Port Charlotte

There has been some reports of good 'migrants' being seen in Port Charlotte, so Elaine and I made the trip this morning.

As soon as we got unto the trail we heard the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks - one of them landed on this branch....

and repeated his symphony....perhaps....

with the purpose of engaging some lively communication with his peers...

before joining them in this lively interlude.

Eventually settling down while the Little Blue Heron watches on.

A Marsh Hare ... one of many.

A Blue Jay - quite the entertainer - while we watched he sang many different tunes.

One of two Purple Gallinules that we saw....

"Where's Waldo"?

We spent some time noticing the difference between the Purple and the Common Gallinule - other than the obvious purple feathers we saw the blue area above the 'candy corn' bill....they are also a tad bit bigger than the Common and tend to walk on top of the Lilly Pads.

A view of "Ollie's Pond" in Port Charlotte. My E-Bird List while walking around the pond.

 On the way back we made a quick stop to Pennington Nature Park - also in Port Charlotte. This was a lovely shaded 3/4 mile trail....a bit late and hot by mid-late morning but definitely a place to visit again.

An interesting and 'artful' dragonfly sealed the day. My E-Bird List for this trail.

 

Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte Trip with the Caloosa Bird Club

Yesterday, I met up with my group at 8:00a.m. - the usual time for the Monday trip. We combined people in cars and had a caravan of sorts travelling to Zemel Road Landfill site, Zemel Road pond, Punta Gorda, Ponce de Leon Park and finished up with Ollie's Pond in Port Charlotte - a very sweet well kept secret of a place.

 Overall, we saw about 72 species - a nice variety for sure. The trip bird was the Common Goldeneye at Ollie's Pond - sorry no photo of that duck - however, my own personal highlight was the Great Blue Heron family from the Ponce De Leon Park.

An Anhinga at the landfill - seems like he had something stucked on his beak - glued paper....maybe a love note.

Everyone mentioned how quiet it was for a landfill - either way, it was an interesting sight. If you would have told me a couple of years ago that I would be standing by a landfill looking for birds, I would have told you that you were crazy.....LOL.....look at me now!

Once we left the area, we drove down Zemel Road for a couple of miles and then observed some warblers, Wood Storks, waders and more.

Seems like there is a shooting range in that area and gun shots could be heard - rather eerie feeling, if you ask me.

The Common Yellow-throat....I vote for a name change because this little guy is not that common looking to me....he's like a sunrise with the promise of a new day.

We drove some more - headed to Punta Gorda and parked close to the Colony Point - where many ducks, killdeers and seagulls could be observed.

The Hooded Mergansers being my favorite.

From there we went to Ponce de Leon Park where we saw the Great Blue Heron and its family.

More Mergansers

A Spotted Sandpiper was on the edge of the Peace River.

Aren't they precious!

This was my first experience to be in the presence of a Great Blue Heron family and it felt really special...can you tell?

A snake, not too far from our walking path....he was oozing out of the muck from the edges of Ollie's pond....look at the tail, it is still coming out from below - so I'm not quite sure how long it is.

Many ducks species - small groups and bigger groups. The leader brought us here to see the Common Goldeneye - and we saw it....though, it kept diving and I couldn't get a photo to show you.

A beautiful Glossy Ibis

More ducks

A Boat Tail Grackle having a drink at the watering hole with his buddies.

All in all, another great birding trip was had - 72 species were recorded. My E-bird list.