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Posts tagged ‘environment’

May 3

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A Lady Grackle in a Pond-Apple Tree

Despite the commonality of these birds, I love to watch them. Well, I love to watch anything and everything when I’m out & about in nature, honestly — they’re all bright gems to me. I recently watched and photographed a Harvest Mouse for a good 15 minutes….

The Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) is a large blackbird that’s often confused with the American Crow. Adult males are iridescent black, with long dark bills, long tails, and pale yellowish eyes. Females are slightly smaller and less glossy — brownish, in fact. Their song is a bit harsh, especially when it’s calm in our protected wetlands and several birds suddenly appear. They’re found across North America east of the Rocky Mountains, being permanent residents in much of this area. As forests were cleared for farmland, their range expanded west. Grackles nest in colonies, hiding their nests in dense trees and shrubs, often near water. These birds forage on the ground, in shallow water, or in shrubs — I’ve seen some interesting scenes of them skimming our wetlands’ duckweed in rapid flight for long periods of time…and I recently caught some photos of such an event. They’re omnivorous, and will steal food from other birds.

Pond-apple Tree Blossoms in the Florida Everglades

Young Pond Apple in the Florida Everglades

I caught this girl resting in a pond-apple tree, a common fixture in our wetlands, marshes, and the Everglades; they’re also known as Alligator-apple (for the fact that alligators will eat the fruit), Swamp-apple, Corkwood, Bobwood, and Monkey-apple. Unable to grow in dry soil and tolerant of saltwater, pond-apples are native to Florida, as well as the Caribbean, Central and South America, and West Africa. The tree averages 30-35 feet in height, and its blossoms are lovely creamy white and pale yellow, almost tulip-shaped. The fruit is apple-sized and mango-shaped, and falls when it’s green or ripening yellow. Edible to humans (it can be made into jam), the fruit serves as food for many species. It can be a bit bitter or tasteless for us, however (although its flesh is quite fragrant) — as my guy can attest to when I demanded he try it (“let’s make jam out of it!”). Pond-apple trees have become a scourge overseas, but in the Everglades they’re a valuable source of sustenance for our wildlife — I’ve seen alligator, raccoon, and all species of turtles munching on fallen pond apples. The trees provide shelter for myriad creatures, and their canopies are used as nesting grounds for all species of birds. Even more interesting, recent studies have shown that its alcoholic seed extract may provide anticancer compounds that could be used pharmaceutically.

Common Grackle in a Pond-apple Tree, Florida Wetlands

Common Grackle in a Pond-apple Tree, Florida Wetlands

Common Grackle in a Pond-apple Tree, Florida Wetlands

Pond-apple Tree: Note the thin trunks growing in clumps

May 3

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Creating Our Backyard Wildlife Habitat: Step One, Provide Food

There have been many wonderful comments from people explaining how they’re creating natural habitats for their wildlife critters in their personal spaces (usually birds, but not always) — some of whose populations have suffered a decline in recent years. It’s crucial in our modern culture/society to do so; It doesn’t take much to provide a wee bit of food, water, and shelter for these guys…. Besides, it calms the soul to view nature. ♥

Here, Nature Mom teaches her son how to create a backyard wildlife habitat, something anyone can do, in any environment — I had a great little set-up in a former apartment. Following guidelines provided by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), she details the creation and necessary resources for her local wildlife….

Linda Bernardi's avatarSuburban Nature Explorations

Today my son and I began working towards making our backyard into a Certified Wildlife Habitat, per the guidelines provided by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). I figured it would be best for my four-year-old if we only focus on one aspect of certification at at a time. Our focus today? Step one: Provide Food for Wildlife.

Certification requires that the backyard provide three food sources, selected from the following list:

  • Seeds
  • Nuts
  • Berries
  • Fruits
  • Nectar
  • Sap
  • Foliage / Twigs
  • Pollen
  • Supplemental Feeders
    • Seed
    • Suet
    • Hummingbird
    • Squirrel
    • Butterfly

This was a fun, educational activity to work through with my son. What in our yard is food for wildlife? What could we add that wildlife could eat? What animals might eat each of the items on this list?

We decided our yard provides nuts (acorns from the oak tree), nectar (the rosemary flowers), and seed (supplemental bird feeders). We…

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May 3

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Creating Our Backyard Wildlife Habitat: Step Two, Supply Water

Step 2 in the guidelines set forth by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), in the creation of a backyard wildlife habitat: Supply Water!

