December 10, 2023

I am known as a Northern Shoveler

I have a big bill but I eat tiny food

Such as minute crustaceans and seeds

That I swallow whole, I've no teeth, I don't chew.

Location: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, MINWR

Sources: https://abcbirds.org/blog/do-ducks-have-teeth/

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

December 9, 2023

I am known as a Cottonmouth snake

I'm venomous and a pit viper

I'm semi-aquatic and like to eat fish

And won't hurt humans unless I'm incited.

Special thanks to today's guest photographer, David Simpson.

Location: Rock Springs Run Preserve

Sources: https://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/agkpis.htm

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

December 8, 2023

I'm known as a Banded Water Snake

I'm semi-aquatic and my body is heavy

I can be found everywhere in Florida

Except for the Florida Keys.

Special thanks to guest photographer, David Simpson.

Location: Fellsmere Grade Recreation Area

Sources: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/florida-snake-id/snake/southern-watersnake/

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

December 7, 2023

I am a Spodoptera pulchella

My name means "diminutive beauty"

The curved, white line on my forewing

Can lead you to conclude that I'm me.

Location: My House, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_MPG32958&res=640

https://bugguide.net/node/view/610763

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

December 6, 2023

I am a Lineated Woodpecker

I'm not aggressive but this guy's gonna get hurt

The perverted little Palm Tanager

Is trying to look up my skirt!!

(Note from Dee: I am now officially retired from high tech and working with David full time. First up: we just returned from a trip to Ecuador and I am writing a new book tentatively titled, "The Rhyming Guide to Ecuador's Choco Andes Highlands", planned for a February release. For now, be on the lookout for some previews here in the blog!)

Location: Mirador Rio Blanco, Mindo Ecuador

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/17858-Dryocopus-lineatus

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/10297-Thraupis-palmarum

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

December 5, 2023

This is the flower, fruit and leaves of Angel Trumpets

The red flowers enjoy hummingbird pollination

To humans all parts of the plant are poisonous

They can cause death, paralysis and hallucinations.

(Note from Dee: I am now officially retired from high tech and working with David full time. First up: we just returned from a trip to Ecuador and I am writing a new book tentatively titled, "The Rhyming Guide to Ecuador's Choco Andes Highlands", planned for a February release. For now, be on the lookout for some previews here in the blog!)

Location: Milpe Bird Sanctuary, Quito, Ecuador

Sources: https://www.britannica.com/plant/angels-trumpet

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

December 4, 2023

I am a Shining Sunbeam hummingbird

I look sweet, but I'm really quite territorial

I'm aggressive towards other nectavores such as

Flowerpiercers and other hummingbirds equatorial. 

Location: Yanacocha Biological Reserve, Ecuador

Sources: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332625669_The_behavior_and_diet_of_the_Shining_Sunbeam_Aglaeactis_cupripennis_A_territorial_high-elevation_hummingbird

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

December 3, 2023

I am a male Great Thrush

You can tell I'm make by my orbital skin

If I was female it would be dark, not light,

But we both have an orange beak, feet and shins.

(Note from Dee: I am now officially retired from high tech and working with David full time. First up: we just returned from a trip to Ecuador and I am writing a new book tentatively titled, "The Rhyming Guide to Ecuador's Choco Andes Highlands", planned for a February release. For now, be on the lookout for some previews here in the blog!)

Location: Quito, Equador

Sources: https://www.peruaves.org/turdidae/great-thrush-turdus-fuscater/

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson.

December 2, 2023

I am known as a Eared Dove

I'm similar to a Mourning Dove with a shorter tail

My name comes from the black spots beneath my ears

And my call is more growly, not a plaintive wail.

(Note from Dee: I am now officially retired from high tech and working with David full time. First up: we just returned from a trip to Ecuador and I am writing a new book tentatively titled, "The Rhyming Guide to Ecuador's Choco Andes Highlands", planned for a February release. For now, be on the lookout for some previews here in the blog!)

