered at us from just beyond the shoreline. Gini remarked it was difficult to believe we had been exploring for two hours already.
Time flies …
The intense heat would soon encourage us to seek the air-conditioned refuge of our living room. Until then, we would immerse ourselves in close encounters of the natural kind. We have been to this area often enough that we could almost list what we would see before ever leaving home. Once here, it’s like greeting old friends. We know the address of a butterfly, the branch office of a dragon, the wading pool frequented by the egret.
It was a summer’s day. We loved it.
This bright male Northern Cardinal forced me to break my “cardinal” rule of not including photographs of birds on utility lines.
It was still a bit too early for warm air thermals to support the Swallow-tailed Kite’s preference for soaring. This one likely spent the night on this branch.
We don’t care that the Gulf Fritillary (Dione incarnata) is one of our most abundant butterflies. It is absolutely gorgeous from any angle!
A twig charred from a recent controlled burn makes a perfect ambush platform for this female Roseate Skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea).
So small that it could be mistaken for a wasp, especially when it flies with legs dangling, the diminutive Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera) hopes would-be predators do exactly that.
Although it is not quite as bright as its Gulf cousin, a Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) has a subtle beauty all its own.
It’s hard to believe one could not help but see a brightly colored lime-green spider just sitting out in the open. Unless it is sitting on a similarly-colored leaf where it blends in rather nicely. This Green Lynx Spider (Peucetia viridans) hopes an insect morsel won’t notice it either.
One of our larger black butterflies, a Spicebush Swallowtail (Pterourus troilus) has really striking markings.
Many of the lakes in this particular area are too deep for wading birds. Recent rains have created large puddles which attract all sorts of creatures, including this Snowy Egret which is busy looking for some of the smaller creatures enjoying the pool.
North America’s smallest falcon, the American Kestrel, is fascinating to observe. We were able to watch this one hunt from a fence perch and then from the air as it hovered and then streaked along just above a grassy field.
Our morning outing in hot July was incredibly enjoyable. Just like our outing in hot August. Very much like our outing in hot September. We’re confident cooler days are just around the hot, humid bend.
Enjoy your search for a natural place and come back for a visit!
Header Image: Carolina Wren
(Weather Note: Hurricane Idalia passed a couple of hundred miles west of us this past Tuesday and Wednesday. We experienced periodic intense rainfall and gusty winds up to about 50 mph. We are safe and had no problems. Please keep all those along the storm’s path who suffered damage and the many who are still without electric power today in your thoughts.)
Our morning in the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest has been glorious. We’ve had encounters with flora and fauna which grabbed our attention and we focused intently on specific subjects. We also took time to just relax and realize how fortunate we are to be able to enjoy this vast garden of delights which almost overwhelms our senses with sights, sounds, aromas, textures – truly an emotional experience. Small wonder we keep returning.
Thank you for indulging us as we shared bits of our visit. Although it’s time to head home, we know we shall return soon to – The Ridge.
Visiting an area containing several thousand acres of natural resources to explore is not available to everyone. Hopefully, you can find even a small spot where you may indulge your senses in the enjoyment of a blooming wildflower, the fluttering of a butterfly, a bird singing just for your ears, a sunset. In such moments, we should all be able to agree: Life Is Good.
Enjoy your search for a natural place and come back for a visit!
Header Image: Great Crested Flycatcher
We had been spotted by a gang and were soon surrounded. Either side of the path was covered with dense Saw Palmetto as far as the eye could see. Our only choice was to forge ahead and hope we would not be assaulted.
Late summer in Florida. Some of our smaller avian citizens begin to form in mixed groups as they prepare for long migratory flights to Central and South America. This morning, after our brunch by the lake, we struck out to explore. A loud group made up of Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Parula, Downy Woodpecker and Great Crested Flycatcher let us know we had been detected. Truth be told, they were already in the area scouring for insects and they simply squawked a bit to let the rest of the forest know we were out and about.
This tract of the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest consists of one dirt road which runs straight for about five miles. Most of the time, we must turn around at a locked gate and return the same way we came. Which is fine with us. There are several parking spots and multiple trails to explore. Taking a path in one direction will lead to the shore of large Lake Arbuckle. An alternate trail sends you through upland pine forest. Choose differently to explore low-growing scrub oak and saw palmetto terrain. Follow a creek among large hardwood trees such as oak, hickory, sweetgum and magnolia.
This diverse habitat is a magnet for an incredible variety of flora and fauna. It’s why we are here.
We only spent about four hours in the forest on this day. I know we have shared quite a few images and there will be one more segment before we move along to another area. We hope you don’t mind how much we have shared. Hopefully, you understand why.
Enjoy your search for a natural place and come back for a visit!
Our Natural Places 