Tag Archives: S. Lake Howard Nature Park

Yellow-rumped Warbler Split

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Myrtle Warbler (Dendroica coronata)

Myrtle Warbler (Dendroica coronata)

Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. (Genesis 2:19 NKJV)

When I wrote the article about our trip to S. Lake Howard Nature Park this week, I was not exactly sure which of the Old Yellow-rumped Warblers I had seen. Since the 2.4 Version of the I.O.C. (International Ornithologist Congress) list, they split the “Butterbutt” into four species. Hadn’t looked into it too much, but now is the time to try to figure out which one is which.

The four birds are the:
Myrtle Warbler (Dendroica coronata) – Eastern U.S. Mostly
Audubon’s Warbler (Dendroica auduboni) – Western U.S. Mostly
Black-fronted Warbler (Dendroica nigrifrons)
Goldman’s Warbler (Dendroica goldmani)

After doing quite a bit of research, I was wrong about the Audubon Warbler. Not only do I not live in the west, but after studying lots of photos, it is the Myrtle Warbler not the Audubon’s Warbler, as I first thought, that we saw.

Here are some of the traits of the Myrtle Warbler (from USGS about the Myrtle and Audubon’s Warblers):

Bright yellow rump (nicknamed “butterbutts”)

Myrtle Warbler (Dendroica coronata) Bright yellow rump

Myrtle Warbler (Dendroica coronata) Bright yellow rump

White spots in tail

Myrtle Warbler (Dendroica coronata) White spots in tail

Myrtle Warbler (Dendroica coronata) White spots in tail

White supercilium and broken eye ring

Myrtle Warbler (Dendroica coronata) White supercilium and broken eye

Myrtle Warbler (Dendroica coronata) White supercilium and broken eye

Here are some links to read to help with the split:
Myrtle Warbler by Wikipedia
Audubon’s Warbler by Wikipedia
Welcome back Myrtle Warbler? from the Drinking Bird
Goodbye Yellow-rumped Warbler, welcome back Myrtle Warbler and Audubon’s Warbler . . . by flickr discussion

At any rate, while I was sitting there, the little warbler preened and did not spook as I kept taking its photo.

These warblers belong to the Parulidae Family of the Passeriformes Order.

This is not an extensive listing of the birds, as the above articles covered much of it. These photos were taken by me (Lee).

The Slide show is of the Myrtle Warbler in the time sequence they were taken.

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Birdwatching at South Lake Howard Nature Pk 11-24-10

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Reflective View at South Lake Howard Nature Park

Reflective View at South Lake Howard Nature Park

Today we finally had a chance to go birdwatching for a little while. We drove to South Lake Howard Nature Park here in Winter Haven, FL. With all that has been going on, it has been almost a month since we have had a chance to bird watch (A little in Tennessee, come to think of it). I didn’t walk very far because of back and leg pains, but Dan was doing his photography while I just walked slow or sat and just enjoyed birdwatching. Not bad for about an hour and a half of watching. We counted 25 birds at the park or on the lake and a House Sparrow in the bush at the grocery store. There weren’t many groups of birds. Most of the birds were by themselves or with just one other member of their species. The water was very reflective this morning.

SLkHwd-Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) by Lee

Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) by Lee

Here is a list of the birds spotted, most having their picture taken:

At the Park

  • Anhinga – Sitting on a tree facing us. Normally you only get photos of their backs.
  • Wood Storks – 3 adults and 1 immature
  • White Ibises – 4
  • Wilson’s Snipe-1
  • Snowy Egret – 1
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler (need to figure which kind) “Butterbutts” – 7
  • Limpkin – 1 sitting on a Wood Duck’s house, another flew by
  • Fish Crows – 5 flying by making their racket
  • Redwing Blackbird – 1 on a treetop
  • Palm Warblers – 4 or so
  • Great Egret – 2
  • Little Blue Heron – 4
  • Tricolored Heron – 1
  • Cattle Egret – 2
  • Blue Jay – 1 heard carrying on about something
  • Osprey – 3 – 1 being chased by a Bald Eagle, 1 sitting on the tower with the moon sitting behind it.
  • Bald Eagle – 1
Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) Immature by Lee

Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) Immature by Lee

By the Lake (Howard)

  • Pied-billed Grebe – 2
  • Purple Gallinule – 6
  • Common Gallinule (Moorhen) – 5
  • Rock Pigeon – 4
  • American Coot – 6
  • Great Blue Heron – 2
  • Boat-tailed Grackle – 10
  • Muscovy Duck – 8
  • White Ibis – 30+

Publix

  • House Sparrow – 1

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:26 NKJV)

All in all it was a great morning for birdwatching here in Florida.

