November 30, 2020

I am a Phaon Crescent, 

I began my life on a Fogfruit plant

I look similar to a Pearl Crescent, 

But my checkered fringe is enhanced.

St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Location: location

Sources: https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/search?q=pearl

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/phaon_crescent.htm

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 29, 2020

I am a Red-waisted Florella Moth

From my waist down I'm dark orange-red. 

I'm also known as Orange-spotted Flower moth

Both names are easy to comprehend.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Syngamia-florella

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 28, 2020

I am a Carolina Saddlebags, 

Flying fast is my super power

I can fly long distances while feeding in air

At speeds up to 17 miles an hour. 

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://uwm.edu/field-station/carolina-saddlebags

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 27, 2020

I am a juvenile Masked Booby,

So named for the mask around my beak and eyes

When I'm an adult my head will be almost all white

But my blue mask remains so my name still applies.

Special thanks to guest photographer and my sweetheart, David Simpson.

Location: South Jetty Park & Fishing Pier, Fort Pierce

Sources: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Sula_dactylatra/

Photo © 2020 David Simpson, text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 26, 2020

This is a feather from a Wild Turkey,

They look different from turkeys you buy

One of the differences between wild and domestic 

Is that domestic turkeys can't fly.

To quote Arthur Carlson, from WKRP in Cincinnati,  "As God as my witness I thought turkeys could fly."

To quote the article linked below, "The wild turkey can fly more than a mile at a time and at speeds up to 55 miles per hour. The domestic turkey has been bred to have outsized, meaty breasts, sacrificing its ability to fly along the way."

So, Arthur Carlson was not technically wrong, he was just not specific. 

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2016/11/turkeys_of_a_different_feather.html

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 25, 2020

I am a Short-winged Green Grasshopper, 

I can be found in Florida from May through December

In colder climates my season is shorter, 

E.g., in Michigan from June through September. 

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/9031

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 24, 2020

I am a Mollusc-eating Hammerhead Worm

My mouth and anus are one and the same

While I agree it can be convenient

My farts leave a bad after-taste.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: http://www.loyno.edu/lucec/natural-history-writings/why-it-so-many-invasive-species-are-icky-bipalium-falt-worms

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 23, 2020

This is Slender Goldentop, 

Flat-top Goldenrod is another name for it

It spreads by both seeds and rhizomes

And can take over your pasture if you ignore it.

(Note: I thought it was interesting how the plant looks completely different depending on which way the wind is blowing, hence the two pictures.)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ag361

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 22, 2020

I am a Common Eastern Bumble Bee,

Sitting on Coastalplain Chaffhead

This plant is a short-lived perennial 

In the winter it is dormant, not dead.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.fnps.org/plant/carphephorus-corymbosus

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/wildseed/growing/annual.html

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 21, 2020

I am known as a Robber Fly

There are over 7000 Robber Flies in my family

We all have large compound eyes but -

We can resemble a damselfly or even a bee.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.biology-pages.info/C/CompoundEye.html

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/flies/robber_flies.htm

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 20, 2020

I am a Red-banded Hairstreak

On my wings I have eye spots and two tails

This makes it looks my head's on my end,

So when a spider tries to get me he fails.

(Note: Check out the link below for details on how they fake out spiders using these tails.)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/redbanded_hairstreak.htm

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 19, 2020

I'm known as a Rough Greensnake, 

I'm non-venomous and a lovely spring-green

I am arboreal and like to eat insects

That I find on shrubbery and trees.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/herpetology/fl-snakes/list/opheodrys-aestivus-carinatus/

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 18, 2020

I am a species of skimmer

Called Band-winged Dragonlet

My conservation status is "Least Concern"

Which means my species is under no threat.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://eol.org/pages/130940/articles

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 17, 2020

I am a Northern Mockingbird,

You can find me in many places

I might look sweet, but don't mess with me

I remember threatening faces. 

