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. 

Bachman's Sparrow Carving 112, part 2

In my recent post about my Brown-headed Nuthatch carving I wrote about how I was inspired to plant Longleaf Pines, Pinus palustris, after reading about the habitats of Florida. This pinewood were vast and seemingly endless at the time, but now, they are scattered and remnant patches. Longleaf Pine used to cover 90,000,000 acres, from Virginia to Florida, and over to Texas, now less than 5% of this habitat remains. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, and Bachman's Sparrow, were three signature birds of this habitat.

A few years ago, while flipping through the pages of my Sibley's Guides to Birds, I was looking for resident birds of Florida, that I have not seen yet. One that caught my eye was the Bachman's Sparrow. I had never seen one, or heard one, and after looking up the sightings on eBird, I learned that this bird was spotted recently down the road from my parents house. This got me thinking that if I made a suitable habitat for this bird maybe I could get them to return. My parents have 5 acres, and about half of it is Slash Pine/Palmetto habitat. There was a section, close to the pond, that I adopted to by my "prairie" and I would work on it to make an open pine forest with native grasses and wildflowers. The first and most important step was to remove all the non-native, invasive plants (Brazilian Pepper, Japanese Climbing Fern, non-native grasses such as Bahia and Cogon). Once these plants were removed native plants started to fill back in naturally, such as Coreopsis, Sundews, Bladderworts, Skullcaps, Polygala, Bog-Buttons to name a few!).  I also planted more native wildflowers and ferns, including the Hooded Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia minor, that was once found at a sight down the road, but the sight was destroyed by mining. Most recently I planted native blueberries, shiny fetter bush, Liatris, and three Longleaf Pines. Even though a few years have gone by, I still have not seen any Bachman's Sparrows here at my parents house. I think there just isn't enough suitable habitat, and my small prairie can not support them, though it does get visited by many other birds. It is an ongoing work in progress...

Bachman's Sparrow carving with a Hooded Pitcher Plant, 

in my restored pine land habitat.

Bachman's Sparrow carving among some wildflowers:

Hypericum, Scutellaria, Sarracenia minor, Polygala. I've recorded 60 species 

of native plants in just this few hundred square feet. 

Bachman's Sparrow carving with a newly planted Longleaf Pine, Pinus palustris, and to the left a Slender Gayfeather, aka Blazingstar, Liatris gracilis. Both plants were bought from Sweetbay Nursery, in Parrish, Florida. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Carving 122

At my parents house I designed and planted a Hummingbird Garden, which has nectar plants to attract hummingbirds, but also attracts a wide variety of nectar feeding insects and other native wildlife. This garden is planted with different species which I will list below and is very low maintenance except for annual pruning and occasional weeding. It doesn't get any supplemental watering except maybe during the winer dry season.

Hummingbird Garden Plant List for my garden in Manatee County, Florida:
Darlington Oak - Quercus hemisphaerica
Slash Pine - Pinus elliottii
Firebush - Hamelia patens
Walter's Viburnum - Viburnum obovatum
Coral Honeysuckle - Lonicera sempervirens
Rangoon Creeper - Combretum indicum (not native - bought because I saw a hummingbird on it at the nursery. Is beautiful and fragrant)
Corkystem Passion-flower - Passiflora suberosa (supports a colony of Zebra Longwing butterflies)
Firecracker Plant - Russelia equisetiformis
Shrimp Plant - Justicia brandegeena
Scarlet Sage - Salvia coccinea
Sage - Salvia x 'Wendys Wish'
Sage - Salvia x 'Mystic Spires'
Coleus various cultivars
Common Violet - Viola sororia
Wild Boston Fern - Nephrolephis exaltata
Florida Butterfly Orchid - Encyclia tampensis (I've only seen tiny bees on these)
Giant Airplant - Tillandsia utriculata
Northern Needleleaf - Tillandsian balbsiana

So since the winter of 2018 I've been seeing a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, feeding in a large Laurel Oak, I think picking off insects. It spend a lot of time searching all the branches of the trees and making short quick movements and then hovering throughout the tree. Later I saw her in my Moms vegetable garden feeding on some nice healthy Scarlet Sage. Then this spring and summer I saw her in my hummingbird garden and also feeding on the other fire bush I've planted around the yard, and defending the bushes from a juvenile male hummingbird (which Im wondering if its her son).  Here is her carving. I made her with a slightly turned head, and siting on a wood finial.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris

Finished carving made of basswood, acrylic paint, and glass eyes,

sitting on a wood finial base. 

