After quite a trek, I am glad to say we have successfully made it back home from our Florida field trip. We ended up having to come home two days early due to the weather situation in the Midwest. Looking at the forecast, we noticed a big snow event that was planned for last Friday night thru Sunday morning and then another round coming in on the following Monday/Tuesday. Driving the RV through that is not enjoyable, especially when pulling another vehicle. As mentioned in the last post, we decided to try to get back between the white goal posts and opted to hard press it so we could get back by Sunday night. Big thanks to Linda who drove the entire way while I tried to navigate through the weather cells and hordes of holiday travelers. I would be feeling pretty great if I wasn’t staring down a new crown scheduled for tomorrow – damn I hate dental procedures ugh.
Anyway, we are home and we are officially in the last month of the year. In honor of the well-celebrated birthday towards the end of this month, we’ve declared it Baby Month where we are going to try and feature as many wildlife offspring we can find in our queues. To start us off we are going with a double feature.
Hit the jump to enjoy more shots of wild “babies”.
First we are going back to Dauphin Island along the coast of Alabama. We were there to catch the migration back in April 2023 – actually, guessing that goes without saying as I have found there is very little birding there outside of migration – seems to become quite a dead-zone for some reason until the birds start making their migration back across the Gulf. We began the day at Shell Mounds, an incredible place to start your birding if you have not been to the island before. Before leaving the area, I highly recommend going across the street (diagonally) from the official entrance where the sign is. There is another straight path through a denser grove of trees that tends to serve up the more secretive birds.
Be warned, this is not the best conditions for photography – limited light and thick vegetation, welcome to grain and frustration ha. On this particular day, Linda and Ron were with me as we were on the hunt for a Hooded Warbler. This was a perfect location for these particular Warblers as they prefer hunting the brush and understory. If you manage to get a clear line of sight on a Hooded you are having a really good day.
Assuming you already figured out our featured “baby” here is NOT a Hooded Warbler – in fact, not even close. This dude or dudette is closer to three times the size of an adult Hooded, already with a set of claws that could probably wrap around one of their throats. This is actually a member of the Mimidae family known as the Brown Thrasher.
We were walking along the trail when we noticed this fledgling sitting on a small branch somewhat in the open. At first I was thrown as to what it was, but then noticed the fine wisps of feathers and that feeling the bill is way too big for its body – more of a visual perspective as the pale “lips” seem to extend to the back of the eye which is a general clue to me that this one was still developing. As chicks mature, the feathering tends to fill that area below the eye which has an effect of pushing the bill forward. Of course, there is another good clue to the fledgling and that is the nonstop pointing at the open bill while repeatedly proclaiming “Mommy, put something right in there now!“.
We proceeded to take a large number of shots as I had never encountered a baby Brown Thrasher before, much less one so accommodating. After a few minutes I got the feeling we might be stressing this little tyke a bit much and more likely causing extreme concern for the parent. Took our closing shots, gave our thanks for its accommodations and said our goodbyes. About 20 steps later I looked back and sure enough, Mom had flown in to comfort and nourish its new ball of feathers. As a last look, take a gander at those claws again – well equipped with the tools, now just needs the tutelage to put it to good use
As mentioned, we are sparing no expense for you today and breaking with tradition to bring you a second “baby” sighting. Every time I come upon a new brood of Ducks I can’t help but think one thing “How the hell does any of these cuties survive to adulthood“. Admittedly, a bit morbid, but these Mottled Duck offspring face a double dose of danger – the standard one from above the water and the other from the perils of the deep.
This family was shot while visiting Sweetwater Wetlands Park in Gainesville, Florida. Yes, THAT Sweetwater from a previous post that is absolutely filled with dangerous reptiles. Note, this reminded me of the feeling I got taking pictures of baby Limpkins down the road at Paynes Prairie (link here). Felt like there was a good chance there was going to be one of these shots with a giant dark ‘V’ with teeth in it ready to chomp.
