Birding is priceless

I've come to the conclusion that birding is one of the best therapy by far and having a friend to come along makes it even sweeter and for that I am  grateful.

Today's venue: Gator Hole. My friend Elaine and I did wondered why it was called a "gator hole" since there is no hole, nor were there any gators....for the time being it is a mystery.  It is a Pine forest amidst native wild flowers, scrubs and bushes and even though it is surrounded by heavy traffic - once you get immersed in the experience - the background noise gets forgotten.

Come along and see....

Because of the heat, this time of the year you need to take advantage of the early hours and what better way to appreciate nature than to start with the sunrise.

A few Dragonflies kept us company and we appreciated the fact that there were no other insects to speak of.

We were blessed with many woodpeckers today - other than this Downy, we were gifted the sight of Flickers, Red-Bellies, Pileated and Red-Headed Woodpeckers - very, very sweet!

A Bluebird family made some fleeting appearances and this youngster stayed put just long enough.

One of the Flickers that I mentioned earlier - funny how they position themselves so that they get a clear view position to look at us.

And the Brown-headed Nuthatch - they were whizzing by in little groups, we saw two nests and it was at that moment that my camera decided to retire for the day!!

So, you'll have to take my word that we also saw several families of Bobwhites crossing the trails in front of us as well as this Red-Headed Woodpecker which made quite a few appearances showing us its striking white rump, bright red head and jet black back....what's not to love! All in all it was a great day with many surprises along the way.

Another great day in S.W. Florida

A drive into town with my friend Elaine today was very rewarding. We started with our volunteer work for the Lee Co Bird Patrol and did some data collection at Lakes Park, come and visit......

We found a young Common Gallinule by itself - first heard by its cry before we saw it....

we did see a family nearby - perhaps they will not stay separated for long.

We also saw several Blue Gray Gnatcatchers - it surprised me because I thought they had all migrated by now but a few still remain.

After a bit we drove to Six Miles Cypress Slough - my first encounter was this Woodpecker. At first I thought it was a Hairy but after studying my photos, I can see small black dots on its outer tail feathers - leading me to its proper identity....

a Downy Woodpecker - female.

A serenade from the Carolina Wren is always welcomed and most treasured when seen.

How about this Red-bellied Woodpecker! What a perfect perch to match its plumage.

On our way out of the slough, we walked the edge of the property while looking and listening to all the young ones wanting to be fed - here a family of Great Egret with the young ones still quite fuzzy with their down feathers.

This Buttonbush was a welcome sight, one of my favorites.

A male Pileated Woodpecker was busy eating his fill on a log covered by a Resurrection Fern - this fern goes dormant and dry looking until fresh rainfall where it miraculously comes back to lush life.

A Mud Turtle

By the parking lot we strolled through the butterfly garden admiring these Passion Flower vines.

On our way home - via route 82 - we looked for a pond which we found populated by cows.

I felt outnumbered and looked at.

And here we found our bird - a Solitary Sandpiper....which was with another....

so much for being "solitary".

 

Chasing a Chat and a Hummer

A pair of rare species have been reported in Naples: a Broad-billed Hummingbird and a Yellow-breasted Chat, one rare specie is enticing but two is even more alluring. With this temptation dangling in the wings - what's a girl to do!....make plans and meet up with Meg & Elaine...and off we go. Come along and see....

Our first stop was Freedom Park in Naples - it is down right chilly - so much so that we can see our breath. We bundled up for the occasion but when looking at this Squirrel I longed for my long gone fur coat.

Our intentions for this park was to locate the Broad-billed Hummingbird - our pal Meg got a quick glimpse of it but we never saw it. One of our pal from the Caloosa Club shared his theory that the Hummingbird might be finding his food sources across the way in the Naples Zoo and coming across the road on a few occasion. In the mean time, I delighted in watching this Red-bellied Woodpecker in the delicious morning light.

There must be some tasty and juicy morsel in this little nook and cranny - check out his tongue!

After searching for the hummer for over an hour, we decided to move on to our next location....the Sugden Park for the Chat. In the meantime we located a Downy Woodpecker - a busy one at that.

A young Mallard was in the back portion of the park.

And so was the Green Heron.

A Bald Eagle could be seen feeding its chick.

And the lovely Yellow-breasted Chat! We were there for almost two hours and saw him on three separate occasion.

This time I got lucky enough to get a somewhat decent photo - oh what a beauty! We were quite happy to have found our go to specie and decided to have another try at the Freedom Park for the Hummer.

No hummer was found but we did stumbled upon this 1st year male Summer Tanager.

This was a nice find and quite unexpected - what a great way to end a great birding day!

 

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.