IN CASE YOU NOTICED THE BABY BIRDS - HERE'S THEIR STORY. THEY ARE CAROLINA WRENS.

Sometime in June, I was hanging sheets on the line. On my clothesline I had hung an old bedspread (my neighbor works at a thrift shop) that I folded and used for a dog bed. So I let it hang there until I need it after the fleas subside a bit.

I was holding the sheet in front of me when a little rusty bird flew between it and my knees and landed on the fence. It was a Carolina wren, blessed with a melodious song and cute ways. One of their habits is to nest in full site. I've had a nest in the pipe bumper of my old truck, in boxes in the shed, between electric conduits and the wall of a shed, in a pocket of an old pair of shorts. They even nested on top of a battery in my friend's car years ago, and one nested in a flower pot hanging on my porch. They creep around on tree bark looking for insects, and forage among the leaves. They are busy, pretty little things, not much bigger than a canary. Their song is powerful and can be heard all over the neighborhood.

The closest object was the bedspread. I noticed a little bulge in the third sewn section down and carefully ran my finger down the opening. There it was! The nest was poked deeply into a hole the cheap nylon batting. It was very skillfully made of Spanish moss, lichen, moss, the skeletal remains of a nasty, invasive vine called smilax, dog hair, bits of paper. Between the nest proper was a trail of Spanish moss that served as an entrance aid. There were three or four eggs, large for such small birds.

I stood at the sink or on the back steps watching for the parents. When I was sure they weren't around, I photographed the progress of the eggs. One day there were tiny, naked, blind babies in there. I didn't go back for a while. When I did, the one in front gave me the shot with the open mouth. "FEED ME!" It had grown so much, and covered with down.

The parents were so busy bringing food and removing large fecal capsules from the nest to keep it clean.

On July 4th, the day the photo at the top was taken, I was met at the entrance to the nest by this fledgling. It backed up and suddenly burst from the nest (you can see it was fully feathered). It landed by the fence and I tried to catch it to no avail. It hopped into the brush and vines in the wooded lot nextdoor.

I sat on the steps. I felt like I was responsible for the death of this baby. Almost immediately the two parents showed up, clung to the bedspread at the entrance and looked at each other. They were astounded - or at least surprised. The last baby wasn't there! In a second they were across the fence and leading the baby away into the woods.

The nest was empty!

All of them had fledged on Independence Day!

I hear the parents often now, but they are well protected by the blackberries and in the woods. They don't bring the babies out of there. I suspect they will come back again, welcome visitors to this little acre that sits across from Sleepy Creek.

THE BEACH THAT WAS AND MAY NEVER AGAIN BE...PENSACOLA AND THE WESTERN PANHANDLE OF FLORIDA

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What an otterly lovely day!

What an incredible few minutes I spent on the creek today. I had some leftover chicken scraps and took them over to the creek for the fish and the turtles. You can see by the photo above that it is much narrower because of the 45-day drawdown the county decided to do. It's so low that I'm not sure I can get the kayak in to get up the creek or down around the corner to get to Bear Creek.

I thought I saw a bass jump downstream to my left. Big circles. And then I saw small fish jump and suddenly, there was a head and shoulder and a tail gliding upstream - An otter! What a thrill on this dull, do-nothing day. Then I remembered the camera in my hand, and I shot three stills and this small video clip. The camera is a little point and shoot - my trusty W50. This time I was just too far to get a good video, though sometimes that little workhorse surprises me. I think if you click you can see this in a bigger format.

I have never seen one on the creek, though I've looked for slides and signs of them.

Watch as it approaches the lilypads and then swims around them. There's a bush above a light patch - watch around there - you'll see its ripple and then the head bobbing.

I told my neighbor who has the property two doors up and though he is on a hill, has a bulkhead, a gazebo and a dock, he never uses them. He was amazed. I hope he went down the yard and was able to watch for them if they passed.

What a lovely sight. The only other otters here I see are roadkills.

It wasn't as stunning as Montana, my favorite place in the world, with its wildlife just all over the place, but to see in full view, this small, secretive animal, which is endangered in every state but Florida for the first time in my lifetime, was absolutely phenomenal.

Note: While looking carefully at the three images last night in my editing program, the above image took me by surprise. You can see the one otter on the left, but to the right of it is another circle and the chevron pattern that indicates another otter. So there were a pair of them cruising up the channel!

INCOGNITO - THE MAGIC OF CAMOUFLAGE IN NATURE

I've been thinking about doing something about camouflage in nature. It's a small piece and perhaps it'll help a student with a project - something to think about, anyway. I'm especially proud of the photos but particularly the lynx spider (they are usually green) in the pink ironweed. She must have eaten the flowers to make herself (it's a "she") to make herself less conspicuous.

The Sisters -

A glimpse into the live of two Green Lynx Spiders.

Did you ever see a butterfly wake up?

This morning while I was out with the dogs I noticed two Gulf Fritillary butterflies hanging under leaves, wings folded, and pale. When they prepare for sleep, they fold their wings, drain their color, and squeeze their antennae together so that the clubs touch. This species resembles a leaf when they do it.

In the morning, they need to come up to flying temperature, so the first sunbeam that touches them, wakes them. They move to the tops of the leaves or stem so they can catch those rays. Otherwise, they wait if they are in the shade.

I went into the house and grabbed my trusty little Sony DW50, and here's what I got. A Gulf Fritillary (migrating now) with a large bird bite in one wing, slowly pumping iron in the sun.

Hope you like this. (Now I have to find out how to upload a video here. Sorry)

Nature astonishes me. There is always something to learn. Every day. By the way, the Gulf Fritillary at the top of this entry is the same species as the one waking up. Notice the difference in color when fully awake.

Guess it's time to show you some of my photography...

My friend (and chosen, intrepid cousin, Tim who is from Ireland - more about that later) took a look at my blog today and suggested I put links in to show you some of my photography. This makes sense to the dense! I forgot, talking about other things. I have thousands of images in my files, and they are available for stock photography, as well as individual orders. Contact me at inkslinger@bellsouth.net for pricing if you see something you like, or if you are local and would like me to come out and photograph you, your family or the members of your family who have hairy legs, scales or feathers.

4x6 images, unmatted, are available for $10.00.

You can view some of my work at www.jpgmag.com/people/maziel and www.thelensflare.com/u_may.php

Google lists some of my images that are in the files of other websites, such as the Bug Guide and Dalton State University, Entomology Department (Dr. James Adams).