MIXED MESSAGES
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As with most weather-related
phenomena, the transition from fall to winter in Florida is completely unlike
anything I'd experienced in more temperate areas. While the avifauna has pretty much
equilibrated at typical winter composition by December, the flora is still in a state of
flux. The first hard freeze didn't occur until late December this year, and early in
the month there was little hint of dormancy or decrepitude among the plants of the
marsh. For a couple of weeks, some areas of marsh were awash in yellow from dense
flowering stands of Bidens aristosa (above right). Even most of the trees still
had their leaves, with relatively little change in color. The shots above were taken
before the first cold snap, the one on the left just after. The
grasses have completely browned out, giving the place a very fleeting
wintery feel. |
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Hammock habitats and edges,
especially in the wetter areas along canals, showed a bit more seasonal change, but it was
still subtle. We do have colorful fall/winter foliage in Florida,
but it happens on an extended time scale. You just have to look a little harder
in just the right places.
On the right is Haines Creek in early winter, where most of the hackberries and red
maples have dropped their leaves. |
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Changes in activity patterns
among the fauna are a little more evident. Although gators can be seen throughout
the winter on warmer, sunny days, they are becoming far less apparent, and will remain so
until late February or March when spring begins to kick into high gear. Some groups
of birds, such as the raptors, are continuing to shift in composition even into early
winter, after most of the other groups of birds have become fairly stable and predictable
in occurrance. |
Red-tailed hawks (above left) are
more and more apparent through December, usually hunting from conspicuous
perches at the edges of the dikes, marshes, or hammocks. Bald eagles also
become more frequent, including both adults and juveniles (above right).
Maybe one of the most telling observations
about winter's weak grip on Florida and it's birds comes from the other common Buteo
of Emeralda, the red-shouldered hawk. Even as the red-tails and bald eagles (which
have already begun nesting) are altering their home ranges in an apparent seasonal shift,
the red-shouldered hawks are acting as if spring is already here. By late December,
they are frequently seen perched in pairs, or flying together screaming at each
other. One can only surmise that love is in the air.
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