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Erin

Coddiwompling through life, guided by my love of nature and insatiable curiosity.

Sea Pie

I snapped these photos of an American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) last January. Sadly, they were lost in the shuffle until now (in my defense, I have over 3,000 photos from last year – and those are just the ones I deemed worthy of keeping).

As their common name implies, they munch on oysters as well as other bivalves. The key to success is to stab into a partially open mollusk and detach the muscle. A mistake could cost the bird its life if the shell closes around the bill and holds the bird under water.

The historic name of Sea Pie comes from their coastal residencies and piebald coloring. They are decidedly more colorful than their cousin, the Black Oystercatcher (found along the Pacific coast of North America).

February 17, 2022 0

Kayaking Downtown

I joined a local ladies meetup group on Facebook last May, and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve yet made (besides the one that landed me here). Not only have I met some amazing women who inspire me (looking at you, Katie) but I’ve taken part in some fun adventures along the way.

Last night’s sunset kayak in downtown St. Pete was one such outing. One of the members of our group Christine (owner of Wandering Adventures a kayak rental/guide company), hosts this monthly paddle at the municipal marina.

It was a bit breezy which kept us close to shore since there were some novices in our group. The sunset’s afterglow was stunning, the conversations were fascinating, and we were escorted around the bay by a couple of dolphins. What a fantastic way to spend an evening!

February 16, 2022 0

Lovely Day

Thankfully, warm weather has returned to Florida. According to the forecast, we’ll be in the 80s for the next two weeks.

Spent yesterday afternoon watching the sun dance across the water. Not a single thing to complain about…

February 15, 2022 0

Wherever It’s Warm

During January, the water temperature along the Gulf Coast dropped to a cool 60 degrees. Like me, our local sea cows (officially known as West Indian Manatees (Trichechus manatus)), aren’t fond of cold water. Though they appear quite blubbery, manatees do not have a thick layer of fat, most of their chest cavity contains their massive lungs.

Therefore, these floating potatoes migrate seasonally to warmer waters, often up rivers to one of Florida’s over 700 springs. I don’t blame them, those natural upwellings average 72 degrees year round.

Fortunately for the manatees residing in the Tampa Bay area, Tampa Electric’s Big Bend power generating station releases warm water every day. Even better, this output raises the local water temperature to a balmy 78 degrees.

I finally had a chance to visit the adjacent manatee viewing center this past weekend. Considering it was a chilly and breezy day, the manatees certainly were more comfortable than I was! While I’ve encountered manatees before this was my first time with such a large number of them.

As you might imagine, it wasn’t the most action-packed morning. Manatees can rest up to 12 hours a day. The highlights of the visit were watching Sheepshead fish eat algae off the backs of manatees and giggling over the constant stream of bubbles from manatee farts. Riveting, let me tell you!

February 10, 2022 0

Smart Bird

Note the use of the foot to stir up potential small fish or other edibles.

After visiting with the swamp puppy at Walsingham Park a couple days ago, I spotted a Wood Stork (Mycteria americana). Since I’m fascinated by these stocky, prehistoric looking, bald-headed birds I wandered over for a closer look.

I’ve had limited success photographing them in the past so I was thrilled that this mature, adult bird was intently feeding and completely ignored me. This single-mindedness was probably due to the fact that nesting season has begun and, if this bird is lucky, it will soon be feeding several hungry hatchlings.

While reading up on the species I learned that these intelligent avians carefully select their nest trees, preferring ones in alligator occupied territory. Apparently, gators are very good at keeping egg-stealing raccoons away. As they say, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Hatchling success is important since this bird was recently on the Endangered Species List. Thankfully, they have rebounded and Florida has the largest population. In 2019, 1,000 nesting pairs were documented here in the Tampa Bay area, the densest in the state. I don’t blame them, this is a beautiful place. Like I said, smart birds!

February 4, 2022 2

Soon to be Momma?

I most often see American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) resting, either in the water or sunbathing on land. They aren’t the most active of creatures, though they can be surprisingly quick when the mood strikes (ie- feeding or protecting their young).

I watched this alligator meander through Walsingham Lake before it turned and swam toward me. Don’t worry, I was using the zoom on my camera, I was a safe distance away at all times.

My first thought was that perhaps the gator was used to being fed. But really, would anyone be that stupid? I know, I know, sadly the answer is probably yes. However, after spending more time with the gator I am now thinking she has staked out a nesting site.

There was a low, shrubby palm near her pullout which would be a protected location for her eggs. After all, Spring is just around the corner. It is an educated guess, for the only way to truly determine the sex of a gator is to turn it over and insert one’s finger into the genital slit and probe for a certain structure (there are videos online, feel free to search for them). Trust me, I don’t think either of us would enjoy that experience!

I’ll check back in a couple weeks and see if I can confirm my guess.

February 2, 2022 1

Flat Water

So nice to be back out on the beach again after the weekend’s cold snap. How chilly was it? The thermometer at my house was in the low 30s Sunday morning. Even more telling, my grass is brown and I may have lost a few plants in the freeze. Time will tell.

The Gulf of Mexico was so calm tonight, I could’ve skipped a stone across John’s Pass. Yet another beautiful evening here on the west coast of Florida.

February 1, 2022 2

Morning Discovery

I found this female* Lined Seahorse (Hippocampus Erectus) during my beach walk this morning. Relatively poor swimmers, this specialized species of fish is usually attached to seagrass or soft coral.

However, the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico was recently churned up by passing storms, so the sand was littered with detritus. Sadly, this girl was one of the casualties.

Thankfully, this species has a wide distribution, from Nova Scotia to Brazil, so one local disturbance shouldn’t negatively impact the population. Well-camouflaged, predation is not a major worry (also they are quite bony and therefore, not a favored food). The main threats to the species are bottom trawling, seagrass bed destruction, and usage in Chinese medicine.

My walk coincided with slack water so the serene gulf belied the previous tumult…

*Male seahorses have a brood pouch which extends past the lower dorsal fin.

January 27, 2022 0

Silica Transformed

Spent a chilly winter day exploring the Imagine Museum in downtown St. Petersburg this past weekend. Not only was it a perfect respite from the weather but it was a sensational experience.

The museum is the brainchild of Trish Dugan (a glass artist) who spent decades acquiring glass from influential artists around the world. There are over 1500 pieces in the collection, and it’s still growing.

I have some familiarity with glass art; my sister designs stained glass, I toured Dale Chihuly’s “The Nature of Glass” exhibit with her and my aunt, and the Oregon coast town where I lived is famous for the local, handcrafted glass floats.

Even with those experiences I was blown away by the creativity on display. I am naturally drawn toward items styled in a more natural bent and, of course, ones in shades of blue. The hyper-realism of Matthew Eskuche’s Trashglass series gave me pause, what a disposable world we live in.

The display that absolutely mesmerized me was Portal Icosahedron by Anthony James. It is a modern recreation of a mathematical experiment in unity by Plato, “twenty identical triangular facets…an ideal compositional system of perfect symmetry in three dimensions.” Every step I took around the piece offered a completely different view.

Looking down into a seemingly infinite portal I was reminded of the One in a Million scene from Star Wars: A New Hope when Luke Skywalker does the “impossible” and fires the shot that destroys the Death Star. Hey, I grew up with those movies, what can I say, they made an impression.

There will be a new exhibit opening soon and I will definitely return to explore some more!

January 24, 2022 0

Odd Bird

During the regular afternoon frenzy at my front bird feeder yesterday I noticed a rather unusual sight. There were a dozen parakeets perched on the top power line above the feeder, that part is not the least bit unusual.

One, however, was hanging upside down on the bottom line. The birds above seemed to be chattering quietly about the weirdo below them. To quote a fun little ditty from Sesame Street, “One of these things is not like the others…”

Curiosity piqued, I snapped a few quick pictures with my phone before the flock flew away. Good thing I did because they were an entirely new species of bird for me! Meet the Blue-crowned Parakeet (Thectocercus acuticaudatus), another naturalized avian here in Florida.