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“I see said the blind man as he picks up his hammer and saw,” is one of my favorite expressions, where “see” refers to sight or understanding. and the moment when I finally recognize what is going on. It was just a regular trip to the mailbox; on the way I’d glance at the bed of aloe vera plants with their tall bloom spikes, hoping for a hummingbird to hover on by. Surely one day I’d see a hummingbird as each Fall Hummingbirds leave their breeding grounds throughout the Eastern United States, and winter in the Florida Keys. while others take their fly-way South through Texas to Panama.  Ruby-throated hummingbird approaching an aloe vera flower. Surely they were present in my yard. Yet they eluded my vision until I took the time to sit and wait, camera in hand, for the invisible to appear. To say I'm a multitasker would be accurate, while I sit in wait for the hummingbird, the phone rings and now I’m also talking to a client about art work when suddenly I blurt out “Wait wait I gotta go… It's here…” My reaction to spotting my first hummingbird could have been likened to giving birth to my first child. But in a flash it was gone again.  Ruby-throated hummingbird male hovers in midair while sipping nectar. I silenced the phone, and waited with my strict attention on the flowers. In about 10 minutes the bird returned. I lifted my camera, pulled off some shots and I captured that amazing bird approaching, hovering, and nectaring on an aloe flower. The photograph revealed it was a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), its name referring to the ruby-red feathers on the male bird’s throat.  Firebush (Hamelia patens): a Florida native with orange-red flowers Having finally seen a hummingbird in action, I can truly appreciate these amazing little helicopters, as they swoop down from the treetops, hover in midair while sipping nectar, then zip away all in the blink of an eye. They are so small, about 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 inches, weighing less than a quarter of an ounce, a hummingbird could easily be missed. Perhaps you could hear them coming by the humming sound caused by the rapid beating of their wings… that’s why they are called “humming” birds. Ruby-throated hummingbirds’ wings beat at an amazing 55 beats per second. They have to keep moving since hummingbirds have tiny feet, which is great for aerodynamics, however there's a downside: these birds cannot walk. They can only perch or scoot sideways.  Firecracker plant: with red, tubular flowers, growing 3-4 ft. tall and 6 ft. wide Hummingbirds need to feed every 10-15 minutes which increased my opportunities for getting a photo. They can only feed from dawn to dusk so they must consume more than half their weight in food and 8 times their weight in water. They’ve adapted to survive darkness when they cannot feed by eating as much as they can just before dark. At night, their heart rate and body temperature drop to conserve energy, sort of like a daily hibernation, otherwise they likely would starve. Hummingbirds preferred flower color is orange, red or pink. Their needle-like beaks are specialized for feeding on tubular-shaped flowers, where they eat insects found inside, and with their tongue extending beyond their beak, drink the nectar, as if sipping through a straw.  Geiger Tree (Cordia sebestena): a large Florida Keys native with bright orange flowers Frequently mentioned on lists of Keys Hummingbird plants are the following:
The aloe plant is rarely mentioned as a nectar plant for hummingbirds, although the aloe bloom is pinkish-yellow and has a tubular shape. Hummingbirds learn by trial and error which flowers give the best results, so the aloe in my yard evidently has passed the taste test. They also like the red Bombax blooms which appear in late Winter/Spring.  Adult Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird o a feeder looking “back at ya”. Photo by: Ed Cox A short while later I resumed the phone call that was interrupted by the bird. Luckily I was speaking with a fellow nature photographer who understood my enthusiasm, and then shared some of his great photos of hummingbirds. I noticed some photos involved feeders which are great for viewing hummingbirds. A feeder is filled with a mixture of 1 part white sugar to 4 parts water. Boil the sugar solution till the sugar is dissolved, then cool.. Since the feeder itself is red, there is no need to add red food coloring. Be careful to avoid placing the feeder in direct sunlight, as this stimulates bacteria growth, and clean the feeder every five days. Though feeders satisfy the sweet tooth, gardening for wildlife is always a better nutritional option, especially if you have a variety of plants which are in bloom at different times.  Adult Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird at a feeder. Photo by: Ed Cox  Juvenile Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird Photo by: Ed Cox
