Collection 3 - March 2020, Archbold Biological Station

Lately I've been obsessed...

Obsessed with a habitat which I knew about but until recently didn't realize how little I know about it.  Its the Florida Scrub!

I suppose it all started when I started researching where in Broward County I wanted to buy a house, and I started to look at elevation maps, because I don't want to live in an area that will flood or historically was a swampland, and I found that mostly just eastern Broward was not part of the Everglades. For example, areas like Weston, and parts of Davie, were wetlands, wet grasslands, and cypress swamps. Eastern Broward County, closer to the ocean, is actually higher in elevation, and historically consisted mainly of pine flatwoods and a few areas of scrub habitat. 

Florida scrub habitat is mostly areas that are higher in elevation and consist of mostly well draining sand. They may have been created when sea levels were higher and they may have been a sand dune or island. They support a very unique variety of animals and especially plants, which evolved during these times of higher sea level, when they were cut off from the mainland. So this got me interested in finding a house that may have been in one of these areas, for the practicality of flood avoidance, and also the challenge of gardening with natives here, where many plants are rare or extirpated from Broward already. 

One of the birds that are included in this category is the endemic Florida Scrub-Jay. It used to be found in this county, as well as Miami-Dade, but now they cannot be found in either. They are extirpated, which means locally extinct, and have been since the 1980's (60's for Miami-Dade). 

So as you may have guessed this is what the next collection will be on. The scrub habitat and the only bird that can be found exclusively in this habitat, the Florida Scrub-Jay. Im off to look for the jays and to get inspiration at a scrub stronghold, the Archbold Biological Station in Highlands County. 

I hope when I do find my house I can restore the yard to what a Broward County native scrub would look like.  And can you imagine what would happen if all my neighbors did too?  Maybe the Florida Scrub-Jays could come back to Broward County, and people and jays could live harmoniously...

Anyway, Im off to the Lake Wales Ridge and Archbold Station!

Here is one of the main buildings in front of the visitor center. It's full of native scrub grasses and wildflowers. It is the end of the dry season, but it would be interesting to see when the native wildflower are in bloom. 

One of the many informative signs around Archbold. They do a good job of labeling plants and also having signs explaining a lot of information on the trails. 

A Sand Pine - Pinus clausa and Scrub Hickory - Carya floridana, 

two of the taller trees of the scrub habitat, the hickory is still dormant. 

More view of the habitat, with Scrub Oaks - Quercus sp., Palmettos, 

and Slash Pine - Pinus elliottii in the far back. 

I didn't see any Scrub Jays on my hike at Archbold, but on my way there I did see one sitting on a power line along the highway, so I decided to go back to that area and see if I could get a closer look.

There ended up being a family group of about 15-20 birds. 

Heres a group of 3 Florida Scrub-Jays, Aphelocoma coerulescens. This group was not as tame as a group I've encountered before in Sarasota County, FL.  I didn't notice any were banded. But it's good that they are not exposed to too many people and can live in a more natural state. 

This particular bird was the most visible the whole time. I think it was keeping watch while the other birds were in the scrub below. This area seemed to be a little over grown, maybe it will need a burn sometime soon. 

A watercolor sketch I made of the Florida Scrub-Jay - Aphelocoma coerulescens, at Archbold Biological Station. In my painting, I have a variety of scrub plants from this habitat including:

-Scrub hickory, Carya floridana,  in the back left

-Sand Pine, Pinus clausa in the back right

-Scrub oaks, Quercus geminata and Q. myrtilifolia 

-Rusty Fetterbush, Lyonia ferruginea

-Silver Saw Palmetto, Serenoa repens

-Eastern Pricklypear cactus, Opuntia humifusa 

-Florida Rosemary, Ceratiola ericoides

-Skyblue Lupine, Lupinus diffusus

The blank area is the bright white sand. 

I hope you enjoyed this post, I'll be working on this bird this month, and hopefully on a new garden. This year has been very hectic for sure, and I hope things will calm down. I think being in nature would help a lot for everyone. 

Collection 2 - Feb 2020, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens

Collection 2 - Feb 2020

Location: Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens, Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, FL

134 - Ruby-throated Hummingbird

135 - Palm Warbler, Western ssp.

136 - Gray Catbird

This months collection is inspired by the wonderful and well known Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables. These birds are fairly common and easily found at the garden this time of year, where they spend the winter. The idea of the collection was based on birds here in South Florida, that can be seen in residents personal gardens at their homes and in their neighborhoods. Common winter migrants.

Watercolor sketch of the birds and habitat for Collection 2.