(Note: Make sure you click the link below, it describes a really fascinating study wherein they determined that Mocking birds remember people who show signs of being a threat.)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/100years/northern-mockingbird/

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 16, 2020

I am an American Kestrel,

Some people call me "Sparrow Hawk"

When I'm breeding or feeding fledglings,

You'll hear one or two minutes of a whining squawk. 

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel/sounds

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 15, 2020

I am a Dewdrop spider

Living in a web with an Orbweaver

I am kleptoparasitic

That means I am a food and resource stealer.

(Note: It's hard to see, but look close - there is a tiny spider circled in red just above the large Orbweaver.)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/images/Argyrodes%20elevatus%20-%20Dew-drop%20Spider.pdf

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 14, 2020

On the left, there is a Red-bellied Woodpecker

On the right is a Northern Flicker

When comparing their shape, size and color -

Start with the beak - the flicker's is thicker.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-bellied_Woodpecker/species-compare/60403261

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 13, 2020

I am known as a Palm Warbler,

Though I don't really hang out in palm trees

John James Audubon called me Yellow Red-poll

Wilson renamed me in the 19th Century

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america/yellow-red-poll-warbler

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/4154253.pdf

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 12, 2020

This is a plant in the Chamaecrista genus 

Commonly known as the Sensitive Pea

There are 8 species that belong to this genus

Which are found throughout Florida and the keys.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/Genus.aspx?id=290

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 11, 2020

I am a Red-headed Woodpecker,

I spend most of my time looking for food

When I first hatched I was altricial - 

Which means my eyes were closed and I was nude.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Melanerpes_erythrocephalus/

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 10, 2020

I am known as a Brown Thrasher

I compete with Grey Catbirds for habitat

They have been known to break the eggs in my nest

And eat the contents, now how rude is that!

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Toxostoma_rufum/#ce0fbeb58346df96655a71235fcd5acd

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 9, 2020

I am an Odocoileus virginianus

I'm pretty young at this stage

My scientific name translates to "hollow teeth"

Which you can examine* to determine my age.

*Although in most cases, deer are aged by examining their teeth and jaw bone after they have been hunted, not while the deer are sill alive.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.qdma.com/bad-teeth-the-strangest-deer-jawbones-in-qdmas-collection/

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 8, 2020

This is known as Dense Blazing Star

It has tiny flower heads at the top of long spikes

Its flowers have a feathery appearance

It's fed on by hummingbirds and butterflies alike.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=lisp

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 7, 2020

I am a Cape May Warbler

Right now, I am just passing through

I'll spend the winter in the Caribbean

Where I will feed off of flowers and fruit.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/cape-may-warbler

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 6, 2020

I'm a White-crowned Pigeon

I was a life bird for Dee

I'm quite rare in Central Florida

But fairly common in the Florida Keys.

Note: This is a terrible photo, and this is probably a younger bird so the white crown isn't as prominent. Check out the link below to see how striking they actually are!

Location: Sebastian Inlet State Park campground

Sources: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/white-crowned-pigeon

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 5, 2020

 

I'm known as a Pine Warbler

My closest relative is the Olive-capped

They live in pine forests of the West Indies

I stick to the US eastern half. 

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pine_Warbler/overview

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 4, 2020

This is known as a Pine Lily

It attracts Green Lynx Spiders and  butterflies

It's flowers are yellow and orange

Just like the fires that help it to thrive.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.fnps.org/plant/lilium-catesbaei

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 3, 2020

I'm known as a Palm Warbler

I left the nest at around 12 days old

Both my mom and my dad fed me

Till I was ready to leave the fold.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/palm-warbler

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 2, 2020

I am known as a Bachman's Sparrow

I've been extirpated from some of my range

I need old growth pines with frequent fires to survive

I could go extinct if fire suppression doesn't change.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105170/Peucaea_aestivalis

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 1, 2020

I am a Little Yellow butterfly

I'm getting a drink from a drop of dew

Plant some Sunshine Mimosa or Partridge Pea

If you want me to come visit you. 

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://alabama.butterflyatlas.usf.edu/species/details/134/little-yellow

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson