Wakodahatchee Wetlands

I was on the East coast of Florida with a family visit agenda and thought I would fit in a few hours of birding. A stop at Wakodahatchee from 12:00 to 2:00 was fruitful - not my favorite time of day to do birding but I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. My first sighting - a Black-crowned Night Heron

Some Black-bellied Whistling Ducks with a Roseate Spoonbill dipping in the foreground.

Great views of a Purple Gallinule

Several Double-crested Cormorants were nesting/raising youngs....

...So was the Neotropic Cormorant.

A few Iguanas have called this place 'home'.

A young Pied-billed Grebe.

A Glossy Ibis.

More Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.

The Lily pads - providing shade for the small fish and often used as a carpet by the Gallinules.

Several Swamphen were spotten....note they are now called "Gray-faced Swamphen".

I had a great time re-visiting this spot - my E-bird list for today.

Visiting Wakodahatchee

What a fantastic place this was! If you want to see Florida birds in their breeding plumage as well as their chicks - then, this is definitely the place to go......take a look

of course, the beautiful weather is always a nice bonus

Everywhere I looked - there were multiple species within the trees and I kept thinking: "Now, this is what a 'tree of life' looks like."

How many birds do you see in this clump?

The Anhinga chick wants to know when dinner will be served.

Great Blue Heron sitting on its nest.

"Look Ma! Look what I can do!"

Smile

"Are you sure you're my Daddy?"

There was an incredible amount of courtship going on - I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of Great Egret chicks by next month.

 Wakodahatchee should be called "Love Island".

I bet he'll try his new wings real soon.

Aren't they precious?

These ducks - I've been told - they whistle....one of these days I might even hear it.

The 3 Stooges or perhaps - Eenie, Mynie, Mo.

The elusive American Bitter was right out in the open.

Now you see me....

Now you don't.

An exotic - Egyptian Goose - there were 3 of them.

This little island was filled with Wood Storks - next month there should be lots of chicky storks.

Check that breeding plumage

Where did the head go?

The Great Egret inspecting her blue eggs

This looks like a wedding dress fashion show.

Spaces within the branches and trees are at a premium and multiple levels are being used, these are Cattle Egrets nesting below the Great Blue heron.

Side by side, raising their own families.

Chick wanting more food.

When you got an itch you gotta itch it.....say that 3 times fast LOL....just kidding.

Thank you for visiting - come back soon.

My E-Bird List - which is a combination of Green Cay and Wakodahatchee  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S17398373