A Full-time Life

FEBRUARY BIRDS

 

   

This is  E-9, the local Eaglet  -- 56 days old and almost  as big as its parents.  And almost ready to hop out of the nest.

When it first leaves the nest, the eaglet will spend several days doing short test flights  to a nearby perch in the same tree and then returning  to the safety of home.  (This is called branching).    The parents will still bring food to the nest during this stage, because it will be a while before the eaglet is able to fly far enough to catch its own food.  These days, there are always a lot of photographers at the Pasture or at the churchyard next to it .  Everybody wants the perfect first branching picture.    

 

 

 

 Here's dad (at least according to one of the other watchers -- I have never learned to tell the male and female apart).   He was on watch duty on Saturday morning when I stopped by-- keeping an eye on Junior in the nest below and possibly modeling branching behavior for it.

 

 

 

 I was happy to see this Kestrel Hawk occupying the same snag where  I photographed  him a couple of weeks ago, the last time I stopped at the pasture.  Not only because I got better pictures  but also because I mis-identified it before and this gives me a chance to correct my error and thank the birders who helped me get it right.

    

We went for a nature walk at Lakes Regional Park one day last week.  The Anhinga below wasn't the prettiest bird we saw that morning, but it was very interesting watching it work for its dinner:

 

 

We saw it dive for that fish and then perform quite a dance spearing it and tossing it to keep a good hold on it, all the while swimming for shore, where it may have had a nest.

 

 

 

 It doesn't show up very well against that old log, but the fish is still in its beak in the above picture.   

 

This is the way we usually see these birds  ... perched on a log, drying out their wings.   Anhingas don't have natural oils in their feathers, the way ducks and most water birds do, so they have to air dry them.

 

 

Linking this week to SATURDAY CRITTERS; OUR WORLD; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; and WEDNESDAY WATERS;  Thank you to all of the gracious and generous hosts.

A LITTLE SOUTH OF NORMAL

 

  

Saturday afternoon, we were sitting on the open-on-three-sides porch at a brew pub in Cape Coral -- quite comfortably enjoying the light breeze as we perused the lunch menu  .... when suddenly a waiter appeared and began lighting portable heaters near each table.   I snapped the weather app picture just as the flame went on.   

 

 

In Oregon, 75 (F) is a normal summer day.  In Southwest Florida apparently it's a cold day in February.   Definitely a little south of normal here.

 

Cape Coral (our next-door city) is a great place to find burrowing owls.   Here are just a few.     These aren't normal owls either -- they are out and about in the daytime making them much easier to find and photograph.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------

Earlier in the week, we went on an urban farm tour.   Here's a quick collage of one of the farms we visited:

 

 

Borage, basil and other herbs, dozens of varieties of lettuce, Swiss Chard, beans, peppers, tomatoes and more were growing in profusion on this small organic farm.   That's not normal for most of the US this month, but it is here -- it's the height of the growing season here in sub-tropical SW Florida.

 

All of the produce above was being grown for a farm-to-table restaurant in this renovated hotel in Bonita Springs.

 

 

 

 

      

On Sunday evening, we were guests at  a Golden (plus) Anniversary dinner here at our RV Resort.   Every three years, Upriver celebrates all couples who have been married 50 years or more.  There were 50 couples of us this year.    The longest-married were celebrating their 65th year together. I'm not sure if being married forever is normal or not -- but I know for sure that it was a  nice party!   

 

 

Actually, we talked at our dinner table about how lucky we all felt to be active and busy at this stage of our lives.  I've pictured only a sampling of what kept us busy in our world this past week.... and that's pretty normal for February -- the busiest month of the snowbird season.

 

 LINKING TO: OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; and SIGNS SIGNS  --

with heartfelt thanks to each of the generous hosts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EARLY FEBRUARY ON THE CANAL

  

 

 

 The morning eye-opener

(Sunrise looking across the canal from our dock area)

 

 

  
Cattle Egrets and an awkward-looking ibis in the pines

 

 On the morning walk  -- a little later the same morning (or one very like it)

 

Pileated Woodpecker

 

The canal is on the East side of our 'Canal Cottage'  -- the homes across the street from us on the west have wetlands behind their yards.    All of the above  birds were perched there on the same morning.   

 

 We stayed kind of close to home last week, but on the way to do necessary errands, I stopped at the Eagle Pasture for some quick pictures:

 

 

It was a two-for-one at this stop because there was a red-shouldered (I think)  kestrel hawk that seemed to be watching the nest.   The bottom center picture (not using any zoom) shows how far apart the two birds were  -- the tall tree on the left is the eagles' nest tree and the tall snag on the right is where the hawk is sitting.)

 This is M-15, the male of "our" eagle pair  guarding the nest -- Harriet laid two eggs this season, but one was not viable.  You can as usual watch the baby's progress on the SW Florida Eagle Cam.

 

Just to show it's not all Nature's Paradise around here, I took the picture below while stopped for boat traffic:

 

      

We spend quite a lot of time waiting at stop lights -- traffic's heavy this time of year -- there are really a LOT of people spending winter here in the sunshine.   But somehow I don't mind waiting when the bridge is up -- just because it is so interesting to watch, I guess it doesn't seem as boring as waiting for a plain old street light.

We boat under this bridge sometimes, but it doesn't have to be raised for normal boats like ours -- only for big, big yachts.  (I was way too far back in the line to spot this boat by the time the bridge closed and traffic started moving again.) 

 

So last week was an ordinary week -- just the usual starts-and-stops and the usual every day activities.

But we don't take them for granted, especially when we know what the weather is like pretty much everywhere else in this country.   Ordinary days are a blessing.

 

Special thanks to the hosts of each of the following great sharing opportunities and thanks to all who visit and especially those who comment!    I don't take any of you for granted either.

MOSAIC MONDAY;  OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  NATURE NOTES;  ALL SEASONS;  WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY;  SIGNS SIGNS; and  SKYWATCH FRIDAY

 

LAST MONTH

 

It's a brand-new month, but I still have a few January memories to share with NATURE NOTES and  OUR WORLD on Tuesday and with the sharing opportunities listed under each photo.

 

 

For Skywatch Friday and Mosaic Monday,  a few more Pink Shell Beach sunsets

 

 The fleet is in!

For Saturday Critters, Brown Pelicans hoping for a handout near a fishing dock at Bokelia.

 

 

 

For Rather B'Birding and WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY

Osprey ready for lunch while his/her partner waits patiently on the nest for a share.

 

 

 For Scenic Weekends and All Seasons here is a favorite view of Charlotte Harbor, seen through the center of this wonderful old gnarly tree in Bokelia.  (This is  from the front yard of a fun-to-visit art gallery.)

 

Thank you to the hosts of each of the wonderful sharing opportunities highlighted above.