Fortunately, no such thing occurred …well, at least the entire 40 minutes I spent watching and shooting these adorable handfuls. Mom was ever watchful and clearly an old hat at this whole rearing thingy. Or possibly absolutely overconfident..eh, let’s stay positive.
I did note that Mom let the ducklings lead through the more obscured areas of the waterways, but when they made it to open waters she took the lead. Absolutely no idea if that was intentional or not, just something noted along the way.
She did have one big advantage, instead of just two eyes watching the waterline there were 18 of them with nearly every angle covered. Throughout the day I took note of every Hawk I came upon and secretly hoped they focused more on those “Gator Bait” Moorhens and Coots rather than those vulnerable adorables. Okay, you got me… I took a side which I’ve repeatedly said I try not to do…but look at them sigh.
Hope you enjoyed this kick-off to Baby Month. Take care and best wishes to our editor at our western headquarters – she is undergoing ankle surgery soon – trust me, I feel for her!
Wildlife Intrigued 
So many beautiful photos!! They are so cute, I’m glad you are all home safe, that winter storm is huge by the look of it on the weather channel. I have lots of needed dental work to get done and just started Medicare yesterday do its time to get to it December 8th. UHG!
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Thank you John – somehow we managed to trick Mother Nature and found a seam in that storm pattern. Got the temporary crown on today after 2 hrs of getting worked on. Get the permanent in 2 weeks and hopefully be done with the big stuff for a while. Looks like no peanut brittle for me this holiday season. Hope you are past your healing phase.
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Thanks! The scar is healing very fast but still feels odd. 😂
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Good to hear you are sealing up nicely. I like to refer to them as life tattoos. Suppose it will feel odd for some time, but the alternatives would likely be a lot worse.
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Thanks, and yeah so much worse. Heart attack and/or stroke. Scars can be beautiful… 👍🏻
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Minimally, they make for good ice-breakers at parties ha!
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Yes, some people notice it right away!
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I agree, many beautiful photos! All babies and fledgling are cute. Hope you continue to stay warm and safe.
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Thank you Takami! We always enjoy taking pictures of the newborns or recently fledged – like humans, their eyes are wide open trying to take in their new world. The furnace is on, the fireplace is a crackling and there’s hot chocolate brewing – we are good..although the temps are supposed to drop into the teens tonight (Fahrenheit) not sure the body is ready for that ha. Take care and thanks for dropping in.
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What a bunch of cuties. Excellent photos. I’m happy you made it home safely. Bruce’s brother had to navigate snow driving back to Nebraska on Sunday. The forecast is threatening snow here. I’ll believe it if it happens. It was 18º F this morning when Jake and I went out for our early morning walk. Jake had a couple of Christmas Story moments. He got his pee-shooter stuck on a frozen tumbleweed, and then he almost poked his eye out trying to lick his balls.
Dental work sucks big time. I feel for you. Better if it’s simply a crown and not a root canal. The last root canal I had, the OS burned his way through my tooth. The office was so full of smoke I thought it was going to set off the fire alarm. I think he needed a new set of drill bits. Cheap bastard.
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Suppose to hit into the teens tonight which will be a definite jolt to the body – good night to stay in and get the tree(s) trimmed. Jake is having a rough time of it – no male of any species wants a tumbleweed stuck to his p-shooter, that’s just wrong from every way. Luckily they were able to get the temporary crown on today without going the full root canal route. I remember that smell from a previous root canal I had done. A friend of mine has never had a single dental procedure done on him in his lifetime (just a year younger than me). He claims it is completely due to his obsession of chewing ice cubes. Regardless, I always told him you haven’t lived until you have had to suffer through one of those procedures – also told him I wanted to be at it when he does need one ha.
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Stay warm. Have fun with the trees. I know a few people who have perfect teeth, never touched by a dentist. The “never touched by a dentist” is probably why they have perfect teeth. I read that all the regular cleaning we got as kids scraped off the natural protection we have on our teeth, allowing us to get cavities, fillings, crowns, root canals, and implants. Dentists keep themselves in business.
