Northern Mockingbird has a nice refreshing morning bath in a new bird bath. This is a little bigger and medium deep bird bath that's good for larger songbirds birds. Watch for a Yellow Rumped Warbler to stop by at the beginning.
Graceful Swallow Tailed Kite appears hovering and hunting over the Florida Backyard - called "the most beautiful bird of prey" and “the coolest bird on the planet” it is unmistakable in flight. Exciting to see this bird hunting over the Backyard - a much rare sighting than an eagle - this is an amazing bird and brings to four the species of Hawks documented in the Backyard this winter. Early march they are beginning to arrive to mate in Florida - I can only dream they would choose to mate and nest in the tall pine scrub/wetlands behind the Backyard.
Our most beautiful bird of prey, striking in its shape, its pattern, and its extraordinarily graceful flight. Hanging motionless in the air, swooping and gliding, rolling upside down and then zooming high in the air with scarcely a motion of its wings, the Swallow-tailed Kite is a joy to watch. At one time it was common in summer over much of the southeast, but today it is found mostly in Florida and a few other areas of the deep south.
Mother Gray Squirrel has passed on and one of her three baby squirrels appeared to be grieving. It was very quiet around the Backyard Oak Tree yesterday and again this morning and it became clear that she had passed. I noted no squirrels came for peanuts yesterday morning and one of her three baby squirrels appeared to be grieving with no interest in eating or foraging as they always do in the morning. I took some poetic license and inserted a thought bubble - more as a tribute to mother squirrel. She may have been grabbed by hawks that have been seen more often lately or perhaps died of natural causes as she was at least three years old - very old for a wild squirrel - the Backyard Matriarch. The silence in the Backyard tends to support a hawk kill as animals tend to stay hidden for some time after witnessing a kill. Such is the way of Nature. She raised the latest three squirrels in a woodpecker nest box this fall and winter and they left the nest in January moving to a nest in the oak tree which they continued to share with their mother - although they were now surviving on their own. Squirrels like most mammals are highly social creatures and no doubt sense grief and loss - the three young ones are now out in the yard eating and foraging and carrying on as squirrels always do! It was a precious thing to get to see the mother raise these three young ones.
A Playlist of mother raising the 3 baby gray squirrels in a woodpecker nest box is at:
Beautiful emerald and chestnut Green Heron preening in just the right sunlight to really show off how striking this wading bird is. Seen at a distance and in the shade it is a stocky dark looking heron, but there is a reason its called the Green Heron. Up close and against the late afternoon sun is the way to appreciate this great bird.
The green heron is relatively small; adult body length is about 44 cm (17 in). The neck is often pulled in tight against the body. Adults have a glossy, greenish-black cap, a greenish back and wings that are grey-black grading into green or blue, a chestnut neck with a white line down the front, grey underparts and short yellow legs. The bill is dark with a long, sharp point. Female adults tend to be smaller than males, and have duller and lighter plumage, particularly in the breeding season. Juveniles are duller, with the head sides, neck and underparts streaked brown and white, tan-splotched back and wing coverts, and greenish-yellow legs and bill. Hatchlings are covered in down feathers, light grey above, and white on the belly.
The green heron's call is a loud and sudden kyow; it also makes a series of more subdued kuk calls. During courtship, the male gives a raah-rahh call with wide-open bill, makes noisy wingbeats and whoom-whoom-whoom calls in flight, and sometimes calls roo-roo to the female before landing again. While sitting, an aaroo-aaroo courtship call is also given.
10+ minutes of the World's angriest Red and Gray squirrels - upset, angry, barking, sneezing, snorting, wheezing, tails wagging, eyes bulging and twitching, feet stammering and just generally in a bad mood. Mostly because a human or predator violated their woodland territory or food was involved. Not limited to just raw displays of anger - squirrels have subtle ways of giving the evil eye to humans and their own kind and display passive-aggressive behavior as well as clear frustration and throwing a fit when a task they are trying to perform does not go well - something we humans can relate to. One thing about squirrels they are characters and have a lot of character!
