Oil Well Road and Corkscrew Swamp with the Caloosa Bird Club

Guess what day is today? If you answered Monday or Caloosa Bird Club day - you are correct and win on both counts.

We got up at 4 to get to our first destination at 6:30a.m. to witness the ducks waking up and some of the waders taking off for the day.

Check this out! How many ducks do you see?

This is only a very small portion of what was happening - species were seen all over - good thing we had many eyes on the scopes.

Several times we watched the birds/ducks being displaced by Northern Harrier and Bald Eagle flying overhead - it is just amazing to watch the ducks fly in unison and to hear the wings is just breathtaking. I did a whole lot of bird watching today as you'll see from my E-bird list for this location - I highly recommend a stop before the pond dries up or gets drained (whichever comes first) for tomato planting - very soon.

 

An hour later we made our way to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary - one of our first greeters for the day ..... a Mourning Dove

and a handful of American Robins - they are finally here and it is nice to see them again.

There were also a pair of Deers eating their fill and blending in quite nicely with their surrounding.

We take our birding very seriously and willing to suffer from neck stiffness in the process.

The Wood Storks we saw along the boardwalk...ummm.

This place is so beautiful and photos never do it justice - this is one of those places where you have to be there to know what it's all about.

A Limpkin drew a nice crowd - he quickly went down and started catching apple snails - his favorite food.

A Downy Woodpecker - my last photo for today. Check my E-Bird List for the Corkscrew - a very nice day of bird watching indeed.

 

Visiting Corkscrew with the Caloosa Bird Club

I used to hate Mondays because they used to signify that the weekend was over and that it was time to go back to work. Now it's a whole different ball game and Monday has become my favorite day of the week and today was no exception. Our destination today: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, Fl.

We started on the boardwalk - amidst the forest of Pines, Cypress, Palms etc and immediately our ears were filled with bird symphony - this is where "warbler neck" term probably originated because you spend an incredible amount of time looking to the tree top to watch the warblers....once in a while another type will present itself, such as.....

a Barred Owl - collecting some juicy tidbit to take back to its nest - we enjoyed watching it fly in between branches with total silence.

We made our way to the "Lettuce Lake" and enjoyed watching some slower birds....such as this Great Egret and...

many Black-crowned Night Herons - an adult is photographed here.

A Little Blue Heron.

A Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron - one of the sure tell tale is the yellow lower mandible.

A beautiful plume in the "Lettuce Lake" - note the tiny spider on it.

Here was our surprise for the day:

A White-eyed Vireo with its nest.

A young Wood Stork - notice the soft hair on its head still.

A Black-crowned Night Heron sleeping soundly.

A Carolina Wren checking us out.

More spiders.

and another....this one becoming a rainbow within the forest.

A Great Egret being "King" for the moment.

A wild yellow orchid in bloom.

A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - a male (red throat)...check the bark with the sapsucker's holes.

An Iris growing along the boardwalk.

A lizard taking it easy.

A sunflower with a tiny spider in the middle.

And a Catbird - one of many that we saw and heard today, soon they will leave and return north to mate.

 

 A great day in a great surrounding - much to see and enjoy. My E-Bird list for today with 56 species.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Monday morning = Caloosa Bird Club gathering and today we met at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. We were blessed with comfortable breezy weather and swell company.

Our first sighting this morning was a bunch of Brown-headed Cowbirds mixed in with the pine cones - spotted....you guessed it.....in the parking lot.

Then we checked out the bird feeders and sure enough the Painted Buntings were around - what a nice burst of color!

Then, the star of the day, a Barred Owl....

I kept hoping that he would belt out his "Who Cooks for You?" but he chose to remain silent.

The Carolina Wren on the other end were quite vocal throughout our journey in the sanctuary.

A young Yellow-crowned Night Heron

And a Black-crowned Night heron - not quite so young and not quite adult yet.

Several Anhingas were seen too and some were sitting on nests.

The teenager Black-crowned Night Heron

Don't you just love this place? It makes you want to follow that path with great anticipation for the surprises that waits for you.

The Great Egret with its breeding colors - check the green lore!

Cedar Waxwings were above us - hard to see but the silhouette is a sure giveaway.

The third Barred Owl - what a special day this is turning out to be.

He's ready for some peace and quiet.

A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

A Red-Shouldered Hawk sitting on his nest.

The cherry on top - an Indigo Bunting

Our fearless leader for the day - Thank you Arthur. A great variety and a fun morning. My E-Bird List for today http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S17482664 with 46 species.