Early Summer Rains Bring Out Flowers and Wildlife

I came to Englewood FL in early summer to experience the beauties of the season and I was not disappointed. The parched Spring landscape has begun to receive heavy afternoon rains. A view from my back porch of an afternoon storm over Lemon Bay shows the ominous black clouds with frequent thunder. One of those storms was accompanied by a huge rainbow; my daughter in law Annette seems to be heading out to look for the pot of gold before the usual heavy rains start.

These frequent afternoon storms have partially replenished the ground water but we are still about 6 inches shy of the average for the season. Many plants have responded by blooming. Tar flower is one of my favorites since its petals are sticky and were used by early pioneers to trap flies. This phenomenon of sticky petals may represent an early stage in the evolution of insectivorous plants since any animals caught will supplement the poor nutrients in the sandy soil at the base of the plant. Partridge peas are in full bloom; their legume family is famous for nitrogen fixation which is a huge advantage in our nutrient poor soils.

The spectacular mimosa flowers are attractive to insects and provide a great alternative to a lawn made up of useless grass. The non-native honey bee on this flower is not a good thing but I have observed very few native bees this time of year. Summertime firebush are exceptionally beautiful and attract some butterflies that have long tongues to reach the nectar. Black mangrove flowers are quite different- they are white and shallow allowing access to many types of insects. The non-native jatropha has beautiful flowers that are attractive to insects and grow well in this climate.

One of the consequences of the Oct 2024 hurricane Milton was to cause an approximately 10 foot high storm surge across our island (Manasota Key). This killed any plants that were not tolerant of sea water immersion (such as our huge 100 year old strangler fig) and many small plants in the lawn. As a result an early successional halophyte sea blite (Suaeda) invaded and flourished where it has not been so widespread previously. Most of these had to be removed by hand so that a more normal and biodiverse flora would return (such as seaside goldenrod). Various salt water tolerant species have also been planted in areas of lower elevation which are likely to be flooded again. For example a small sea hibiscus is already flowering and buttonbush, sea grape, FL privet, yellow trumpet (Tecoma), and necklace pod are thriving. However the necklace pods are being eaten by non-native black iguanas and are being surrounded by cages to hopefully protect them.

Many butterflies are active such as this great southern white, monarchs, gulf fritillaries, and orange barred sulphurs. Reptiles are also quite evident. Although the brown anoles may have been somewhat reduced by the iguanas, this alpha male is displaying a bright dewlap to announce that he owns this small territory. I recently saw two kinds of snakes- this yellow rat or chicken snake and a black racer. The black iguanas or ctenosaurs from the Yucatan have become quite numerous and I am hoping their mostly herbivorous diet will not be too disruptive to my wildlife centered yard. A gopher tortoise made a visit to drink from the hose and eat several grapes offered by Annette,

Although I started up my drip water baths there are few terrestrial birds here this time of year. I have seen several cardinals and one brown thrasher and a few doves. Birds that are feeding in the bay are present- here are two of the common night herons, the yellow and black crowned. Actually only the yellow crowned is usually seen near salt water- the black crowned is primarily a fresh water form. Yellow crowned are primarily feeders on crustaceans and will breed inland where their preferred food is available.

I will soon return to my summer home in the Piedmont of NC but my heart is always on the southern coasts of FL which are so beautiful in summer. But I was without AC for four days and had a chance to live as I did while growing up in GA without air conditioning. It was an educational experience !