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Wednesday, July 31, 2013

More surprises in Lakes Park

    I would like to call this tree the Dragonfly Tree - because - if you look closely, you'll notice a dragonfly
    on most tip of this tree....amazing!
              Four Spotted Pennant
             Halloween Pennant
    Most dragonflies were willing to sit still while I watched them. This particular one - known at Two Stripped  Forceptail - stayed put for the longest time and let me approach without a fuss.
  This particular bird was my last sighting as I made my way out to my car - I watched him for a while and
   thought for sure his/her parents would show up as it seemed to be a young one. I've yet to identify what
 type of bird that it is. I am seriously hoping that the birding community will help me to identify and provide
   some information.( **Note** It is identified as a Bronzed Cowbird - my other photos match with I.D.)
    I said good bye and I headed to the little Ice Cream shop and treated myself to a cone....yum.

5 comments:

  1. The black bird may be a juvenile Common Grackle. The grackles make good use of Lakes Park.

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  2. Hi France. Here are my IDs:

    Female Four-spotted Pennant
    Female Halloween Pennant
    Female Two-striped Forceptail
    Juvenile Common Grackle

    Good job on getting those dragons to sit still for you. Very nice.

    Bob Stalnaker

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the i.d. on the dragonflies - they are just beautiful.

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  3. France,

    I believe your black bird is an immature Bronzed Cowbird. The apparent size of the bird and the length of its tail as well as the shape of the bill look wrong for any grackle. Young Bronzed Cowbirds do not develop the characteristic red eye until they are closer to maturity. Only males exhibit the characteristic 'ruff' that they expand when doing their 'Dracula display'.

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    Replies
    1. Nancy - I believe that you've nailed it! while I previously searched for proper i.d. - I had dismissed this one because of the map showing no signs of them being in Florida. Now that you brought it up, I went back to my books and started comparing data - I then went online and sure enough, the Bronzed Cowbird is in Florida. The body, the feathers, the beak and the eyes (minus the red color) all match. Thank you.

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