Ghost Bird Returns

Ghost bird with a female House Sparrow

The leucistic pale "ghost bird" from last post has now become a regular at my bird feeders.  I watched and waited for days with no sign of it. I had nearly concluded it had been caught by a predator when finally on Saturday morning it reappeared.  I dashed for my camera, only to remember I had just lent it to my husband for the day. Arrgh! In desperation I snapped a few shots with my cell phone.  All you can make out in those are bird-shaped blobs, however.  Luckily, the bird returned several times that day and every day since. It is even at the feeders as I type this.

Perched in the locust tree, waiting for space at the feeder.

I must have taken hundreds of photos of it by now-- from various angles, in differing light conditions and with other birds in the same shot for comparison.  I still think it's a House Finch, but I'm not 100% sure.  It has very few field marks I can make out. 

A ventral view (the aluminum tube is a home made squirrel baffle).

The bird's beak is pink, plumage is almost all white with a light tan wash in places, eyes are dark, legs are dark gray and the toes are pink. I think I can make out faint barring on the belly, which makes me believe it's a House Finch.  It also associates with the large flock of House Finches at my feeder, matches the outline of House Finches I've seen at the feeder simultaneously, and I think I heard it give the same scolding call that other House Finches give when bickering.  That last is hard to be sure of though, since there are so many birds nearby most of the time.

Ghost bird and male House Finch

Ghost bird with Cardinal and female House Finches

Ghost bird with male House Sparrow

A dorsal view, with female House Finches nearby.

Looking somewhat ruffled

I would be very interested to hear other theories on the ghost bird's actual species.  Let me know in the comments what you think!

Today's location: my front yard, Montgomery County, MD.

Ghost Bird

Yesterday morning I glanced out the front window and discovered a startling leucistic bird at my sunflower feeder.  Its plumage was almost all white, but it had normally colored eyes, feet and beak. By the time I grabbed my camera and got outside, it had flown up to the telephone wires.  Of course that meant it was in full bright sunlight and tough to photograph with the glare.  I think it's probably a house finch judging from the general outline and my usual bird feeder population, but it's hard to be sure without any normal fieldmarks.  In the photo below you can also see a house sparrow at the upper left corner of the frame for comparison. 

 

 Leucistic birds tend to be especially vulnerable to predators, since their lack of pigment makes them so noticeable. I'm crossing my fingers for this one though.  I hope the ghost bird comes back to my yard again soon!

Summer strategy

It can be tough to bird in the summer, what with the obscuring leaves on the trees and a relative paucity of birdsong compared to spring and fall.  The strain on my neck from craning after treetop birds doesn't always seem worth the number of species I usually get this time of year.  So on many summer hikes I focus on the lower levels of the forest instead. This is also a good idea when taking a walk with a non-birding friend, e.g. my husband.  He’s tolerant of my being a nature geek when we hike together, but real birding with its stops and starts, and its long periods of watching a treetop in hopes that the tanager/warbler/whatever will pop into sight, would probably try his patience.

"I'm sure there's an oriole in there somewhere!"

I put this theory to work last week when we had some wonderfully cool weather (highs in the mid 80s rather than mid 90s or above) and Victor and I took a short hike along the C&O canal. I'll admit I still had to pull myself away from a few tantalizingly hidden birds, but there was so much else going on in the forest, I didn't feel I was missing out.

Milepost markers dot the trail.

It was a joy to be able to hike in the peak of summer without being soaked in sweat.  Even the black vultures were out enjoying the sunshine.  We found several of them basking in the parking lot with their wings opened, reminiscent of cormorants. I thought they looked very gawky and silly, but it must have been comfortable for all of them to be doing it.

I often see black vultures when I hike the C&O, but not usually like this!

Once we started the trail, we found that any sunny, still spot in the canal was covered with duckweed, and so were most of the turtles who’d hauled themselves onto logs to bask in the sunshine.

Turtles, fish, ducks, and even beaver may eat duckweed.

Also enjoying the canal was a green heron perched on a branch just above the duckweed-covered surface. We spotted it there when we walked upstream, and it was still there when we came back, taking advantage of a great fishing spot.  Periodically it would stretch forward, balance there for a while, then lightning fast snake its head down and snatch a minnow from the surface.  Yum!

Aiming...

Success!

The air was full of insect life.  Tiny beetles and bees swarmed any wildflowers, and dragonflies darted along the trail hunting them. We saw Eastern Amberwings and male (slate blue) and female (grass green) Eastern Pondhawks.  While photographing a perched female Pondhawk I also discovered a tiny Green Treefrog motionless on a nearby leaf.  Despite my inadvertently jostling its branch a couple times, the frog never even blinked.  It was very well camouflaged; I would have been completely unaware had it not been for the dragonfly perching a few inches away.

This female Pondhawk was amazingly tolerant of me.

You don't see me...

Butterflies including Tiger Swallowtails, Northern Pearly-eyes and Zebra Swallowtails flitted along the trail as well. Paw-paw trees make up much of the forest understory along the C & O; since their leaves are the only thing that Zebra Swallowtail caterpillars eat, you won’t see the black and white butterflies without them around. Talk about your picky eaters! 

A mud-puddling Tiger Swallowtail

Looks like this Pearly-eye lost a few bits of wing to a hungry predator.

Zebra Swallowtails sport fashionable red antennae.

The paw-paw fruit won't be ripe until late August.

We also found a tree with nearly twenty cocoons where caterpillars had rolled leaves around themselves.  I didn’t want to disturb their metamorphosis, so I didn’t unroll any. Thus I may never know what species of caterpillar this was. From the size (roughly half-inch diameter at the widest end) I’m guessing one of our large silkworm moths, maybe Promethea or Polyphemus. I managed to get one photo looking straight into the cocoon, with a just-distinguishable face looking out. Does anybody recognize what these were? I’d sure love to know. I’m kind of wishing I had unrolled one just a little to see what was inside. Please leave a comment if you think you know what they were.

Mystery pupa

Go away, I'm busy!

Last but not least, we saw several gorgeous spiderwebs beside the trail, some in the process of being rebuilt.  All belonged to a kind of orb spider called Arrow-shaped Micrathena. They rebuild at least some of their web every day, typical for orb spiders. They’re nowhere close to the size of the Golden-silk spiders we saw in Florida; instead these little guys were only about a quarter of an inch big.  Their shape however is pretty interesting: their abdomen is a bulgy triangle with little spikes.  We watched one spider who’d only completed about five of its outer spirals so far, and was busily spinning the rest.  Apparently they always leave a hole at the center of their web so they can easily switch back and forth between sides.  I suppose that could provide protection against flying predators who want to snatch them right off the web, or it could allow the spider to reach its own newly-snagged prey more quickly.  Pretty clever!

Each circuit took about twenty seconds to make.

This entry’s location:

C & O Canal National Historical Park, Poolesville, MD

Thrills at Merritt Island

On our recent Disney World vacation, we enjoyed Disney’s Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios parks but never made it over to Animal Kingdom.  You might wonder why a naturalist would give up the chance to visit a zoo that has exciting rides AND live animals. It’s not that I have an ethical bias against zoos, that I didn’t like this park on our last visit, or even that we couldn’t wake up in time to see early-rising animals. Instead, we found just as much discovery, beauty and excitement (maybe more excitement than we’d bargained for) as Animal Kingdom would have offered, with lots less crowds too. 

Instead of Animal Kingdom, we decided to visit Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore, both in Titusville. You need a car to get there from Disney World in Orlando, but it’s definitely worth the hour drive. We arrived at the refuge roughly mid-day. Even that late, there were still lots of animals out and about, including some of my target species.

It had rained every day of our visit so far, and we’d already pushed the Merritt trip back a day.  The morning looked fine when we set out, but soon a huge ominous bank of clouds appeared over the horizon.  By the time we got to the refuge, the air felt like a storm was about to break, and dark angry clouds were nearly overhead.  So we ducked into the VC for the briefest of chats with the staff, then optimistically slathered on bug repellent and entered the short boardwalk trail.  The threatening storm front definitely added as much urgency and danger to our wildlife watching as we found on any thrill ride back at Disney.  Although our pace was rushed, we still found lots of cool critters along the boardwalk: tiny lizards, tropical butterflies, dragonflies, and of course those tremendous spiders I mentioned last entry.

Queen butterfly

Wandering through oaks, palms and Spanish moss.

A non-native Brown Anole

After we finished the boardwalk we could hear distant thunder but still no rain had fallen.  Our next destination was the Scrub Ridge trail, where I hoped to spot a Florida Scrub-jay. We didn’t find any Scrub-jays, but did see several Gopher Tortoises, so named because they dig long burrows. They were pretty shy, and usually we’d spot them from about 15 feet away, at the same time they saw us. At that point they’d trundle hastily into the underbrush. Once under cover they were invisible but we could easily tell their location from the scuffling sounds.  After maybe the fifth similar encounter we couldn’t help but giggle every time we saw or heard another one. Apparently the Gopher Tortoises are pretty important for the scrub ecosystem: lots of other animals use their burrows for homes too, whether as daily shelter or to escape the fires that regularly sweep the area in order for it to remain scrubby, not forested.

Gopher tortoises on the trail. The far one just spotted us.

Another animal we saw everywhere on the trail was the tiny Oak Toad, only about an inch long.  They were so abundant in spots, and so well camouflaged, that I barely avoided stepping on a few. I remember thinking the toads seemed nearly to glimmer against the trail (although maybe that was just air shimmer from the heat). These are the smallest native toads in the US, and are one of the few that is active in daytime. Pretty cool.

Oak Toad

Roughly halfway down the trail we decided the clouds looked way too scary and close for comfort, so we turned back. We made it to the car in a cloud of mosquitoes, but still no actual raindrops had fallen.  (Note to anybody considering a visit to Merritt: wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt even in the hottest weather! My pants did a much better job protecting me from mosquitoes than bug repellant did on bare skin, probably because I kept sweating off the repellant no matter how often I applied it.)

Threatening clouds over the scrub habitat.

Next we headed to look for endangered West Indian Manatees.  I’ve always wanted to see wild manatees. We’d seen captive ones the day before at Epcot’s Living Seas exhibit, but it's just not the same. The area we were directed to was much further away than I had thought; in fact Victor had just said “I think we’ve gone too far, let’s turn back” when I finally spotted a sign for the turn-off. We pulled into the gravel parking lot and joined a couple other families already on the concrete overlook. Right below our feet we saw manatees lolling in the warm shallow water.  Wow! There was even one a bit farther away munching on floating plants.

The manatees were very tough to photograph. Mostly they floated just under the murky water surface, occasionally coming up for air.  We were still anxious about the weather, and hadn’t yet gotten over to Canaveral to see the shuttle, so we didn’t spend a lot of time at the manatee spot.  In the picture below, you can see white scars where the manatees had been hit by motorboats.  That’s pretty common, I’ve heard, and is a big reason why they are on the federal endangered species list.  The captive ones at Epcot were individuals who’d had severe injuries in the wild and were being treated and rehabilitated before release.

Two West Indian Manatees

After the manatees we drove to the adjacent Canaveral National Seashore. We briefly checked out one of the beaches that had good views of the shuttle.  There we also got a closer look at another Gopher Tortoise in the dunes, although it was as shy as the ones on Scrub Ridge trail and quickly scooted back under cover. There wasn’t a whole lot of other wildlife on that beach though; it’s not the season for migratory sandpipers and such.

Space Shuttle Atlantis

Gopher Tortoise hiding in the dunes

After the beach, we headed for Bio Lab Road, recommended to us by Canaveral’s contact station attendant.  This turned out to be roughly five miles of skinny dusty road through marshy habitat, with occasional views of the seashore.  It was thick with wildlife.  Without leaving the car, we saw a Florida Wood Rat, a Marsh Rabbit, a Roseate Spoonbill, two Alligators, an Anhinga, both Great Blue & Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, White Ibises and of course the ubiquitous Golden-silk spiders.

Marsh Rabbit

Roseate Spoonbill

White Ibis and Little Blue Heron

Victor generously drove the whole time, allowing me to be wildlife lookout.  This was my first time birding by car, and to be honest I was skeptical about the idea.  How could I have a productive birding experience if we drove past wildlife before I even spotted it? But Victor was very good at driving slowly and stopping promptly when asked.  Since we only saw two other cars the whole way, we could even safely back up to get better views or photos if we passed something before my mind registered “Hey, there was an alligator back there!”

A lurking alligator

Around 4:00 we turned around and headed back for the refuge.  I had wanted to pick up a T-shirt or two in the gift shop.  But when we got to the VC area (at about ten past 4), we found even the gates into the parking lot were closed and locked.  The posted hours were 10:00-4:30, and nobody answered the phone when we called the listed number.  It was very disappointing and frustrating.  I understand that sometimes things come up, but I really wish staff could at least have posted an explanation if not an apology. I had looked forward to buying that T-shirt as a way to support the park as well as to have a tangible memento of our visit. Instead, I ended up with a sour final impression. I didn’t even have the heart to take a last photograph of those locked gates.

But that’s the only thing that Merritt didn’t do as well as or better than Disney: customer service. And until that point, the customer service at Merritt & Canaveral had been pretty good. Everybody we talked to was polite and helpful, sending us correctly to interesting spots for wildlife. Even those ominous storm clouds never loosed a single raindrop, just added that spark of excitement.

I highly recommend visiting Merritt Island NWR and Canaveral National Seashore. Although you may have to work at it a little more, what with the longer drive and a grittier experience, for both wildlife and excitement I think a visit to Merritt Island & Canaveral beats a visit to Animal Kingdom. We had just as much fun and discovery at Merritt as we would have with Animal Kingdom’s rides and animal exhibits.  Disney might have more animals in total and more guaranteed sightings, but because we discovered all the refuge animals ourselves, Merritt Island felt like more of a genuine adventure.

Side note: I found Merritt via the Great Florida Birding Trail, a compilation of excellent birding sites throughout Florida, with tips for best times and key species or habitats. Virginia has one too, the Virginia Birding & Wildlife Trail.  They’re handy whether you live in the area or are planning a visit. The American Birding Association has compiled a list of similar birding trails throughout the US too. Over thirty states are included. I’ll definitely check the listings before my next vacation.

This entry’s locations:

• Merritt Island NWR, Titusville FL

• Canaveral National Seashore, Titusville, FL

Predators

Last week I was frolicking in Orlando, Florida, with my hubby to celebrate our one-year wedding anniversary. Yay!  We spent most of our time at the Disney parks, but also took a day for some local nature. We drove out to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore in Titusville. 

A boardwalk trail behind Merritt Island's Visitor Center.

We saw nature as well as the last foreseeable space shuttle at Canaveral.

At one point we drove down Canaveral's tiny, dusty Bio Lab Road in search of birds, Victor driving while I served as wildlife lookout. He isn't as fascinated with birds and bugs as I am, but had mentioned that he'd really like to see an alligator. So when we finally spotted one I was both relieved and excited.  The alligator was resting near a little streamlet along my side of the road.

The first alligator of the trip.

I had a hard time getting my camera to zoom properly on the alligator.  I thought the autofocus was just being persnickety, but when I downloaded the pictures I discovered the real cause: there were several large spiders a few feet from the car, between me and the alligator! The camera kept trying to focus on them, not the more distant reptile.  This photo reminds me of those old picture games I loved when I was a kid, finding various objects camouflaged in a sketch. How many predators can you count here?

From spiders to alligators, there's a predator in Florida for any size!

I count five predators in all, with a possible sixth just creeping in at the top of the spiders' web. These Golden-silk Spiders were each about one inch long including their legs-- pretty small for their species, so I'd guess they're pretty young. We also saw full-grown and honestly gargantuan females on the wildlife refuge.  The females measured about three or four inches long including the legs, with swollen bodies at least one inch long.  Males were barely one-third to one-half that large, and hung near the edge of the females' webs.  Check out this romantic pair:

Yikes! Those are some monstrous hairy-kneed legs.

Although late June/early July is supposedly one of the worst times for wildlife watching in Florida, what with the heat,  voracious mosquitoes, and a relatively low number of bird species in residence, we still had a great and very productive time.  I'll post more about the trip later this week, then resume my usual Maryland-area explorations.

This entry's sites:

• Canaveral National Seashore 
• Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge