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Tag: herons

Nature’s Reflections-Florida’s Cattle Egret

The Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), native to Africa and Asia, is believed to have traveled across the Atlantic to South America in the late 1800s. From there, it migrated north to the US in the early 1940s. Over the next fifty years, it became one of the most prolific herons in all of North America. Today it is found in almost every state and on every continent except Antarctica. It is a year round resident of Florida.

 

The Cattle Egret generally lives in pastures and wetlands. During the breeding season, it seeks out woods near water, but generally remains far away from water. This small white heron is commonly seen in groups along roadsides and in pastures as constant companions to cattle. Often it is seen perched on the backs of cattle where it gobbles up the bugs, ticks and other parasites that plague livestock – their diet benefits cattle, ranchers, farmers and themselves. It is an opportunistic feeder and will travel great distances to follow a tractor plowing, or mowing a field to catch grasshoppers, crickets, spiders and moths that are stirred up by farm machinery.

Florida's cattle egret profile

 

Both male and female are similar in appearance, standing eighteen to twenty-two inches tall with a three-foot wingspan. Coloration is generally white with a yellow bill and dark green legs. Breeding age begins at two to three years of age. During its twenty-day courtship, the bill and legs of breeding egrets turn a vivid red and display orange-buff colored plumes on the head and back. Non-breeding egrets remain white.

 

Cattle Egrets form colonies and prefer to roost and nest in trees near water. Males establish and defend a territory while the female lays two to six light blue-green eggs in a shallow, platform-like nest of twigs. Both parents incubate the eggs for twenty-one to twenty-four days. Down-covered young have dark legs and a black bill. The young leave the nest about three weeks after hatching and are on their own at six weeks.

Flock of cattle egret

 

In captivity the Cattle Egret has been known to live more than ten years – lifespan in the wild is unknown.

 

Column and photo by Sandi Staton

Nature’s Reflections – Florida’s Scenic Dora Canal

Mile-long canal connects Lakes Eustis and Dora

 

The Dora Canal, originally known as the Elfin River, was once home to the Timucuan Indians, followed by French, Spanish and British settlers. In the late 1800s the waterway was dredged out and widened to accommodate easier passage of small steamboats and subsequently became known as the Dora Canal.

 

This scenic passage is a one-and-a-quarter mile-long waterway located in Lake County. It connects Lake Dora and Lake Eustis and is part of the Harris Chain of Lakes – nine lakes connected by streams and canals that extend north to the Ocklawaha River. Many of the county’s 1,000 lakes, with connecting canals, are part of the Ocklawaha Chain of Lakes. In the 1800s, steamboats, were vital to the area before the arrival of the railroad. The scenic Dora Canal connects the six-mile-long Lake Dora with other lakes leading to the St. John’s River, Jacksonville, and Atlantic Ocean.

 

This pristine, jungle-like waterway is part of a large wetland swamp, fed by underground springs and abundant rainfall. Its beautiful, stately old Bald Cypress trees draped with Spanish moss provide a picturesque canopy for the abundant flora and fauna below. During winter months, the cypress, although conifers, lose their leaves. The canal is different in the summer when the foliage is full.

 

SECO News December 2016, Nature’s Reflections – Florida’s Scenic Dora Canal 02

 

The opportunity to see wildlife in this sanctuary makes it a favorite location to observe many creatures in their natural habitat. A plethora of wading birds, herons, egrets, anhinga, wood ducks, ospreys, eagles, otters, alligators, turtles, snakes and fish are commonly seen here. The canal provides great subjects for photography, or an opportunity for a peaceful, quiet and enjoyable ride.

 

In 1951, the Dora Canal location was used to reshoot some of the river scenes in the now-classic movie, African Queen, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. Although it had been originally filmed in Africa, the Dora Canal was selected for the retakes because, other than a few residences at the southern end of the canal, it looks much like a wild river running through an uninhabited jungle.

 

Column & photo by: Sandi Staton