Six Mile Cypress

On our recent trip to Florida we stayed in Ft. Myers. On a very busy thoroughfare with hotels, motels, restaurants, gas stations, shops, even a small airport. And lots of traffic.

But just a short ride away and you're in another world. Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve.

We got there late afternoon, and followed the mile plus boardwalk trail through the wetlands.

It was a cypress swamp.

So of course there were cypress trees.

And some, but not much, active wildlife. A few birds, like the Black Crowned Night Heron below.

And some reptiles, such as alligators, turtles and snakes, some easy to see.

Others not so much.

(A snake in the water, just right of center, under a yellow leaf, halfway up from the bottom of the image.)

It was a peaceful walk, at place I could see visiting regularly had I been a local.

We ended our walk at the Alligator Lake overlook (yes there were alligators), watching the herons, egrets, and ibis fly in to roost for the night (bigafy the image; all the white dots in the trees are birds).

A nice way to end our last full day in Florida.

Bird in a Hole

Another business trip, more Burrowing Owls.

This time in Florida.

The directions to find them were easy. Go to the baseball fields on Pelican Boulevard (why not "Owl Boulevard"?) in Cape Coral and look for the white PVC pipes sticking out of the ground.

We were told that the owls sit in the opening of their burrows, watching the world. And that's where we found them.

We saw several sitting in their burrows, like this one here. We drove into the ball field parking lot, picked a spot, and didn't even need to get out of the car before we saw one checking us out.

They again seemed more interested in the birds flying around above, in this case Monk Parakeets, than about us.

Still the easiest owls to find in the wild.

Uncommon Grackle

It is snowing today, five inches and counting. So I first thought this Common Grackle had done a face-plant and had a snow mask. Worthy of a photo.

But then I noticed the tail.

How would but one tail feather get covered with snow?

Not snow, rather the bird is leucistic, a condition in which melanin, and the cells that produce it, is missing.

Makes for a curious looking bird.

Recursive Spirals

Recall this post.

The image was recycled here.

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Curious. And now linked.

Still Death with Feathers

Patty saw it happen. A blur between our parked cars.

Puff. And a Dark-eyed Junco was no more.

She had gone out on the deck to shake out a floor mat, startling the birds feeding there.

Focused on Patty, they didn't see the Coopers Hawk, which choose this time to strike.

Over in an instant. Nothing left but a scattering of feathers on the rocks.

A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With ...

... a Frist Day Hike!

This year the hike was at a local nature preserve, a mere 4.3 miles from my home, but one I had never visited. Nor even knew existed.

It was a surprisingly nice day as we headed out down the trail. Our nominal leader is Mark, the guy in the red shirt. but he is a plant geek and was soon left behind, looking at whatever was growing along the way.

Not to worry, as it was a rather straight trail ...

... along a former railroad right of way.

Which is good, as it was not a particularly well marked trail. Although it may soon be?

Approximately 1.7 miles after we started we came to trails end, at the US Post Office in Birmingham, NJ. Which serves all 33 residents of this village, which is coincidently 33 feet above sea level. (I didn't know this place existed either.)

We relaxed and waited for the rest of the first day hikers to reach the post office, slowly increasing the population of Birmingham by over 100% for a short time (we had 44 hikers).

This is Terry (shown here with a 'wood duck' head she found):

She is the coordinator of this particular first day hike; Thanks Terry! It is one of nineteen hikes, one horse back ride, and one mountain bike ride hosted by the NJ State Park Service. Such events are held in all fifty states, and not just by state park services. Other groups are now getting in on the action. I'm sure you can find one in your area.

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This is our third time joining the first day hike festivities and as is our custom, we bring food and drink to share at the end. As this hike did not have a nearby picnic area we decided to host the after hike gathering at our place. And while we may not have topped the population of Birmingham we did have a nice turnout. With four crock pot dishes, plenty of liquid refreshments, and a variety of salads, dips, appetizers, and deserts.

An appropriate beverage for the NJ Pinelands methinks.

It was a very nice way to start 2017.

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About that 1000 mile journey ...

A couple of weeks ago we were at Whitesbog for an owl prowl for which Patty was co-leader (with this guy). This owl prowl was coincident with the monthly full moon hike (it was cloudy, so no moonlight on this walk; no owls either). And Patty was speaking to a women who regularly attends the full moon hikes. And this women told Patty about the '1000 mile challenge', where you walk one thousand miles in a calendar year.

And now we are walking.

And I've less than 997 miles to go!

(Wish me luck ...)

When Max Met Opie

We have three cats. But only one, Max, has any interest in going outside. To satiate this desire, we've fitted Max with a harness and take him out everyday, attaching the harness to a length of strong twine attached to our deck railing.

But Max on occasion will, when we aren't paying attention, run out the door and go walk about in the yard. And one recent night he did just that.

We also have a trail cam, which took the above image of Max, in his harness, lead to face with a Virginia Opossum. Alas, this is the only image the trail cam took of the encounter. So we've no idea of what went down that evening.

Max enjoys looking out the window each evening as the opies visit the feeders. I can only wonder what he is thinking.

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Max is still young, less than two years old. The other two cats, Pumpkin and Alister, are much older. No doubt this is why Max wants out and the other two are content to remain inside the house. This is a good thing, as cats belong indoors. Cats are instinctive predators and even well fed cats will kill small animals. There are also dangers about such as Great Horned and Screech Owls, Coyotes, and Bobcats that could easily take a domestic cat. And an encounter with an angry opossum or raccoon could result in significant injuries.

For more info about why it is a good idea to keep cats indoors visit the appropriately named Cats Indoors and the Outdoor Cat FAQ at Cornell. Thanks.