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Birdwatching – South Lake Howard Nature Park – 10/2/10

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South Lake Howard Nature Park, Winter Haven, FL

South Lake Howard Nature Park, Winter Haven, FL

Saturday, Dan and I were back out birdwatching and enjoying God’s creation. This time we stopped by the South Lake Howard Nature Park in Winter Haven. It was another beautiful “cooler” day like Friday at Circle B.

He put another story before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and put in his field: Which is smaller than all seeds; but when it has come up it is greater than the plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and make their resting-places in its branches. (Matthew 13:31-32 BBE)

Testing Camera on a White Ibis

Testing Camera on a White Ibis

We were only testing out my camera this time. After missing so many great photos at the Circle B and other outings, we stopped by Marshall’s Camera Shop in Auburndale that afternoon to discuss my camera’s problem. It had been acting up for some time and it wouldn’t auto-focus right. After some adjustments and an attempt to sell me a new Canon, I was satisfied to try some more with my faithful Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot, always on “program” mode or “video” mode camera. (I’ll leave all those f-stops and ISO’s for the photographers who know what there doing, like Dan, Ian, and my great photographers.) I shoot “proof-shots” (I saw it) and “ID shots” (What was that bird?).

White Ibis on Rail at S. Lake Howard

White Ibis on Rail at S. Lake Howard

White Ibis on Rail up close

White Ibis on Rail up close

With the camera in hand, we checked out the park and managed to see 18 different species and the camera was behaving much better. The birds we observed were small in number again, like Friday. Not sure why the birds haven’t gotten back down here yet. Hope that big storm that went up the East Coast lately didn’t mess up their migration trips down here.

Tricolored Heron at South Lake Howard

Tricolored Heron

South Lake Howard - Bunny

Bunny at South Lake Howard

Here is a list of what we saw and reported to e-Bird. I didn’t report the bunny rabbit to them.

Number of species:     18
Anhinga     1
Great Blue Heron     2
Great Egret     1
Little Blue Heron     1
Tricolored Heron     2
White Ibis     10
Wood Stork     2
Osprey     2
Purple Gallinule     3
Common Moorhen     9
Mourning Dove     1
Monk Parakeet     5
Belted Kingfisher     1
Blue Jay     3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher     1
Northern Mockingbird     2
Red-winged Blackbird     2
Boat-tailed Grackle     3

For more visits to South Lake Howard Nature Park.

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Birdwatching – Late January 2010

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Monk Parakeet (myiopsitta-monachus) by Lee

Monk Parakeet (myiopsitta-monachus) by Lee

The last two days have been interesting for birdwatching. I have been sick and we finally were able to get out to see the birds. Today, while getting the mail out of the box, we looked up and saw 3 Sandhill Cranes with a Whooping Crane flying by. Wow! We have been seeing 1 Whooping Crane in with lots of Sandhills lately on the way to Bartow on the same hill side. But to have it fly over our house was amazing. They were headed toward that hill which is about 1.5 miles south of us. (Old Bartow Road)

Palm Warbler - yellow

Palm Warbler - yellow

Yesterday, Dan wanted to check out something on his camera, so we took our cameras and stopped by South Lake Howard Nature Park again. I think he was having “cabin fever” more than me. Most of what we saw were the normal birds for there, only less of them. They cleaned out an area and planted grass, but that “improvement” has not been welcomed by the birds. (nor us birdwatchers either)

What we saw were: Boat-tailed and Common Grackles, White and Glossy Ibises, Anhingas, a White-winged Dove, Monk or Quaker Parakeets building their nests-Condo on the power pole, Palm Warblers (yellow), many Tree Swallows, the Bald Eagle on the tower, Osprey, Turkey Vultures, White Pelicans flying by, Fish Crows, Tri-colored and Little Blue Herons, Eastern Phoebe, Cattle Egrets, and others.

These are mine and Dan’s photos.

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Birdwatching – South Lake Howard Nature Park

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Eagle in Tree on a windy day

Eagle in Tree on a windy day

Today we were back at South Lake Howard Nature Park checking out the progress of the Bald Eagles and their two babies. When we got there, one of the eaglets was stretching its wings and looking over the side of the nest. By the time I got my scope set up, it decided to hide most of the time. What is there about getting out scopes or cameras that make birds “skedaddle?” I did get to see it several times through the scope and binoculars. I never saw two at once, but when I let someone else look through it, of course, the two popped up.

One of the adults eagles was sitting in a nearby tree watching. Some Turkey and Black Vultures flew too close for their comfort and the eagle let out its warning cry. My interpretation was, “okay, that’s close enough, now back off!” The vultures were coming by one or two at a time. When a flock of about 20 Boat-tailed Grackles decided to land in the tree where the nest was, that was a different story. The eagle let out several loud calls in rapid succession and then flew over to the nest tree. Needless to say, the Grackles decided to go elsewhere. Later, the other Eagle came to the nest with food and we could see it feeding the eaglets.

Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. (Proverbs 23:5 KJV)

Eagle in nest feeding eaglets by Dan

Eagle in nest feeding eaglets by Dan

It was quite windy this morning and we did not get real clear photos of the birds. Not allowed to get too close either, but some are included. We saw the following birds today:  Mockingbird, Cattle Egrets, Great Egret, 25 Robins, 2 Adult and 2 baby Bald Eagles, Black and Turkey Vultures, American Coots, Common Moorhens, Little Blue Heron adults and 1 immature Little Blue Heron that was still white, White Ibises, Boat-tailed Grackles, Blue Jays, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Mourning Doves, Monk Parakeets, and Anhingas. We also saw an alligator up on the bank sunning itself.

We were there about a week ago with four homeschoolers we are helping learn about birds. On that day we saw the following:  2 Eagles, Boat-tail Grackles, Black and Turkey Vultures, Blue Jays, Ospreys, Ring-billed Gulls, Anhinga, Fish Crows, Cormorant, Common Grackles, American Kestrel, Cattle Egrets, Mockingbird, Common Moorhens, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, Limkin, Tricolored Heron, Great Blue Heron, White Ibises, Great Egret, Rock Pigeons, Red-winged Blackbirds, Snowy Egret, Pied-billed Grebe, 4 Hairy Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpecker, Blue-gray Gnatchatchers, 2 Wood Ducks, Belted Kingfisher, (31)

American Robin by Dan

American Robin by Dan

For being a small nature park, we always seem to find a fair number of birds to observe. The water is really getting low in the pond. About as low as I have seen it. We are in a draught condition here in Polk County. In 2004, when the 3 hurricanes (Charlie, Frances and Jeanne) visited, there was too much water. We need rain, but not that way.

Birdwatching Trip – South Lake Howard Nature Park

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Wood Ducks

We had over 5″ of rain in the last two days, so when the sun finally came back out, it was time for another trip to the park. When we got there the water way up. The center area of the pond was under water and the birds were not hanging around much. But not to despair, there is always something to behold. Drowning ants had sacrificed some to preserve the majority and had taken over a little tree standing in water. We saw a female Red-winged Blackbird with her courting male nearby.

Fishing Hole

The Bald Eagle landed on his favorite tower. We watched a Cormorant checking out the pond and saw two alligators there also. There was a male and female Wood Duck swimming around together. We also saw a Hairy Woodpecker, Blue Jays, Boat-tailed Grackles, and Common Moorhens.
We crossed the road to the raised walkways and had a pleasant surprise to see a Snowy and Little Blue egret and three Tricolored Herons vying for position in the tall grasses at the edge of Lake Howard (in Winter Haven, FL). An Osprey flew over and the White Winged Doves were calling back and forth. We were heading back to cross the road and came upon a spectacular site. There were at least 5 Great Egrets, 6 Ibises, a Snowy Egret, 2 Wood Storks, and a Great Blue Heron fishing where the overflow water was coming out of a drain. Then I heard a Cardinal singing, saw 2 Common Grackles “purple morph” and the Monk Parakeets carrying-on. So, not a bad morning at all. The Lord made sure that they were being fed and so we got the blessing of watching them.

We also met a Christian there who writes poetry and he has given permission to quote some of his poetry. I hope he will write some more and post them here on the blog.

Here is a poem from his book, POETRY at its Best, Vol 1, by Kermit R. Holt.
The Snowy Egret
The egret which is known as snowy
has feathers which are very showy
Indeed, for these, it has been shot
till near extinction this bird got.
Finally before it breathed its last
for its protection laws were passed.
Its numbers gradually increased
and its existence had not ceased.
Populations haven’t grown enough
to overcome those times so tough.

Check out the Pictures taken today at:

South Lake Howard Nature Park

The Birds of the Bible – Eagles

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Today we will start with the Eagle, which our pastor used as the theme of his article in this month’s Window. Here in North America we have the Bald Eagle (our National symbol) and the Golden Eagle, Stellar’s Eagle and White-tailed Eagle. The Bald Eagle’s “bald spot” doesn’t appear until they are 4 or 5 years old and develop a white head and tail. The Bald Eagle is only in North America. In Israel you might see a Short-toed Eagle, Great or Lesser Spotted Eagle, Steppe, Imperial, Golden, Booted, or Bonelli’s Eagle.

I love to watch an eagle flying; it stops me in my tracks. We are lucky here in Polk County to have many this time of the year. Stay alert and also visit the South Lake Howard Nature Center to see a pair sitting either on the tower or at the nest. Ask most anyone there and they will point out the nest.


Eagle on Tower Near Lake Howard and Eagle in Nest at Lake Howard Nature Park.

  • Job 9:26 – “Like an eagle swooping on its prey.”
  • Pro 30:19 – “The way of an eagle in the air”
  • Jer 49:22 – “fly like the eagle”
  • Hab 1:8 – “They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.”
  • Pro 23:5 –“They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.”

An African Eagle

“Birds display a wide range of patterns in flight. Swifts and swallows use a fast, gliding motion. Ducks and geese have sustained, powerful flight. Birds of prey such as eagles and falcons usually catch their targets by swooping from high in the sky, capturing their victims after a swift dive—which may reach speeds of 250 kilometers an hour (165 mph). As the bird swoops to the ground, it spreads its powerful wings to act as a brake.” (“Created to fly,” Creation 16(3), June 1994)

Click link to see a Bald eagle hovering and landing on rock.

Bald Eagle hovering and landing


For those of us in the “older generation,” Job 9:25-26 (NKJV) reminds us that we need to stay active for our Lord because our life passes by swiftly. “Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good. They pass by like swift ships, Like an eagle swooping on its prey.”

A few more facts about eagles:

  • Eagles are mentioned in hymns such as:
    They That Wait Upon the Lord –“They shall mount up with wings as eagles:”
    The Mercy Seat – “Ah, there on eagle wings we soar,”
    Art Thou Afraid? – “On eagles’ wings they mount, they soar, Their wings are faith and love,”
  • In Israel, the eagle is the largest bird and has an eight foot wing span.
  • There are at least 25 verses in the Bible that mention the eagle.
  • The eagle is an “unclean” bird.

There is much more to say about eagles, but we will leave them to continue with the many other birds mentioned in the Bible. A parting remark by C. H. Spurgeon quoted on Pg 57 of John Stott’s The Birds Our Teachers, follows:

“Brother, your failure, if you fail, will begin in your faith. The air says to the eagle, Trust me; spread thy broad wings; I will bear thee up to the sun. Only trust me. Take thy foot from off yon rock which thou canst feel beneath thee. Get away from it, and be buoyed up by the unseen element.’ My brethren, eaglets of heaven, mount aloft, for God invites you. Mount! You have but to trust him.”

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