Birds in My Back Yard

The birds in South Florida are almost all different from birds up north.

The following twenty birds are the most common, which I see every day

as I go for a walk.  I did not take these pictures; they are from the

internet.  But they are good depictions of the Birds in My Back Yard.

One of the most common birds is the White Ibis, a long-legged wading bird about

fifteen inches high.  The black feathers are flight feathers.  The long curved beaks are

used to peck into the ground for grubs and worms, or in water for tadpoles and frogs.

Youngsters have grey feathers and only gradually turn pure white.  They are very social,

and I always see them in flocks.  Sometimes they sit on cars.

An adult ibis looking for small fish or frogs to eat.

A typical flock of ibises on the golf course outside my window looks like this.

The limpkin is also called the "crying bird."  It gets its name for its habit of walking,

which looks like it is limping.  Its call sounds like a baby being tortured, which is why it

is called the "crying bird."  It can keep this up for several hours in the early morning, which

is why it is generally not liked very well.  They don't all do it, and they don't do it all the time;

but when they do it, it is unnerving.  They are solitary birds, so you see only one at a time.

They eat almost exclusively apple snails, which are the size of a large apple, and are found

along rivers or canals.  With their long beaks, they pull the snail out of the mud, then

reach inside and pull out the snail to eat.  Sometimes the shore is littered with dozens of

apple snail shells.

A limpkin, about 18" tall.

The Northern Mockingbird is the only true mockingbird in North America.  It is a pretty

bird and an incredible singer.  They are the only songbird I know in southern Florida.

As I walk each morning, I come across several, and as they have come to know me, they

will land on a sign or branch close to where I walk and begin singing.  They can sing more

tunes than any other bird.  I named one over by Publix  "Caruso," because one day

while I stood still, he sang 27 different songs, never repeating himself.

These are some interesting facts about the Northern Mockingbird that someone compiled:

      - It's not just other mockingbirds that appreciate a good song.  In the 19th century, people kept

         so many mockingbirds as cage birds that the birds nearly vanished from parts of the East

         Coast.  People took nestlings out of nests or trapped adults and sold them in cities like

         Philadelphia, St. Louis, and New York, where, in 1828, extraordinary singers could fetch

         as much as $50.

    

      - Northern Mockingbirds continue to add new sounds to their repertoires throughout their

         lives.  A male may learn around 200 songs throughout its life.

      - Northern Mockingbirds sing all through the day, and often into the night.  Most nocturnal

         singers are unmated males, which sing more than mated males during the day, too.

         Nightime singing is more common during the full moon.

     - Northern Mockingbirds typically sing from February through August, and again from

        September to early November.  A male may have two distinct repertoires of songs: one for 

        spring and another for fall.

     - The female Northern Mockingbird sings too, although usually more quietly than the male 

        does.  She rarely sings in the summer, and usually only when the male is away from the  

        territory.  She sings more in the fall, perhaps to establish a winter territory.

     - The oldest Northern Mockingbird on record was at least 14 years, 10 months old, when

         it was found in Texas.

The Mottled Duck is usually found in small groups, although sometimes I see as many

as twenty of them swimming and playing together in one of the golf course channels.

From a distance, they do not look as delicately colored, but closer to a mottled brown.

The blue patch is usually not so prominent.  They are small and playful.

This is a scene we often see on the golf course, because they are very  used to people.

A pair of Mottled Ducks.

This is the very large Muscovy Duck, and this is a drake; you can tell by the large wattle

on his beak.  The males are about 30" long and weigh 15 pounds; the females are somewhat 

smaller and have no wattle or a small one.  Black and white are the most common colors

for feathers, but many other colors are also seen: red, brown, green, grey.

A Muscovy Duck hen.

Muscovy Ducks, drake on top and hen below.  They are native to Mexico, Central America,

and South America, but they have now moved into the U.S. and are common in Florida.

This is a scene we see all year long, mothers and clutches of chicks.  The number varies

from 8 - 18.  They raise them everywhere - on the golf course, alongside the buildings,

in the parking lot of our movie theater.  The mothers take the young walking several times

a day, eating along the way.  Usually, a number of the chicks die before they reach maturity,

and usually once they are a good size, they leave the mother.  But there is one beautiful

black hen currently who has nine youngsters, and they have stayed with her for

almost a year now.

Green Conures.  These are wild parrots and not native to Florida.  They are very social
and very noisy, and they live in flocks of about 40.  It is believed they were introduced into
Florida by accident, either when Epcot Center was first built or in accidents at the Miami
airport when crates of birds coming from South America during the 1950s broke open and
birds escaped.  They like Florida, and there is plenty for them to eat, so they have multiplied,
and there are now many large flocks of them all over the state.