David K. Kramer 2019

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris

Here is carving in my hummingbird garden where I saw her, feeding on

Coral Honeysuckle, a beautiful native vine. 

David K. Kramer 2019

Brown-headed Nuthatch Carving 121

This summer I took a trip to Destin, FL on an invitation from one of my friends from Virginia Beach. We stayed a few days there in a nice Airbnb, and each day went to Henderson Beach State Park (where I photographed some of my shorebirds and Least Tern in a previous post).  It was very beautiful there in Destin and the state park was really nice as well. After the trip and on the way back to Miami, we stopped at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park. I really wanted to see pitcher plants, and to look for birds. While hiking I came across a small flock of Brown-headed Nuthatches. They were pretty high up in the pines and actively feeding and chirping a lot. So after getting home I started work on my Nuthatch. The bird I carved is based off of the Florida subspecies: Sitta pusila caniceps, which was once called the Gray-headed Nuthatch.

While doing research on this subspecies I came across a lovely book with a great quote from the book "Life Histories of North American Nuthatches, Wrens, Thrashers, and their Allies" by Arthur Cleveland Bent:

The Gray-headed Nutchatch was recorded by Arthur H. Howell (1932) as "an abundant resident in northwestern Florida; moderately common in the central and southern parts." It has been taken at least as far south as Miami. Its home is in the extensive open pine forests of the State, known as the "flatwoods." The northern tourist, seeking a winter sojourn in Florida, rides in the southbound train for hour after hour with nothing to see from the car window but apparently endless miles of uninteresting flat pine barrens, until he wearies of the monotony. He does not appreciate the intriguing vastness of these almost boundless flatwoods; nor does he admire the stately beauty of the longleaf pines and the picturesque charm of the Caribbean pines. Only the naturalist fully appreciates them, for "there is a nameless charm in the flatwoods, there is enchantment for the real lover of nature in their very sameness. One feels a sense of their infinity as the forest stretches away into space beyond the limits of vision; they convey to the mind a feeling of boundless freedom. The soft, brilliant sunshine filters down through the needle-like leaves and falls in patches on the flower covered floor; there is a low, humming sound, something mimicking the patter of raindrops, as the warm southeast wind drifts through the trees; even the loneliness has an attraction," as so well expressed by Charles Torrey Simpson (1923).

...It's such a charming and magical statement. And now-a-days these vast boundless flat woods are unfortunately a thing of the past. Knowing this and doing more research of the Long-leaf Pine forest that once grew over much of Florida, and the Southeast United State, prompted me to plant a few of these trees at my parents house in Manatee County, FL. The trees I bought from Sweet Bay Nursery, in Parrish, FL, and I highly recommend them for finding a wide variety of Florida native plants, and great customer service.

Brown-headed Nuthatch - Sitta pusilla caniceps

Almost finished carving, just needs legs and feet. 

David K. Kramer 2019

Roseate Spoonbill chick Carving 120

For late spring and early summer I wanted to make a baby bird, and I've been wanting to make a hatchling of a wading bird such as an Ibis or Spoonbill.  More than a year ago I bought a cute antique metal basket that was painted pink, and I thought it would be cute to put a baby Roseate Spoonbill on a soft nest in that basket. Kind of an Easter idea originally or a gift for a child. Im not sure if I have the basket still, and moved to the idea of putting the chick carving in a natural nest and place it in a mangrove tree to replicate how Roseate Spoonbills nest. After I was finished with the carving I made the branch nest from branches of the invasive Brazilian Pepper tree. Here's a few photos of the finished piece. 

