On the Wing May 2006

May also brings holiday time – each year its Florida bound, beach, sun, tides, boats, fisherman, more sun, and of course, shore birds. Who hasn’t sat and watched the great blue heron stalk the fisherman’s buckets and steal a few shrimp or a fish just off the hook? Occasionally the heron is rewarded by the fisherman, who throws back 90% of what they catch. Sport not food is what they are enjoying. With the last decade having warmer winters, we can see the blue heron year round in Indiana. With the increased number of stocked ponds and landscape water features, we have provided a year round supply of food, often to the chagrin of those who hate to see their goldfish disappear.

One time, while in Florida, we had a snowy egret visit us every morning. Dolly was her name and she loved shaved ham or chicken and would eat from your hand. Seen in large colonies on back water shrubs, there are often several hundred nests in one location. In pastures and scrub land where cattle manage to survive, you can see the cattle egrets gleaning from the “dung” of horses and cattle. Wonderful pelicans that soar effortlessly, and can suddenly dive straight down into the water. When they bob to the surface, they let the sea water drain from the pouch connected to their lower bill, and throw their head back and “down the hatch” goes the catch. With four or five flaps of the wings and they are airborne only to dive again into a school of small fish. In the 70’s pelicans were on the endangered species list due to the effects of D.D.T. Now they are a common sight resting on post around marinas while waiting on a hand out. Pelicans also nest in large colonies.

If you drive around in Florida, you will see nests atop of power line poles. These are man made platforms where osprey can build their nest and raise their young – aren’t they fortunate? – right near a food source. The osprey is the only raptor which plunges into the water feet first to catch fish. We saw a nest in the town of Dunedin in a tall tree. We were attracted to it because of noise the young made while standing upright in the nest, waiting to be fed.

Then there are the gulls! The Laughing Gulls, the Ring Billed Gulls and the Herring Gulls. The Laughing Gull tosses his black hooded head back and calls to a mate. The Ring Bill Gull has a black ring around its bill and scavenges for food. The Herring Gull will eat just about everything from insects to baby birds. They will drop clam shells from great heights to break the shells to get to the soft interior. All gulls nest in colonies.

Sometimes, confused for gulls – the Tern is smaller in size. It has a wonderful black cap and in flight can be recognized by its forked tail. The largest of terns is the Royal Tern at 20” and the smallest is the Lest Tern at 9” with the Fosters Tern in the mid size at 14’-15”. The Foster Tern was named for Johann Reinhold Foster, a German naturalist who traveled the world with Captain Hook in 1772.

Now, what about all those Sandpipers? They are the quick stepping little birds who dance along the waters edge, looking for aquatic insects to eat. The Anhinga, also called the snake bird, resembles the Cormorant. Both swim under water to catch their prey and can be seen with their wings outstretched to dry because neither have oil glands to waterproof their feathers. If they did not stop to dry their feathers they would become waterlogged and drown. The White Ibis, the Great Ibis, the White Pelican, the beautiful Cormorant with their shiny black necks and yellow bill, complete our list of Florida bird watching. And so it is and will remain until next May in our little piece of nature.