134 - Ruby-throated Hummingbird

135 - Palm Warbler, Western ssp.

136 - Gray Catbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris

flying male, carving 134, with Scarlet Sage - Salvia coccinea.

There was actually a female here, with a flock of American Goldfinches

eating the seeds of the sage.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris
flying male, carving 134, at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
At this very moment there was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird here.  I feel like this place is the most reliable spot to see a Ruby-throated Hummingbird in the winter in South Florida.

Palm Warbler, Western ssp. - Setophaga palmarum

winter plumage on a grassy base, carving 135

Beggarsticks - Bidens alba, blooming in the lawn.

Palm Warbler, Western ssp. - Setophaga palmarum

winter plumage on a grassy base, carving 135,

at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens, in the lowlands looking up toward the 

Bailey Palm Glade. 

Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis

with Pine-Rockland base, soil, grasses, oak leaves, tiny snail shells,

and the endemic and endangered Small's Milkpea, Galactia smallii,

carving 136, at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in the lowlands amphitheater. 

Pond Cypress Studio - Collection 2

Thanks for visiting my blog, I hope you enjoyed!

Collection 1 Details, Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Pond Cypress Studio

Collection 1 - Jan 2020

Location and Inspiration: Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Martin Co, FL

130 - Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis ssp. floridanus

131 - Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

132 - Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

133 - Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

This collection was a custom made collection for a biologist studying both species. So they will be used in the field and used as decoys. I made them to be as realistic to the subspecies here with size and color, and also so that they are durable and can be used out in the field.

The Bachman's Sparrow carvings were made without feet, their legs are metal.

They can be placed on a snag or branch as shown below. The Northern Cardinal has a base that can be placed on the ground or logs. 

Back details of the Bachman's Sparrow. They're all in a singing position. 

The single male Northern Cardinal.  I made the base to be able to be placed on the ground, and leaves and maybe soil or sand to be placed around it, the little branch or root is covered with small mosses. 

Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis ssp. floridanus

Carving #130, out in the field at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. 

It was a really pretty cool winter day. 

Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis ssp. floridanus

Carving 130, another shot at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, with a blooming

Netted Pawpaw, Asimina reticulata, behind it. 

Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis ssp. floridanus

Carving 130, another shot at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, on the ground

with blooming Wild Pennyroyal,  Piloblephis rigida.

Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

Carving 131, singing male at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. 

You can see how the wire legs are easily placed on top of a charred pine

to create a realistic position of the bird singing. 

Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

Carving 131, singing male at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. 

Another view with all the beautiful palmettos and slash pines in the back. 

Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

Carving 131, singing male at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. 

And another view of the belly. You can see just one of the legs is stuck into the 

charred log. The chest is puffed up, as its singing its loudest, and the mouth is 

actually coated so that it looks wet and shiny. 

I hope you enjoyed this post and this months collection. If you haven't seen the short clip I made for this collection with these photos included please click the link below. Theres some of the blooming wildflowers in that clip as well. 

Pond Cypress Studio Collection 1 

Collection 1 - Jan 2020, Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Happy 2020!

This year I'll be introducing something new that I've been wanting to do for a while. I've been thinking and planning and decided I'll make collections of birds every month that will be inspired by a specific location. My January 2020 collection is complete and I took the pieces out into their natural habitat which they were inspired by and photographed them. I also made a short video showing my birds with some scenes during the photo session. Please have a look and I hope you enjoy!

Pond Cypress Studio

Collection 1 - Jan 2020

Location: Martin Co, FL

130 - Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis ssp. floridanus

131 - Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

132 - Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

133 - Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

New year, new logo!

I took this group photo of some of the birds I've made over the past year, with a few old favorites mixed in too. Just wanted to share this here full size. It will be used for my header for this blog and on Etsy. Hope you all have a wonderful New Year, 2020 is almost here and Im really excited for what this new year and decade will bring! For me there will be lots of new birds and hopefully a new house, garden, and studio to be working in, plus beginning to offer some of my full size birds as well as other works for sale in the upcoming year!

I also have a new logo which I posted on Instagram last week! Here's the post from that:

My new logo for Pond Cypress Studio. I finished designing today and have been thinking about a lot lately. I wanted it to be symbolic for me personally, but also of the areas I’ve lived, and of the artwork I create. 

What is “pond cypress”?  It’s a tree, native to Florida, whose range extends up to Virginia and west almost to Texas.  This is the area I’ve spend most of my life. It inhabits wet areas and has yarn like leaves and small round cones, which I’ve drawn in my logo with the leaf curling around the cone. They are a symbol of longevity, living up to 1000 years, and in Everglades NP there is a dwarf cypress forest. They’re an important tree for many birds, and a wide variety of other plants and animals. 