Hatchling Roseate Spoonbill, carving 120.

Made of basswood, a glass eye, and acrylic paint. 

David K. Kramer June 2019

Here is the Roseate Spoonbill carving in its Brazilian Peppertree nest. I added 

some dried seagrass and seaweed too, like some of the nest sometimes have.

Another shot of the Roseate Spoonbill hatchling. These birds really do look like dinosaurs in many ways. But while painting it, I really felt like it was a little scary in a dinosaur like way. 

Cape May Warbler Carving 119

Spring is in full swing! And its already HOT here in South Florida...
Last month was the Spring migration for most birds here, whether they spent the winter here or further south, they leave and head back north. One bird which spends its Winters in Carribean, and the very south tip of Florida, is the Cape May Warbler.  In late May a large wave of them along with other warblers, vireos, etc, pass through Florida; and the best part about it is they're in their bright spring plumage!! I was really happy to see a very bright male with dark rufous cheeks, much darker than I've seen before ...though it might have been the lighting. He was with a flock of 12 American Redstarts, and a few Northern Parula, at the Morikami Museam and Japanese Garden in Delray Beach, FL.  It's a great place for warblers because of the variety of trees, native plants, and water features. If you find a fruiting fig (Ficus sp.) around this time of year, you're sure to see a variety of birds eating the fruits or insects on the fruits. So after I saw this warbler I was really inspired to carve him.  I had been wanting to carve on for a while now too!

Me, at work, with the almost finished Cape May Warbler. I have always tried to make each of my birds true to size. I research measurements taken from banding birds and use them as a guide when carving. 

The Cape May Warbler is the first bird I've made with an accessory. This is the fruit of a Shortleaf Fig, Ficus citrifolia, made out of wire, wood, and painted with acrylic paint. 

The finished spring male Cape May Warbler, sitting on my faux bois table from Martha Stewart. 

The faux bois planters behind it are all planted with Florida native plants, that area native to the South Florida counties. 

Another view of the finished Cape May Warbler and ficus fruit. 

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your spring and a very safe and happy summer. 

Thanks for visiting!

Snowy Plover Carving 118, Part 2

Welcome! Last time we went on a field trip to Lovers Key State Park to look for Snowy Plovers.  I was so happy to find one, and decided it would be my next carving.


The Snowy Plover is resident here in Florida, but is usually just found along the Gulf Coast side. There are a few subspecies of Snowy Plover. Ours is sometimes referred to as the Cuban Snowy Plover, Charadrius nivosus tenuirostris. It is found along the Gulf Coast of Florida, some Caribbean Islands, Northern Yucatan Peninsula, and Northern Venezuela. It is paler above than the other subspecies, the Western Snowy Plover, in North America.

I always start by creating a template based on scientific measurements from specimens as close to the birds Im carving. So I had to find measurement from Florida birds. Usually these are in old books that record the measurements of the bill, wing, tail, tarsus, and toe, in millimeters (which is so helpful!)

Carving out the shape from a block of wood, and using the template as a guide. 

So its almost entirely shaped. this is where I will do more detail work and lots of sanding!

Fast forward, to after the bird was finished being painted. The construction of legs was a new thing for me. Usually I just use a dowel, and shape it a bit, but this time I made legs out of wire and wood. Its a very delicate process but it looks so much better! I painted the little mound of sand (made out of wood) to look like the sand at Lovers Key State Park. Also notice how it only has 3 toes; some shorebirds don't have a hind toe, such as the Sanderling!

 

A day at the beach! This is in Destin, Florida on the Florida Panhandle. The finished Snowy Plover with my hatchling Black Skimmer, and a Least Tern in the background. I did see quite a few Least Terns, and a nice amount of shorebirds, but no Snowy Plovers here. This was mid-May so some of the shorebirds were in breeding plumage, which was neat to see!