FLORIDA POND-SHORE REPORT, PART 1

FLORIDA POND-SHORE REPORT, PART 1

Dr. James J. S. Johnson


“I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pond of water, and the dry land springs of water.” 

(Isaiah 41:18)

Wow! What a morning birdwatching in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the home of Chaplain Bob and Marcia Webel, good Christian friends (of mine) since the early A.D.1970s (and good friends of my wife, years later). On the morning of Monday, January 16th (A.D.2023) we sat in lawn chairs inside the backyard that borders a near-the-bay pond (i.e., what Floridians call a “lake”), drinking our coffee (and eating toasted rye bread), enjoying the privilege of observing the following birds:

BALD EAGLE  (Wikipedia image)

Bald Eagle. When a Bald Eagle fly to the top branches of a pond-shore tree the smaller birds fled, yielding to the eagle’s raptor reputation. All American patriots know the Bald Eagle, our national bird.  The heads and necks (of both male adults and female adults) are covered with bright white feathers, giving it the appearance of being “bald” (from a distance).  [See John Bull & John Farrand, Jr., NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY FIELD GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS:  EASTERN REGION, revised edition (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994), pages 321-322 & 423-424.]  These heavy hawk-like raptors love to eat fish, so it is not surprising to see them at and near seashores, lakeshores, estuarial bays and riverbanks, and similar shorelines where fish are readily available. [See Roger Tory Peterson, PETERSON FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS OF WESTERN NORTH AMERICA, 5th edition (Boston, MA: HarperCollins, 2020), page 178.]  

WHITE IBIS  (Wikipedia image)

White Ibis.  Although wild, these happy-to-eat-bread birds are noticeably bold in their willingness to approach humans who feed them bread crumbs.  (In some Florida pond-shore park contexts they will literally eat bread morsels from human hands.)  White Ibises are a long-legged chicken-sized waterfowl, almost all white (yet has black under-edging on its wings), with a long decurved (i.e., downward-curved) bill that is reddish (vermillion-orange/coral-red) in color.  These wading birds enjoy eating critters that inhabit pond-shore waters, such as crayfish, small fishes, and aquatic insects.  [See John Bull & John Farrand, Jr., NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY FIELD GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS:  EASTERN REGION, revised edition (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994), pages 12 & 376.]  These white waterfowl are known to hybridize with Scarlet Ibis.  [See Eugene M. McCarthy,  HANDBOOK OF AVIAN HYBRIDS OF THE WORLD (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2006), page 192.]

COMMON GRACKLE  (Wikipedia image)

Common Grackle.  Although I was originally inspired by a Great-tailed Grackle (at a pond-shore in Denton County, Texas) to write “Of Grackles and Gratitude”, in the July AD2012 issue of ACTS & FACTS ( posted at www.icr.org/article/grackles-gratitude ), the grackles that I saw in St. Petersburg, in the backyard by the pond-shore, were Common Grackles (varieties of which include “Purple Grackle” and “Florida Grackle”).  Their glossy-black iridescent plumage shimmers in the sunlight, like a kaleidoscope of gleaning flickers of indigo, deep purple, peacock blue, midnight blue, dark bronze-brown, and emerald green.  [See John Bull & John Farrand, Jr., NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY FIELD GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS:  EASTERN REGION, revised edition (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994), pages 479 & 735.] 

Other birds that we (i.e., Chaplain Bob Webel and I, while our wives chatted inside the Webels’ house) observed that morning, at or near the pond-shore, included Great White Egret, Great Blue Heron, Double-crested Cormorant, Mockingbird, Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, Snowy Egret, Common Moorhen, Anhinga, Tufted Titmouse (on a tree near the pond-shore), Limpkin (foraging near a group of ibises), Red-bellied Woodpecker (on oak branches by the pond-shore), plus later 3 Muscovy Ducks were seen waddling about on the grass of a neighbor’s front-yard. Besides birds, a playful (and very large) River Otter relaxed on the opposite shore of the pond, while several Eastern Grey Squirrels darted here and there on the ground and on the trunk and branches of nearby trees.

But the details of those other shoreline-visiting birds must await future blogposts (D.v.), because this one is almost finished.

