North Cape Coral with the Caloosa Bird Club

It's Monday, my favorite day and it's time to go birding! It will be good to get back on the trails after sitting during the holiday. Come along and see what we encountered.

It was fun to finally be able to capture a Yellow-rumped Warbler out in the open with his yellow rump showing....notice too how the shoulders show some yellow as well.

Several Bald Eagles were spotted - not surprising since there is a nest nearby.

Some silhouette birds - a good exercise to help learn the shape of a bird .... 2 Red-bellied Woodpeckers and 1 Mockingbird.

Other than a few guys fishing at the end of the trail - the place was quiet as a church mouse except for the birds singing.

We took a walk along the edge of the fence and while looking for the Eagle's nest found this Horned Owl taking a snooze.

This little Northern Shrike is showing you the way.

We then drove to the Scrub Jays area where a family of the Jays have been living for quite some time - the neighborhood has been feeding them and the birds come to visit anyone that shows up - looking for a hand out. Please be aware that feeding the jays peanuts is quite detrimental to their stomach and I would urge you to refrain from doing so.

The Jays were banded.

Another Jay with different bands.

A Borrowing Owl was keeping a close eye on us and whatever predator that might be lurking by.

We stopped at another location to see some Manatees - Sirenia Park...if my memory serves me right. The male was enjoying this catch.....

while the female loudly objected to be kept waiting.

Well, folks, another great birding day with great friends. My E-Bird List for North Cape and the Scrub Jay E-bird List today.

Charlotte Preserve w/Caloosa Bird Club

Yup, you guessed it, It's Monday - my very favorite day of the week! Today we meet in North Cape Coral to walk the Charlotte Preserve State Park.

It was a bit foggy and a tad bit chilly - but certainly not enough to dampen the day.

A few Northern Flickers were seen, some Downy were heard and

the Red-bellied stole the woodpecker show - as they were quite abundant this morning.

Towhees were heard and spotted - a male and a female - next time I'll have a better photo to show you.

The trail took us to the sound where we saw several species....White Pelican, Great Blue Heron, some Redheads, Black Skimmers, Marbled Godwits, Willets, Plovers and Sandpipers....and more. After a bit we headed to another section of Cape Coral with the hopes of finding the Scrub Jays.

And look HOO we saw!

A Great Horned Owl! What a gorgeous bird he is.

At the opposite end of the street we located a Burrowing Owl. This was one of the last sighting before we headed to lunch. On the way home we stopped on the corner of Del Prado Blvd to see the Eurasian Wigeon.

We looked and studied the area closely however the Eurasian Wigeon was nowhere to be found, instead we watched a Mallard with some domestic ducks and a goose.

A few Ring-necked Ducks were there too.

This one had a really funny hairdo.

The three stooges

Well folks, stay tuned....there is more to come.

 

A visit across North Cape Coral

I mapped out my trip, bagged my necessities and with my friend as my allied - off we went with the hopes of seeing some of our beautiful feathered friends, we were not disappointed.

After spending some time searching for the Bobwhite and missing ample opportunities to capture it on camera, we headed to the Preserve to see the Red-headed Woodpeckers, we had a bit more luck capturing the expression of this beautiful fellow.

In addition, we spotted the Northern Flicker - this one being the "yellow shafted", a female.

Here is another Northern Flicker "yellow shafted" - notice the underside and the yellow color, also this one is a male sporting his black mustache.

One of my favorite Woodpecker - isn't it beautiful?

My friend Larissa, enjoying her visiting and acquiring some birding knowledge along the way - can you tell how much fun she is having?

We stumbled upon a very young Mourning Dove without its tail feathers - it sat on the ground while one of the parent stayed nearby and watched.

After a while we drove in search of our next spot, keeping my patience as I maneuvered around Cape Coral. I wonder if I'm the only person who has difficulties finding my way around this town - it was helpful to have a buddy to joke about it.

After many more turns than I care to admit, I finally found the area where the family of Scrub Jays lives - they were all out sitting in the oak tree - quite lively and curious as always.

....

The Florida Scrub Jays has a cooperative breeding system; the fledged young remain on territory and help rear nestlings.

We also spotted this Meadowlark within the tall grass - too bad the area had not been mowed which made it difficult to keep our eyes on this little fellow as it moved along.

And of course, a trip to Cape Coral would not be complete without sighting the beloved Burrowing Owl.

The trip came to an end at the Wigeon Pond when the rain started coming down in buckets.

The Eurasian Wigeon is still hanging around with the domestic ducks as well as the couple dozen of Mottled Ducks. All in all, I'm glad we made the trip over - it was a swell day!