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Borrego Springs, CA

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Scored a couple of wins today

For the first time since I’ve been at Okefenokee, I awoke to rain this morning.  It was a rather wet and soaking time for Emma’s first outs.  I am having to set my alarm for work days here to ensure I have enough time to take care of Emma, eat breakfast, get a refuge vehicle, and be where I’m supposed to be on time.  My morning assignment was to ‘Roam’ before spending the afternoon working the VC.  I wasn’t too optimistic about the roaming in the rain, but as it turned out, the showers quit by the time I hit the roads.

IMG_0749I decided to walk the Upland Discovery Trail since it is short (.2 miles).  I was pretty confident that I wouldn’t encounter any visitors this early, but I felt it was a distance I could handle with my present walking issues.  It turned out to be one of those occasions when low expectations for ‘discovery’ were way off base.

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The trail makes its way along a loop through an upland long-leafed pine stand with an understory of palmettos.  As it turned out, I observed four different species of woodpeckers on this short walk.

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First up, I observed several yellow-bellied sapsuckers pecking away on the pines.  Every time I see one of these sapsuckers I’m reminded of that old 50’s TV program where a rather nerdy ‘Pamela Livingston’ was depicted as a weirdo bird watcher in khaki shorts and shirt with big binoculars hanging around her neck.  Can’t remember the name of that show.  Anybody know what I’m talking about?  I think in the series she worked for a photographer.

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Then I came upon another pair of pileated woodpeckers.  I swear, I’ve never been at a place where it is so easy to see these crow sized woodpeckers almost every day.  I believe this species was the inspiration for Woody Woodpecker.

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A little further along the trail, I came upon my first photographic Coue of the day.  It was a red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW).  The red-cockaded woodpecker is an endangered species with a very interesting lifestyle that I’ll talk about in a post of its own some time.  Okefenokee is famous for having a viable population of these birds, and I was happy to get some photos.  If you enlarge each of these photos, you’ll be able to notice the color bands on the the left hand shot, and the silver USFWS band on the right shot.  They are endangered because of the loss of the live long-leafed pine habitat in the south.  I also saw several red-bellied woodpeckers, but couldn’t get a decent shot of them.

IMG_0735I also fleetingly saw several of these wrens moving around through the palmettos, but never could get them to sit still long enough for a positive ID.  For such a short trail, it held many wonders for me, and will be a definite consideration to include in my bird tour proposal.

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I can’t hardly not include a picture of an alligator in any drive I make around the refuge.  It kind of surprised me to find one out and about so early in the day after the rain and cooler temperatures. 

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Just before having lunch and heading for my afternoon in the VC, I drove to headquarters hoping to touch base with Gracie Gooch, the volunteer coordinator, to see if a decision had been made about me setting up my Hard Rock Bird Café.  Some refuges allow volunteers to put up bird feeders, and others do not.  I was awaiting a decision.  One of the hazards of doing so is having to deal with squirrels, and at Okefenokee they have the ‘mother’ of all squirrels.  It’s the fox squirrel, and is about three times the size of the normal grey squirrel. 

I had been hoping to get some pics of these monster rodents, and today it happened (win #2).  I don’t know if they’d bother my feeders, but seeing the live oak acorn in this guy’s mouth makes me guess I’ll have my challenges if I’m allowed to open the cafe.  Disappointed smile  (The music from “Rocky” is beginning to play in my head.)

I’m off to the Mayo Clinic tomorrow.  I’ve been trying to keep my mind occupied not thinking about it.  Eye rolling smile

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

28 comments:

  1. I like the photos of your fox squirrel, he's very pretty.

    Good luck at the Mayo Clinic, hopefully thing will go well. :)

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  2. Nice pictures again! Can't get over the size of the fox squirrel, you better keep an eye on Emma.

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  3. Great shots of the woodpeckers! I saw my first pileated woodpecker this summer while camping at Suttle Lake near Sisters, Oregon. It hung around my campsite - I saw it almost every day. They do remind me of Woody Woodpecker!

    Good Luck at Mayo - will be sending good thoughts your way.

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  4. That squirrel is 3times the size ours up north here

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  5. Good luck tomorrow! As always, thanks for sharing the photos.

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  6. The show you're thinking of was "Love that Bob' or the Bob Cummings show. Her name was Nancy Kulp and she also appeared on the Beverly Hillbillies.

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  7. I wish you well at your Mayo Clinic appointment, Judy.

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  8. Was it The Bob Cummings Show?
    Thinking and praying for you as you see the doctor tomorrow. Hopefully they can relieve your pain and get you back to good working order.

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  9. The pines and palmettos photo is truly beautiful. Not sure why it appeals to me so much,but its my new iPad background.

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  10. Great shots of that fox squirrel. He's a big'n!

    Good luck at your appointment tomorrow!

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  11. I thought yellow-bellied sapsuckers was a made up name to make bird watchers sound nerdy:)

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  12. Wow! That is one big squirrel. You might need to hire security if you have out a feeder :)
    Good luck tomorrow at the doctors.

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  13. I just love that header picture, it makes me feel like it's still summer!
    My thoughts will be with you tomorrow, hopefully they can fix that hip soon!

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  14. Those fox squirrels make good eating - especially squirrel gumbo. And if you eat them on site, you are not removing anything, right?

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  15. You will be fine I'm sure. It's time to fix the problem and be free of that pain. I'll be thinking about you tomorrow.
    That squirrel is large isn't he.

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  16. Yup, I remember Pamela Livingston. Loved the Bob Cummings show. Shoeless Joe has it exactly right. Hoping for a good visit for you tomorrow and that a solution can be found for your pesky hip. Take care.

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  17. Good luck with your doc appointment tomorrow.

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  18. Good memory for that Shoeless Joe guy. After he mentioned it I remembered the show. All the best with the hip tomorrow. I am experiencing some similar problems but have kept it under wraps so far.

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  19. I'm betting the fox squirrel would be able to down a lot of bird seed. Good luck at Mayo, I will be thinking of you!

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  20. Looks like a good place for a morning birding walk... hope that works out. And hope that your doctor appt gives you some options to get fixed up soon.

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  21. you will love how efficient the JAX Mayo is... loved the photos of the RCW's

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  22. Wonderful pics as usual. I hope that you have good news at Mayo.

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  23. Poster Marilyn above talked about squirrel gumbo! Leonard has said when a child his mother and grandmother would make squirrel gumbo. YUK! My father was a hunter and he would tell the story of bringing home a squirrel and I cried and cried. I was probably around 4 or 5. He swore he would never shoot one again and he made Len promise he would not either. Fine with me - no squirrel gumbo in my house. EVER!

    Love the pics of the woodpeckers.

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  24. I find that I survive Doc appt.s easier if I pay close attention to all my surroundings, like I am an observer..look at all the "stuff" around me and wonder about those having to use it or have it used on them...Makes me happy for my own situation...and that "it could be worse"..Best of luck..
    As for me...I'm keeping my "chin up"..;-)

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  25. Thinking of you today and hoping everything goes well.

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  26. Great woodpecker shots. Especially the Red cockaded. I so want to see them. Now I know where to go. They are year round residents I assume?

    Hope Mayo lives up to its reputation for you.

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  27. If I wasn't on the other side of the country, I'd love to join your NWR bird trail tour. Maybe I'll sneak over there! You scored big time on your short Discovery Trail - congrats.

    Fingers crossed for the best news for you tomorrow!

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  28. Sending positive thoughts your way. Hang in there, Judy. It'll get better.

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