Meanwhile, what a privilege it is to observe—close-up—God’s winged wonders, including those seen last Monday.

“Praise the Lord from the earth, … beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl.” 

(Psalm 148:7a & 148:10)

Appreciating White Ibises (and Other Birds in Florida)

APPRECIATING  WHITE  IBISES   (AND  OTHER  BIRDS  IN  FLORIDA)

Dr. James J. S. Johnson

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All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. (1st Corinthians 15:39)

Christian birdwatchers can enjoy the variety that God has given to our planet, including many different animal kinds, and a multifarious diversity within that larger diversity, such as the enormous variety that we can see in the realm of birds. [See “Valuing God’s Variety”, posted at http://www.icr.org/article/valuing-gods-variety .]  One such example follows, viewed (and appreciated) in coastal Florida, on a day when I saw more than 2 dozen different birds.  The American White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) — a/k/a White Ibis — is a wading shorebird that frequents the shorelands of America’s Southeast coastlines, clockwise from Virginia’s shores to those of the Gulf of Mexico, from Florida to Texas (and south of that, e.g., Mexico and the Caribbean islands).

And St. Petersburg (Florida) is not deficient when it comes to the White Ibis.

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WHITE IBISES at Webel backyard (photo by Marcia Webel)

These waders are easy to recognize – their plumage is all white, except for black wingtips (usually visible only when their wings are outstretched, as in flight); also, they have long, thin red legs (with knees that bend backwards), a long, decurved (i.e., curved downward) reddish-orange bill, and a red face. The White Ibis probes in shallow water with its bill, feeling around for potential prey.

[The White Ibis] uses freshwater or saltwater wetlands and the nearby open shallow water [as hunting grounds, when seeking food].

Feeding is primarily by rapid, tactile probing in exposed or submerged mud while slowly walking. Ibises may also sweep the partially open bill form side to side in water over 10 cm (4 in) deep, snapping down when they feel a prey item. The sweep feeding may be accompanied by foot stirring to scare fish and crustaceans [like crayfish] up into the water column, and/or fully extending a wing to shade the water and provided a perceived refuge for fish. They take advantage of almost any ephemeral source of food and may be seen probing in shallow marshes, willow or sawgrass-lined ponds, the soggy spots of an interstate highway median, or wet agricultural land. This ibis [i.e., the White Ibis] usually feeds in flocks [e.g., a dozen or more]. When feeding on the exposed soil surface, they select their prey items by vision rather than by feel.

Prey includes small crabs (particularly hermit crabs), aquatic insects and [their] larvae, crayfish, snails, clams, worms, frogs, and small fish. They become particularly adept at catching coquina clams exposed at the surface by strong surf. Small prey is swallowed with a forward thrust of the head, while larger items are dismembered by stabbing and biting. Indigestible parts are cast as pellets. Ibises steal large prey from each other [shame on them!] and are sometimes the thief and sometimes the victim with other wading birds [such as the Wood Stork].

Other wading birds as well as kingfishers use feeding ibises as beaters to flush [out] prey, and ibises [like cattle egrets] use livestock [such as cattle] as beaters. Nestling become salt stressed when fed prey from salt water or brackish water; thus, accessible shallow freshwater feeding sites are required for successful reproduction [of thriving offspring].

Recent studies have shown that the White Ibis and [the] Glossy Ibis partition food resources by [non-competitively – so much for Darwinist “survival-of-the-fittest” theory!] selecting different foods when feeding outside the breeding season. White Ibises feeding in flooded ricefields avoid competition by feeding selectively in muddy fields on 48% crabs, 37% aquatic insects, and 15% fish. The Glossy Ibis feeds in shallow flooded fields on a diet composed of 58% grains, 26% insects, and 15% crabs.

[Quoting David W. Nellis, Common Coastal Birds of Florida and the Caribbean (Sarasota, FL: Pineapple Press, 2001), page 151.]

