Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

These magnificent birds are noted for their elaborate courtship displays.  Two displays are used to form mating pairs while three other displays occur only between males and serve to maintain the pair bond.

A crane fossil approximately 10 million years old was found in Nebraska and is structurally identical the the modern Sandhill Crane, making it the oldest known bird species still surviving.

Eye color in adults varies from yellow-orange (here) to deep scarlet (see last crane image).

Beneath the sternum of these cranes is an extra-long looped trachea that gives these birds the ability to emit a unique cry that is audible from a mile away, or more.  (The deeper, richer trumpet of the Whooping Crane is achieved through a double loop.)

When Sandhill Cranes are pairing off, they punctuate their courting dance by calling together - a lengthy, complex alternation of unison calling and call-and-response, with both male and female adopting a specific and little-varied set of postures.

The cranes dance is associated with, but not limited to, courtship.  An individual may begin to dance; then other cranes become affected by the excitement, and soon the entire flock may be hopping up and down, bowing low, broad-jumping, and running around in circles.

Preening those all-important feathers

Along the Eastern Seaboard Sandhills are merely casual or accidental wanderers, except in Florida, where the local, non-migratory population is augmented in the winter months by migrants from the northern interior.

Deep scarlet iris color in this bird compared with the yellow-orange color on the bird two images above.

 In our pond

Reynolds Gardens: Winston-Salem, NC 11-27-16

Northern Mockingbird

 It's not just other mockingbirds that appreciate a god song.  In the 19th century, people kept so many mockingbirds as cage birds that they nearly vanished from parts of the East Coast.  People even took nestlings out of their nests or trapped adults and sold them in cities such as Philadelphia, St louis, and New York, where, in 1828, extraordinary singers could fetch as much as $50!

These birds continue to add new sounds to their repertoires throughout their lives.  A male may learn as many as 200 songs throughout its life. 

Non-migratory resident birds

As most of us are aware, these birds sing all through the day, and often into the night.  Most night time singers are unmated males, which tend to sing more than mated males during the day too.  Nocturnal singing is much more common during a full moon.

Lindsay with Toby

Belle, Kali, Marti, JoAnn and Robin

Red-tailed Hawk

These hawks occasionally hunt as a pair, guarding opposite sides of the same tree to catch squirrels.

These hawks have a thrilling, raspy scream that sounds exactly like one would think a raptor should sound.  And that's what Hollywood directors seem to think.  Whenever a hawk or eagle appears onscreen, no matter what species, the shrill cry on the soundtrack is almost always a Red-tailed Hawk.

These hawks are resident or short-distance migrants.  Most birds from AK, Canada, and the northern Great Plains fly south for a few months in winter, but remain in North America.  Birds across the rest of the continent typically stay put, sharing the countryside with northern arrivals.

Keeping a watchful eye on us

Belle and Toby checking out who's been in the neighborhood.

Egmont Key NWR 11-13-16

It's a good idea to pay attention to where one stops on the island.

It was a beautiful day.

Young Brown Pelicans (with a brown head)

The Guard House where up to 24 prisoners were held when Ft Dade was in its heyday.  Displays of island wildlife and presentations on the history of the island and the birds of Egmont Key are here.

Gopher Tortoise droppings (scat)

One of the 5000 ships per year that enter Tampa Bay

And a Tampa Bay Pilot must accompany each and every ship on its 45 mile journey from the mouth of Tampa Bay to Port Tampa and back again.

 This tanker is just about back into the Gulf of Mexico so the Pilot Boat is following and will shortly pull along side the tanker and the Pilot will descend a rope ladder on the side of the tanker and jump onto the deck of the Pilot Boat.   The boat will return to the Pilot Compound where the pilots live.

And another beautiful sunset marked a day where there were 202 visitors to the Guard House to view the displays, listen to the talks and purchase items that help the Friends of the Tampa Bay NWR try to save the islands in the refuge.

 A beautiful picture from BirdWatching magazine.

Egmont Key NWR: 11-12-16

Sunrise on our way to Ft Desoto where we caught the ferry for the 30 minute ride over to Egmont Key.

Egmont Key is across the Tampa Bay Shipping Channel from Ft Desoto

The lighthouse on the northeast tip of the island is managed by the US Coast Guard

Flyby of Brown Pelicans

A Great Egret (foreground) was fishing with a Snowy Egret as we motored by the southwest corner of Ft Desoto on our way across the channel.

The Snowy moved on.

Bottlenose Dolphin

Erosion is probably the single biggest environmental issue facing the island as the Gulf of Mexico is trying to reclaim it.  The surrounding area and these geotubes were completely covered with several feet of replacement sand on the northwest portion of the island in early 2015.  It hasn't taken Mother Nature long to erode away the sand and they are now almost completely exposed.

Laughing Gulls are by far the most common gull on the island and the only gull that nests in Florida (over 30,000 PAIRS nested on Egmont key this summer!)

Handsome White Peacock Butterfly

 And the sunset marking the end of another good day on Egmont Key, a true jewel in the Tampa bay NWR.