Saturday, April 28, 2012

Images of Florida: Owls, Eagles, and Hummingbirds

I had a little fun with photoshop and this image of a Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) in flight.  I kind of like the effect.  One can find Burrowing Owls in Florida along fence lines in open fields.  They are quite small measuring only 7.5-11 inches long (19-28 cm) with a wingspan of 20-24 inches (51-61 cm).

click on any image at PHILLIP'S NATURAL WORLD to enlarge
A Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in flight.  While these are some of the most widely distributed species of owls they are rarely seen along the central peninsula of Florida.  Likely most of their habitat has been destroyed and those that remain have moved deep into relic woodlands.
These are a couple of infant Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) sitting in a Live Oak tree (Quercus Virginiana).  This was not their nest tree.  This was one of their early flights to a neighboring tree.

This is one of the owlets in its nesting tree, a large Red Cedar Tree (Juniperus virginiana L.).
Anthropomorphizing this young owl I imagine him saying "No more pictures, please."

 See more images of these owls taken early this Spring at this link:  GREAT HORNED OWL
A Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) carrying fluffing for its nest.  They are often pursued by crows, blackbirds, mockingbirds and bluejays that don't like the larger birds anywhere near their nests.
A rarely seen Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) on a palm tree.
A Hummingbird nest (family Trochilidae) with two eggs.  The nest is tiny, measuring only about the size of a half dollar. . . or the size of a walnut shell for those unfamiliar with American coins.
The birds normally lay two eggs.  The nest is bound together with spiderweb silk.    They are easily overlooked hanging on leaves or small tree branches.  The eggs are large relative to the hummingbird's adult size.  Here is a tiny hatchling.
A close-up of the hatchling.  Incubation of the eggs lasts 14 to 23 days depending on the species of hummingbird, ambient temperature, and female attentiveness to the nest.  The mother will feed her nestlings with small arthropods and nectar by inserting her bill into the open mouth and regurgitating the food into its throat (technically the baby's "crop;" a pouch in the bird's gullet where food is stored or prepared for digestion).

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