There is considerable variation in coloration, and many have heads which are darker

and may be different colors.

You can always tell when they are around because they are so noisy.

The anhinga is a very beautiful wading bird.  It stands three feet high.  It is the only wading

bird which does not secrete oils on its wings, so when it gets wet, it will drown unless it

gets out of the water periodically and dries out its wings.  This bird is standing on shore and

spreading its wings to dry.

An anhinga drying its wings.  It is also called the  "snake bird" and the "Darter bird,"

because it can dive beneath the surface and stay underwater for 40 seconds.

Below is a picture of bird with its wings tucked in, ready to dive.

Anhinga or Darter Bird or Snake Bird

Great Blue Hero.  This is a majestic bird standing 5 - 6 feet high.

It is more grey than blue, but that is its name.  They are solitary birds,

but there are several along the canal or on one of the ponds in the golf course.

I saw this scene yesterday as I was walking.  A Great Blue Heron was standing by the side of

the river, and very slowly lowered its body and neck, as it watched the water.  Then suddenly and very quickly, it pounced and caught a large fish which swam too close to shore.  I watched

as the bird tossed and readjusted the fish a bit until it slid down the throat whole.  You could

see a large swell in the neck.

This is the small Blue Heron, about half the size of the Great Blue.

This is a White Egret, about 18 inches high.  Notice his black legs; I have been told that

egrets have black legs and herons have pink or yellow legs.  They belong to the same

general family.  Notice the straight beaks, not curved.  They frequently associate with

ibises around here, and these egrets are more apt to sit on cars and hedges.

This the Great Egret, a very large fellow 5-6 feet high.  He is very much like the

Great Blue Heron, except (for me) he has black legs.  He also catches fish and is a

solitary bird.

A Great White Egret with black legs or "stockings."  (I think there is also a large

white heron which looks the same to me except for the legs.)  Those delicate feathers in

back were in great demand during the 19th century for ladies' hats and fashions,

and the bird nearly went extinct.

This is a Tricolor Heron.  These are about 30 inches high and have a grey coat,

a brown throat, and a white belly.  They also are solitary, but there are several

along the canal outside my building.

A Tricolor Heron

"Woodland Storks" are quite large and only appear intermittently outside my balcony
in one of the shallow golf course ponds.  They catch small fish and frogs and tadpoles.
There are always several of them walking around the side of the pond and fishing.

There must be several varieties of Woodland Storks, some white and others grey.
The white ones are more common by my house.

We have four different black-colored birds.  From any distance they look solid black,
but in close-up pictures they have markings in other colors.  The smallest are the
European Starlings, with very short, stuffy tail feathers.  At this time of the year,
there are flocks of 150 or so of these, and they swirl through the sky making beautiful
patterns.

When then aren't swirling, they sit on telephone wires, often above busy intersections.
So we have large number of little birds sitting on power lines and telephone lines.
At a distance, they look solid black to me.

Next in size, and with a longer tail, is the Black Bird.

This is a male Blackbird.

Considerably larger, and with a much longer tail and iridescent feathers are the Grackles.
I rarely see them fly; they always seem to be on the ground pecking for food and making
a harsh sound.

Grackle with iridescent feathers.

Largest of the black colored birds is the Crow, with a big head, big body, longer full tail,
and the "caw" sound.  I rarely see them on the ground, but they fly in groups of 40-50,
land in a tree outside my balcony, and "caw" loudly for an hour or so before moving off
to another tree.  They are also sly thieves, and you have to be careful by the swimming
pool not to leave your watch or jewelry or keys or anything shiny in plain sight, or they
will swoop down and swipe it.

Solid, kind of chunky, Crow.

During December and January, we have flocks of the two kinds of vultures found in
Florida.  They are big birds and often line up along the edge of the roof of the building.
This is the "Turkey Vulture," easily identified by its reddish head.  His wingspan is
six feet, so he is really big.  They are also called buzzards.

A "Turkey Vulture" in flight.  They do not beat their wings much in flight, but soar
around on the air thermals in graceful sweeping circles.  But they can swoop down to the
ground very quickly for a piece of carrion.  They fly over the swimming pools and
look down on us as if we are large salmon swimming and almost ripe for plucking.
They have come down and swooped over me no more than five feet away.
It's kind of spooky.

The other vulture is the "Black Vulture," recognized by its bald, greyish black head
and white stockinged legs.  It is slightly smaller than the Turkey Vulture and has a wingspan
 of about five feet.  Here is one sitting on the edge of our roof.  Often there are five or six
lined up; they are ominous looking.

A "Black Vulture" in flight, soaring in a thermal.  There was one over me this morning
as I took a walk.  The wings barely move, just a slight tilt to the right or left, as they glide
in lazy circles.


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