Stunning (or more like, Funny…) New Content [Wildlife and Nature]

It’s been awhile…

Good afternoon! It’s been awhile since I have added new content here on my wildlife and nature blog and I must apologize. We all lead such busy lives and I am no exception.

If you are reading this in your inbox, I encourage you to go to the website ofwaterfallsandtrails.net and read this on my wildlife and nature blog for the best experience.

I am still keenly observing nature every day in my own back yard (and beyond) and I enjoy watching the curious, and, at times, peculiar antics of the wildlife around my home and those with whom I cross paths with. So I decided to share this new content with you.

A raccoon looks curiously out of a fork in a tree

Nature continues to astound me and confound me each and every day. Just when I think I’ve seen it all, something pops out or pops up that completely blows my mind again. There is always so much more to learn about this big, beautiful universe that surrounds us.

I have many experiences that I will endeavor to share with you here shortly in upcoming articles. In the meantime, I have added some new content in the way of a few wildlife and nature themed videos to my YouTube channel that you are welcome to check out. I will post the links below in the appropriate categories.

Backyard Birds, Butterflies, Gardens and More

I have been enjoying the beautiful migratory birds we get here in South Florida such as the painted buntings that visit each year. Last year, they ate seed avidly, but had no interest in the bird bath. This year, they seemed more interested in the bird bath than food! They would take baths two and three at a time in multiple bird baths!

I am enjoying the last few days with them as we speak, as they will head out back north any day now. I will miss these feisty little rainbows.

One female green painted bunting and two male painted buntings (blue, red, and green) at a backyard bird feeder. One male postures with mouth open and wings out as another male looks on and the female flies away.

I have posted an extended video on YouTube that is intended for watching/listening to in the background, a relaxation video as it were.

It is around 9+ minutes long and features colorful migratory birds, common backyard visitors (mockingbird, grackle, sparrow, squirrels and butterflies) in a beautiful, relaxed garden setting. I find it is nice to come in, sit down, and put it on while eating dinner or relaxing in the evening. I hope you enjoy it as well.

I could watch these little birds forever. It’s like having my own Discovery Channel right out my back patio. These pint-sized birds bring me so much happiness and I really wanted to share it with you.

When you click on the video, please remember to take a moment and click on the settings (gear icon) and change the quality of playback to the highest resolution possible. It really does make a huge difference.

Click on the gear icon, ‘quality’ tab, and choose the highest setting, or in some instances, you may have to click on “advanced” to see that option.

Watch birds, butterflies and more in this video.

Cute Babies: Moorhen Nest (Common Gallinule)

I have also been enjoying a beautiful moorhen nest the last few weeks as they raise their new brood. You might know this bird as the Common gallinule.

They are a truly comical bird. They have short round bodies and long, lanky legs with big feet. They run fast and will chase other animals away that are five times their size!

There is a floating cork log anchored in front of my back yard in the lake. Actually, there is three. Two of them have turned into “Turtle Islands” and the other one, the moorhens claimed as a nesting site. It has been amazing watching these birds raise their young.

One of the funniest things about these little birds is their call. It’s this shrill squeak… or a long, drawn out cackle.

To hear what a moorhen sounds like, please visit this highlighted link at All About Birds. Check out recording number one and number three to see the most common calls.

Also, when moorhens hatch, they have red face plates like the parents and little red claws at the end of their nubby featherless wing tips. You can see them pictured above.

They wave them when they get excited and they end up looking like little mini-pterodactyls! Please watch the video below to see my little family of moorhens.

Moorhen babies and other backyard visitors

Florida Everglades: A Walk on the Wild Side

I have to say, I wish I could capture more of the sound while walking in the Florida Everglades. It is hard because while it looks beautiful and peaceful, the reality is that where I am walking, there are the roaring engines of airboats that dominate the soundscape until about thirty minutes after sunset.

It is also a practice area for student pilots in the skies above, so you often see and hear the Cessna engines powering up and down as they practice stalls.

Still, there are moments of quiet. And when this happens, the natural sounds of the surrounding landscape steal the show! The Pig frogs and the Eastern narrow mouth toad (which is actually a frog) have the strangest calls I’ve ever heard. If you have never heard them before, you may be completely bewildered (and a little confused) the first time you hear them.

I first heard these interesting creatures while walking one night in Big Cypress National Park. I was coming back from the west coast of Florida and took a side road into the park. I found a short trail and shortly thereafter heard strange sounds coming out of the darkness of the night.

My reaction was that of complete astonishment and utter amusement. It cracked me up! I couldn’t get enough! I exclaimed, “What is that??!” I had to later do research to find out which frog made that peculiar noise. It sounded like baby goats bleeting and if you have heard baby goats, you know that is an utterly unusual sound in itself, so imagine hearing that in the middle of the night in a dark moonless night in the middle of the Florida Everglades!

I think one of my friends, Tasha, had the funniest reactions ever, when I showed her the video I took and she heard the sounds. She said something to the gist of, “I feel like it’s these creatures out there trying to sound all cute and oddly funnyy, trying to lure you out there, and then they grab you!” Regardless of how many times I showed that video to people, that is still the best reaction ever! 🙂

I wish I still had that video, but it was on a different phone. If I find a copy, I’ll add it here. In the meantime, you can see what these little amusing creatures look like.

