3rin's View…

We’re in a drought down here in Florida. Sadly, the dearth of rainfall is quite evident in my yard. There’s not as much greenery (though to their credit all the native, drought-tolerant vegetation I planted is hanging in there without any supplemental water) and, most notably, the popularity of my bird baths has skyrocketed.

Between the front and backyard I have four different watering stations. They are all different sizes, depths, and heights to accommodate my various feathered and fuzzy friends. I’ve enjoyed watching them sip and splash.

When people ask about attracting wildlife or pollinators to their yards my first recommendation is native plants and my second is some kind of water source. Works like a charm every time!

I’ve been working in the yard today. Making a big mess and a bunch of noise, not exactly conducive for attracting wildlife.

So I was completely surprised when I glanced over and saw this beauty. It was intently hunting something in the Turks Cap (Malvaviscus penduliflorus) and paid me no mind as I snuck closer for a photo.

Definitely not a bird I ever figured I’d see in my front yard but I’m thrilled that it felt welcome in my little native habitat!

Yesterday morning I joined the St. Petersburg Audubon Society for a bird walk at Fort DeSoto. It is one of my favorite parks in the county and I’ve been there dozens of times, though I usually beeline for the beach.

We were hoping to spot some migratory birds before that season winds down. The group explored areas of the park that I had not previously visited which yielded some good birds, including two lifers for me.

They were both Anis, one Groove-billed and one Smooth-billed. Interestingly, they were hanging out together (almost literally in the same bush) even though neither one is really supposed to be here.

Roughly the same size as a Common Grackle but with a slightly disheveled appearance and sporting unmistakable bills these members of the cuckoo family spend most of their time on the ground, hunting for lizards and other tasty treats in the shrubbery.

Our group was quite fortunate that the birds flew up into the bushes and gave us great looks right after we arrived at the thicket. The folks who were there before us had been waiting over 30 minutes for them to pop up!

It was another wonderful visit to Fort DeSoto Park. The 1,100+ acre slice of paradise protects the southern end of the Pinellas Peninsula and humans and wildlife alike are so fortunate it exists!

Westley’s new favorite toy was overloved recently (he literally beat the stuffing out of it). This is one of the toys that I have to put in a drawer at bedtime, otherwise neither of us gets any sleep – him from incessantly playing and me from the noises he makes as he runs into furniture and walls during the chase. 😹

The mouse required minor surgery because of all the roughhousing. As you can see in the first photo, Westley was mightily concerned during the procedure. Thankfully, the patient had a paw-sitive outcome!

My relieved (and slightly impatient) cat grabbed it from me and immediately put it in play. Worth the little bit of effort to make him happy, though I wonder how long it will last this time…

While checking my bird feeder videos the other day I noticed a couple crows acting suspiciously. After zooming in, I watched one of them carefully select a flattened glass marble from my bee bath. The crow then flew over to a nearby bird bath and dropped it in the water.

I can’t imagine why the crow would do this, other than just goofing around. I thought I had noticed fewer glass marbles and now I’ve identified the culprit. I wonder if my neighbors have been finding random glass marbles in their yards?

While painting in my backyard the other day, Westley sauntered over to inspect. He gave it his stamp of approval before crashing out for a hard earned nap.

Apparently, supervising me is exhausting (as most anyone who knows me would probably attest). 😹

I woke up yesterday morning and decided I really didn’t want to tackle my long list of chores. Instead, I checked my weather apps: sunny, low 80s, light breeze. Then I checked the tide chart: rising tide. In other words, a perfect morning to kayak out to Shell Key.

I loaded up my gear and 45 minutes later I was paddling on glassy water. Since it was still early I pretty much had the place to myself and it was just glorious! The water in the gulf was incredibly clear and sparkled in so many shades of blue.

I wandered the beach for a couple hours before reluctantly tearing myself away. I snuck into a couple shady mangrove tunnels on the return trip (it’s easier for me to find the openings on the way back than it is on the way out). Talk about timing, right after popping out of the last one I was treated to a dolphin show.

There were four of them, circling in the water (rounding up a school of fish). I was excited to see that one of them had a torn dorsal fin, I first met her three years ago in the same area. How do I know she’s female? Last year, she had a baby dolphin with her! As the pod headed south a couple of the dolphins launched themselves out of the water – I think they were having a good morning, too!

I check the videos that my bird feeder camera has captured every day. Grackles star in roughly 85% of the videos, but with a bird that colorful, I really don’t mind. It appears grackles are learning to share. Well, technically, the other bird species have finally figured out that they need to bully their way in or they’ll never get to eat.

I’m always excited when the camera catches a new species at the feeder: male and female House Finches, female Northern Cardinal, Eurasian Collared-Doves (including one mated pair with a leucistic female), Mourning Doves, and I was over the moon to even see a Carolina Chickadee drop in a few times (a first for my yard)! As for the Fish Crows – they barely fit on the feeder and they definitely don’t share.

I was much less excited to witness an invasive European Starling at my feeder. As you can see, grackle did not cede territory easily. Thankfully, starlings have remained few and far between.