Ducks, Crows and Woodpeckers

I laughed out loud when a  7 inch crow slid down the aluminum pool ladder railing and hopped off onto the lip of the pool

Hearing a weird noise outside the bedroom window I found a very young tiny female downy pecking on a living tree, the weird sound was it is not a tree they peck on, it is green and  soft, not hard and rotted.. Totally different Sound

Found this little one on a Blog HERE

I saw a sweet, gentle Mourning Dove attack a blue jay and a Male Mocking Bird attack a fish crow. 

I laughed out loud as I walked Beau. The silly loud mocking bird sitting on the top of the street light singing  about 20 songs. Over and Over.

I watched Daddy Dove teaching baby dove to eat from the ground and practice flying. Once Daddy Dove was on the roof, ON GUARD, the nest in outside our gate in a stump with tall grass. I waved at him and HE DID A DOUBLE TAKE. He really did.  June 13 I saw the baby on the ground and Beau walking that way and the baby lifted up to the roof with no problem. I guess training is over now.

Yes, Missy and Mister are still here. They have been here 9 weeks now.

She dropped 2 eggs on the pool lip.

Research found, she is a juvenile and probably not aware of what to do with the eggs yet. They are called OOPS eggs. She is supposed to make a nest, and deposit them but so far has not built a nest. Yam says duck eggs taste better than chicken, but I can't eat my grand ducks, ha ha People do raise ducks for the eggs.

I found Mottled Ducks are protected species in Florida because they are native ducks to Florida. We are not allowed to touch or move or destroy a nest. If there is a problem we call Fish and Wildlife.

It is OK to toss eggs found on a pool deck in the trash, because they will not hatch unless she sits on them in a nest. She will not move this egg, but does move with her beak if she has eggs in the nest.

They have plenty of food, the above weeds are growing in 2 pots that I planted grass in for Beau to eat. The grass went to seed and I watched her strip the grass seeds off two blades of grass gone to seed. the grass looks like the front weed, and the two back weeds the seeds have been eaten, and the dirt you see, picked up by beaks, dipped in their water bowl and they swallow the mud to process the seeds in their gizzards.

Missy, the one on the left below, hat bonded with me. She came to the door and called me by making chirping and  funny sounds and when I   came to the door and go out, she walked beside me making the noise, wagging her tail and bobbing her head. I am love by ducks and love the ducks.

I have turned into a bird watcher. Thank you David G.

for those interested this is from AI on affection. 

Physical Signs of Affection

Excited Head Bobbing: Mottled ducks will bob their necks up and down rapidly when they are happy to see a trusted human. This is an acknowledgment of a positive social bond.

Gentle Nibbling and Dabbing: They will use their bills to softly nibble at your hands, clothes, or shoes. This behavior simulates the natural mutual preening that closely bonded ducks perform within their flock.

Shadowing and Following: An affectionate or imprinted mottled duck will follow you closely around the yard, viewing you as the leader or a safe member of their flock.Tail Wagging: Similar to dogs, ducks will rapidly wag their tail feathers side to side when they feel content and relaxed in your presence.

The Raven and The Crow

Sitting on Sofa, I heard loud honking, or quacking but not quite either. I walked out on the front porch and Wow! There was the largest Raven I have ever seen, sitting in the top of the tree in above photo.  He had to be close to 2 feet tall. The call he was making was a WOW moment.

As I watched, I noticed another one, a little smaller, sitting on another limb. Suddenly a crow, about half the size of the raven, dove at him, and flew off, came back for a 2nd dive. He remained stoic and static and no noise. I stepped off the porch to walk closer, and the entire tree erupted with a murder of crows.

The two ravens left also... it was quite amazing and now I know more about Ravens that you might want to know. 

I had Ai make the difference between the 2 birds.

and found a cool photo on how to identify one from the other.

and all this info that I am sure David G has inside his brain....I can attest to the DEEP CROAKING CALL... I have never seen a raven before, this was a lifer for me.

to be continued

Ravens are larger, solitary birds with shaggy throat feathers, wedge-shaped tails in flight, and deep croaking calls, favoring wilderness areas. 

Conversely, crows are smaller, social birds (often in large groups) with fan-shaped tails, smoother feathers, and sharp "caw" calls, thriving in urban environments. 

Nature Friday with Rosy and Sunny at Living the LLB Life    https://llbinourbackyard.blogspot.com/

Shore Birds, For David G on Nature Friday

 

Its Nature Friday over at Living the LLB life

For those of you who do not follow David of Travels with birds, this POST, is something you should visit. It made me happy; I laughed, I looked at all the photos twice, do not' miss it. Click the link Post and travel to Costa Rica.

The bird above is 2 photos of the same bird, that I merged, way back when I first started this blog

Archive Diving for David G # 2

 

David has such beautiful bird photos on Travels with Birds and he faithfully follows my Silly Stuff. I decide to show him I used to have another life, in Bird Country Florida. Archive Diving for David

I had Nothing..

I had nothing to post today... I intended to skip a day or two and see what happens. I visited Eileen at Viewing Nature and while gasping at the beauty of her Florida Birds, I thought I have Folders Full of Florida birds.. all from the  past.. Here are a few from 2007.

TODAY I AM RESTING ON MY LAURELS

 

 

Wild Parakeets, there were about 100 of them.

 

Red Red Red and More Red

I stood staring up at the trees against the blue sky, my eyes lowered and 6 feet from my face sat Mister Carl Five Note. It is rare to see the cardinals sitting still. I called out to Bob, get my camera and slowly bring it to me. I stood frozen in spot, eased my hand out behind me for the camera and here he is..

While admiring him in my LED screen, I realize he was not the only RED in our yard... you know the rest of this story....

 

Amazing two flowers grew out of one limb, they are hooked together at the bottom, back to back.

 

Close Encounter..

There he sat, only 6 feet from my face, the close encounter with this cardinal had me holding my breath and when I breathed out he flew.

this is continued from yesterday post.. Yes We got Bananas

The cardinals are wary of us and I have never been this close to one.

He turned his back on me, just like Baby Girl.

He smiled at me... I know he did...

If you need a Good Laugh... Pop over to the 7MSN Ranch today. Bob and I rolled on the floor with laughter, plus we learned something we did not know.

Beach Birds

Willett     YIPPE KI YEAHHH

Some of you asked about the name, Beer Can Island. I had to look up the real name, because all my life that is all I knew it by. the real name is Greer Island.

It is not actually an island, but a landform created by cureents and is referred to as a "hooked spit". it is a curved sand bar and creates a sheltered place for boaters to pull up on the sandy beach.

Now it is open only from Daw to 10 PM year round, with no parking allowed for the public. The beach is part of Exclusive Longboat Key city and is home to very high in condos and homes and only very limited access to the beaches. there are 11 parking spots where we park to walk the mile of so. most people prefer by boat. the residents of Longboat do not want the public there but in order to get federal assisantance with beach erosion, they have to have a certain number of spaces open to the general public, which is ME.   (if someone gave us a house there, we could not pay the taxes)

Gulls

It got the name of Beer Can island years and years ago because it was a popular spot for parties and they left behind their trash. now is is patroled and protected, and it is rare to see a beer can there. I never have. It is posted no alcohol and no dogs off leash.

 Nature is the art of God....... Ralph Waldo Emerson

My mother was born in 1926 and as a teen this was a very popular place to go by boat. Nothing there but dunes when she was a teen, no big houses just miles and miles of beaches.