Gray eastern narrow mouth toad with a marbled pattern appears on a forest floor — Eastern narrow mouthed toad [Picture courtesy of iNaturalist]

You can hear the Eastern narrow mouth frog here: [This video is not mine].

This video is an extended video I did awhile back of the Florida Everglades. There are quite a few species that make appearances here.

Florida Everglades: Sunset from Above [4K Drone Video]

There are also two new videos I have recently uploaded and I will post the links below. I have been astounded at the beauty of the Everglades from the air. To see the canals and the “river of grass” from up above is just entirely breathtaking. I hope you enjoy the two 4K drone videos of the Everglades.

It has been a labor of love to get these videos done, short as they were. I will say it like this, “These videos have been brought to you by my own blood, sweat and tears, no exaggeration whatsoever!” Hahah!

As you know, any time spent in the Florida Everglades is fraught with the inevitable eventuality of many a biting bug! I get eaten alive every time I go and it has been daunting! I am not squeemish and I love all the creepy crawlies, but the mosquitoes, noseeums (midges), and deer flies in the Everglades are whole other beast!!!

Still, I persevered, and saw it through! So I do hope you enjoy!

Everglades Drone Footage: Catching the fading blue hour light as it dissolves into sunset.

Everglades: Flying Over the River of Grass at Sunset

Giant Swallowtail Butterfly: Short Chrysalis Time Lapse

aka “Giant Swallowtail Camouflage vs Mockingbird Brains”

Before you get too excited, this is a very short 16 second video of the beginning stages of a chrysalis forming from a Giant Swallowtail caterpillar that was eating away on my lemon tree. They host on citrus plants and I have many butterflies that lay eggs on these plants, but I have yet to see a giant swallowtail make it to the butterfly stage.

Giant swallowtail butterfly image courtesy of bugguide.net

My monarchs have no issues. A few here or there get plucked by the birds, but for the most part, they make it to adulthood. But the giant swallowtails, aka “Bird Poop Caterpillar,” are not so tough. The neighborhood mockingbirds have figured them out!

They are called bird poop caterpillar because this is how they camouflage themselves… they look like bird droppings! So interesting!

I have just put bird netting over the bush to keep the two three surviving caterpillars safe, as my resident mockingbird just ate two caterpillars yesterday.

It was actually quite interesting. Earlier in the day, I was taking video and observing these guys keenly. These caterpillars are so interesting to watch. If you haven’t seen them before, it’s interesting to note that if you touch them or if they feel threatened, they will shoot out these two little red horns. It’s interesting to watch.

The theory is that these little caterpillars have a two-fold camouflage. They first resemble bird poop, which should be unappealing to most birds.

Their second line of defense goes something like this: They have a very swollen thorax that is supposed to resemble a snake head. If threatened or disturbed, they will raise this thorax and shoot out these two little red spikes, called the osmeterium, which are supposed to resemble a forked snake tongue. Pretty cool, right?

Giant swallowtail caterpillar aka “bird poop caterpillar” with osmeterium (red horns) showing

So, this particular day, I had been observing them for awhile and I had just come in and sat down and I watched helplessly as a mockingbird swooped in, and nabbed my little buddy right in front of my eyes! I was mortified!

Yes, I know it’s nature, but I felt a kinship to this little creature after spending so much time with it! Alas, he was gone in a flash.
But what really surprised me was that this mockingbird went and got a friend (a mate?) and immediately came back to grab the other three. Funny, the communication that goes on! The two of them were stonewalled by me, though. I promptly put a make-shift contraption around the plant until I could run to Home Depot and grab the bird netting.

These mockingbirds are wily creatures. I remember the contest I had every year with my resident male back in North Carolina. He fought me effectively every year for my blueberries and cherries.

Giant swallowtail caterpillar gray and black that camouflages as bird poop, with red horns sticking out when disturbed — Eastern mockingbird

Make no mistake: I was generous. I always let him glean a section. Oh, but alas, that was not enough! He wanted it ALL! 🙂

I was quite entertained at how skilled he became at stealing the fruit. His ingenuity was off the charts. I once watched from the front window as he maneuvered himself on a branch until he was literally hanging on upside down, pecking the branches until they dropped their fruit on the ground. Then he would triumphantly go gather them up with a rounding victory call.

Smart little bird! I always got such a kick and a smile out of watching him!

I still get a kick out of watching my resident pair of mockingbirds now. There’s one who, when I come home from work, will jump from the tree into this bush which is about eye level with me. The bush is thick and thorny, but I can clearly see his bright yellow eyes peering out at me.

He is convinced that I cannot see him when he is in there, and I will literally be about 18 inches away from him. I just smile and let him go on with his delusions, content that I was able to be so close to such a beautiful creature for a moment.

So, here you go… This is the video for the Giant Swallowtail time lapse.

I keep watching the chrysalis every day, but there’s been no change. I keep waiting for more action so I can continue the time lapse. We’ll see how it goes. Timing is everything!

Watch a giant swallowtail caterpillar begin to attach and form a chrysalis.

Find the beauty in your own world!

If you have a story to share about your own backyard wildlife or experiences in nature, please feel free to share them with me. I would love to hear them.

Also, if you have any questions, please let me know and I will be glad to answer them. I cannot guarantee when I am online, but I will answer any questions the next time I log on here.

Cheers! Until next time…

Ofwaterfallsandtrails

Beauty is all around us. All you have to do is look.