Otters at Sanlan!

We went on a 'bird walk' down by the pond at the back gate of Sanlan, and we had no idea what a neat site we would have!  Things started quietly enough, finding a small flock of Robins flying over.  We got a good look at a Snipe, and some other wading birds, at the ponds.  As we were about to move on.....

we caught a glimpse of something moving in the water that we thought was 'The Loch Ness Monster'   - - -        It was an OTTER!

It oscillated through the water so smoothly.  Then a second one glided into the water from the shore.        Lorna was able to get a few quick photos of them as we enjoyed the show.....





What a treat to watch them as they swam and fished.  Each one caught and ate big 'mud puppies' : salamander-type things that are pretty ugly, but must be good eating!  They seemed undisturbed by our

being there, swimming out to

limbs and snags sticking

up out of the water, to

fish, as it's doing here.

                                                                             

Otters have been seen in Sanlan on occasion,  but to have them here close to the

campground was a real treat. 

Maybe we'll see them again early

next season when we return!

We had a tough time leaving them, but we continued on and  had a little bit more birding before we

called it a day.  Though it was a short walk, it was a rewarding one  - - - I won't forget the enjoyment of watching those otters!

Great Backyard Bird Count at Sanlan

In Sanlan, it's a real thrill if you happen to come across one of  the bobcats while you're out on the trails.  And if you're lucky enough to have your camera with you, that's an extra-special thrill!  That was the case for Ann Nichol, as this beautiful cat crossed Sanctuary Trail, and she got this terrific picture - Thanks for sharing it with us!

   

 Feb.17th began the Great Backyard Bird Count. It's a national count organized as a fun project, with Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon. It is valuable to help collect data to learn more about birds' behavior, movements, and population changes.

Since we are lucky to have Sanlan, and Sanlan Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary as "our backyard" during the winter, I set out to do my count on the trails!

At my 7:30 am start, I went out towards the back gate and saw most of the species common to this area of the park.... By the time I passed the golf course parking lot and reached the trailhead, I had 20 species!...  A few of those species:   Tree Swallow,  Little Blue Heron,  Killdeer,  Least Sandpiper,  Red-bellied Woodpecker,  Red-shouldered Hawk,  and Sandhill Crane.

Robins are feeding in big flocks in the woods - something we don't see when they get up north and wander around in our yards!  I stopped to take a look into Stahl Canal as I passed it along the trail.  I came upon 15 more species as I wandered along this area,  of special note... Black and White Warbler, Wood Stork,  Hooded Merganser,  Great BlueHeron,  and the 'ever-squawking' Limpkin!

Continuing on that trail, I enjoyed the view across Banana Lake, and chatted with a couple golfers on the tee at Bramble Ridge.  A Royal Tern circled over the lake, showing off his aerial acrobatics - so graceful!  I also added Belted Kingfisher, Grey Catbird, Pied-billed Grebe, and the beautiful white Snowy Egret to the list.

As it got late in the morning, I happened to be "in the right place, at the right time", when a 'mixed flock' gradually moved thru one large live oak tree ... I watched for 15 minutes as eight more new species were found at this one tree!  The first Northern Parula of the season was seen .... they are always the latest ones to move thru here in migration, and I had been anxious to see them and hear their unusual 'trilling' call. Some other wonderful ones to see were the big flock of Cedar Waxwings, the vibrant Yellow-throated Warbler, cute Downy Woodpecker, and tiny White-eyed Vireo.

   Just as I turned to start away from the lake, I took one last look and ducks were feeding in the marsh.... and 2 Roseate Spoonbills just happened to fly across above the lake at the right time!  What a nice sight!  Other nice species in this area were the Brown Pelicans feeding in the lake, and the Swamp Sparrow creeping thru the brush at water's edge.

    A couple other nice birds were added to my list as I made my way thru the wooded area of the trail, and the warm afternoon quieted things down.  I heard a Barred Owl giving his distinctive hoot... I think we have a pair nesting in the thicker parts of the park!

    Although I certainly didn't get all the bird species that can be readily found in Sanlan, it was a thoroughly enjoyable time.... I finished up my list with a total 63 species!!    

             And that doesn't even include all the many alligators that I saw that added extra fun to my walk!                                             Good Hiking! ----- Randi Denham

Bird Walk January 31, 2012

                                                BIRD WALK   -  Jan. 31, 2012

Ann, Ralph and Gloria, Denny, and I started our morning by checking for the Osprey on the front nest.  It seems that we don’t have them nesting there this year – There’s been no nest-building activity at the platform.  I see them right in the area though, so I think they’ve chosen a new near-by spot.  We had some nice sightings as we walked down by the front ponds  – Ann spotted a Wood Stork, and we actually got to see a cute House Wren who stayed in sight after his chattering caught our attention!

Belted Kingfisher                            Sandhill Crane                                 Great Egret

American Robin                              Boat-tail Grackle                              Fish Crow

Northern Mockingbird                     Common Moorhen                          Anhinga

Eastern Phoebe                                Double-crested Cormorant              Wood Stork

Red-bellied Woodpecker                 Limpkin                                           House Wren

Palm Warbler                                   Red-shouldered Hawk                    Little Blue Heron

Carolina Wren (v)

As we continued down around  thru ‘the flats’, we checked the trees along the side ridges.  Denny spotted a pair of Red-bellied woodpeckers, who gave us real nice looks at them.  A few small birds flitted in the trees, but we could only identify a few before they took off. 

Mourning Dove                                           White Ibis                                              Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Osprey                                                         Black Vulture                                       Turkey Vulture

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher

We circled the ponds by the treatment plant, and found the ‘line-up’ of the ‘black-type’ birds on the wires, that we often see there… It’s a challenge to try to sort them out into species, picking out the differences in bill and head size, tail size and shape, color shading, etc.  But that challenge is one of the enjoyments of birding!   These species are the first three below.   We went on to see a neat baby alligator in one of the ponds – catching some rays.

Red-winged Blackbird                     Brown-headed Cowbird                   Common Grackle

Glossy Ibis                                       Hooded Merganser                          Great Blue Heron

Tri-colored Heron                            Pied-billed Grebe

We took one of the new trails and went down along the butterfly garden.  Many of last year’s plantings that were hit by last month’s frost are sprouting back up again – it’s spring!  It should look quite different there  in another month. 

But our most exciting find was – ducks in the wet area on beyond the garden, in the flooded ‘hills and swales’.   There were about 20 Green-winged Teals, which are a small, beautiful duck, and  they were close enough to get a real nice view of them.  A couple Blue-winged Teals were there, which I found there  several days before.   The ducks are starting their migration north, and may not hang around here too much longer, but it was a great sight, since it’s been years since we’ve had  them on our Sanlan bird list!

Grey Catbird                                    Northern Cardinal                                       

Green-winged Teal                          Blue-winged Teal

                It was a real nice walk -      Come join in the fun….

  Randi Denham   

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