February 28, 2017

Location: Sebastian Riverwalk

I'm a Mallard-Mottled hybrid duck,
You can tell by the curl on my tail,
If I was pure Mottled I'd have more brown in my face,
If I had a green head I'd be a pure Mallard male.

(Thanks to David Simpson for the ID characteristics.)

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 27. 2017

Location: Sebastian, Easy Street Park

I'm a male Egyptian Goose,
Shown here with my brood.
I wear a tad too much eye make up
And could use a little rouge.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 26, 2017

Location: Mims, Grandperrin Road

I'm a Ruby-throated Hummingbird,
I'm immature so my throat's not yet ruby red.
I'm the only bird who can fly backwards,
And I drink nectar to keep myself fed.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 25, 2017

Location: Satellite Beach, fire station dock parking lot.

We are known as Rock Pigeons,
Formerly called Rock Doves.
We have orange eyes just for each other,
We are monogamous and stay in love.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 24, 2017

Location: Bridge Plaza, Vero Beach

I'm a Double Crested Cormorant
But you only see my crest when I am breeding
I have an orange bill with a hook on the end,
Which I use to catch fish when I am feeding.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 23, 2017

Location: Sebastian, North County Regional Park

I'm known as a Mourning Dove,
I'm brownish-grey with a sharp, pointed tail.
You will want to hug me and say, "There, there"
When you listen to my plaintive wail.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 22, 2017

Location:St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, spillway

I am an Anhinga
I’m tan and brown with accents of white,
I’m thin with a long pointy yellow beak,
And look like an arrow shot from a bow in flight.

The great birder, David Simpson
Disagrees with his lovely wife.
He thinks I look like a Cuban sandwich
When I'm soaring through the sky. 

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 21, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, Little League Park

I'm a Northern Mockingbird,
My feathers are white and grey.
I mimic the calls of other birds,
That's how I got my name. 

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 20, 2017

Location: Bridge Plaza, Vero Beach

I am a Brown Pelican,
I scoop fish with my beak to eat.
I'm brown with a white and yellow head,
And reddish-brown on my neck when I breed.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 19, 2017

Location: Little League Park, Fellsmere

I'm a Pileated Woodpecker
I look for bugs by drumming on trees.
I'm black and white with a big red crest,
Keith Moon's got nothing on me.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 18, 2017

Location: DuPuis Management Area, Palm Beach County, Florida

I'm a Red-cockaded Woodpecker,
I have bright white patch on my cheek
I'm white and black, and have a ladder back,
And a little black pointy beak.

This isn't a great photo, but it is my life Red-cockaded Woodpecker. In all the years I've birded with David, I've never managed to get an identifiable shot of one before.


Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 17, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, Tennessee Ave

I'm a Red-bellied Woodpecker
Though you rarely see my red tummy,
You see red on my head, and the way I get fed,
Is pecking on trees to get bugs. How yummy!

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 16, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, Little League Park

I'm an American Kestrel
I'm the smallest North American Falcon species
I'm rusty and blue with a white speckled breast,
And big orange taloned feetsies.



Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 15, 2017

Location: Sebastian River Preserve State Park, spillway

I'm known as an Osprey
I'm black and white with a hooked beak
I'm colloquially known as "Fish Hawk"
Cause fish is what I love to eat.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 14, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, Oak Street

I’m a Carolina Wren
I’m tiny, rusty-brown bird.
But when I sing, I sing loudly,
The prettiest song you’ve ever heard.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 13, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, Elm street

I am a White Ibis
I have an orange and droopy beak,
I'm otherwise white with black wing tips,
And light orange legs and feet.
Unless there are thoughts of romance in my head,
Then my beak, legs and feet are bright red.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 12, 2017

Location: Palm Coast, sewage treatment plant settling ponds

We are known as Bonaparte’s Gulls
We are mostly black, grey and white,
Check out our face, if you look in haste,
You might think that we have 4 eyes.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 11, 2017

Location: GTM NERR, Ponte Vedra, FL

I'm a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,
I suck sap right out of live trees
Looking for trees with concentric circles of holes
Is the best way to find me.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 10, 2017

Location: Mantazas Inlet

I'm known as a Black Skimmer
I have a bicolored beak
It's orange and black, its also a fact
I fly low and drag my beak through the water to eat.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 9, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, Louisiana Ave

I am a Yellow-rumped Warbler
My call is a somewhat flat "chip"
I have a yellow tattoo on the small of my back
Because I think that it makes me look hip.

For additional information about Yellow-rumped warblers, see: All About Birds, Yellow-rumped Warbler

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 8, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, Sebastian River Preserve State Park, spillway

(Updated at 1:35)  I just got a text that this manatee has been checked out and in the end is apparently a happy, lazy manatee that just happened to be sunning itself for hours.

(Original post) There was what appeared to be a sick manatee at the manatee watch today. He seemed to have trouble submerging and was mostly just floating on the top of the water. If you click on this picture to enlarge it, you can see what appears to be a white line going down the back of his neck, possibly a scar. Another volunteer thought there might be a rope around the manatee's tail, but none of the pictures I took showed that.

The inability to submerge could be indicative of anything from illness from something it ate, to a punctured lung from a boat strike (although none of the pictures I took showed any indication of a boat strike either) or nothing wrong at all.

The good news is that we did see him finally submerge a few times, the bad news is that it looked like he was struggling to do it, and he quickly resumed just floating. One of the issues with it floating partly out of the water like this is that it has been unseasonably warm here, and manatees can get sunburned.

The park service is aware of an is monitoring the situation.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 7, 2017

Location: Sebastian, Easy Street Park

I am a Muscovy Duck,
My face is kind of frightening.
But I'd bet I'd look real pretty
With makeup and better lighting.

(This one is for my honeybee, it's his favorite bird in the whole wide world. NOT.)

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 6, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, Bay Street

I am a White-wing Dove,
on my wing there's a big white stripe.
My call sounds like "Oooo-ooo-oooo",
living up to the Stevie Nicks hype.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 5, 2017

Location: Sebastian, pasture on 510

Epatath:

Here lies a spider
No funeral, no pyre.
She was caught by a Shrike
and impaled on barbed wire.

Go over to my other blog to read the whole story of the Shrike involved here.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 4, 2017

Location: Vero Beach Wetlands (West Regional Water Treatment Facility)

I'm an immature Bald Eagle,
I don't look like my mom and dad.
My head's brown, not white,
But I soar in flight,
And am quite a handsome lad.

Technically, I took this picture after 8:00, but the tour we were leading started at 8, so it still counts.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 3, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, Hickory Street

This is a Downy Woodpecker,
It's black and white overall,
Males have a red speck, on the nape of their neck,
And they like to eat insects from galls.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 2, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, Tennessee Ave

I'm a Shrike, and I look cute,
But my heart is full of fire,
I catch lizards, bugs, and birds
And impale them on barbed wire!

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

February 1, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, Goodwin WMA

"My nest! You no can has!!"

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson