Punta Gorda with the Caloosa Bird Club

I'm a bit behind in posting and I guess my excuse is that I am now semi-retired and I don't have as much free time as I used to....but better late than never, right?

This outing took place this past Monday - Elaine, Libby and myself met up with the Caloosa Bird Club and set out to explore several different areas as we have in the past....come along and see.....

In the past, this particular trip usually takes place toward the end of December and since we found ourselves at the beginning of the month - we really had to look hard to find ducks.

Nevertheless, a trio of Lesser Scaup was a welcoming sight.

As was the three pairs of Hooded Mergansers.

Shortly after we found ourselves at the Ponce de Leon park - this Great Egret watched as we entered.....

then we had to get passed these Black Vultures...

this one gave us the 'go ahead'.

Ponce de Leon has this facility that holds several types of birds which have been injured and would not otherwise make it out in the world, we entered and delighted on many of the species. This particular Yellow-crowned Night Heron was not caged but seemed to enjoy hanging around.

Though I wondered if it was having a bad day.

Perhaps it didn't appreciate being compared to the Black-crowned Night Heron sitting in the background.

Then we made a visit to Olie's Pond where it seems to be customary to see the Black-bellied Whistling ducks.

I enjoyed the scenery from this angle with the reddish looking tree and the 'pink snow' flowers on the grass.

As we neared the end of the circle around the pond, I took some time to watch this Great Blue Heron amidst the creamy water lilies.

We also spotted a few Ring-necked Ducks and commented among ourselves with wonder as to why it is not called a Ring-billed Duck.

The find of the day was this Least Bittern which was quite a challenge to locate - see how well it blends in?

And as customary to our outings - we always go and have lunch while we do our bird list....however for some unfortunate reason we ended up missing our turn and found ourselves over the bridge....but fear not, our fearless driver found us a quaint spot along the water - we hoped that our group across the way saw us wave to them as we enjoyed our lunch while watching this Spotted Sandpiper along with the beautiful vista.

 

Telegraph Creek and Bob Janes Preserves

Elaine and I took a drive to North River Road today with the hopes of finding a few species that we haven't seen this year - a Towhee and a Turkey - some folks have reported them at this location so we are hopeful.

We were happy to see that boots were not needed and that the trail was well marked.

It did not take us long to find a pond that was just on the other side of the property boundaries, we were thrilled to find not one but....

three Wilson Snipe - our first of the season.

I don't know about you but if I could I would love to own this beautiful property.

Apparently the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks feel the same way.....

because they were everywhere.

Crows and Grackles were plentiful and it was nice to see them all share the space peacefully with the Red-shouldered Hawk.

It was peaceful for us too.

Once we reached the top of the loop we were greeted by an Eastern Phoebe.

The Telegraph Creek is along the edge of those two preserves, the water level was low and it was hardly moving.

As we headed back we couldn't help but notice some of the fauna and how different it looked from another angle.

The pasture along the edge of Bob Jane's preserve - the cows were far away but we still had to keep an eye where we were stepping.

Another look/see as we exited this parcel.

Yummm, some tasty looking mushrooms - but we'll pass on the tasting part.

We found a bench and sat for a few - admiring the peaceful view and wondering who erected these ropes and how they were accessed.

As the morning progressed more and more raptors were showing up - a Short-tailed Hawk is photographed here.

The Salt bushes were in full bloom and the seeds were joyfully blowing in the wind.

One of many Wood Storks flying overhead - heading for that beautiful pond, I'm sure. I wished we could spend more time especially since we hadn't found a Towhee or a Turkey but after walking 5.35 miles we were ready to wrap it up. Another great time being spent outdoors - we are blessed to be living in sunny Florida. My E-Bird List for today.

It's Caloosa Birding time!

I'm happy to report that this is the time of the year when the winter residents return, the birds and ducks are arriving - which also signify that the Caloosa Birding Club is resuming its activities. Today was the first day of the season and for our first outing we found ourselves at the.....

CREW - Bird Rookery Swamp which is located in Naples. This is a combination of dirt path, boardwalk and grassy path - come along and see what we saw this morning.....

One of our first sighting - a Yellow-belly Sapsucker

A lone Pied-billed Grebe was along the beginning of the path.

An Orange-crowned Warbler held the group's attention for quite some time - a bird not often seen and one that doesn't have any markings to speak of.

A lovely little Phoebe - I especially loved the way it sits and the color combination with the reeds/vegetation.

One of many gator babies that were seen along the boardwalk, unbeknownst to us the mama gator was under the boardwalk and she let us know by her roar to stay away from her babies.

One of many Red-shouldered Hawks that reside along the CREW.

This place is AWEsome and it's hard to give it justice with simple photos - it's something you'll need to experience yourself. By the way, the little sign that hangs on the left side of the photo is a warning not to take pets along the dirt/grassy path because of the gators.

We were blessed with many Swallowtail Butterflies that were feeding along the way.

The Bees were too.

Don't you just want to hit that trail? If you were to do the entire thing you'd be walking for 12 miles.

Our fearless and very knowledgeable leaders for the day: Jim and Cynthia. Thank you both for a great first trip!

A bright Yellow-throated Warbler, beautiful!

You know if there are gators, there's turtles too.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker in the Maple Trees.

A Yellow-throated Vireo, sweet! Within that vicinity we also saw the Blue-headed and White-eyed Vireo. Here's my submitted bird list from the CREW location
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32422666

After a bit we drove to Oil Well Road to see who is feeding in the flooded Tomato Fields - our first sighting were Green-winged Teals among the Blue-winged Teals which were surrounded by many Long-billed Dowitchers.

An American Widgeon.

A Northern Pintail

The concentration of ducks seen from the road.

In the corner and hardly visible was a family of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.

More ducks at front/center.....

Egrets, Herons and Spoonbills in the back - Raptors flying overhead would often cause a lift such as this.

The club members parked along the road and observing from a different point.

One of several Northern Harriers that we observed today, they practically have a buffet to choose from. Here is my submitted bird list for the Oil Well Road location http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32422667
Well, folks, this conclude today's outing with the Club - stay tuned, more to come in the very near future.