The White Ibis belongs to the same created “kind” (see Genesis 1:21) as the brilliant-vermillion-colored Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber), which it is known to hybridize with, e.g., in central Venezuela and coastal Colombia.

scarletibis-rookery-stevebird-wildlife

SCARLET  IBIS  Rookery     (photo  by  Steve  Bird’s  Wildlife)

White Ibises are usually wild (i.e., non-domesticated), probing beaches and pondshores for prey, such as small fish, aquatic insects, and their favorite marsh-water crustacean: crayfish!   However, ibises are teachable!  —  they can easily learn to trust kind-hearted humans, such as those who feed them bread crumbs in Florida.  [For an example, see Lee Dusing’s “Birdwatching at Lake Morton, Finally”.]

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White Ibises at Lake Morton   (photo by Lee Dusing)

Some may actually eat from your hand; others may keep a “safe” distance as they rush forward to grab up bread morsels tossed to them, at parks or in backyards. These shorebirds also search the lawns of residential properties, seeking (and often finding) large insects – such as beetles – to acquire needed protein-rich food.

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White Ibises  (Webel backyard; Marcia Webel photo)

During 3 days following Thanksgiving (in AD2016) – Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday – I was privileged to see and feed White Ibis visitors who came to the backyard of Chaplain Bob and Marcia Webel, in St. Petersburg (Florida).

Most of the birding occurred as Chaplain Bob and I sat at the Webels’ patio table, while we both used binoculars (and drank coffee), drank coffee, and ate breakfast prepared by Marcia Webel (whose political humor is second to none!)  —  as we leisurely enjoyed the avian acrobatics that the birds performed at (and near) the pond that borders the Webels’ backyard, in conjunction with discussing how wonderful God is.  [For previous birding reports, of birdwatching at the same location, see  Pond-side Birdwatching in Florida I and Pond-side Birdwatching in Florida II , Pond-side Birdwatching In Florida III.]

What a variety-filled birdwatching bonanza it was!

On the Monday following Thanksgiving (i.e., 11-28-AD2016), I observed – in addition to more than a dozen White Ibises (unto many of which I fed bread crumb and/or popcorn) – the following birds, on the pond (they say “lake”) behind the Webels’ house, either in the pondwater or on the pondshores:  Muscovy Duck; Mallard; Double-crested Cormorant; Osprey (a/k/a Fish Hawk); Roseate Spoonbill; Wood Stork; Snowy Egret; Great White Egret; Belted Kingfisher; some green parrots (these were dark-headed, but otherwise green); Anhinga, Great Blue Heron; Green Heron; Tri-colored Heron [a/k/a Louisiana Heron]; Pied-billed Grebe; Black Vulture; Common Moorhen [a/k/a Swamp Chicken — what Lee Dusing calls the “Candy Corn Bird”, due to its red bill that is tipped with yellow]; and Boat-tailed Grackle.  Breadcrumbs are preferred over popcorn, as far as avian appetites were concerned, at least by White Ibises and Wood Storks – although turtles were happy to snap up popcorn that landed in the pond’s shallow shorewaters.

Also, I saw a dark-colored River Otter in the wild – occasionally surfacing and re-surfacing near the center of the pond.  (Never before had I seen one in the wild, so Marcia Webel prayed that I would get to see one during this visit.)  And, at least once, I had a good view of the otter’s face, as he surfaced to eat something he (or she) had caught.

In the front yard we also heard (and later saw) a Blue Jay. Later that day, at Madeira Beach/John’s Pass, I also saw Brown Pelicans, various seagulls, and a few dolphins.

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LAUGHING  GULL  with  caught  fish    (photo  by  Richard Seaman)

On Tuesday morning we saw many of the same birds (as seen on Monday), on or near the same pond – plus Ring-billed Gulls, a very noisy Limpkin, and a Red-shouldered Hawk. Later on Tuesday, at Passa-Grille Beach, I saw Rock Doves (i.e., pigeons), Laughing Gulls, Caspian Terns, and some kind of sandpipers. 

As Chaplain Bob noted, every birdwatching day (in the Webel backyard) is similar to other such days, in many ways, yet every birdwatching day is also uniquely different.  (That reminds me of snowflakes — they are all similar, yet also unique.  In fact, that is much moreso true of us humans — we have much in common, yet God made each of us unique.)

That’s a lot of variety squashed into a couple of fast-flying days in St. Petersburg.

Now that was a birdwatching adventure, reminding me how God loves variety — even among birds!