They, too, wander through the neighborhoods, the flocks sleeping in trees at night. They then quickly grab their prey and eat their catch whole. If they're in shallow water, they'll move their long, downward pointed beak side-to-side until they touch a shrimp, crab, worm, small snake or minnow. Unlike the egret, the American white ibis have extremely long, curved beaks and use them to poke into lawns looking for grubs, worms, snails, frogs and toads.
One of the most interesting to me has been the American white ibis, a member of the heron family that I originally believed was an egret. I’ve also seen small blue herons, graceful white egrets, extremely noisy cormorants, hawks, crows and small birds of many species which visit the canal at various times of the day - some noisily proclaiming that the day has begun before sunrise. In my opinion, the best thing about them is that they eat insects. They travel in flocks, waddling slowly across lawns, slowing or stopping traffic on streets in their daily search for food. The Muscovy ducks are everywhere - especially after it rains. They sleep in the trees close to the water and have become a nuisance to Floridians because they eat valuable vegetation. They then stay in that spot often for hours at a time before moving. The iguanas move slowly through the coarse grass finding the perfect spot to rest in the sun. It attracts all manner of birds, waterfowl, iguanas and, as one neighbor reported this week, an alligator (which thankfully I have not seen). One source of pleasure has always been the canal that runs through my mom’s backyard. Since this will likely be my last visit to this area, I decided to try to enjoy some of the vegetation and wildlife here. I don’t know what my yard looks like after the severe winds and rain of the Nor'easter, but I’m sure I’ll have a good deal of cleanup when I get back. But the humidity has also been uncomfortably high and one day was truly ugly with significant winds and prolonged rain. Typically, the showers last only a short time and then the sun comes out, quickly drying most surfaces. But it’s different from most of the rainy days at home. This past week has produced significant rain. While everyone back home was living through the recent Nor’easter, I’m ashamed to say that I’ve been here in southern Florida complaining of the unseasonably hot, humid weather while running errands and helping my mom pack up her home of 40-plus years.