Sunset at Clearwater beach, Florida.

 

Laughing Gull

A smallish gull with a black head, the Laughing Gull is abundant along the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Infrequently found away from the ocean, it takes advantage of human habitat modifications, foraging in parking lots and dumps, and breeding on dredge spoil islands.

Description
Medium-sized gull.
Back slatey gray.
Underparts white.
Wingtips black, without extensive white markings.
Entire head black in breeding season.
Size: 39-46 cm (15-18 in)
Wingspan: 92-120 cm (36-47 in)
Weight: 203-371 g (7.17-13.1 ounces)
Sex Differences
Sexes look alike; males slightly larger
Sound
Very vocal. Common call a loud series of laughing notes
Conservation Status
Nest colonies in northeastern United States were nearly eliminated by egg and plume hunters in the late 19th century. Populations have increased over the last century, following protection.
Other Names
Mouette atricille (French)Guanaguanare (Spanish)
Cool Facts
Nest colonies in northeastern United States were nearly eliminated by egg and plume hunters in the late 19th century. Populations have increased over the last century, following protection.
The male and female Laughing Gull usually build their nest together. If a male cannot find a mate, he may start building a nest platform and then use it to attract a female.
The adult Laughing Gull removes the eggshells from the nest after the eggs hatch. If the shells are not removed, a piece can become lodged on top of the slightly smaller unhatched third egg and prevent it from hatching.
The Laughing Gull is normally diurnal, being active during the day. During the breeding season it forages at night as well. It usually looks for food along the beach at night, but will also hover to catch insects around lights.


 

Ospreys in Central Florida.

Ospreys, also known as �fish hawks,� are expert anglers that like to hover above the water, locate their prey and then swoop down for the capture with talons extended. The undersides of the toes on each foot are covered with short spines, which help them grasp slippery fish. In Florida, ospreys commonly capture saltwater catfish, mullet, spotted trout, shad, crappie and sunfish from coastal habitats and freshwater lakes and rivers for their diet.
The osprey is smaller than the bald eagles that typically share the same habitats, but its five to six foot wingspan is impressive nonetheless. Adults are dark brown above with a white underside and head. Look for the distinctive dark line that extends behind the eye and the gull-like way the narrow wings are angled downward when the birds are in flight.
Ospreys build large stick nests located in the tops of large living or dead trees and on manmade structures such as utility poles, channel markers and nest platforms. Ospreys have adapted so well to artificial nest sites that the species now nests in areas (e.g. inner cities) once considered unsuitable. Nests are commonly reused for many years. Nesting begins from December (south Florida) to late February (north Florida). The incubation and nestling period extends into the summer months.
The osprey is found year-round in Florida both as a nesting species and as a spring and fall migrant passing between more northern areas and Central and South America. Ospreys in Florida did not suffer the serious pesticide-related population declines that occurred in other states in the 1950s and 1960s. Pesticides, shoreline development and declining water quality continue to threaten the abundance and availability of food and nest sites for ospreys.
The osprey is listed as a Species of Special Concern only in Monroe County. Permits are required throughout the state to remove a nest for these wonderful raptors, however, and a replacement structure must be erected to mitigate the removal of the nest.


 

Alligators in Florida

 

Broad-winged Hawk or a Cooper's Hawk???

 

A big oak with spanish moss.

 

Fog in Central Florida.

 

White Ibis

The ibis family (Threskiornithidae) is a large one! It is made up of 33 species, including the White ibis. They are all long-legged, long-necked wading birds with short tails.
The White ibis is an excellent example of the colonial waterbird. These birds nest in huge colonies in fresh water marshes or along the ocean coast. Researchers have counted 60,000-80,000 individuals in one colony in the Everglades National Park, Florida! During the day, white ibis may fly up to 15 miles or more to find small crustaceans, fish, frogs, and aquatic insects to eat and to feed their young.
They also can be found along the coast of North Carolina to Florida and Texas, in the United States. Some scientists argue that the scarlet ibis of Central and South America is really just a red-colored white ibis.
Adult white ibis have white feathers with black wing tips. Their bare face and bill are red. When they are ready to breed, all or part of the end of their bills turn almost black in color. They develop red swollen pouches on their throat, almost as if they had the mumps!
Young birds are easy to identify. Chicks and nestlings are gray. They are brown with white bellies for the first 2 years of life. As they mature, they molt (shed) their brown plumage and grow white feathers. By the time they are fully grown, they will be about 23-27" (58-69 cm) long from beak to tail, with a wingspan of 3'2" (97 cm).
White ibis live in the wetlands of the interior and coastal marshes and swamps. They eat crabs and crayfish, and they feed in very large groups. To find their food, they probe with their long bills into the mud as they slowly walk along. They can pick insects off the dry ground as well. When they move from the feeding site back to the colony, they typically fly together as a flock.
White ibis nest in huge, dense colonies of thousands of pairs of birds. The male selects the place in the tree or shrub where the nest will be built. He then brings sticks and leaves to his mate, who actually constructs the nest. The female usually lays 3 eggs. Both male and female will take turns incubating the eggs and feeding the young.
The main conservation concerns for white ibis are hunting and habitat loss. Birds and eggs are hunted for food. When the colony is disturbed by hunting, adults will leave their nests and the young may die. If the disturbance is great enough, the birds will leave the colony altogether. Protection of the wetland habitats where ibis feed and breed is critical to the future of these incredible birds.


