Just listen!
If you are looking for Monk Parakeets, the quickest way to find them is to drive along with your window open and listen. You will hear their raucous calls long before you ever see them. This week we were lucky enough to locate them in the parking lot of Bedner’s, the produce farm on the road into Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. They were mostly gathering twigs for their nest. I learned this week that they are one of only two species of parrots that build stick nests and nest in colonies. According to Cornell Labs All About Birds “A single nest structure typically contains up to 20 nest chambers, and in extreme cases can house more than 200 nests.” Although not native to Florida, they have established populations throughout the southern part of the state. I think they are super cute and very engaging.
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Although temperatures were back up in the 80’s this week, we still did a lot of birding. In addition to Loxahatchee, we visited Green Cay Wetlands and Fort Pierce Inlet State Park. Here are a few more pictures from this week around the ‘hood.
At Fort Pierce Inlet State Park the Spinner Sharks were putting on quite a show. Unlike dolphins, which are somewhat predictable, the sharks leaps are random and rapid. Despite Will’s patience, he was unable to capture one on “film”.