The Prairie Warbler is a cute familiar songbird which lives in the eastern United States and has a residential population in coastal Florida. It was one the first warblers I was able to find and identify when I started bird watching, which also taught me and got me interested in learning about bird subspecies. It’s the one warbler I see most often throughout the year here in South Florida. 

So thanks for reading, I just wanted to share some things about me and why I chose this new logo, and also to say thanks a lot for following me and the support!! I appreciate it!! 😊

Northern Cardinal, Carving 127

The Northern Cardinal is one of the most famous birds here in North America, but is also a recognizable bird all over the world, used on household goods and other media, it's a common sight. Here in the US it's found in the eastern portions of the country and the south. It's a common bird in neighborhoods, and a frequent visitor to bird feeders. In Florida we have a subspecies of the Northern Cardinal, sometimes referred to as the Florida Cardinal, Cardinals cardinalis floridans . It's smaller, darker, and has other subtle size and color differences. This one I'm making is somewhat of a prototype.  I have a project to make a decoy for a researcher. It's to help coax males into the mist nest which have been reluctant and shy. We'll see how it goes! 

Northern Cardinal, Cardinals cardinalis floridanus

Finished carving on its unfinished base. It's with a poinsettia in a foo dog planter from Martha Stewart and 1800flowers.com collection from 2007. Its one of my cherished vases!

Northern Cardinal, Cardinals cardinalis floridanus

Finished carving with finished base in a forest setting, with wild 

Bostons fern's growing behind it at Frenchman's Forest Preserve 

in Palm Beach County, FL.

Northern Cardinal, Cardinals cardinalis floridanus

Finished carving among Wild Pennyroyal, Piloblephis rigida,

 it at Frenchman's Forest Preserve in Palm Beach County, FL.

As always, thanks for reading!  I should be having the other cardinal coming out soon.  

Happy Holidays!!

Bachman's Warbler Carving 110, part 2

While creating my last post I was going through some of the images of the birds I've carved and came across another picture I took of the Bachman's Warbler I made before it was attached to its stand.

Right now its winter and if any of these warbler are left they'll be in Cuba enjoying the cooler and dryer season we have in this part of the world. Historically, there are a few scattered records in Florida, which is true of its relatives the Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers.

Bachman's Warbler - Vermivora bachmanii, Carving 110

In scrubby lowland habitat, which it would be found in winter. 

In the spring, while taking this picture there was a singing male Northern Parula, 

which paid no attention to my Bachman's Warbler. I was hoping for some kind of 

reaction, but Im sure the Parula has never seen one either, and/or my warbler is not realistic enough. 

Thanks for reading! 

David Kramer

Pond Cypress Studio

Warbling White-eye Carving 126

Before traveling to Thailand, we stayed in Japan for very eventful 8 days. 

Japan was amazing, and exceded all my high expectations I had of the country. It was very clean, organized, fun, and just all around very beautiful!

Before the trip I did research on birds to see there, as well as doing research of common or popular birds. Though Japan has a lot of iconic birds such as: the Mandarin Duck, Red-crowned Crane, Japanese Large-billed Crow, and Japanese Pheasants to name a few, I decided to go with a common residential bird: the Warbling White-eye, formally known as the Japanese White-eye. 

While carving I thought that I would make its feet open so I could attach it to any branch and be able to take a picture of it in a natural setting, and thought it would be cool to do it with a nice Japanese temple on the banks of a pond in the background. 

Warbling White-eye, Zosterops japonicus ssp. japonicus, Carving 126

at Fushimi Inari Shrine, in Kyoto, Japan.

You can see its little legs and feet, which are slightly flexible with wire inside. 

This is where I saw the Warbling White-eye, aka, Japanese White-eye, warbling around the 

trees right above the thousands of tourist and visitors walking up the shrine. 

Warbling White-eye, Zosterops japonicus ssp. japonicus, Carving 126

at Fushimi Inari Shrine, in Kyoto, Japan.

Sitting in a sapling Japanese Cedar. This forest around the shrine was 

full of all sorts of birds.  In one spot there was a narrow pond and a Gray Heron in it fishing. 

Some people clapped loudly at it, but Im not really sure why or what the meaning is. 

Warbling White-eye, Zosterops japonicus ssp. japonicus, Carving 126

at Fushimi Inari Shrine, in Kyoto, Japan.

This was along a nicely wooded trail heading up the side of the shrine grounds. 

