ninjameb 的最愛

Male Pachydiplax longipennis being eaten by Opheodrys aestivus

Like a lot of these predation shots I heard the irregular beat of frantic, chafing wings before locating the scene.

I was taken aback when I first realized what was happening. That quickly wore off though and I was on the ground trying to get as close as possible without disrupting or having any meaningful influence on the situation.

Two great predators. In the end the dasher broke free and clumsily flew off (though he was lucky there were birds looking for an easy catch). I can't say for sure whether or not I played any part in the snake not succeeding in this struggle. If it were venomous I think (though I don't know if venomous snakes spend their venom on dragonflies or if they specialize in more protein-rich options) the dasher would've been done for.

But, the snake maneuvering his jaws to clamp down on the dragonfly gave some room for escape--especially since his jaws were over the thorax and wings, which were already beating trying to escape.

I found this duck in a parking lot, fairly close to a pond that was across the street. This duck as waddling around, and it was surrounded by other ducks and white ibis'. It was a sunny day with a few clouds, and it was about 70°F.

Clade Archosauria (upright, legs move under the body)
Class Aves (modern bird, feathers, edentulous beak, adaptations for powered flight)
Order: Anseriformes

-I can tell that this is Order Anseriformes, because it was flightless, it has a spatulate bill shape, and it has thick downy plumage.
-It had a medium sized, stocky body and mostly black feathers.
-It has palmate feet, which aids in its aquatic lifestyle, because it was near a pond.
-I can tell that it is a Muscovy duck, because there are no feathers around its bill, and it has reddish, bumpy skin around it.

On my daily walk, found a fledgling on the sidewalk. Still too young to fly, the chick needed its nest, but I did not know where it was...until one of the parents flew into a nearby Hackberry tree. During a storm yesterday, one of the tree's rotten branches was at the foot of the trunk. Having picked up the chick and still hearing a chick calling, I turned the broken branch over and discovered the nest and several dead chicks. Securing the other remaining chick from the ground, I obtained help from nearby National Park staff who loaned me a ladder and held the chicks while I returned to my place and picked up tools and wire to make a makeshift nest. I scraped out a cavity, wrapped welded wire around the branch and filled the resultant site with nesting material. The nesting material itself was extremely interesting containing what you see in the photos and bits -both large and small - and pieces of shed snake skin, seen in this observation in the area.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/26140168

This confirms that these birds use shed snake skin in their nests.

Once I had secured the impromptu nest and replaced the nestlings, we vacated the area then returned a while later to confirm the parents were tending to their offspring. I believe the photos are proof of that supposition.

This migrating loon was found grounded miles away from water (they can only “take off” from open water). It seemed perfectly healthy. After FWC and local animal rescue groups declined to get involved, I relocated it to Watermelon Pond where it would have a chance to recover and fly.

What appears to be a baby Pygmy sperm whale washed up dead at Cape Florida State Park this morning. An adult whale believed to be the mother was about half a mile north of the baby. The local news reported that the adult was euthanized.