Bird Food Wreath

My friend on Facebook posted this nice short video for making a wreath out of bird seed for the birds in your yard.  I'm a sucker for anything that looks interesting so since I had most of the ingredients, I immediately set out to make one for the hundreds of birds in my yard.

Here's the recipe:

2 packages of gelatin - stir into 1 cup warm water

Add 6 tablespoons of Karo syrup (I didn't have that, so I used honey)

Add 1 1/2 cups of flour

Add 8 cups of bird seed

Mix well - (it will be a bit dryer than pie dough)

Liberally spray a bundt pan with spray oil and then pack the bird seed mixture into it

I put a plastic bag on top so I could press it firmly into the pan without having the seeds stick to my hands.

So pretty - I hung it on the line with my other feeders, where it stayed for about 2 minutes

Before it was in pieces on the ground - Not sure if it fell from it's own weight or if the first bird that landed on it caused it to break apart.  It was very heavy and I wondered about it holding together.  I'm sure the birds won't care if it's in pieces - I scattered them so that the "boss bird" won't keep it all to himself. 

This guy showed up last night, so I'm sure the remainder of the bird seed wreath won't last more than a few more hours.  But it was fun while it lasted!

Mantee Viewing at Tampa Power

In 1986 when the Tampa Power plant began discharging warm water into a cove in Tampa Bay, they started noticing that when the weather was cold, the manatees began to congregate there. 


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All the black spots you see are manatees

Now as many as 300 manatee have been counted in this area, and it has become a National Manatee Refuge.

 

There are walkways along the bay that allow the public to see the manatees up close.

There is a walkway through the mangroves

that extends out into the bay

where you can see huge fish and all kinds of birds

Snowy Egret

Herons

and pelicans, to name a few.

 

You follow Interpretive signs and recorded information messages throughout the walk.  For instance, manatees must leave the cove and go to the bay to find sea grasses to eat, and consume approximately 10% of their body weight daily.  They are vegetarians, carry their babies for 13 months, the babies are about 3' long at birth and weigh about 60 pounds, and calves remain close to their mothers for about two years.

There are fun things to do, a museum, and large picnic area.  There is no admission charged for any of the park, even for parking.

There is even an electric car charging station (not free, however).

Some Birds of SW Florida

I love bird watching - and the big water fowl are my favorites.  In the winter, many migratory birds join the year round residents of the southwest Florida coast.

The Snowy Egret is also called the "Golden Slipper Bird" because of its black legs and golden feet.  They were hunted nearly to extinction years ago when ladies loved their fluffy feathers for their fancy hats.

Double Crested Cormorants love channel markers for resting while watching for fish. They have webbed feet.

 A group of white ibis that roams our neighborhood.  You can spot the immature one by his spots.

 Sandhill cranes are common in the neighborhood.

 Cattle Egrets are common everywhere - especially in the cattle fields, where every cow has its own egret.

 Great white egret - there is a morph of a great blue heron in this area also that looks almost identical to the great white egret.  You can spot them by their yellow legs.

Little blue heron - white when immature but you can spot them by their greenish bill, legs, and feet.

Great blue heron - we see them all the way from Washington to Florida.

Osprey - starting a nest on a channel marker.

 Both black vultures and turkey vultures (with red heads) are common and often flock together.

 Brown pelicans are abundant along the shores.

 Sandhill cranes - usually seen in pairs.

 Seagulls normally seen in flocks.

 I spotted this vulture on the neighbor's roof.

Anhinga - often seen with spread wings as they have no oil glands so they need to dry out after they dive for dinner.

 Another Snowy Egret

 Tri-color heron - at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

Wood Stork - supposedly endangered, but we see them in the drainage ditches along the highways often.

To see a variety of birds in one place, Ding Darling refuge is the best place for bird watching.  They have several overlook platforms  throughout the refuge.

Lemon Bay Park

They have been warning us that a cold front is coming, so on yet another beautiful day, we grabbed the chance to once again take the motorcycle for a ride.  This time we stayed on the east side of Lemon Bay where we found several parks and more salt water, but with an entirely different flavor than the sandy gulf side of our world.

The other side of the bay is Manasota Key, where mansions cover most of the available land.  On this side, Mangrove dominates, the water is shallow, and many birds and fisherman poke around in the water.

We talked to this fisherman, and he said he was catching "reds" and trout.  We watched him set up his line with a fairly large hook and shrimp as bait.

The interior of the park has miles of walking trails, some in brick, some in crushed shell topping.  Lots of places to stop and sit and watch birds and enjoy a pleasant day in the outdoors.

We found several places to launch a boat or put a canoe into the water.

And, of course, there are always birds everywhere around the water and even in the neighborhoods.

Boca Grande, Gasparilla Island, Florida

On another beautiful SW Florida day, Ron and I set off once again on the motorcycle.  We decided to head down to Boca Grande, which is about 30 miles south.

Just before we took the bridge onto the island, we spotted this flock of birds - mostly Wood Storks, but with a few white Ibis and some Anhingas.

At the end of Gasparilla Island a park and lighthouse overlook the channel from the bay into the Gulf of Mexico.

This picture in no way illustrates the fury of the current and the waves as they come through the pass.  We watched a small trawler going through with bated breath, worrying it might capsize.

In spite of the gorgeous sandy beach, definitely not a place for a swim.

Several beaches grace the island - this one at the lighthouse.

In places, there is the road, a golf cart track, AND a bike path.  I am pretty sure there are more golf carts than cars on the island.

It is a lovely island with lots to do - shopping, eating, beachcombing, swimming, swimming, and birdwatching to name a few things.

Ospreys build the tackiest nests of any bird I have observed.  This one is actually trying to make a nest on a solar panel that is set at a 45 degree angle.  

There is a toll to cross the bridge onto the island, which is probably what keeps it from being hopelessly overcrowded.