Over the past week I have put my kestrel duties on hold to help with Florida Scrub-Jay surveys in the Ocala National Forest. I haven’t spent very much time in the forest since handing jay training over to my co-worker in February, so I really enjoy any time I can get roaming through the scrub (chigger bites aside). Lately, it … Read More
Southeastern American Kestrel Natural Cavity Nest
While I’ve been monitoring nest boxes over the last 4 months in Marion and Levy counties in north central Florida, I have also been looking for kestrel nests in natural cavities. Â We suspect there are many kestrels nesting in natural cavities, but finding and monitoring these cavities on private land is difficult. Because American Kestrels cannot excavate their own cavities, … Read More
Back in Florida!
Classes are over, the Birding Cup is over, the Biggest Week is over and now I am back down in Florida. Anna has been down here since January working with the ‘Southeastern’ American Kestrels around the Gainesville area, and now I am also working with her. Our primary tasks are monitoring the kestrel nest boxes, banding chicks, and finding natural … Read More
Juniper Prairie Wilderness Area
Over the past month I have been able to spend a handful of days at Juniper Prairie Wilderness Area in Ocala National Forest for both work and recreational birding. Juniper Prairie is about 14,000 acres of recently burned sand pine habitat where charred snags dominate the landscape. Â There is a large concentration of Red-headed Woodpeckers, and Northern Flickers, Red-bellied, and … Read More
Jay Watch 2012
[dc]I[/dc]n late March, my co-worker Aubrey and I travelled to Port Charlotte, Florida to do an annual Florida Scrub-Jay survey in a community that is well-known for its jay population (we are both currently employed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission…check out their website HERE!). Â Here, there are building restrictions because of the presence of jays. Â There are … Read More
Southeastern American Kestrel Egg Color Variation
Over the past 2 weeks I’ve been spending a lot of time checking Southeastern American Kestrel nest boxes for eggs in Marion and Levy counties in north central Florida. I had two boxes with early eggs laid before March, but most others were laid in the latter part of the first week of March and during the second week of … Read More
Spring has sprung…
Spring is in the air, and its not just because it’s 75 degrees out. Over the past few days, large groups of migrant Sandhill Cranes have been heading north; while eating my lunch a few days ago, I counted just over 500 heading north in groups of 20 to 100, constantly joining up into larger groups. Some major winds seem to … Read More
What’s in the box? Part One
Over the past week I’ve been cleaning out American Kestrel nest boxes in Marion and Levy Counties. These boxes are most commonly mounted on utility poles or longleaf pine trees. Over the years, debris can pile up in nest boxes and make them nearly unusable for kestrels, especially if a squirrel has moved in. If a box has been used … Read More
Nuts for peanuts
Over the weekend, I finally made some progress with a group of jays that have been ignoring me. I haven’t spent much time with this group, just because they have been so unresponsive. Approaching them on foot in the scrub never got me anywhere either. But on sunday, I walked up to a single jay in this group, and while … Read More
The perks of field work…
My first two weeks of field work have been very productive! While most of my Florida Scrub-Jay groups are still getting used to me, one group has really gotten the idea of associating me with peanuts. On a visit this week, 5 jays were less than 10 feet away from me while they hopped around and snatched peanuts from all … Read More
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