Linda Bernardi's avatarSuburban Nature Explorations

For those of you who are following us, you know that yesterday my son and I started to create a wildlife habitat in our backyard, following the guidelines set by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Yesterday our focus was on providing food sources for wildlife. Today, we worked on step two… supply water for wildlife.

Certification requires that the backyard provide one water source, selected from the following list:

  • Lakefront
  • Seasonal Pond
  • Coastal
  • Birdbath
  • Water Garden / Pond
  • Rain Garden
  • Lake
  • River / Stream
  • Spring
  • Shallow Dish
  • Puddling Area

In the past, providing water in our yard for wildlife wasn’t something I thought about. Actually, my focus was on emptying out any little bit of pooled water I could find, as I don’t want any mosquitoes breeding in the yard. Also, there is a natural spring just on the other side of our fence, which is primarily what attracts…

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May 3

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Creating our Backyard Wildlife Habitat: Step Three, Create Cover

Step 3 in the National Wildlife Federation (NWF)’s guidelines in the creation of a backyard wildlife habitat: Create Cover!

Linda Bernardi's avatarSuburban Nature Explorations

Today was day three of working towards making our backyard into a Certified Wildlife Habitat, per the guidelines provided by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). So far, we’ve completed step 1 (provide food) and step two (supply water).  Our focus today? Create cover for wildlife.

This step in the certification process requires that a backyard has two types of cover for wildlife, selected from the following list:

  • Brush Pile
  • Log Pile
  • Wooded Area
  • Dense Shrubs / Thicket
  • Meadow / Prairie
  • Evergreens
  • Ground Cover
  • Roosting Box
  • Water Garden / Pond
  • Bramble Patch
  • Burrow
  • Cave
  • Rock Pile / Wall

This one was a bit tough for us, though my son had fun trying to build cover with the many sticks he’s collected over the years (photo below). We definitely already have one major cover for wildlife… our deck. But “deck” isn’t one of the items on…

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May 1

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A Calm Cormorant

At our protected Green Cay and Wakodahatchee Wetlands, where nesting and baby season remains in full swing (granted, the babies are growing, but there are some late-arrival nesters), some of the year-round residents don’t seem overly concerned with the consequent increase in human traffic. With more than 140 species of birds identified at Wakodahatchee, and the fact that it’s part of the Great Florida Birding Trail, the site is a birdwatcher’s and photographer’s paradise — especially now. I like to stroll towards the back of the boardwalk to admire some of the shyer inhabitants — and consequently avoid the chaos of the human visitors during this time of the year, when the wetlands’ newest residents are on display.

Anhinga Dries Its Wings

A noticeably calm cormorant — or “shag” (referring to the bird’s crest, which is lacking in the British forms of the Great Cormorant) — was preparing for a nap at the end of the boardwalk. These medium-to-large coastal (rather than oceanic) seabirds are plentiful in southeastern Florida, and can often be seen diving for fish or water snakes. After fishing, the cormorants dry their wings ashore in the sun or in the trees (similar to the cormorant-like anhingas), as their feathers don’t possess the waterproofing oil of other seabirds.

Humans have long used trained cormorants to fish the waters of China, Japan, and Macedonia. Trained by fishermen, a snare is tied near the base of the bird’s throat, allowing the bird to swallow only small fish. When the bird captures and tries to swallow larger fish, the snare doesn’t allow the fish to be swallowed, and it becomes stuck in the bird’s throat. The cormorant is forced to return to the fisherman’s boat, where he helps the bird regurgitate the fish, removing it from its throat. Traditional cormorant fishing isn’t as common a method today — with the development of more efficient fishing methods — but it remains a tourist draw. However, the method is still practiced in some Japanese regions, and has continued uninterrupted for 1300 years in Gifu City, in Gifu Prefecture.

Although both cormorants and anhingas are quite common in our area, I was struck by the serenity of this guy, and his beautiful teal eyes…. Their distinctive turquoise eyes fade quickly after the breeding / nesting season.

Lovely Teal Eyes of the Cormorant (Florida Wetlands)

Sharp Beak of the Cormorant (Florida Wetlands)

Dozing Cormorant in the Florida Wetlands

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