It was really peaceful here.

Thanks for reading and visiting as always!

David Kramer

Pond Cypress Studio

Red-necked Stint Carving 125

I recently got back from vacation to Thailand and Japan. It was wonderful and both countries were very unique and interesting. In preparation for the trip I did lots of research on birds that I could look for while there, and I thought of doing a carving for each country.

The first carving I made was for Thailand. I wanted to visit the salt pans south of Bangkok and look for shorebirds. A wide variety of shorebirds can be found here, including the very rare and critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper. I stayed in Bangkok for a few days and did see a lot of new birds, especially by the river and in a fruiting fig tree by my hotel. After that we traveled to Phuket and I did get a chance to be near the beach and look for shorebirds. The first few days I was only able to find Common Sandpipers, and even though I looked in appropriate habitats wasn't able to find any other species. Before going back to Bangkok we stayed in a hotel near Sirinat National Park. It was pretty much a standard tropical beach and I didn't expect to find any shorebirds there. Fortunately at the beach hotel we were staying at there was a coral sandbar that extended from the sandy beach and stuck out into the ocean. During high tide the sandbar, which was actually just massive amounts of broken coral fragments, was cut off from the beach and much smaller. This was perfect because a large flock of about 100+ Lesser Sand-plovers rested here. Among the Sand-plovers I was able to find some a few Common Redshanks, one Ruddy Turnstone, and one Sanderling. Also, very happily, a few Red-necked Stints. I was really worried I wasn't going to be able to find any!

Here's a bunch of Lesser Sand-plovers resting on the coral sandbar. During high tide it seems they would come here to rest until low-tide comes and they travel to exposed areas to feed. Oct 2019.

A close up of one of the Red-necked Stints I saw. They were easy to pick out among the many Sand-plovers because they are constantly moving, and the Sand-plovers were quite still. Oct 2019

Another shot of the Red-necked Stint. Its so tiny and very cute, they're also very active. 

Feeding and running, and then taking off and flying back to the sandbar. They could 

be described as "hyper". Oct 2019

Most of the island is made up of these broken coral branches as well as 

large plate corals and other broken chunks of hard coral. 

My Red-necked Stint - Calidris ruficollis, in the habitat where I saw them. 

This one I painted in the winter plumage with a few worn summer feathers. 

I also made the base to resemble the sand and mud from the salt pans. It has bits of clear/white fine glitter to resemble crystalized salt on the sand. 

Red-necked Stint - Calidris ruficollis,  Carving 125, a view of its back with a single summer feather. 

You can see all the broken pieces of branching corals that the birds feed and peck around during high tide. During low tide I think they travel to the shallow mudflats and river deltas.

Red-necked Stint - Calidris ruficollis, Carving 125. Standing on the coral sandbar. 

All around the sandbar there's a beautiful coral reef, full of coral, fish, and marine invertebrates. 

The water was crystal clear as well and thankfully not too much trash on the beaches here. 

While watching the shorebirds an interesting thing happened. A Peregrine Falcon swooped down on the shorebird flock. They had all taken off just a moment before the falcon got to where the shorebirds were resting. It chased them fiercely and the shorebirds formed a tight and winding flock over the ocean. It was pretty amazing!! The falcon returned back to the island and rested for a moment on a coral boulder. It had failed to catch any of the shorebirds despite its incredible speed! 

Blue Jay Carving 124

In South Florida, we have a subspecies of Blue Jay, that is smaller and has a slightly different coloration. These birds are common all around South Florida, even in busier parts of the city. They feed on insects, at bird seeds, and fruit like mangos! They usually travel in small groups making a lot of noise and imitating Red-shouldered Hawks.

This summer during mango season by friend in the Miami Lakes area sent me a video of a Blue Jay eating a mango from his tree. The mango had a large hole from the Blue Jay pecking out chunks of the fruit and swallowing it. The mango looks about the same size of the Blue Jay and I'm sure weighs more!

Here's the original video, sent to me from my

 friend Alfredo Hernandez in Miami Lakes, FL.

The video was taken July 6, 2019. 

Blue Jay, South Florida subspecies - Cyanocitta cristata semplei.

I made a stand to resemble and older dead mango branch 

with a few cracks and drops of sap leaking out. 

David Kramer - Pond Cypress Studio 2019

Blue Jay, South Florida subspecies - Cyanocitta cristata semplei.

A closer look, in a habitat which I usually see these Blue Jays.

 Lots of live oaks and other fruiting trees with a canal in the background, in Hollywood, FL.

