We have a stork!

Although it is not a new species for the backyard, the stork we had today is a rare visitor.  I can only remember one other time in the past that we have seen a stork here.  So it was an exciting day in the backyard.

The stork was both across the canal and on our side.  It's a huge bird, almost 4 feet tall with a nearly 6 foot wingspan, and with a distinctive bald head.  It was interesting to watch him use his pink foot to stir up the bottom of the canal and grab at whatever he rousted out to eat.  It was probably some little fish.  He would walk along doing that stirring motion and exploring the water with his open mouth just waiting for a fish to get close.  Sometimes he lost his balance from stirring too vigorously and had to open out his wing to regain it.

Here fishy, fishy, fishy

Bald it beautiful - sort of...

Not to be outdone, a great egret stopped across the canal to also take advantage of what was now in reach with the canal water having been lowered so much in anticipation of some rain.  He seemed pretty successful at getting a meal too.  He visited a few days this week.

All the birds love the mucky beach though I hate it.

In contrast, the Egyptian geese have not been around in the last few weeks and remain among the missing in the backyard.  I did see about 6 of them about a mile from my house so there are still some in the area.  The pigeon, however, has visited daily for his ration of seeds.  He's been trying out the birdbath though not to bathe, just to sit.  And one day the young tricolor heron made several visits to the dock post.  And the lone white ibis also stopped in for some seeds and conversation with the other guests, if you could call his rude noises conversation.

I was both happy and surprised to see a pied-billed grebe in the canal going under water to fish and just swimming up and down the canal.  They don't usually arrive until late November.  I hope it will stay around for the next few months.

Our anhinga, Ani, has been back drying out on her favorite dock post.  And the two gallinules are still around, the adult and the younger one that is almost full grown.

I haven't seen her for a long time, but the mom mottled duck was back for the last few days with a male and sometimes another mottled duck but I can't tell if it is her baby.  She is distinctive looking because of the white feathers on the back of her neck but her baby, which is now fully grown, has no distinguishing markings and looks like all the others.  I simply can't tell mottled ducks apart usually.

The Muscovy duck mom has brought her babies to the backyard to eat for 4 of the last 5 days.  They know to wait in an area that I can see from inside the house so I know they're around and can go out to feed them.  Some days they like to eat among the crowd of bigger ducks but usually come running when I call them over to their little pool and put seeds there for them.  It's a safer environment for them.  Lately the babies come running over before mom and are getting bold enough to lead the way.   The other day, one of the babies was limping a little, but the problem seems to have resolved itself.

Light headed little dude

Dark headed baby - check out the new tail feathers

Just 4 days later, these same duckies looked different, with more of their feathers replacing the baby fluff.  They are also changing color both on the beaks and in their feathers.  They change so much from day to day that it's amazing to watch.  Two seem a little bigger than the others so they might be males but it's really too soon to tell.  Over the next few weeks the males should pull away from the females and grow much more quickly.

Look at me, I'm a watch duckie!

We still like to snuggle

As for the big Muscovies, their numbers have definitely diminished.  The regulars, males Black Foot, Blanco, Big Boy and Lazlo and a few other males are always here.  I haven't seen Striped Beak in a month now but he has disappeared for long periods of time before.  Females Cutie2, Cutie Tips, Pretty Girl, Smiley, Chirpie and Sweetie are still regulars, but I haven't see Blackie2 in a while.  She too has been known to disappear for a while.

I put some white sand down, making a little wall in parts of the backyard to try to fend off the severe erosion of the canal bank while we wait for the Lake Worth Water Management people to show up and repair the bank.  The Muscovies seemed to be afraid and would not come into the backyard which really surprised me.  There were seeds all over in the usual places and on the dock and they would not eat.  It's true that when I put down the sand I hammered in some wood stakes and made a lot of noise but I couldn't imagine their still being scared a few days later.  I really don't understand it.    Eventually a few of the younger ones ventured out and the older ones followed a few days later.  In the meantime, the mottled ducks which had no fear at all enjoyed having the seeds all to themselves.

There was an interesting development with Lazlo, who is a young male from Pretty Girl's clutch last April.  He has been getting into long huffing contests with another backyard male.  Is he starting to feel all manly like an adult now?  His brother Big Boy hasn't gotten involved yet.

It isn't mating season, supposedly, but today I saw a male Eurasian collared dove putting on a show for a female on the pool screen.  He was fluffing himself up and raising and lowering his head over and over again.  It apparently didn't impress her and she flew off while he was in mid-bob.


Even as the Muscovy duck population is reduced, so too has the population of blue jays which has diminished down to just a few and only occasionally, and there are far fewer cardinals, mourning doves and white winged doves.  The bird feeders are staying fuller longer.   I think that is soon to change, though, because I've been seeing some more grackles so perhaps they are starting to return.  I think I even saw the first female boat-tailed grackle in a long time so maybe that male that has been looking for love might find some soon.  I'm never all that happy to see the grackles as they come in force and dominate the bird feeders and force out the other birds.  So I hope we have fewer this year.

Even the squirrel count is down to one from a high of 4 a few months ago.  I did see our one remaining squirrel get a peanut and then hang upside down on the pool screen eating it.  It sure seems like an uncomfortable way to eat!

Happily the gulf fritillary butterfly has returned to the penta plants.  They have made a bit of a comeback and have fresh blooms.  The butterfly stopped several times on the pink plants and actually experimented with the purple penta for the first time.  I wanted to take a photo but it kept teasing me, leaving just as I went outside and returning the moment I left.

There is certainly an ebb and flow of wildlife in the backyard and it's interesting to see the seasonal changes.  The winter is usually a time of relative quiet in the backyard but there is always something to see.