After a prolonged warm fall and winter, the cold fronts began to arrive in SW
Florida and the animals had to cope with much cooler weather and periodic
strong winds and heavy rains. Despite these somewhat harsh conditions, a
diverse and beautiful display of life continued in between the bouts of cold
weather. An additional factor was the occurrence of red tide that killed some
fish and cleared the beaches of tourists. A photo I took Jan. 31 on Don Pedro
Island beach shows a deserted stretch of beach during a bout of aerosol red
tide whipped up by strong NW winds. If you can tolerate the almost unbreathable
air during an episode of red tide, it is refreshing to be able to walk the
beaches with few or no human companions.
Once cold fronts have passed, the winds decline, the sun is out, and there can
be times of intense insect activity. For example I photographed a zebra
butterfly, a species requiring passionvine for its caterpillars, drinking
nectar from Spanish needles and tassel flower in our yard. These "weeds" are
both beneficial exotics that offer wonderful winter flowers for native
butterflies without being cultivated. You just have to tolerate them in your
yard and not pull them up or mow them! I also came across a large bird winged
grasshopper on a mulberry plant seemingly basking in the sun. They have
catholic tastes and represent a genus (Schistocerca) that can occur in plague
proportions.
The very common brown or Cuban anole is an iguanid lizard that is an exotic but
has become a major food staple for other reptiles and birds. It continues to
hold territories during the winter and woo females, as shown here by a male
that is extending its colorful dewlap in a sunny spot along a tree trunk. It
could easily become food for predatory birds such as the loggerhead shrike
which is known to pierce its prey and hang them on barbed wire fences.
During a strong wind storm I found a number of meadowlarks in breeding
condition singing and showing off their extraordinary yellow breasts. These
birds require grasslands such as are found in cow pastures and thus can thrive
on ranches.
Aquatic birds seek out protected locations during storms and continue their
specialized feeding. The oystercatcher has a spectacularly colored chisel like
bill, the better to pry open bivalve molluscs. Since the male and female look
the same, the purpose of the bright bill color is a mystery. The pair of lesser
scaup shown here is a duck that feeds on invertebrates such as molluscs and
seeds by diving down and gathering them on the bottom in shallow water. Some
winter along our coasts and rivers in tidal waters, but breed along inland
waters in the NW US, Canada and Alaska.
We are fortunate in Florida to continue to have active populations of animals
during the winter. Thus we snowbirds can enjoy the interesting behaviors of
species that either have migrated, hibernated or become mostly inactive in
northern climes.
Bill Dunson
Englewood, FL and Galax, VA
http://lemonbayconservancy.org/news-blog/nature-notes-by-bill-dunson/ ;
http://pieenvironmental.blogspot.com/ ;
http://www.galaxgazette.com/blogs ;
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Don Pedro Isl beach during red tide 1.31.16 Bill Dunson IMG_1234 aa.JPG
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Zebra on Spanish needles flower in FL yard 1.15.16 Bill Dunson IMG_0909 aa.JPG
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Zebra on tassel flower FL yard 2.2.16 Bill Dunson IMG_1257 aa.JPG
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Grasshopper bird winged on mulberry at Susy dHonts yard 1.24.16 Bill Dunson IMG_1074 aa.JPG
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Anole brown dewlap FL yard 2.2.16 Bill Dunson IMG_1263 aa.JPG
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Shrike loggerhead PG airport 1.29.16 Bill Dunson IMG_1174 aa.JPG
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Meadowlark PG airport 1.29.16 Bill Dunson IMG_1148 aa.JPG
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Oystercatcher Bay Shore Live Oak Park 1.29.16 Bill Dunson IMG_1189 aa.JPG
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Scaup lesser pair Bay Shore Live Oak Park 1.29.16 Bill Dunson IMG_1205 aa.JPG
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