Do not ask me how this image came up recently because to tell you the truth, I cannot remember. Perhaps it is because I've been in contact with my former printer, Roger? In any case, wow, how much work we went to on all of those Sundays. Eight or nine years, I can't remember which. Ha ha...how much work it was for Bruce! We had many fun days at the market, the memories of those years are all good. Perhaps I'm posting this because I have some new readers (!) who never knew us in those days? Because I'm still struggling with the new format, adding photos is an adventure on my end!
Remember the empty perch from my last post? One morning I saw a bird, put down my pickleball paddle and grabbed my camera. Alas, it was not the Kestrel, but a Red Bellied Woodpecker instead. I get teased by my fellow players when they are there because my eyes are always scanning for birds when they should be on the ball!
Yet another day we heard the bird before we saw it land, and it turned out to be another type of woodpecker, this time a Pileated, much more uncommon than the first type.
As you can see it is a popular perch for birds. Unfortunately, not the American Kestrel I was looking for, but a nice sighting nonetheless. One morning a Red Shouldered Hawk landed on the power pole which is normally reserved for the Kestrel.
Despite the American Kestral's diminutive size, it kept attacking the hawk on the head to reclaim the perch. After a time it worked but not without a Herculean effort on the part of the small bird. I'm including the above shot in order to defend myself. How can I not notice the birds???
Obviously this photo is not birds but the enemy of birds, a small pack of the feral cats to be found around our place, especially first thing in the morning. Where they go the rest of the day is one of life's great mysteries. Well, maybe not great, but you get the idea. We can only hope one of the neighbors is not feeding them.
By now you may have guessed that Bruce and I played pickleball multiple mornings because it is good exercise. All of the practice has definitely improved our game when we play with others, however, and it pains me to type this, but I've done gone and lost my serve which has cost whatever partner I am playing with chances to score. The thing is, when you miss the serve you lose your turn and have to give it to the other side, so not being able to serve is, well, in a nutshell, miserable for both the partner and the inept server, which in this case, happens to be me. And while I'd like to chalk it up to my birdwatching, that would be doing the birds a disservice as the fault is entirely mine. One day soon I hope to find that which has been lost! By the way, while reading the paper during lunch today I read that playing tennis is way down the list of risky activities for catching Covid, as in second from the bottom in a list of ten. Good news!
Okay, so one of those mornings when it was just me and Bruce, I told him I was going to walk home because I wanted to see if I could finally get a decent photograph of the Kestrel. I walked outside the gates, positioning myself against a wall and pointed the camera to the very top of the light pole. Now you see exactly what I have been up against. My new camera does have a very long zoom lens but that has presented its own challenges because it is very hard for this old lady to keep it still and get a good focus.
I am super happy to report that, after many tries, I finally got a good shot to show off this little cutie.
The smallest of the falcon family, they are known to eat squirrels, mice, other small birds (:, and a variety of insects. Now you know should anyone ask. 😀
Whew, now we can move on....
Last Monday we made a plan to go to the newly opened, Lake Apopka Wildlife drive on Friday morning. Finally the day arrived and as we were getting into the car around 7 in the morning I said to Bruce, "I wonder about this weather, it's looking very grey for this time of day". For those unfamiliar with Florida weather, it rarely rains in the morning, saving the onslaught for much later in the day. Anyway, because it is only open for a few days a week, we carried on. My fears were realized the closer we got to our destination, rain began falling steadily. Once we were there it showed no sign of stopping. Bummer. Well, here's a photo of these times if ever there were one with two masks on the dashboard.
The good news is that after pulling over for a bit, the rain slowed and before long it stopped altogether, although the skies remained very gloomy.
We saw many of the usual suspects but as every sighting is new that was fine by me. I mean these guys come to our lake but no two birds are alike, the same as humans. Which is really, really remarkable isn't it? I mean, think about it, millions and millions of people that all look differently and think differently for that matter. Amazing. If my research is sound, this is a juvenile Tricolored Heron.
While there we like to count the alligators we spot, a number that is usually numerous. Imagine seeing a gator for the first time...we are very accustomed to their prehistoric looks and we often forget that not everyone has seen them before. That said, this is one animal I will never willingly get close to!
While this is not the best time of the year for birdwatching, I was delighted when we finally came across these Fulvous Whistling Duck family. I only wish they had been on my side of the car as I was shooting across Bruce, thus that pesky keeping still business came into play.
Another marvel of creation how every species has different legs and feet. Amazing is what I have to say.
Here's something sort of funny...here we drove for a bit to birdwatch and what do you know, once we were home, a rare Brown Pelican flew onto our lake and I watched while it caught fish three different times. That's the great thing about birdwatching, they are everywhere once you begin looking as so many others have discovered during the pandemic.
Finally, one morning I was in the front of the property surveying the resident container gardens when I happened to look up and turns out a Red Shouldered Hawk was looking down.
The trees on this part of the property are big and tall. So what Gail? Well, once I saw the hawk, I was hoping to see more, greedy girl that I am.
I'm looking and looking and lo and behold (sorry for all the ands!) I spotted not a bird, but something else that I can't readily identify except to say that I think it must have been from last month's tornado. Pretty crazy, don't you think?
Have you been looking for silver linings amidst the pain and confusion we've all been facing the last four (!) months? They are there if you are open to them. As I've typed this, my frustration with the new platform has been tempered a bit by one of my silver linings which is listening to our son as a dj on V89, something I mentioned a few weeks ago. Who would have thought he would return to his college day roots? Who also could EVER have imagined a face mask becoming a fashion item? That's a crazy one. Another thing I was thinking about was fashion in general. Is it possible we will emerge from this to find that people are wearing what is comfortable for them rather than what the fashion world dictates? Just a thought.
Well, the day is sunny and the pool is calling, so I will close but I would love to learn about your "silver linings" should you be willing to share. It would be ever so good to hear from you.
your friend,
Gail
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