Caracara Photo shoot

Elaine and I joined the Caloosa Bird Club this morning - the meeting place was at the Gator Hole. None of us could say for sure why it was called Gator Hole because there are no gators at that preserve, nor is there any water hole to speak of. This little spot can be quite a gem to visit and if you have the place to yourself it's nirvana.

In any event, today's highlight was the sighting of a Crested Caracara that appeared on the edge of the property and gave us good looks while it savored its road kill. I hope you'll enjoy seeing this bird as much as I did.

It was quite entertaining to watch it as it would gather pieces of meat and how it would retreat from the edge of the road when a car would zoom by - only to regroup and gather more meat.

I just noticed the blue color in its tail feathers and how it matches with its lower bill - nature is just perfect in every way!

Soon most of the meat was gathered and it flew off with the carcass dangling from its talons. A good sighting today for me and a good meal for the crested Caracara.

Harn's Marsh with the Caloosa Bird Club

Today turned out to be one of those Florida days - perfectly blue sky and warm sunshine - the type of days that is usually associated with Florida. We left early to arrive at Harn's Marsh with the sunrise, many bird folks beat us to it.

Come along and see some of the highlights of the day....

If I had embedded sound within this photo you would have heard the Limpkins calling.

This one was busy looking for apple snails.

A Tern whizzed on by several times - the sun hitting the bill and making it look like a Royal Tern but with closer study it was obvious that we were looking at a Caspian Tern - a bit bigger with a brighter 'reddish' bill.

Several coots, grebes and ducks were observed - these Ring-necked were particularly sharp looking.

In the distance, a pair of Sandhill Cranes were busy getting their nest in order.

A scope provided us with the perfect tool to observed them without disturbing them.

A Gray-headed Swamphen - aka Purple Swamphen - was in front of us playing peek-a-boo within the reeds. This Swamphen resembles a huge Purple Gallinule  with a reddish bill, frontal shield, iris and legs.

I wish I had a better photo to show you the difference between this Purple Gallinule and the Gray-headed Swamphen - however if you look closely you can see one of the difference being the legs and toes are bright yellow

One of several Savannah Sparrows.

American Wigeon in flight

Some happy yellow flowers - well, at least, that's how it makes me feel.

A Crested Caracara - one of my favorites.

More Sandhill Cranes - several were seen through the 4 mile loop - I never tire of watching them.....a great time for all. My E-Bird List for today.

 

Viera Wetlands & Click Ponds

Our last day along this coast - there is much in the plans for today and plenty to see - after layering up we headed off. While waiting for the light to change we watched with glee a Caracara eat his breakfast.

Picture was taken in an idling car and from the back center seat where my view was extremely limited.

We arrived at our first destination and were greeted by a pair of Great Blue Heron, from the look of it - they are sporting their bright and beautiful breeding plumage.

I was happy to see a Savannah Sparrow - I like these guys and I don't get to see them very often.

A Wilson Snipe was tucked in and staying warm.

Some of the roads that we didn't get to see - as I said  I would need a week of Sundays to cover it all.

Sandhill Cranes - a few were seen and many more were heard.

A common and beautiful Great Egret.

Several Horned Grebes were swimming about.

A Downy Woodpecker.

One Tree Swallow was seen resting on a reed while his hundred friends were flying around.

A Red-shouldered Hawk - this guy was a lot more 'red' than what I usually see.

One of many Green Herons.

What a great trip this was. Many of the group members mentioned how quieter it was 'birdwise' this time around but for me, being my first time, I was quite pleased with the entire experience and I look forward to the near future to re-visit this location.

Church Road in Hendry Co

A great northern friend, whom I've introduced birding to (Hi Larissa) is visiting me and I thought: "What a great opportunity to return to Church Road!". My intents were to spot Cara Cara, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and Kingbirds.....well, as birding goes - sometimes anything goes.

When I entered Church Road I was looking on the power lines and off-mindedly saying:"Dove, Dove, DEER!" LOL, I was not expecting that - a White-tailed Deer was coming at me and then entertained us by darting right, left, right, left....until it found a clearing into the bushes.

Well, that is how it all started.....come along and see what else we were exposed to.

Far in the distance I could see Wild Turkeys strutting along the back fence, had it not been for my camera (Canon SX50), I would not be able to share this image with you.

Near those Orange Groves that lines Church Road are numerous trees, twigs and bushes where the birds can be located - not always well photographed - such as this Yellow-rumped Warbler .... these guys seemed to have a ball crossing the street back and forth while visiting the trees.

 

 

Our recently returned celebrity - the Swallow-tailed Kite - several were spotted flying overhead and dipping down for meals on the fly.

A Sparrow! I was really surprised to see a sparrow high in a tree and right away I thought to myself: "I don't think I've seen this guy before". So, with excitement, I took a bunch of photos and at my first opportunity, I checked my book to find its identity....

A Lark Sparrow! How very sweet that is.

He was soon joined by a Savannah Sparrow - also in the trees!

 The Red-shouldered Hawks were numerous this morning and easily spotted among the twigs and flying loudly.

 Another Savannah Sparrow.....sweet!

 Finally....a pair of Cara Cara was spotted flying overhead - the only ones in sight this morning.

A Kestrel - watching for prey and catching them successfully.

 An Eastern Phoebe getting ready to gobble down his fat and juicy spider.

The Red-shouldered hawk doing more watching than catching. Take note of the "red" in the shoulders, quite visible here.

 After a bit, we drove further along Church Road while still looking for some Kingbirds - in the process I saw a Robin....nice!

 Shortly after, we saw and heard the Towhees - I love these guys.

Aha! A burst of color such as this can only be a male Painted Bunting - seen very well through Binoculars, not so much with the camera lens.

A female Painted Bunting on the other hand graced us with her presence, somewhat in the open - not without having me scratching my head with her orange and yellow hues - some folks indicated that it was a young male. In any event, several Buntings were present and brightened our day.

It is true that we didn't get to see Kingbirds during this outing, however we were blessed with many sightings of great feathered friends. My E-Bird list for this day....43 species in all.