David Kramer - Pond Cypress Studio 2019

Heres a video of my Blue Jay taken next to my townhouse bird feeder. 

You can see the Blue Jay come down to get some black sunflower seeds and when it goes to the feeder it takes a few glances at my carving. It doesn't seem to mind it. 

Blue Jay, South Florida subspecies - Cyanocitta cristata semplei.

David Kramer - Pond Cypress Studio 2019

Seaside Sparrow Carving 123

On Sept. 3rd, 2019 South Florida started to feel the effects of Hurricane Dorian.  We had about a week to prepare, buying water, supplies, and gas, as the slow moving storm headed toward Florida. The day it was closest to Florida, and was starting to hit the state, I went to the beach, in hopes of possibly seeing rare seabirds blown in with the winds. I suppose I should have been more specific in my wish, because of getting a rare Tern, Storm-Petrel, or Shearwater, I got another "sea"bird. 

Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park on Sept 3, 2019 

during Hurricane Dorrian.  As you can see it was quite calm with 

a few bands of rainclouds passing by.  A pretty nice beach day for bird watching,

especially with the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood Airport closed for the storm.

Usually its very noisy here as the planes take off over the ocean. 

A band of rain from Hurricane Dorian.  While walking down the beach

 a band of rain came and I took shelter underneath a Cabbage Palm.  While standing

watching the rain I noticed out of the corner of my eye a small bird emerge from a stunted seagrape tree right on the edge of the dunes. The bird popped out and fed in the sand. I took some photos of it, knowing it was a sparrow, and to help with later identification. 

This is the exact area I saw the bird. It appeared right behind the sea turtle nest, and it used the seagrape as a sort of walkway for it to get further out onto the beach, but still remained covered. When the waves came up to the dunes the bird would come out and peck around at the sand. I suppose eating all the little amphipods that were abundant on the sand. When I crouched down I brushed the sand gently and many of the clear shrimp-like amphipods started jumping around and fleeing. They about the size of a grain of rice, so prefect for a small bird. 

And here is the bird. Its a Seaside Sparrow! I originally thought it must be a Savannah Sparrow because that was the only sparrow eBird did not deem rare for this time and location. Its quite rare here, and had only been seen 3 other times in Broward County. I did see another one on eBird that one was spotted here almost exactly 4 years ago, and of a similar plumage, and also photographed on a seagrape tree. It was found and photographed by Steve Kaplan and Bruce Pickholtz. Both of whom I'd meet the following day when I returned to look for this Seaside Sparrow again. 

This is when the Seaside Sparrow was out feeding on the exposed beach where the waves would come up too. I never expected to see this "sea" bird, and that is what I mean by be careful what you wish for, even with bird watching! But I am thankful I saw it! So after this whole event I had to make a carving of this bird. Luckily Bruce and Steve, and other eBirders took much better photographs and posted to their eBird checklist, which helped so I could get the plumage right. 

Seaside Sparrow - Ammospiza maritima,carving 123, at the spot I found this individual bird. 

I tried to get the plumage as close to the actual bird as possible, and made a sand base to match the sand at Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park, in Dania Beach, Florida. 

Another shot of my Seaside Sparrow - Ammospiza maritima. This time close to some seagrass, I believe Sea Oats, and with a coconut in the background. As you can see in this photo the bird looks quite dark, and in my photos it looks quite dark too, especially because the real sparrow was a little wet, but in other eBird photos of the same bird the next day it appears lighter. Here I photographed the bird on the same day with different lighting, and it almost looks like 2 differently painted birds. This is one thing that makes bird watching very challenging, is that: what the mind thinks it sees, might not be exactly what it appears. It can make identification very difficult, and mind boggling sometimes. 

And a final close up. 

I do wonder a few things about this Seaside Sparrow:

-Was it was related to the one spotted 4 years ago at the same spot?

-Which subspecies of Seaside Sparrow is this? Florida does have a resident Seaside Sparrow subspecies, the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow  (which I don't think this is) and an extinct subspecies, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow, that was once found a few counties north of Broward County, FL. There is also a few Gulf Coast subspecies and a few Atlantic Coast subspecies. I suppose it could be one of the Atlantic subspecies that migrated south after the breeding season, or if it is a juvenile bird, dispersed south to Florida, as the one spotted four years ago may have did. 

-Where is it now?  The bird hasn't been spotted since Hurricane Dorian, and its been two months. I wonder if it migrated further, or it's just living its secretive (seacretive ? ) Seaside Sparrow style. 

Thanks for reading and I hope you'll keep in touch, there's many excited projects coming soon, including a trip to Asia and a very special project.