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I never considered that before..same principle as all the anti-bacterial soap being used today.
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Nice pics. Family outings are always fun to see. And the cute guy in the branches is adorable.
The alternative to dental work is just foregoing chewing and pursuing liquid meals down the road. Tough choice. 🙈🙊🙉
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Okay Jerry, you convinced me to suffer through the crown today – the thought of a life of puree doesn’t sound that appealing ha. Get the permanent crown in two weeks and put this sordid ordeal behind me. Nothing like having to drill off an existing crown just to put another crown on. Worst part is no peanut brittle for me this holiday season and I am nearly addicted to that sticky stuff….hmmmm, wonder how that would taste in a blender… Thanks for coming by and best wishes for joyous holiday season as we head to Christmas.
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I also had to have a crown removed and a new one put in place. It was suggested an implant would be good, but triple the price, so I said I was good for the time being and would need to save up that job.
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Although we have dental plans through our former employer, the out of pocket price I had to pay just for this crown definitely made me flinch. Our dentist just got back from maternity leave – feels like I just jumpstarted that newborn’s college tuition.
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Thanks for the well wishes. I’ll give an update on her progress in the next few days. I share the wish that the cuties all make it to adulthood.
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Certainly – hoping she doesn’t have as an extensive degree of surgery as I needed, but even then, the rehab is going to take some time. Luckily she has her family to help her through it. Assuming you made you way safely from Dallas.
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Enjoyed these, fine photos!
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Thank you Belinda. I see you got a good dose of the white stuff there as well.
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Brian, how adorable! Thank you for this lovely post! 💕
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You are quite welcome Cheryl, glad you enjoyed them. If you are into the adorable wildlife “babies” you will likely enjoy a number of the upcoming posts as well. Take care and we enjoyed your fine state while we were down there last week – made it very tough to come back to the tundra of Illinois!
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Yes, it’s our nicest time of year here in Florida! Glad you enjoyed your visit. Maybe you will get a white Christmas! (but no blizzards!) 🎄
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I looked at the forecast it looks like our current 6+ inches of snow is going to be around for a while (new layers expected later this week). Based on that I am thinking we will have a white Christmas which I think will the the first in some time – we are keeping our fingers crossed no blizzards for sure. Take care!
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Those ducklings have done well they look a week or so old. Nature keeps it’s balance (it’s man that f**ks it up). They have big broods ‘cos the others become part of the food chain. Could you imagine if every duckling survived? You wouldn’t be able to walk for ducks!
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I think you are right B., would guess around a week in the new world as well. Based on their still rather large numbers I’d say they are well on their way to surviving the most dangerous part of their young lives. We’d be stepping on those Ducks like tribbles if there wasn’t some degree of wild culling. One reason I don’t mind all the hunters currently roaming around the park down the street, those Deer can be extremely destructive if not kept in check (something the city-slickers do not have to deal with ha). Appreciate you coming by and congratulations again on the marriage of your daughter!
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Cheers B. We have deer problems as well. However they have to be culled officially (you can’t go out hunting willy nilly in most of the UK) which often causes fury among those who only see Bambis not the damage they cause.
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We do have a tag process which controls the culling numbers – just so happens that the bow season starts in October and then the shotguns get a chance through roughly the second week of January. Our HQ is in “Big Buck” territory so everyone flocks out to us (and annoyingly way too many from out of state). Nothing like being woken up on an early weekend morning by a nearby “blast”. I’d be glad to put a bow on some of our Deer and have them shipped out to those complainers and see how long that opinion lasts.
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Babies are SO cute! Glad you are spending a little time featuring them, and cold snowy December is the perfect month to do it.
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Glad you are enjoying the series Sam. Still going through the queue to see what I have left to fit the theme, but based on the positive comments, clearly I need to work harder in the field to bring everyone more examples. Really depends on where we happen to be during the brood cycles – got pretty lucky with our time in Florida and Dauphin visit – need to get my butt going on the Texas and Arizona trips from the beginning of this year – so many pictures, so little time ha.
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