Location: Quito, Equador

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

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

December 1, 2023

I am a Sorghum Webworm Moth caterpillar

I eat the seed heads of sorghum

You can find me in sorghum plantations

Or grass fields when I want to explore some.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/17470

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 30, 2023

We are Southern Green-striped Grasshoppers

We come in green or brown form

You can find us where

The soil is bare

Girl is larger than boy - that's the nor

Location: TM Goodwin WMA, Broadmoor Unit

Sources: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN010

https://bugeric.blogspot.com/2013/03/orthoptera-thursday-northern-green.html

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 29, 2023

I am a Silver Long-jawed Orbweaver

I'm frequently found in fields

But sometimes a car drives by

I get blown inside

Then I end up on a blog, oh what an ordeal!

Location: TM Goodwin WMA, Broadmoor Unit

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/143120

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 28, 2023

I am a Great Egret

Hanging out in the Pickerel Weed

I am the very embodiment 

Of the torture that retirement is to Dee.

Location: TM Goodwin WMA, Broadmoor Unit

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

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 27, 2023

I am probably a Rice Stink Bug

It's difficult to tell from a side angle

Possible clues are my color and eyes

And my head's shaped like a triangle.

Location: TM Goodwin WMA, Broadmoor Unit

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/295792-Oebalus-pugnax

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 26, 2023

I am known as a Scarlet Skimmer

I compete with the Eastern Pondhawk and Snowy Egret

We all like to snack on Rambur's Forktail

But to me, a Common Clubtail's a threat.

(Check out the cool Trophic Web chart at the Encyclopedia of Life link below that shows predator/prey relationships.)

Location: TM Goodwin WMA, Broadmoor Unit

Sources: https://eol.org/pages/131983

https://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/species/common-clubtail-dragonfly/

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 25, 2023

I am known as a Leucauge argyra

Enlarge my picture to see my spinneret

It is where my silk comes from which I use

To wrap prey and to build my web.

Location: TM Goodwin WMA, Broadmoor Unit

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/SPIDERS/Leucauge-argyrobapta.html

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 24, 2023

I am a Setophaga palmarum

Commonly known as a Palm Warbler

I breed in the boreal forest during summer

When I feel cooler weather is order.

Location: TM Goodwin WMA

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Palm_Warbler/lifehistory

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 23, 2023

I am an immature Turkey Vulture

You can tell by the black tip on my beak

Soon my beak will be white and I'll have a red head

But I'll retain my dead-sexy physique.

Location: TM Goodwin WMA, Broadmoor Unit

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Turkey_Vulture/id

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 22, 2023

I am a Tropical Kingbird

I've got an olive-green back and a yellow tummy

I like to nest near Icteridae and wasps

Who keep predators from trying anything funny.

Location: TM Goodwin WMA

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

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 21, 2023

I am an Arabesque Orbweaver

An identifying mark is 3 pairs of dark spots

In the day you can find me curled up on leaf

At night, I wait to see who my web stops.

Location: TM Goodwin WMA, Broadmoor Unit

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/39293

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 20, 2023

I am known as a Savannah Sparrow

With that name you'd expect to find me

Only in savannahs - but I'm named for 

Savannah GA - one of the first places I was seen.

Location: TM Goodwin WMA

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

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 19, 2023

We are Rambur's Forktail Damselflies

And we both have unwanted visitors

We  were infested with mites soon after we emerged

And until they are engorged, we remain their prisoners.

(I paid the price for these photos - I was unknowingly - till it was far too late - stood if a fire ant nest while taking these photos. Ouch.)

Location: TM Goodwin WMA, Broadmoor Unit

Sources: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10682-021-10130-z

https://doi.org/10.1653/0015-4040(2007)90[643:EODBWM]2.0.CO;2

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 18, 2023

I am an adult male Vermillion Flycatcher

My genus name translates to "fire-headed"

That's not a comment on my disposition, 

It's for my color: bright red and utterly splendid.

Location: TM Goodwin WMA

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Vermilion_Flycatcher/overview#

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 17, 2023

This is a casing from Brown Widow spider eggs

Though the momma was not around

If you look close you can see a hole in the top

Where the babies came out and spread around.  

Location: Riverside Park, Vero Beach

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

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 16, 2023

I am known as a Paper Wasp

In the Fuscopolistes Subgenus

You know I'm a male because my antennae are curved

And I don't have a stinger so I'm nothing but sweetness.

Location: Riverside Park, Vero Beach

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

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 15, 2023

These are Resurrection Ferns

Zoomed in close, they resemble human ribs

Although they grow on other plants they are not parasitic,

They don't steal from the other plant or call "dibs".

Location: Riverside Park, Vero Beach

Sources: https://dengarden.com/gardening/How-to-Grow-a-Resurrection-Fern-a-Native-Plant-Indoors-or-Outdoors

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 14, 2023

I am an Arrowhead Orbweaver

My triangle ranges from yellow to white

I'm one of the few Orbweavers known to sit

In my web with my head facing upright. 

Location: Stow Conservation Area, Gifford

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/2035

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 13, 2023

I am a Blackberry Looper Moth

I appear to be translucent but I really am green

You can find me in Mexico and Canada

And east of the Rockies in between.

Location:  St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/33362

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 12, 2023

I'm known as a Tersa Sphinx moth

Although it's probably just a coincidental abstraction

My eyespots very highly resemble

The ghosts from from the video game Pacman!

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: 

https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=pacman+ghost

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 11, 2023

I am known as an Eastern Amberwing
I'm tiny and considered a "wasp mimic"

I fly fast and erratic, but I don't sting

Looking like I might is just my gimmick

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://uwm.edu/field-station/bug-of-the-week/eastern-amberwing-dragonfly-family-libellulidae/

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 10, 2023

I am a spider in the family Pholcidae

My abdomen's twice the length of my cephalothorax

Despite the rumors, I don't hurt humans

Bugs and sometimes other spiders are all I attack.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN1366

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 9, 2023

I am known as a Sandhill Crane

Sandhill is habitat used by snakes, Scrub Jays and Turkeys
But I actually rarely hang out in Sandhills

Bird namers can sometimes be derpy.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://climateadaptationexplorer.org/habitats/terrestrial/1240

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 8, 2023

I am an Orange-spotted Flower Moth

My wings are orange, brown and black

Take a look at my huge proboscis

I'm tiny, but pizazz is not something I lack!

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://thefsca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Media_Files_Plant-Industry-Files_Entomology-Circular_CIRCULAR-Syngamia-Florella-Stoll.pdf

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 7, 2023

I am known as an Oak Toad

I eat invertebrates, including spiders

But don't tell Dee, I hear she is partial to them

And I hate offending book writers.

(The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders is available at Ditch 13 Gallery and Gifts in Fellsmere, Merritt Island NWR Visitor Center gift shop in Titusville,  the Enchanted Forest Santuary gift shop in Titusville, and via mail order.) 

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/frogs/oaktoad.shtml

https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 6, 2023

I am known as a Pine Warbler

Sometimes I'm part of a flock of 100 or more

I'm the only warbler known to regularly eat seeds

But I also eat arthropods galore!

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

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

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 5, 2023

I am known as a Brown-headed Nuthatch

I only live in mature pine forests

I climb upside down looking for bugs

I am quite the non-conformist. 

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/brownheadednuthatch.htm

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

November 4, 2023

This is known as a Coconut Palm

It's the most important Palm Tree of them all

It is is an important crop for oil, food and drink

And stays green and doesn't lose its fronds in the fall.

Super big thanks to my special guest photographer, David Simpson.

Location: Harbor Pointe Park, Fort Pierce

Sources: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/MG043

Photo © 2023 David Simpson and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson