On natural things

Google + and needed updates

2011-07-12T08:38:00.003-04:00

I cannot believe it has been so long since posting here. We have two new dogs who are now about 15 months old. Between helping them grow up and Facebook, my spare time has been nil. However, I am now on G+ and enjoying that way of connecting. So far, no “trolls” but some really good people I know from FB and some real life friends are on this service. So with that, I need to at least post a picture of one of the critters who enjoys peanuts as much as the squirrels and birds relish them.

Squirrels abatch

2008-11-22T23:28:00.002-05:00

The Big Cypress Fox squirrels have been enjoying the peanuts I put out for them. They have invited their smaller grey cousins to join them and now I have an army of little ones who enjoy being on the other end of a tossed unsalted roasted peanut in the shell. Cardinals, blue jays and red bellied woodpeckers are also happy to grab a nut. Sometimes you feel like a nut...?

Three little wrens

2008-05-04T19:06:00.003-04:00

May 1 through May 3, 2008:

We had quite an adventure with three recently fledged Carolina wrens late last week. On Thursday, I noticed a real commotion being made by our two pet birds. Our female senegal who is 21 years old had begun pulling up the liner on the bottom of her cage and shredding it into a bird bath bowl in her cage. She was agitated and very intent on building what appeared to be a nest. Our cockatiel who is all boy was yelling and making a new call.

I noticed several young Carolina wrens in our front porch area. They were making "feed me" baby bird noises as they hunted for insects. They flew onto our front porch and stayed there actually tapping on our front doors. We have leaded glass inserts so I could see them as they approached the door. There is a very small opening where the double doors' weather stripping doesn't quite meet. They tried to get through the opening. I don't know if they heard Pogo and Henry, but they tried for a while and then flew off.

This little wren is very lively and very vocal. I thought that everything was fine, until Friday.

I was in the studio painting (or trying to paint). The parrot was being even noisier and the cockatiel was singing to beat the band. I came out to see what was going on and heard the song of the Carolina wren up close. When I approached one of our sliders leading to our covered lanai, I thought I heard the song much louder. So I opened the slider and saw the three little wrens! One was literally inches from me as I stepped out. He was on the back of one of our chairs. Another was on the bistro table and the third was on an outdoor lamp we have near the table. The just looked at me and made a heck of a racket.

Then, they took off. We have a pool cage enclosure without a pool. It is one of the big high topped screened enclosures common in this part of Florida surrounding a large concrete patio. At the end of this patio parallel but most distant to the house and covered lanai. we have in ground planters with shrubs and flowers. The area is lush and dense. We have a trellis to hold other plants and a medium sized spa with cover also. Some potted plants complete the fauna.

The little wrens flew to the top of the screen which is very high thinking they could fly off into the sky. They flew back and around all over for a long time. I had opened both doors in the hopes they would eventually fly down and walk or fly out. Instead a Velvet ant (aka Cow Killer) which is a form of a flightless wasp with a horrible sting walked in. I managed to get this nasty critter out without killing it. One of the wrens chased the one of the many porch lizards until both lizard and wren were at my feet. Both looked up and fled quickly. I felt as if I was part of some TV program focused on stupid human tricks or funny animals. I did not have the time or luxury of getting a camera to capture the event, but spent the better part of the afternoon flushing out these very cute, very nimble little birds. One apparently was the smartest bird as he/she took off for the open door within the first 10 minutes. Another took its time, but eventually flew out the same door shortly after abut an hour. However the third bird was panicking and I was at a total loss. I went inside, I came back out. I got my trusty Audubon bird call and did my level best to sound like another wren outside the screened area. All efforts to get him to follow were to no avail. I then thought water might direct the little bird who had become increasingly adept in hiding in the plumbago and shrubs. I used a gentle stream from outside the screen and moved him out to the trellis. He took a bird bath in the stream and proceeded to get a drink from the water remaining on the leaves of a golden dewberry shrub.

I gave up. I watched him from inside He wasn't going to starve as we do have lots of harmless insects traversing the patio. I am happy to have the small native and semi-native anoles (lizards) to provide excellent pest control. The remaining wren ate his fill and then flew back into the shrubbery apparently to nap. I went back to the studio saying a little prayer that his siblings would return to lure him out. When I checked back later, I thought he had gone. No distinctive calling, no scolding, no movement in the shrubs to confirm occupancy. I decided to use the bird call once again to see if he was still there. Well he was. Not only that, but one of his siblings returned as well. At that point I called for help. The best suggestion was to try to use a pool net to scoop them up, or wait until they were on the ground and toss a lightweight towel over them. Now, that sounded good but these little guys were like bird versions of Tomcat fighter plane; fast and very maneuverable.

Suddenly the returning bird took off for the open door and called the entire way. So I was now back with only one bird to go. It appeared that the other two siblings of the trapped bird were out in the yard near the edge of the wooded area calling. I decided to finish a painting. Later I went out and the other wrens were gone and all was quiet. I was so relieved thinking all was well.

I decided the way they got in was because the weather stripping on one of the screen doors left a gap. Normally I have an outside doormat blocking the gap. Ants have no problem getting in, but most larger creatures would be blocked. Luck would have it that the mat had not been put back after we pressure washed the lanai and patio recently. I put the mat back to prevent further intrusions.

Saturday AM my husband and I usually sleep in and enjoy a leisurely breakfast. We then adjourn to our living room to read the paper. It was pretty late morning when we heard the first peeps and "feed me" call of a wren. Sure enough, despite the mat being there, the last wren had not left, but was still visiting in a place he wanted to leave. This time, my spouse was there to help. He quickly saw how frustrating my Friday had been. We opened the doors again. Immediately a wasp joined us followed quickly by a yellow jacket. Two butterflies came in next. I was getting very concerned. I give some birds and squirrels peanuts and was worried they might want to join the crowd.

The happy ending came after several hours of other wrens calling to the trapped one. We did not see him leave, but our porch lizards were no longer in deep hiding and were happily looking for any insect which dared to venture inside the enclosure. Spiderwebs were back. Even the bird call did not get a rise out of any wrens outside and none inside. Sunday: no birds, except for those using the many birdbaths in the yard. The best news, I spotted three little wrens in their normal hunting and playground near the edge of the woods.

The butterflies will have to do with the flowering plants until they figure out how to fly down and out instead of flying up. A butterfly net would have to have a 20 ft. handle to catch the two. I am sad to report they are still trying to fly up, but they do have food and a potted plants in which to "puddle" or gain water. Just hope the spiders catch the wasp and yellow jacket!

I will never look at a Carolina wren the same way again. New wider weather stripping is planned. Our parrot is back playing with her toys and not trying to nest. The cockatiel is singing peaceful ditties and talking to himself.

Beware when little birds come knocking, you may have some house guests who have a difficult time leaving, and they may bring other uninvited guests.

Panther sighting

2007-11-15T19:52:00.000-05:00

A Florida panther was in our yard Tuesday night. He/she was being very vocal over the weekend in the wee hours of the night. I thought some critter was being mauled, but the sounds were that of a female looking for a boyfriend (will post a link to the recordings from a Florida Wildlife Commission education site) later.

Sure enough I found tracks in our yard and our neighbor to the south had a clear visual sighting.

Wildlife abounds still in our part of the world. Some of it is pushed in closer to home because land is being developed. While I am happy to know we are so near to nature, the sighting brings about a whole new sense of caution regarding our dog. While never out alone, I will make sure I have a way keep any risk away. Since panthers are very shy around humans, sometimes a noisemaker is more than enough.

Invaders

2007-02-10T10:22:00.000-05:00

While painting in a more urban location in Naples (the Naples Zoo entry), I was confronted by a Muscovy duck. This invasive animal is often thought to be a native critter by visitors. This duck was very tame and one child petted as if it were a dog. The duck also frightened one little girl and her mother. They were petrified at this large bird who seemed oblivious to their attempts to shoo it away.
I intervened. The duck had already pestered me, but I ignored him. Once I intervened he seemed to think of me as a buddy and continued just to hang out.

I am not fond of Muscovys or any invasive exotic plant or animal because of the impact on indigenous flora and fauna. This duck really had personality. I would never ever harm this type of critter, but unless more people are aware of the harm these invasive species do by displacing other native animals, more will proliferate. They reproduce quite rapidly. For more on invasive plants and animals in this region check out this website: http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_alphabetic_list.php

Nature and painting

2007-01-26T12:34:00.000-05:00

I have been busy combining my interests in natural history and painting via a painting workshop taking in three key habitats in this area:

Upland, Coastal and Wetland systems provide an experience beyond painting technique.

More later with pictures (of course).

Mystery Solved

2006-12-30T10:30:00.000-05:00

The scat found turns out to be from coyotes! Yes, we have coyotes in SW Florida. One columnist for the Collier Citizen newspaper; Mark Strain, wrote about trapping two of them humanely and then releasing them. He lives not too far from us. Then, one day when both my husband and I came home after dark seperately, we both saw at least one of these really beautiful animals in our headlights. The one critter I spotted, walked right in front of my car and the headlights illuminated the entire animal. There was no doubt about what I had just seen.

Nice to have the mystery solved. Coyotes are not native to Florida. Dr. Martin Main, a noted wildlife researcher with the University of Florida is involved with learning more about this animal in Florida. For more information click this link: South Florida Coyote Study

Clue number two

2006-12-14T16:10:00.000-05:00

Different critter or is this a variation in diet?

Evidence: specimen one

2006-12-14T15:55:00.000-05:00

Sometimes when critters visit you may not get to see them, but they often leave evidence of their visit: scat. Trying to figure out what animal left the evidence is an area of study for some.

Guidebooks help.

This is the first clue in a mystery:

what critter visited our property recently?

Looks like this creature ate some berries! We have raccoons, grey squirrels, big cypress fox squirrels, skunk, oppossum and bear known to be in our part of Collier County. Could this scat be from one of them?

Baby in a tree

2006-08-29T12:37:00.001-04:00

Perhaps it is the change in air pressure as a tropical storm approaches, but the critters who live in our neighborhood are busier than usual looking for food and shelter. Yesterday, I was out in the yard because blue jays were making a huge noise. I went out to see if a feral cat was in the yard. Instead, the jays were complaining about a baby. I grabbed my camera and took a couple shots under the attack of hungry mosquitos and using a pretty long lens.
This baby was taking a nap. Don't know where his/her mama was or if there were any brothers or sisters around, but I am keeping the camera handy should I be able to get more pictures without getting too close!

Alligators and humans

2006-07-26T09:05:00.000-04:00

I do have some great pictures of alligators taken with a long lens. This post, however is about CBS Early Show. I just watched a segment done by their weatherman in Baton Rouge, LA. It appeared to be broadcast from some type of tourist trap where they feed captive alligators chicken to amuse the visitors. Little natural history education was taking place...instead they showed this loud fellow throwing chicken pieces into the open mouths of the gators. I felt this was a terrible example to set for viewers, so I wrote to WINK-TV management and asked them to contact the key executives and producers by forwarding my email with my thoughts about how outrageously irresponsible the network was in showing this segment. I suggested they send along all the news story footage in recent years about alligator attacks (which include multiple human deaths.) Feeding alligators is not only illegal in Florida, it can be life threatening. It puts other humans at risk as well as the alligator and further disrupts nature.

The entire segment made feeding these animals seem like a "fun" thing to do.

I can only hope CBS and the Early Show get the message.

Butterfly orchid rescue

2006-07-23T18:03:00.000-04:00

We are blessed or should I say were blessed with a Florida native orchid called a butterfly orchid in our yard. I discovered the plant one day when outside waiting for the dog to get on with the morning ritual. Every June it bloomed and I would photograph it. I had to use a ladder to get close. Hurricane Wilma did beat the orchid up a lot, so I wasn't surprised that it didn't bloom this June. However, a week ago, during my almost daily check of the plant I noticed it was GONE!
Fortunately it wasn't really gone but it was in dire straits. I rescued it yesterday and hope to save it and put it back onto a pond cypress tree.
Here is the rescued orchid atop a section of a pine tree that crashed down from a previous storm It fell on top of the native and endangered bromeliads almost crushing them. You can see some of these plants as well.

What happened to March and April?

2006-05-05T15:14:00.000-04:00

Time flies and this fellow is looking for some...flies that is.

His image was captured in a while back. I am just now getting to some of my nature images. Been super busy with painting. Check out my website which I just finished updating. You will find this cute little frog there also. I don't know what species this guy is, but I found him hiding in our lamp post by our driveway when we installed a new light fixture.
http://www.trudybentleyrech.com

Dot com status

2006-02-02T15:16:00.000-05:00

Please visit my new website:http://www.trudybentleyrech.com/
I am looking forward to growing more professionally. I hope you will check out this new site often. I will be updating it at least weekly. For now, it may be daily in the fashion of Blogs!

Big Cypress Fox Squirrel

2006-01-09T22:08:00.000-05:00

This critter is a threatened species in south Florida. He visited earlier this week and graced one of our pond cypress trees with his presence. I have shared this image with the Florida Master Naturalist Program for their educational use. I retain all rights to this picture in all other circumstances. To learn more about the Master Naturalist program, visit this great website linked below. I have shared other nature photos with other naturalists via this page in the past.
http://www.masternaturalist.ifas.ufl.edu/index.htm
The scientific name for this large rare fellow is Sciurus niger avicennia. Google this name and learn more about this treatened mammal. You can click on the image to enlarge it and then hit the back button to come back to this page.

2005-09-22T22:06:00.000-04:00

This drawing represents the interest I have in nature around me. It is a drawing of a fallen sabal palmetto frond. The sabal palm is Florida's state tree.

2005-07-18T14:22:00.000-04:00

The Natural History of Florida is of great interest to me. I love living in an area where I have native plants and some critters in my own yard.
There is at least one gopher tortoise burrow in our front yard. The animal can be seen infrequently in the yard and neighborhood. It is a joy to watch him.
I am a Florida Master Naturalist. Check out this link on the program to view more information about the program. Several of my photos were chosen for the featured species and appear currently in the picture archives.
http://www.masternaturalist.ifas.ufl.edu/index.htm

2005-07-15T15:22:00.000-04:00

Decide to expand the blog into another area of interest which fuels a lot of my imagery. This area is about the REAL Florida.