Three Poodles - a Toy, Standard and "Giant" Poodle invade the Backyard - - only the two smallest can squeeze through a gap scratched between the fence and the palm tree. The little guy is obviously the "brains" of this outfit that I'll call the "Three Stooges". He immediately shows territorial marking behavior in this new environment by urinating and scratching profusely. Very strong, athletic and intelligent dogs and surprisingly quiet as they break-in without knowing I'm watching. The medium-sizeded one had a much harder time getting back out than getting in. One of the stranger "wild encounters" to occur in the Backyard!
Blue Jays harass the female Eastern Screech Owl nesting in the nest box every morning - this attempted intimidation may make the Blue Jays - the Backyard micro managers - feel better, but I'm not sure what purpose it serves as the owls rule the night and the male owl is quietly watching all this activity from his hidden perch in the deep cover of Palmetto trees nearby. Screech Owls readily hunt and eat songbirds sleeping in trees at night. Birds that are late to turn in like Cardinals and Dove can sometimes be taken by the male owl right at dusk. If the Blue Jays were to discover the male owls daytime roost in the heavy brush they would attack him mercilessly and he would retreat. It is unlikely such pressure would stop the owls from using the nest box, but if one were to put a perch on the front of the nest box it could very well lead to failure of nesting as such a perch could be used to more seriously harass and fight with the female owl and get at the eggs. Such are the ways of Nature.
Relax, enjoy and heal! 10 minutes of pure healing natural bliss, running, still and rippled water, sand and rock, birds and many other animals, trees and flowers, wind and sun and much more all set to a soothing ambient soundtrack.
Filmed at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. Contemplate the place in the world of the smallest animal you will see - much smaller than the head of a pin, the gentle ripples made by a diving turtle, and the quiet beauty in a creature that many people find "scary".....
The 16 acres that surround Morikami’s two museum buildings include expansive Japanese gardens with strolling paths, resting areas, our world-class bonsai collection and lakes teeming with koi and other wildlife. The wider 200-acre park features nature trails, pine forests and picnic areas.
Each garden is intended to express the character and ideas of a unique counterpart in Japan without attempting to duplicate those gardens, and seamlessly flow together as one garden.
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, with its unique gardens and collections, is one of Palm Beach County’s most treasured cultural attractions. Located in a tranquil natural setting, Morikami invites visitors to explore its many facets and discover Florida’s heritage and its connection with Japan.
Japanese gardens (日本庭園 nihon teien) are traditional gardens that create miniature idealized landscapes, often in a highly abstract and stylized way. The gardens of the Emperors and nobles were designed for recreation and aesthetic pleasure, while the gardens of Buddhist temples were designed for contemplation and meditation.
Japanese garden styles include karesansui, Japanese rock gardens or Zen gardens, which are meditation gardens where white sand replaces water; roji, simple, rustic gardens with teahouses where the Japanese tea ceremony is conducted; kaiyū-shiki-teien, promenade or stroll gardens, where the visitor follows a path around the garden to see carefully composed landscapes; and tsubo-niwa, small courtyard gardens.
Japanese gardens were developed under the influences of the Chinese gardens, but gradually Japanese garden designers began to develop their own aesthetics, based on Japanese materials and Japanese culture. By the Edo period, the Japanese garden had its own distinct appearance. Since the end of the 19th century, Japanese gardens have also been adapted to Western settings.
Brown Thrashers are ground foraging songbirds and one of the rarer and more striking birds to visit the Backyard with their sharp yellow eyes and downward curved bill that gives them a seemingly disapproving expression. Their long legs and a high center of gravity mean it is a bird always on the move, using its curved bill to "thrash" for something to eat. They typically stay in deep cover and only venture out in the open like in this video on rare occasion and then head back to cover. They occasionally come to eat bird seed on platform feeders, but would much rather catch live insects to eat. Related to the Mockingbird they are also some of the best singers of the songbird world, although I have yet to catch one putting on a show - the ones are here tend to be quite secretive.