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I love the change of seasons in Florida. There’s a freshness in the breeze, accompanying a slightly lower level of temperature and humidity. It's lovely when you can go outside in the evening without hearing the whir of the mosquito fog truck. It’s healthy to leave the TV, the couch and the air-conditioning and venture outside to lay in the hammock to be entertained by mockingbird melodies from the wire above.  The Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) is a fixture in my yard. I recognize one in particular by unusual growths above it’s beak and beside it’s right claw. The Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) is a fixture in my yard. I recognize one in particular by unusual growths above it’s beak and beside its right claw. My friendly greeting of “what's the matter birdie... how are you today? Are you finding the food you need? Are you happy? You're a pretty bird.” accompanies my arrival. The mockingbird sits calmly on its perch observing, allowing me to get close with my camera. (The bird must be thinking “get a life.”)  American beautyberry,is an excellent food source for birds. Northern Mockingbirds are common in backyards, but they don’t often visit feeders. I see them hopping around on the ground stopping every few feet to partly spread its wings. They can be found high on a strangler fig branch, or among the branches of my mango or papaya trees, probing for ripening fruit. Though by necessity I must be more vigilant and pick the fruit before it becomes riddled with their peck marks, the mockingbird is helpful in my yard because it usually feeds on insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, chinch bugs and caterpillars, as well as weed seeds.  Mockingbird perch on overhead power lines. Native plants like Simpson’s stopper, American beautyberry, wild coffee, and including fruit-bearing passion flower, wax myrtle and seagrape are excellent food sources for birds. Florida's state tree, the Sabal palm is a favorite source of fruit for mockingbirds, as are the fruits of the Washingtonian palm. From prior encounters, the mockingbird knows I am a regular in the yard, and I pose no threat to it or it’s nest. University of Florida researchers have found that mockingbirds can recognize individuals after only two 30-second encounters. On the large university campus researchers observed mockingbirds rapidly learning to assess the level of threat posed by different humans, and further enabling the bird to pick out the same individual even in a crowd. Pretty amazing! Mockingbirds have been known to dive-bomb humans who may have ventured too close to a nest, particularly during the spring. Joggers and dog-walkers beware of hit-and-run attacks to the back of the head as mockingbirds warn you to get away from their nest.  Wild coffee berries are a favorite food for birds. Both male and female mockingbirds sing. They begin singing at dawn and continue throughout the day and into evening. The males can be quite loud while singing to attract a mate, and possess impressive acrobatic skills, often leaping a few feet in the air and flapping his wings while singing.  A high perch in a wild tamarind tree. Thomas Jefferson’s favorite bird was the mockingbird because of its intelligence and ability to mimic. Jefferson kept a pet mockingbird named Dick in the White House, and boasted in his Notes on the State of Virginia that Great Britain’s birdlife had nothing to compare with this bird’s vocal abilities. From the mimic thrush family, their Latin name translates to "many-tongued thrush.” They mimic the songs of other birds, as well as different animals like frogs and squirrels, and devices such as car alarms and horns, while they repeat phrases three times per sequence. The mockingbird is widely distributed throughout Florida year-round, and is one of the best-known birds, found in urban areas, suburban areas, and parklands. For the casual observer the mockingbird is just another unremarkable bird with feathers in varying shades of white, to grey. It has a long tail and slender bill, and when in flight a broad white patch is visible on its darker grey wings. There is little coloration difference between males, females, juveniles or while mating.  Mockingbird recognizes me and sees I don’t pose a threat. The Florida Federation of Women's Clubs requested Florida schoolchildren to select a state bird; they chose the mockingbird and on April 23, 1927 the Florida legislature designated the mockingbird as the state bird, giving it protected status. According to Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 3, the "melody of its music has delighted the hearts of residents and visitors to Florida from the days of the rugged pioneers to the present comers.” Some argue that Florida should not share a state bird with other states. The mockingbird is also the state bird of Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. Suggestions for a new state bird are all over the map, but four main contenders have emerged: the Florida scrub jay, flamingo, osprey and roseate spoonbill. May I “mockingly” suggest Florida’s state bird should be the construction crane?  The mockingbird sits calmly on its perch observing, allowing me to get close with my camera. Happy Fall! It’s finally arrived... if only on the calendar. There’s been a small drop in temperature (the 80’s instead of 90’s) and the mosquito count is noticeably down. I don't want to jinx us, but we're two months shy of the end of 2024 Hurricane Season and we haven't had a powerful hurricane... yet. Hurricane destruction comes in waves; first from the wind and water, which results in power outages, broken infrastructure, roofs opened and while mosquitos are eating you alive, the second wave of destruction which I fear most begins, when the unemployed surfers with chainsaws appear and start cutting down our mangrove shoreline to improve a view.  