MONDAY DEC 26, VISITOR

This past Monday afternoon we had a visitor checking

out what would be good for lunch over in the maintenance

area, or maybe if there is a good nesting site around here.

BIRD WALK

BIRD WALK - Dec. 20, 2011

What a nice morning… I was joined by 5 other birders for
our walk: Pam (birds with our Lake Region Audubon group),
Bill and Alice, Ann (good to see you back for another season!),
and Wanda. Thanks to all of you for coming out to enjoy the
Sanlan scenery and birds!

Pam and I checked the ponds near the office, before others arrived.
Some of ‘the regulars’ were around the pool pond. A few Hooded
Mergansers showed up here, apart from the bigger group we’ve
been seeing on the pond at the back gate.
Our birds in this area:
Great Blue
Heron

Limpkin

Little Blue Heron
Fish Crow (big groups have been seen….
I’m not sure what the ‘attraction’ is!)
Killdeer

Hooded Merganser
Mourning
Dove
Blue-gray
Gnatcatcher

We walked down to the ponds at the back gate, and had lots
of good sightings. This has become a really good spot this season…
the birds are regularly quite numerous here. The Black-bellied
Whistling Ducks seem to have moved on to another place now. 
We had noticed the numbers dropping, and now it seems they
are gone for this year. Hopefully we’ll get them back again next
year! I’ll keep checking down along the canal at the B & W
Sanctuary… maybe they’ve just moved back there into the marshes. 
Our little Least Sandpipers are at the pond again… They look
like little ‘peeps’. In fact, we refer to them, along with about
3 other species of sandpipers that all are about 6” long, as ‘peeps’.    
Our birds in this area:
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
Tree Swallow
White Ibis
Great Egret

Palm Warbler
Wood Stork
Red-bellied Woodpecker

Least Sandpiper
Sandhill Crane
Greater
Yellowlegs

Tri-colored Heron
Pied-bill Grebe
Cattle Egret
Wilson’s Snipe

Then we headed out the Clubhouse Trail. Though we still

aren’t hearing or seeing many small birds, we had some good

sightings as we walked out to Stahl Canal and back. The

butterflies are pretty numerous, especially the Zebra Longwings 

(Yes, the neat ones with long black wings with yellowish stripes…

like a zebra!) We saw other ones, varying sizes and all yellow, that
fit into the group called ‘Sulphurs’. 

The birds we saw in this area:
Kestrel
House Wren (heard, only)
Turkey Vulture
Mottled Duck (pair)

Belted Kingfisher

Brown Pelican
Eastern Phoebe
Yellow-rumped Warbler

Red-tailed Hawk

As we passed back by the big pond again, the Greater

Yellowlegs (a 10” wading bird often found at mudflats) was

joined by a Lesser Yellowlegs, which is smaller. It was neat

to have them there together, to see the difference… it is often

difficult to tell which one it is when there is only one!

That brought our total to 33 species, on our enjoyable walk! Thanks again –

The Rest of the Butterfly Garden

There are many more pictures but I will have to save them for later.

Under the trees the vines we planted are growing. The Cassia trees all four species are doing extremely well.

The salvia's are reseeding themselves along with the Mexican sunflowers. The only thing I did not find were the trees (Maple and others) that we had planted along the berm. Enjoy the pictures and see you soon.
Susan

September Update From the Butterfly Garden

Taking pictures of the butterfly garden and working down there after being gone so long was a pleasure.

I will add additional posts with pictures of the overall growth in the butterfly plantings.

I know there were many more butterflies utilizing the area than I could get shots of so don't despair we still have many more species than contained within these photographs. For all you Sanlander's that helped out with upkeep, weeding, planting; it is important to realize that the survival of our hard work is due to the dedication of the grounds keeping staff of Sanlan RV Park and adequate rainfall over the summer months.

Please be sure to thank them when you get back and enjoy the fruits of all of our labor. I did plant more seeds when I was out there taking shots. My husband and I weeded, watching out for the many fire ants that had taken up residence in the garden. We also sowed special butterfly vine seeds on the newly established trellis. Hopefully these pipevine seeds will sprout and grow in before we get any seriously cold weather.

Can't wait to see everyone back during the season.

Susan

Hello August

I checked with Audubon Birds of Prey Center in Maitland, Florida today for an update on the young eaglet juvie rescued following the storm here and taken to the center to fledge, then released in Mulberry in April. Linda White said she was observed in the release area, but is now likely in the Chesapeake Bay area of the east coast because that is where many Florida eagles go for the summer. Then begin to return in September and October. Her parents have only been noticed once since the storm but are likely vacationing north also. Unfortunately the damaged nest and tree have fallen so the parents will have to start a new nest and hopefully in the area. Below are pictures of the butterfly garden taken this week, it sure does look nice this year with a new round of blossoms and green grass. I saw a lady humming bird checking out some blossoms when I was there. There were several butterflies around also.

Sanctuary pictures

The beautiful Martin bird house, built by Jon Hains, is finally up out near the west pond.

We have garden pictures taken last week, and we sure could use some rain. In some pictures there is a butterfly working.

This picture of a bobcat was taken April 8, 2011 by Sherry Mizicko while riding on the trail between the Sanctuary and Bramble Ridge Golf Course. They stopped to take this picture and spoke to it and the cat just sat there. What a picture!!!

Pictures of the Eagle Release

Here are some pictures of our juvenile female Bald Eagle being released in south Mulberry. The young lady in the picture is Linda White of the Audubon Birds of Prey Center in Maitland, FL. She and her staff were the ones that were able to rehabilitate our young gal and get her ready for release. The eagle pair that had several juveniles her size learning the ropes of flying and hunting were the best choice to release her to. It is expected that she will fly with them and learn from them that which she needs to learn about caring for herself. Eagle Watch volunteers are keeping an eye on her as is the property owner. We hope for the best in her continued existence through maturity.