Here Kitty, Kitty

While hiking along the sandy trails that wind through the open grassy forest of the St. Sebastian River Preserve this week, I stopped to listen to a call.  "Here kitty, kitty, kitty", nope (my two-year son's favorite word), it was not the owner of a lost feline, it was the call of a Bachman's Sparrow. 

Bachman's Sparrow

It didn't take long to find  this one in a Pine Tree just above us. Bachman's Sparrows can be quite elusive, however, they are generally easier to spot this time of year as they show their faces while singing to one another. Bachman's Sparrows typically dwell in pine woodlands, which are found readily at this preserve.

Pine Warbler

Pine Warblers and Brown-headed Nuthatches are also common dwellers at this location. We saw quite a few of each of  these species on this trip.

The Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, however, continued to elude me, but I'll be back! We were able to find several Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. The hiking continued later in the week at the Cruickshank Sanctuary, our favorite place to visit the Florida Scrub Jays!

Tons of water lilies are blooming in the small creek near the entrance. I liked the way the early morning sun was shining on this pair.

Florida Scrub-Jay

We see this same Scrub-Jay every time we visit the sanctuary. It's easy to identify this one due to its bill deformity~unless there is more than one, but I don't believe that to be the case. We are considering giving him a name, any suggestions?

Monk Parakeet (aka Quaker Parrot)

This Monk Parakeet took us by surprise when it flew in and landed on a branch above us. This was the first I've seen here, but there are a few colonies of these feral birds in Central Florida. South Florida has a larger population of them.

Northern Mockingbird

Young Mockingbirds are every where!

Northern Bobwhite

Ran into Mr. (Bob)White; always a pleasure!

Have a great week!!!

St.Sebastian River Preserve State Park

I took an early morning drive through the northeast section of the St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park this morning. It's a very peaceful and beautiful place to visit with a variety of habitat to explore. The park consists of four quadrants which cover over 22,000 acres. It is located in southern Brevard and northern Indian River counties. Here is a link to a map of the park: www.floridastateparks.org/lib/img/park/parkmap/sts-map.jpg

The day started out with sunny skies, but heavy cloud  cover moved in quickly as colld front pushed down from the north. We stayed on Buffer Preserve Drive while looking for birds, but there are miles of trails that can be explored on foot, or even by horse, but we don't have a horse. There is a manatee overlook at the end of the drive, but we didn't make it quite that far today. At this time of  the year, it's a great place to observe lots of  the "sea cows" as the canal offers warm water and a lack of boat traffic in that area.

Northern Mockingbird
St. Sebastian Preserve State Park

This Mockingbird is perched on a tree that is burned out. At the park, there is notable evidence of fires in many areas. The majority of these are from "prescribed burns", fires set intentionally to restore and maintain the communities. Without these fires, the pine flatwoods, as well as other plants and some animals that depend on these types of communities would be destroyed.

American Kestrel
St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

The Kestrel was definitely the most popular bird of  the day. I saw at least seven of them! Such a beautiful bird.

Eastern Phoebe
St. Sebastian River State Park

We only counted 11 species on our trip, not very impressive. I have higher hopes for the next trip, which I'm hoping will be soon. There are Red-Cockaded Woodpecker colonies that reside on the preserve and I'm hoping to see them!