Boyd Hill Park, 2/25/2012

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Osprey
On Saturday morning we decided to visit Boyd Hill Park.  I had read that the park was designed to support multiple habitats, and we had heard that there was good birding there.  Now I have to say that I love the idea of the park.  The path leads you to different sections that highlight different Florida ecosystems.  There's a Sand Scrub area, a Pine Flatwoods area, and an Oak Pine Hammock area, as well as Swamp, Marsh, and Lake areas.  There were covered pavilions and water stations at the trail heads for each of these habitats with informative signage to describe what you're about to see.  I loved that.

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Royal Tern
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Common Moorhen

Unfortunately, the birds were not there in any great numbers.  I was surprised by how little I heard or saw.  I stayed there from about 7:30 to about noon, just waiting for things to pick up, but they never did.  There were some highlights, though.  We saw an Osprey nest, and one of the pair was building or repairing the nest.  A Green Heron and a Little Blue Heron were both out fishing.  A Bald Eagle, Royal Tern and a Belted Kingfisher were doing their best to keep things interesting, and there were more than enough White Pelicans, Cormorants and Anhingas for everyone to enjoy.  But I didn't see a single warbler or sparrow; I heard two Carolina wren, but didn't see any wrens at all.  So late morning I turned my attention to butterflies, and there were many in the two butterfly gardens.  So the butterflies saved the day for the birds.  Interestingly, I also saw a River Otter and a Gopher Tortoise, though I wasn't able to get any photographs of them.

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Queen
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Spicebush Swallowtail
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Duskywing Skipper
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Whirlabout Skipper
Here's list of species we saw at Boyd Hill Park:

Non-Birds
Gopher Tortoise
River Otter
Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly
White Peacock Butterfly
Queen Butterfly
Monarch Butterfly
Duskywing Skipper
Whirlabout Skipper

Birds
Pied-billed Grebe 2
Double-crested Cormorant 9
Anhinga 5
American White Pelican 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 3
Little Blue Heron 1
Green Heron 1
White Ibis 3
Roseate Spoonbill 1
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
Osprey 3
Bald Eagle 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Common Gallinule X
American Coot X
Limpkin 2
Laughing Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 1
Royal Tern 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 2
Fish Crow 5
Carolina Wren 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Boat-tailed Grackle X

Comments

  1. Wonderful pics as always, Scott.

    The "Black Swallowtail" is actually a Spicebush Swallowtail, Papilio troilus. The easiest way to tell from below is to look at the band of blue on the hindwing that lies between the rows of orange spots. On the Spicebush, one blue cell pokes through the band of orange; on the Black, the row of orange spots is complete.

    Link: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/butterfly/msg0502480617503.html

    The butterfly underneath is a Duskywing Skipper, genus Erynnis, and a female. Near me, I would immediately call it a Wild Indigo Duskywing, but I'll have to check on the species in your area.

    Hm. Looks like it could be any of Wild Indigo, Juvenal's, or possibly Zarucco Duskwing. Without looking around for hostplants, I can't say.

    The skipper below looks like it might be the Whirlabout, Polites vibex. I can't recall whether the Fiery Skipper has dots like that on the forewing below.

    Jeff

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for the butterfly IDs (and correction). I had thought the last one might have been a Fiery Skipper, but the photo I'd seen didn't have the spots. I suppose I could check around some to confirm what you think. Thanks!

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