Winter Doldrums Not a Problem for Nature Lovers

You might think that mid-winter in SW FL would be rather bleak but such is not the case. Although few native flowers are blooming, insect pollinators are scarce, and birds are limited to permanent and winter residents, there are still plenty of interesting natural events to witness. An extreme example is shown of camellias in bloom at our summer home/48 acre nature preserve on the Haw River in NC. Of course camellias are exotics from Japan/Asia but their showy blooms provide some much needed color and some pollinators such as bumble bees venture out on warmer days to visit the flowers. We cannot grow camellias here in SW FL but there are a number of native and non-native flowers that brighten the landscape and attract insects. Morning glories are common and this one is being visited by a green native bee. The famous Hong Kong orchid tree (not an orchid but in the legume family, Fabaceae) is a fabulous winter bloomer which attracts butterflies and can be enjoyed without guilt since it is a sterile hybrid and does not reproduce.

The beautiful native sea grape with its enormous striking leaves will soon be blooming and attracting migrating warblers in droves. It is unique with its huge leaf compared to other SW Florida trees and this large size is somewhat of a mystery. As one of the very few salt tolerant trees, the size and waxy coating of the leaves probably convey some benefits in tolerating exposure to salt spray. A salt tolerant bush, the cocoplum, is now covered in large dark fruits. They are edible but not very palatable to humans. A most unusual fruit is the non-native glory bower, which is dark with a red base and stem. A native species with the exact same coloration is the sassafras tree shown here from our VA farm,; they do occur in N Central FL. This seems to be a case of what to do to attract birds to eat your fruit when it is dark? Instead of evolution producing a red fruit it has developed a reddish base to attract birds.

The evening primrose/Oenothera is a native in bloom in mid-winter but only in early successional habitat- in nearly pure sand with little competition from other plants. It is likely pollinated by night flying sphinx moths.

I have been surprised this winter to find that the majority of butterflies flying in our yard on offshore Manasota Key are monarchs. They are consistently more active at lower temperatures than other butterflies- the orange barred sulphur being the next most seen species, laying eggs on cassias. Monarch eggs hatch and caterpillars would mature except for almost complete predation by paper wasps. When we bring the eggs inside and feed them African giant milkweeds they do very well, pupate (see photo of a recently pupated caterpillar), emerge and fly away.

Our resident and wintering birds provide a source of constant amusement in winter. Our male cardinal has recently starting singing from tall perches in an obvious display to let competitors know this is his patch. Cardinals can sing anytime of year and this likely is a behavior to maintain permanent control of a territory. Our screech owl(s) have started calling (rattle call) and some screeching probably to support a female in our nest box. A pair of great horned owls have just finished nesting in a cross bar over the Placida Highway at the Lemon Bay High School. My photo shows the two chicks on Feb 5 about 6 days before they left the nest. It was remarkable how these “urban owls” completed a successful breeding cycle immediately over a busy highway.

Another bird that is tolerant of human activities is the great blue heron seen here at Ann Dever Park. They are much less trusting as you go further inland where they may be persecuted by fishermen who resent their food habits. The large beak and forward-facing eyes make them a formidable predator on anything they can swallow. The angular neck shape is interesting- the abrupt angles likely due to the underlying vertebral column.

Our long standing osprey pair have moved their nest to our neighbor’s tall Norfolk Island pine when we cut our 80 foot pine down. After the 2022 hurricane it was leaning in a dangerous position over our house. We still get to enjoy the ospreys in their daily activities- they use our power pole to eat their daily catch and to just keep an eye on things.

A common bird we do not see very often is this collared dove, a non-native species which is usually found only in highly developed areas. They are common just 0.5 mile away at Englewood Beach, showing how habitat specific even non-native species can be. Mourning and ground doves are the native doves which are common in our yard.

A resident native woodpecker is the red belly, which only has a slightly reddish abdomen in breeding season. This female lacks the red top of the head which is found just in the male. It is interesting how in some birds brilliant red colors are characteristic of the male (cardinal for example) whereas in others just a small difference in red coloration characterizes the male in this case.

We have three dripping water baths to attract birds and they are quite successful. However one problem is that larger animals may attempt to drink from these devices and break them. I came up with a solution which is to place a bucket of water at the base of the water bath. The theory is that larger animals (birds and mammals such as raccoons) will drink from the bucket and leave the bath up above alone. This has worked well with raccoons and the photo shown illustrates how even black vultures will drink from the bucket and leave the bath alone.

The status of pollution of our estuaries is a matter of critical concern especially in relation to the dumping of sewage effluent containing large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus. Manatees have suffered particularly since phytoplankton in the water column will thrive on the excess nutrients and shade out the sea grasses on the bottom. While we await a sea change in the degree to which sewage effluent is treated to remove harmful nutrients, it is reassuring that at least this year catches of fish in Lemon Bay seem quite strong. To give an example consider that three guests this winter (son Bill Jr shown here) have experienced good catches of fish, especially sea trout, but other species as well. This may be due in part to a lack of recent outbreaks of red tide, but surely it is hopeful news that the bay will recover if a program of pollution reduction is put in place.