Taking Solace in Nature During Difficult Times

Eastern Bluebird - Female

Its been a rough couple of weeks for me. My mom, who I am very close to, recently passed away after a four year battle with cancer. This is the first time I have lost someone very close to me. That is why I have not been posting too much this month. Beyond the funeral and grieving process, I have had night school and work obligations piling up. But no matter how busy, how stressed I get, I still make time to get out and witness the beauty of nature.

Ojibway Park - Titcombe Pathway along the Provincial Tall grass Prairie Reserve

During the earlier part of October, while visiting my mom, I would hear Carolina Wrens calling in my mom and dads back yard. I went for a quick walk into their 5-acre field to see some pretty amazing birds. All the typical migrants were present: Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Eastern Phoebes, a Yellow bellied Sapsucker. I walked back into the scrubby area behind a regenerating forest to find a small coniferous plantation growing, with nice Juniper trees, crab-apple and dogwood berry thickets. White-throated Sparrows, Robins, Cedar Waxwings, Blue Jays and Accipiters abound. Its nice to see that my mom and dads field is attracting migrants with its beautifully developing habitat. I'm convinced there are resident Carolina Wrens now, and I also noted Indigo Buntings were breeding there as well during the summer.

Yesterday, after work I was reading Todd Pepper's Ontbird posting that an Ibis Species was at Holiday Beach. I figured I would continue my autumn tradition of going to HBMO after work on Friday and that turned out to be a great decision. The Glossy Ibis was resting and preening 50m west of the hawk tower, giving nice looks through Todd Pepper's scope. The blueish skin around its face hints that its a Glossy Ibis, as opposed to the pinkish skin seen on a White-faced Ibis. Low flying kettles of TV's flew overhead with a few Buteo species mixed in. At one point, Todd called out an eagle which came over the treeline to the east and was flying right by the tower, a little higher than eye level, perhaps 15-20ft away. It slowly dawned on me as I was looking at it through my binoculars that this was not a juvenile Bald Eagle, it was a majestic Juvenile Golden Eagle, complete with white windows under its wings, copper coloured head feathers, and a white band across its upper tail feathers.

A few Rusty Blackbirds flew by the tower as we relished in the great birding we had been experiencing. Jeremy Bensette arrived later and pointed out a Wilson's Snipe hiding along the southern edge of Big Creek. To my amazement, my camera had a catestrophic SD Card Error so I was unable to post any of my own photos from this outing. This is the second time in the last month or so I have lost images. I don't know if its my camera or the memory cards that have become faulty but I had to ask another HBMO member (thanks Larry Ludwicki) to use his photos to document the Ibis as I was unable to recover my images from my faulty card.

Glossy Ibis & Great Egret - Photo © Larry Ludwicki - Used with permission

So even during the most stressful, saddest times of life, its good to know nature is there to enjoy and to take solace in. Whether it be a beautiful sunset that you stop for a few moments and take in, a glance at a fluttering butterfly on a patch of Aster Flowers, an unexpected call of a Caronlina Wren or viewing the plumage details on the majestic Golden Eagle at close range... Nature continues to amaze me. Its the greatest show on earth!

Good birding,
Dwaynejava

Bonus Photo from Nov 2010 - Yesterday's view was better than this... if you can believe that. This photo is actually featured on Cornell's Allaboutbirds website. 

Some Nature Quotes:

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
Albert Einstein


Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.
Helen Keller


One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.
William Shakespeare


He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.
Socrates


One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.
Dale Carnegie


In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.
Aristotle

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_nature.html#6DVek2EcPxOdRqcM.99

“Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and it's beauty.”
― Albert Einstein

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”
― Margaret Atwood, Bluebeard's Egg Source: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/nature

Vermilion Flycatcher at Orlando Wetlands

Vermillion Flycatcher

About two weeks before departing for a long-planned Florida trip, I had read on the Florida birding listserve that a Vermilion Flycatcher had been spotted at a place called Orlando Wetlands. I read this announcement with amazement, but caution as well, because realistically, chances were slim that it would stick around for two weeks, awaiting my arrival. Further compounding the excitement of this bird was the lack of mention on the Florida birding listserve beyond its initial posting. Sure enough though, after our plane landed in Orlando, and we headed due East to Cocoa Beach, I requested to my wife that we stop and check it out (I pre-programmed the address into our GPS) and to my utter amazement, it was still there!

 

Late Limpkin

While at Orlando Wetlands, I saw many other species, but I focus mainly on personal rarities. Blue Winged Teal, Common Moorehen, White Ibis, American Coot were very common and seen everywhere. Near the feeders, I swore I saw a red-ish colourful bird that could have been a Painted Bunting, but I didn't have time to follow up on it.

This common Florida bird eluded me on two prior trips.

Black bellied Whistling Duck

Sandhill Crane

Glossy Ibis... Takeoff

Common Ground-Dove - Blurry... arrrghh

It's good to be home. Florida is so beautiful, but home is where the heart is. It was cool to hear the distant call of Killdeer, and later hearing the chorus of frogs while stopping the in-laws in Windsor. Spring is here!

Good birding,
Dwaynejava

Lifer summary:
Limpkin-291
Black bellied whistling Duck - 292
Vermilion Flycatcher - 293


http://orlandowetlands.org/
http://www.cityoforlando.net/public_works/wetlands/index.htm