Today was my Caloosa Bird Trip day - Yeah! And double Yeah because my friends, Carol and John, are back into town and we get to go birding together.
Today's trip took us to Collier Co - in Marco Island. Our first bird of the day was the Burrowing Owls - 2 young ones .... the telltale, which I've just learned, was the very dark eyes.
Then we made our way to the Tiger Tail Beach area to meet up with the group. As the fog burned off - the temperature warmed up and the sun made it a nice pleasing experience. So, after paying our dues for parking, we made our way onto the beach/mud flats area.
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| A beautiful Prairie Warbler greeted us, thank you. |
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| Since we were in a beach setting - we got to see many species of plovers, Dunlins, Red Knots, Short Billed Dowitchers, Least and Western Sandpipers and many more.... |
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| Our group - getting ready for some eye candy. |
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| Off the beaten path - or should I say - off the mucky path and unto some dry land while we made our way further down the beach. I loved the effect of the vegetation when I turned around to look back - the dew from the fog still clinging to the wispy soft blades. |
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| Back on the beach area - looking at some Roseate Spoonbills - here we can see the different stages/age of the spoonbills....the young ones being the palest pink and the older ones being the brightest with crimson, yellow and orange too. |
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| Here you can see the yellow by the shoulders, the orange is in the tail area. |
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| The Pelican....a cool cat, is watching the Red-breasted Merganser showing off. |
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| Any Question? |
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| I just love their expressions. |
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| A young Roseate. |
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| As we made our way off the beach - a Palm Warbler came to wave us on. |
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| A beautiful sign - wish there were more of them around.....education is key. |
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| We gathered up into our cars and made our way down to Mackle Park. We walked a bit and spent some time under the oak trees looking at warblers. A short time later we were treated to a beautiful show of Magnificent Frigate Birds drinking/bathing from the pond....we were all mesmerized. |
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| My pictures does not do them justice - the show was really spectacular. After that it was lunch time....we made our tally of species for the day and voted on the Magnificent Frigatebird as the bird of the day. |
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| So, off we went in John and Carol's car and voted on trying to find that Canada Goose we had heard about which apparently is hanging around this Island Country Club in Marco Island. We circled the Golf Course area a few times, hailed a worker down and asked him if he knew about it....sure enough, he knew exactly where it hangs out....so again we search. Now, look at those palm trees and to the left of that little sandy island.... |
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| A Canada Goose hanging around in Florida under Palm Trees with a Muscovy Duck! |
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| They seemed to be hanging together and be the best of buddies. |
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| The Muscovy took off and the Canada Goose followed.... |
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| "Wait for me" |
So, how about that! If you had told me that I was going to see a Canada Goose in S.W. Florida....I would not have believed you....but again....there is a Snowy Owl hanging out in Florida too....so, there you have it....the norm is over-rated.
Your Magnificent Frigatebird and Canada Goose observations are remarkable. Well done, France.
ReplyDeleteBy the looks of your pictures you had a really great day. Good for you. Looking at the pictures of the Roseate Spoonbill I find it very interesting seeing the different colors as they are maturing. The Canada Goose stopped by for a visit with you since you have not been back to Montreal lately. The Frigate birds are awesome to watch.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post. You captured our day together with the club perfectly. It was so much fun to find the Canada Goose. We are looking forward to many more birding trips with you. Thanks again for sponsoring us.
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