Birding Alva

It's Monday and if you've been following my blog for some time now, you know that means it's birding time! Today our adventure is taking us to Alva, come along.....

Truth be told, we had heard about this Baltimore Oriole being seen off Pearl Street and we hoped to see it too - and we did! What a beautiful bird this is!

We walked the nearby neighborhood and spotted this young Red-headed Woodpecker,

a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,

A White-winged Dove and

another Red-headed Woodpecker. Isn't life grand!

Big Cypress area with the Caloosa Bird Club

It's Monday - which means Caloosa Birding Club day and today's first destination: Ten Thousand Islands - come along and take a peek....

 A trail off the busy path of US 41- worth checking into the next time you are in the area.

We slowly and quietly took on the trail - observing the wild life around us. Several Wood Storks were seen feeding in the twinkling water.

Anhingas consuming its favorite food: fish!

A bush full of Little Blue Herons - immature (white) and adults (blue). A great walk on the wild side - My E-Bird list for this trail. Then we were off to our next location...

We had hoped to see the Barred Owl along the boardwalk but tried as we may we were not able to locate it - however we had some great views of this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker....

If you look closely you can actually see where it quietly tapped and formed shallow holes in the tree bark - all lined up in a row, this sapsucker feeds on sap and on insects attracted to the sap.

Off in the distance, a large gator was resting. The size of the gators seen in the Everglades are humongous in comparison to the gator that we have on the island where I live.

The scenery along the Big Cypress Bend Fakahatchee is just breathtaking - my photos can not do it justice....one person that has worked its magic with conveying the proper feeling of this environment is Clyde Butcher hands down.

How about this Black-and-white Warbler! Overheard from the group was: "Oh, that's a good bird!" - I ask you: "Is there a bad bird?". LOL

Do you think the Great Blue Heron liked all the attention? It seems to be in deep complicated thoughts.

On the way out we all feasted our eyes on a Black-crowned Night Heron which was busy trying to eat a Gar.

Haha! Check out my catch!

Yumm...this will be delicious.....

"Perhaps I bit more than I can chew." And so, we must thank this little fellow for the close-up entertainment. My E-Bird List for this location.

 It was time to move on to the next stop: Kirby Storter Roadside Park - another 20 miles south or so from the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk. As we were traveling on U.S.41 at 60mph, we encountered above us a cloud of.....

Tree Swallows - hard to tell exactly how many there was - estimated to be over 10,000 at the very least. We wished we could have pulled over to observe and feel the phenomena of such spectacle - truly a memorable moment.

They were seen landing on nearby twigs. (this photo was taken a year prior but it serves its purpose here).

Shortly after we arrived at our last destination.

Another boardwalk which takes us deep into the wild - yet so close to U.S. 41 (traffic zooming by could still be heard).

Yet, there is a quiet peacefulness within the area.

My group seen observing warblers way up in the tree top - a great neck exercise in addition to savoring the eye candy.

Gar fish - the favorite food of many birds.

A small lizard seen basking in the warmth of the sun.

It's time to wrap it up .... now that we've fed our souls it is time to feed our stomach.

While we finished up our lunches and tallied up our bird sighting - a few Tree Swallows made a brief appearance to bid us farewell till the next time. My E-Bird list for this location.

Babcock Webb with Caloosa Bird Club

Since this yearly trip is very well attended, it has been preferable to set up two separate outing - we opted to go today and were pleased to have such a nice intimate group. The day started out a bit foggy - as spring morning goes - and improved as the hours unfolded....come and take a look....

This particular location is known for their Red-cockaded Woodpecker and the fact that the best way to see them is to be there before sunrise.

We watched the scenery unfold and waited patiently.

We pay particular attention to the trees that are marked with a wide white band - as these are the trees the RCWO nest in.

And here is our star - a 8-1/2" Black-and-white barred back, black cap and large white cheek patch. Even though it looks similar to a Downy or Hairy - this one does not have the solid white back.

The RCWO inhabits open, mature pine woodlands.

We also spotted a few Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers - as pictured here - as well as Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied and Pileated Woodpeckers.

The woodlands and the wildflowers provided a beautiful vista.

A Killdeer on the edge of a dirt road, sitting on his nest - a typical fashion for them to set it up on open ground.

A few Eastern Meadowlarks entertained us with their songs today - I love to hear those guys.

And, oh, what a surprise! A Great Horned Owl perched on the tree top - a fine looking fellow.

Thanks to my Canon SX50, I was able to zoom in to this "X" where the Owl was sitting.

I wonder if he paid us as much attention as we did - I bet not.

Another Meadowlark.

Sweet little Brown-headed Nuthatch sitting nicely for us to observe.

A Shrike! I am used to see them on power lines - this is so much better.

Lilly Pads with Lotus flowers - Lotus to me signify enlightment and purity.

A swamp buggy coming down the trail - Babcock has trips/tours available - a different way to see the place.

For it's size, it was pretty quiet.

The road is open, the price is right and the experience is priceless....try it, you'll like it. My E-Bird List for today.