Nature You'll see in November (11.2.09)

By: Cleo Robertson

November slips up on us because we’re so busy with Halloween we don’t see it coming. Or at least that’s true for me. November is also the month when snowbirds begin to arrive in flocks, turkeys start to fatten up, the weather is cooler and many days, glorious. We do live in paradise. Do get out and walk the shoreline. Not only are birds visiting for the winter, so you’ll see many new varieties (like the ring-billed seagull), but shells come up on shore, often in perfect shape. One year I found a 15” starfish that died and washed up. Other years, bright orange, baby horse conchs floated up on the seaweed. It’s also a good month to clean up the yard and plant bulbs for next year. In 1995 I planted hollyhocks, and much to my surprise they grew 4 feet tall and were gorgeous!

Loggerhead baby turtle found at the Point of Pass-a-Grille: Sometimes bad things happen even when everyone tries to do things right. Even with all the help our turtles get to make it to the shoreline, once in the water they are on their own. This little guy or gal didn’t go very far before it met its demise. We don’t know why it died.

Dolphins are teaching their young… Here’s a story I hope you’ll enjoy.

One day my friend April came to use my kayak (this was in November). She went down towards the end of Pass-a-Grille and was just pedaling along enjoying herself when all of a sudden she saw a fish fly through the air! She stopped immediately to see what was happening. All of a sudden a dolphin appeared, caught the fish (it was a mullet) and threw it to another dolphin. Three of them continued to bat around this dead fish while she and a fisherman looked on in amazement. This just goes to show you…it pays to hang out by the water and see what happens.

Something important to know: You’ve heard of dining etiquette, driving etiquette and cell etiquette. I want to talk about beach etiquette. All of us take to the beach as though it belongs to us and us alone. The fact is, however, animals, birds and fish share the beach and all its components—shoreline, dunes, sandbars, etc.—with us. They were here first and they need the beach, whereas we just go to enjoy it. Here are a few pointers that will help you enjoy the beach more and especially help the birds that have a lot of pressure on them as they share the beach with us.

 

•When you are walking on the beach and see a bunch of birds ahead of you, walk around them (instead of through them)—it is just plain considerate. Birds congregate to eat and share communal time. When you walk right through them as they feed at shore’s edge, it’s like asking you to get up while you’re eating so I can sit in your chair awhile! What they are doing is digging up crustaceans, aquatic worms, coquinas, small crabs and other food. A simple gesture like walking around a flock, leaving them to dine in peace, keeps their blood pressure down and they spend more time eating than squawking and flying around, distressed.
• The dunes are, of course, off limits. Besides being important to hold back water during storms, the dunes are home to many crabs, birds and other shoreline creatures. The one exception I make is if I see plastic bags, bottles or other human debris near the edge of the dunes. I will pick them out carefully and throw them in the garbage cans. Not only are these items unsightly, but also they can get entangled with animals and cause serious injury. I try to remind myself that all litter is not intentional—cups fly off of boats, toys fall from cars, and paper plates take to the air. So pick up litter as your part of sharing the beach with the wildlife.

There are other things we can do to be courteous on the beach—don’t play radios loudly, allow some space between your blanket and the next person’s, and when you shake your blanket out at the end of your stay, do it away from anyone around you so you don’t cover them with sand. These are just a few simple rules that make visiting the beach fun for all.

Fun things to know:

• Over fifty species of baitfish exist worldwide, at least two dozen in Florida. Baitfish range from the 4” anchovy (which is the most abundant in state estuaries) to the yard-long ladyfish, a relative of the mighty tarpon.
• Thread herring migrating from North Carolina to Florida were estimated to travel at the rate of six to seven miles per day.
• The study of the stomach contents of Spanish mackerel revealed that 76% of all fish examined had eaten nothing but baitfish, especially sardines.
• When I watched a fisherman slice open the stomach of a King Mackerel one day, out popped the biggest seahorse I had ever seen! I still have it.

Managing jellyfish stings: The moon jellyfish washes up on shore during October and November. Hopefully, that’s where you see it…on the shore. I was swimming with a friend and he suddenly complained of stinging on his leg. I could see a large area that was inflamed but he said it wasn’t that bad and we went on swimming. On our way back up the coast, I almost ran smack-dab into a good 12” one being pushed along by the tide. The only things you can really see are the female or male reproductive organs. We put meat tenderizer on the sting when we got home, and the pain was gone in minutes. It’s a very good idea to keep a bottle of this miracle sting-reliever in your beach bag. Whether it’s a jellyfish or bee sting, making a little paste and covering the spot helps enormously immediately.

Monarch butterflies are coming to visit again: In November usually, the Monarch butterflies fly to the mountains west of Mexico City near the town of Angangueo, where they inhabit several sanctuaries on the southwest slopes of the mountains. On their flight south in the winter, they often come through our area looking for milkweed, the only plant they can feed on before going into chrysalis. If you haven’t planted any, please stick a plant or two in your yard somewhere…last November, I had over 20 caterpillars eating the milkweed plant down to the ground. It is great fun to watch them birth, first one thin, wet little leg breaking through the chrysalis, followed by the whole body over a period of 20 minutes. They love colors such as red pintas and yellow lantanas and of course, any butterfly bush.

Birds to watch for: This is the month when the White Pelicans arrive to winter over, a “true snowbird.” These lovely birds have an average wingspan of about 10’ and are the second-largest bird in North America, after the California condor. They spend the summer mostly in Montana and Utah, but come winter you can find them on the mouth of the Alafia River in Tampa Bay, Fort DeSoto Park in Pinellas County, often in Boca Ciega Bay and in the town of Flamingo in the Everglades National Park where they can always be observed.
These birds are different from their brown brethren in that they don’t dive for their food. They fish in large groups, herding fish toward the shore where they use their pouches like fishnets and scoop up their dinner. So keep your eyes out and see if you can see these wonderful visitors. Also watch for the Wood Storks, which are along the Bayway near the tollbooth on the right going west towards the Don Ce Sar or flying overhead in great flocks. These are big white birds with black flight wings and a big vulture-like head and beak (in the family with Ibis). They’re great fun to see do their dance of community and mating.

Plants to watch for: People say we have no seasons here in Florida, but I beg to differ. If you watch my yard, you’ll know better. In November the Hong Kong Orchid tree blooms, covering so much of the tree that you can’t see one limb. Purple orchids will dress this tree up all the way to May. Now is also when you’ll see lots of petunias out and of course the fruit trees are getting ready to bear. If you catch the whiff of a sweet, sensuous smell in the air it just might be the King Sago or Cabbage Palm, which has a delicious scent when it is bearing fruit. In fact, the air is virtually alive with smells in November so keep your nose open!

My papaya tree is still giving me one big fruit every one to two weeks, and I have seen grapefruit trees getting laden with lots of fruit. Just keep watch so the fruit rats don’t get your fruit before you do.

That’s November and here’s hoping you enjoy every moment. The older I get the faster time seems to go so I’m learning that I better get out and enjoy myself today…tomorrow? Well, who knows? Practicing being in the here and now on our beach is lots of fun and nature will reward you every time for taking the time to look.

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