Rose Mallow Season and Their Special Bee!

In Pavilion Park in Cape May Point, there is a simple dirt basketball court.

The ground is compacted, but loose and sandy enough for ground nesting bees to dig down and make homes for themselves.

And that is exactly what has happened! 

There are 50 - 100 holes, with bees flying, circling, 

digging and diving down.

Who are these bees? 

Why are they here?

After several calls, in an attempt to preserve their nesting site, I spoke with the naturalist from Cape May Point State Park, and he informed me that they are Rose Mallow Bees or Ptilothrix bombiformis.

They are solitary females, each creating their own nest, but in aggregate. The nests are not connected. Each bee provisions her own nest with pollen and nectar from just ONE type of plant, the Hibiscus, as they are specialist bees.

They are lazy bees and are cleptolectic, attempting to steal nesting sites of neighboring bees, which are typical of their Tribe Emphorini as mentioned in a published paper from Brazil: http://www.sea-entomologia.org/Publicaciones/PDF/BOLN45/281_288BSEA45Ptilothrix.pdf.

Here are 2 fighting over a hole:

They look like bumble bees, but they are not. They have a stout body, dense black hair, a yellow thorax and dark black abdomen with large folded wings, when not in flight. They also have prominent longer, hairier legs. Importantly, they do NOT sting!

They have a short life cycle, lasting about as long as the rose mallows' blooming period, from July to September. Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos), a native species to NJ, is a wetlands plant, with a 5 petaled colorful flower head and a spectacular sight to see in bloom.

I'm curious if this bee, also will feed from other Hibiscus varieties, such as Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) and other Mallow varieties as listed here: (http://capemaywildlife.com/_templates/group_mallows.html) in the Cape May Point area or beyond?

For more information about these curious bees, visit the site: http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/rosemallowbee.shtml

I hope the site will be protected, during their active season. I spoke with the Commissioner of Public Works at the Point, Robert Mullock, who knew about them, and who was happy to know I wasn't calling to ask to have them exterminated. I hope the area will be roped off and some signage will be installed to inform curious onlookers of this interesting bee.

Windy Winter Visit to Forsythe NWR

The weekend of January 30th was a productive and exciting birding weekend. Traveling up to Forsyth, using the new and improved exit 41 from the Garden State Parkway, with windy, cold, but sunny weather, we saw many birds, including:

Black Duck - 100+

Snow Goose - 400+

Northern Pintail - 50+

Black Scoter - 30+

Bufflehead - 2 pairs

Hooded Meganser -  4 pairs

American Wigeon - 10 Pairs

To top off the slow exit from the park, perched on an osprey nest, was a proud juvenile Bald Eagle.

The photos are poor overall, due to the windy conditions, but I wanted to document some firsts for me including the Buffleheads, Hooded Megansers, the Immature Bald Eagle and the American Wigeons.

The following day, with temperatures in the mid 50s and sunny, driving past Lake Lilly in Cape May Point, we saw flying overhead a stunning mature Bald Eagle. Over at the state park, there were numerous Yellow-rumped Warblers,

Gadwals, Black ducks, Mallards, and a Mockingbird.

Off the dune trail, a pair of Northern shovelers were oblivious to our presence as they did a mating dance/ swim.

The pair circled and circled, barely coming up for air, creating large round ripples, as seen above.

Winter Sunset

 This sunset, from a week ago, started out very subdued, 

 we waited for more . . .

then it grew in intensity, casting light onto the surrounding clouds,

 then reached it's peak 

 and slowly dissipated 

and the light disappeared into night.

Truly awe-inspiring! 

Spectacular Day's End!

All this in less than an hour - 

Enjoy!

Captured moments through the seasons

2 bluebirds from a flock of 50+

cape may view on a chilly early spring day

mute swans in formation

green horseshoe crab eggs 

spring flowers

 dog walker

black bellied plover antics

dramatic sunset

 summer end's noisy cicada 

monarch population rebounds

autumn seeds

sunset silhoutte

  evening sky canvas

glorious camellia flowers

The Point's Owlet!

Great Horned Owls start nesting in January and February and lay 2 to 4 dull white eggs in a borrowed nest of another raptor, such as a hawk or crow. Incubation lasts between 26 and 35 days, done by the mother, while the male feeds her and then the owlets for a couple of weeks after they have hatched. After the babies have their second set of down feathers, the male and female hunt and feed the babies together for up to 3 months, while the owlets grow very quickly and eat ravenously. They stay together as a loosely knit family through the summer, until autumn, when the juveniles disperse. The mated pair will remain in the same territory up to 8 years.

Here at the Point, a Great Horned Owl with nest and babies was reported over near Lake Lilly.  On the way, I spotted 2 birders and they led me to the special vantage point to get a glimpse. I came back in late afternoon, when the lighting was better, to take these photos:

I was surprised by the small nest size. Apparently, there had been 2 owlets, but now only one remains. The mother and baby can barely fit in the nest as it is. The owlet is covered in white fluffy down with a dark predominant beak. The mother is stoic and keeps a close watch on us.

Owlets start roaming onto nearby branches after 6-7 weeks even though they still are covered in down.  They are called "branchers" at this stage, but can't really fly until 9+ weeks. 

Here, the owlet tries out his quickly growing wings, teetering precariously on the edge of the nest, but  perhaps, almost ready to move beyond the nest. 

I stopped by again this morning for a quick peek and the owlet was tucked under the mother, shielded from the chilly wind, with only its tail visible. I guess, it decided to stay close for another day.

Sources: 

http://birdnote.org/bird/great-horned-owl-bubo-virginianus; 

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/great_hornedowl/lifehistory

http://www.internationalowlcenter.org

http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Bubo&species=virginianus

Birding Lists and Journals

Being a frequent visitor to Cape May, it is high time to start keeping track of all the birds I see. Where to start?  I bought a ABA Area Trip List at the Cape May Bird Observatory to first record all the birds I have ever seen. 

I would like a more permanent journal, but this is a start.  My list includes a rather meager number of only 130 species.

The 7.7 downloadable version for September 2014 of the ABA Birding Checklist can be found at this site and includes 987 species:  http://listing.aba.org/aba-checklist/. 

My goal is to increase my knowledge by participating in more birding classes in PA and NJ. I bought a Rite in the Rain All Weather Birder's Journal with a corresponding pen to use during these walks and classes and to keep track of what I see. 

I like what these blogs suggest for keeping a birding journal, such as:

a. Include the species name, habitat, weather, date, appearance, behavior, vocalizations, and flock size. 

b. Include a quick sketch. 

c. Note the color and size of the beak, the eyes, legs and feet.

http://birding.about.com/od/birdingbasics/a/How-To-Keep-A-Birding-Journal.htm

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/solve/howto/journal.php

The folks at 10,000 Birds Blog have an excellent post about why to keep birding lists: http://10000birds.com/birdlist.  I like how they have a digital running list for their life list and yearly list.

My goal is to at least double my number by the end of the year and keep a yearly list. I want to focus on shorebirds, gulls, warblers and sparrows.