Mine!

The second part of my southward migration involved traveling a bit farther south and a long way east -- all the way to the Atlantic coast of Florida.  Due to a surprise victory over jet-lag, I got up early enough on my first full day back in Florida to watch the sun rise over the ocean.  At that hour, the beach was nearly deserted except for sea gulls scavenging for breakfast.

A ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) investigates an apple on the beach.

The most coveted prize to wash up on the shore was a large green apple.  Soon after it was discovered by one gull, more gulls began to arrive, all showing a keen interest in the apple.

A younger ring-billed gull drives off the first gull.

However, the apple posed two problems: it rolled away when pecked and it was too heavy to carry off.  Therefore, it was difficult for any one gull to monopolize the apple for long.  The more determined gulls were forced to switch continually between taking guarded pecks at the apple, dodging incoming waves, and chasing off any rivals that got too close.

The gull aggressively defends the apple as it is moved about by the surf.

This flower isn't big enough for both of us

Even when there isn't a crab spider lurking in ambush, a flower can be a rough spot for a bee.  Nectar and pollen are often in short supply and competition for these limited resources can be intense.  Bees start foraging very early in the morning (as long as it is warm and clear), but this is not enough.  Once a bee finds a rewarding flower, it must defend against newcomers that would poach its hard-sought prize.

Two bumble bees (Bombus spp.) competing for space on a flower kick at each other.

The coneflower (Echinacea sp.) pictured above wasn't big enough for the two bumble bees (Bombus spp.), which kicked out at each other until one abandoned the flower.  To see the full action of another bumble bee kick-boxing match, watch the video below.

* To see this video in high definition (1080p), you may need to (1) click "YouTube" to watch on the YouTube website and (2) change the settings at the bottom of the video screen.