Distinctive snorkel roots from the Black Mangrove stick out from the ground like fingers, and grow alongside Red Mangrove prop roots. The strongest hurricane winds do not uproot the mangroves, but can shake the trees so violently that the bark peels off, exposing the cambium layers to salt spray and waves, quickly killing the tree. Both dead and living mangroves are protected as outlined in the 1996 Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act. There are very specific regulations and heavy fines for illegal mangrove trimming. Florida law allows property owners and/or professional trimmers to trim mangroves to improve their view or access navigable waterways. Visit https://floridadep.gov and search for Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act to learn more. Always check with local environmental officials before trimming mangroves.  A white ibis observes from a mangrove branch.  A roseate spoonbill probes for mollusks and other invertebrates in the sediment. The Keys have four tree species in their mangrove forests: the Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) with it’s spider-like prop roots and cigar shaped seeds, the smaller White Mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) with it’s pea like seeds, the dark barked Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans) whose distinctive aerial roots stick up from the ground like thin fingers, and Green Buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus), the tree with the distinctive bark which looks as if it want to come off.  Red mangrove seeds develop on the tree and when they fall into the water they soon sprout roots along rocky coastlines.  White mangrove seeds are pea-like. All mangroves disperse their seeds by water. The red mangroves are particularly important because their high arching prop root systems entrap sediment and decayed organic materials, making them not only an essential habitat in the marine food chain, but also “land-builders” which have formed over 200 islands in Florida Bay. Mangroves are cold sensitive plants, that range from the St. Johns River on the East Coast, down through the Florida Keys, and up Florida’s west Coast to Cedar Key. North Key Largo is home to about 8,000 acres of mangroves. Mangroves are the nursery for the oceans. When they are destroyed it upsets the ecosystem. Fishermen know that 75% of the game fish and 90% of the commercial species use mangrove roots and shallow waters to shelter from predators until they reach a size large enough to fend for themselves. Mullet, mangrove snapper, snook, tarpon, shrimp, sea trout and blue crab call the mangroves home. The American crocodile lives in the mangroves and the mangrove water snake hides out among the tangle of prop roots and branches. Bottlenose dolphin feed on fishes associated with mangrove systems.  Manatees are frequently observed swimming in proximity to mangroves. Manatees (Trichechus manatus) feed on seagrasses and other submerged aquatic plants and are frequently observed swimming in proximity to mangroves. On a visit to my favorite mangrove lined canal, I sensed a photograph, however the water needed cleaning of a landscaper’s errant grass clippings that littered the surface. As I skimmed the water with a net to catch the clippings, my splashing attracted a West Indian manatee. Next a small nurse shark swam by... the place was alive. I thought all I needed to complete the scene was a bird. As I positioned the camera to capture the photo, a green heron flew in and perched on one of the prop roots. At that moment I felt as if I were Dr. DoLittle on an animal adventure. The rare and endangered Mangrove Diamondback (Malaclemys terrapin) only lives in the brackish back waters of the Florida Keys and Everglades. White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) feed on crabs and Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja) prey on mollusks and other invertebrates living within the sediment. The entire Everglades population of the wood stork (Mycteria americana) nests only in mangroves.  The reclusive Mangrove Diamondback terrapin lives in the brackish waters of the Florida Keys and Everglades. Photo by: Morgan Barnes  Pelican guano coats a small mangrove island. The Red Mangrove, the “walking tree” found growing on the shorelines, is the basis for an impressive natural ocean filter system for litter dumped at sea, highlighting the importance of individual and organized coastal clean-up efforts. Back in the early 80s, my husband Ted and I would explore the mangrove shoreline, and leave with treasures like old buoys and wormy driftwood. It was athletic work as we balanced on the giant prop roots and labored to free a piece of debris from the mangroves. We called the shoreline our “Overseas Lumber Company.” Once home Ted would rip the driftwood into strips and make the most beautiful wormy frames for displaying my photographs. As I sit musing about some of the best times of my life, Ted appears steadied by his walker. I great him cheerily “Happy Fall!” He replies, “Trying not to.” All we need to do is understand some words and the context helps us out with the rest.  Red mangrove shoreline at dusk. Seagrape trees often grown near red mangroves.  A little green heron sits undercover of the mangroves. |
CAROL ELLIS
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