Purple Gallinule

Monday June 29th

Florida Sandhill Crane Family at Harns Marsh

Hathaway Park

Sunday June 7th

View along Shell Creek

The dock has been better days

Had visited Hathaway Park, which is along Shell Creek in Charlotte County, last year.  Returned recently with the purpose of looking for anything interesting.  June is our weakest time of the year for birding, so  expanding the scope of our observations beyond just birds can be satisfying. 

Crested Coralroot Orchid

 

As for the birds, found a few of the expected summer residents including Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Swallow-tailed Kite, White-eyed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Carolina Wren, Pine Warbler, Cardinals and Northern Parula.

 

Echo Moth caterpillars on a coontie plant

Other observations included several brightly colored Echo Moth caterpillars on a coontie plant. Plus a few interesting mushrooms popping up after recent rains, plus an orchid called a Crested Coralroot Orchid

 

Made a lot of other flora observations as well. 

 

Southern Bee Blossom

American Beautyberry

Pignut Hickory

Yellow Star Grass

Florida Alicia

Blackroot

Red Bay

Southern Bogbottom

Tarflower

Florida Blueheart

Harns Marsh

Saturday June 6th

White Checkered-Skipper

The water levels at Harns Marsh were still low on my visit, but recent rains have begun and are going to fill up the wetlands and canals very soon.  These current conditions are concentrating Limpkins on the shallow lake.  Counted over forty Limpkins, plus a half dozen Roseate Spoonbills and Little Blue Herons.  Only a few of the other expected waders were seen - Tricolored and Great Herons, Great and Snowy Egrets and only one White Ibis. 

Snail Kite

Didn't notice any roosting Swallow-tailed Kites, but as we move into summer this should be a good location when then start to congregate prior to their migration south.

Snail Kites are also much harder to locate at Harns Marsh. Was able to have numerous sightings here in the past, but they have spread out these days.  Did seen a female roosting in a tree along Sunshine Parkway just before the Able Canal bridge.

No Purple Gallinules either.  They have become rare lately, perhaps because of the increase of the Gray-headed Swamphens. Not unusual to have 10 or more Swamphen counts.

Gray-headed Swamphen

Most unusual find was a land snail called a Ghost Bulimulus.  This is an invasive species having arrived here from Argentina.

Ghost Bulimulus

So what's blooming here today - Southern Bee Blossoms, Marsh Fleabane, Marsh Pink, Black Jack and Trailing Daisy

Babcock-Webb

Monday June 1st

Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Northern Bobwhite

Currently public access to Babcock-Webb Wildlife Manage Area in Charlotte County has been restricted to only Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Mondays from 8am till 5 pm. Folks wanting to use the Gun Range has to call ahead for an appointment. All this is due to the troubles with the Covid-19 pandemic.

 These restrictions have ended,  Full access as of June 5th

Not being able to access the venue till well past day break, a birder will miss the opportunity to be on-site to witness the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers as they exit their nest holes in the morning.  But today I was lucky to catchup with a pair of the woodpeckers that were seen working the slash pine near the colony site along Oilwell Grade. 

Phaon Crescent

Pickerelweed

Heard several singing Pine Warblers and  Bachman's Sparrows also, plus Eastern Meadowlarks, Eastern Towhees, Common Nighthawks, nesting Eastern Bluebirds, a large covey of Northern Bobwhites, Common Ground-doves, Blue Jays, Limpkin, Northern Flicker, Loggerhead Shrikes and Tufted Titmice. Not many wading birds on-hand even though the water levels were improving 

Other observations included alligators, a Florida Box Turtle, a Florida Garter Snake,

Rose Rush

Plus Zebra Swallowtail, Phaon Crescent, Queen, White Peacock, Twin-spotted Skipper Butterflies, Coffee-loving and Bella Moths

Been paying attention to what's been blooming at Babcock-Webb.  Some of todays blooms included Dark-eyed Susans, Spanish Daisies, Pineland Heliotrope, Tarflower, Common Axil-flower, Rose Rush and Pickeralweed

Alligator Lily

Tarflower

Pitted Stripeseed