 

White Ibis.

The ibis family (Threskiornithidae) is a large one! It is made up of 33 species, including the White ibis. They are all long-legged, long-necked wading birds with short tails.
The White ibis is an excellent example of the colonial waterbird. These birds nest in huge colonies in fresh water marshes or along the ocean coast. Researchers have counted 60,000-80,000 individuals in one colony in the Everglades National Park, Florida! During the day, white ibis may fly up to 15 miles or more to find small crustaceans, fish, frogs, and aquatic insects to eat and to feed their young.
They also can be found along the coast of North Carolina to Florida and Texas, in the United States. Some scientists argue that the scarlet ibis of Central and South America is really just a red-colored white ibis.
Adult white ibis have white feathers with black wing tips. Their bare face and bill are red. When they are ready to breed, all or part of the end of their bills turn almost black in color. They develop red swollen pouches on their throat, almost as if they had the mumps!
Young birds are easy to identify. Chicks and nestlings are gray. They are brown with white bellies for the first 2 years of life. As they mature, they molt (shed) their brown plumage and grow white feathers. By the time they are fully grown, they will be about 23-27" (58-69 cm) long from beak to tail, with a wingspan of 3'2" (97 cm).
White ibis live in the wetlands of the interior and coastal marshes and swamps. They eat crabs and crayfish, and they feed in very large groups. To find their food, they probe with their long bills into the mud as they slowly walk along. They can pick insects off the dry ground as well. When they move from the feeding site back to the colony, they typically fly together as a flock.
White ibis nest in huge, dense colonies of thousands of pairs of birds. The male selects the place in the tree or shrub where the nest will be built. He then brings sticks and leaves to his mate, who actually constructs the nest. The female usually lays 3 eggs. Both male and female will take turns incubating the eggs and feeding the young.
The main conservation concerns for white ibis are hunting and habitat loss. Birds and eggs are hunted for food. When the colony is disturbed by hunting, adults will leave their nests and the young may die. If the disturbance is great enough, the birds will leave the colony altogether. Protection of the wetland habitats where ibis feed and breed is critical to the future of these incredible birds.


 

A Hawk from Central Florida.

This hawk was spotted when we wee driving along Central Florida.


 

Sandhill Crane Family!

The Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) is one of only 15 species of cranes in the world and is one of just two crane species native to North America. While the Whooping Crane, our other native crane, is highly endangered and restricted to only a few areas of the West, the Sandhill is more widespread and in most areas is more abundant.
Cranes are tall, stately birds with a heavy body, long neck and long legs. Standing four to five feet high and possessing a wing span of six to seven feet. Long, skinny legs and neck give a false impression of size; the males weigh an average of about 12 pounds and the females around 9-1/2 pounds. Except for this size difference, both sexes look alike.
After molting their feathers in late summer, Sandhills are gray except for white cheeks and a bare reddish forehead. Bustle-like feathers further add to a distinctive appearance. The intensity of red in the bald forehead varies depending on behavioral stimulation which controls skin capillaries by restricting or relaxing blood flow. A brighter red forehead is associated with stressful stimuli; on the other hand, a less conspicuous forehead signals submission. Sandhills frequently preen with vegetation and mud stained with iron oxide. Consequently, during most of the year they appear reddish brown rather than gray. Only the hard to reach areas of the upper neck, underwings and head will lack the rusty coloration once the process is completed. This unusual behavior aids to camouflage the nesting birds. Immature Sandhills appear similar to adults except that they are brown in color and the forehead remains feathered until early winter.
The Sandhill Crane is often confused with the Great Blue Heron. Both are large wading birds with pointed bills, long necks and legs, but they do have some major differences. Herons fly with the head and neck tucked back to their shoulders in an "S" while cranes fly with their necks outstretched. The rapid upstroke of the wings is a good field mark for cranes in contrast to the slow steady flap of Great Blue Herons. Cranes nest separately on the ground, while herons nest in large colonies in trees called rookeries. Finally, cranes have a loud trumpet-like call, while the Great Blue Heron utters low hoarse croaks.


Sandhill Cranes mate for life and pairs return to the same nesting locations year after year. When a pair flies north they usually are accompanied by the one or two offspring from the previous year which the parents have so carefully protected. These youngsters are in for a rude awakening, however, since shortly after arrival on the nesting ground, the adults drive the young out of the area. Sandhills are very territorial, not allowing other Sandhills near their nesting area, not even their previous year's offspring. For the next several years these youngsters will roam rather unpredictably in loosely-knit flocks. Eventually they find partners and establish territories of their own. Territories usually cover between 40 and 200 acres, but some 10 acres or less in size have been noted. 

Golden Eagle's nest.