This morning started out chilly - low 60's - and as the day progressed it warmed up nicely. We met up in Cape Coral and began our Christmas Bird Count at Rotary Park.
 |
| The White Ibis were numerous. |
 |
| The Wood Stork - not so much, we saw 5 of them in the span of 5 hours. |
 |
| More White Ibis - the brown ones are juvenile. |
 |
| Here is a mockingbird which generated many comments because of its deformed bill - maybe we have a cross between species?! |
 |
| A Short-tailed Hawk. |
 |
| The Loggerhead Shrike - to me he looks like the well dressed bandit. |
 |
| Our group as we walked through Tarpon Point in Cape Coral - we saw a lot of warblers in those tall trees. |
 |
| After spending 5 hours counting the birds, Libby and I went to the Pelican Ball Fields to take a look at the Monk Parakeets. |
 |
| They build their nest under the lights and this particular one has an Osprey's nest on the top floor. It's interesting to see what those nest are constructed with....along with twigs, branches and grass - some shoe laces, green wire tie, ropes and and old t-shirt? could be seen within the mix. |
 |
| Those Monk Parakeets were quite chatty and could be heard very clearly down below. |
 |
| They sure look cozy in there don't they? |
 |
| Look HOO's here! |
 |
| Around the edge of the fields were Burrowing Owls abodes, one of them came out to investigate us while keeping a keen eye on the sky. |
 |
| Then he stepped a bit away from the burrow and took some time to smell the wild flowers before flying off to another burrow....probably visiting with a neighbor owl who gives a hoot. |
 |
| On our way back home, along the Sanibel Causeway, we spotted a Common Loon and I was fortunate to finally catch a photo before it disappeared for a swim. |
 |
| Well, this wraps up another great day of birding.....today is actually pretty special for me because the Monk Parakeet became my 200th bird on my Life List....WooHoo!....I'll just have to treat myself to a "200" Bird Pin. Okay....btw....here is the list of birds that I saw today - my E-Bird List with 56 Species....not a bad day at all. |
Hi France
ReplyDeleteThe mockingbird isn't a hybrid - it has a deformed bill. Bill deformities in a variety of birds are on the increase in some areas, and the cause or causes aren't understood. I wrote a blog post about it at http://volusianaturalist.com/double-whammy/ if you're interested.
Peter, thanks for sharing your blog, I enjoyed reading it while being educated. I suppose as I get more exposed and more aware of my feathered friends surrounding me, that I will encounter more eventually too.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birding to you.
Thank you, France
DeleteI do like the deformed beak on the mocking bird. The owl was wondering Hoooooo do you think you are taking my pictures? I also liked the loggerhead shrike.
ReplyDeleteI like doing the Christmas counts each year too. This year we had to go in snowy conditions.You are seeing some birds that I would love to see myself like the Burrowing Owls, shrike and White Ibis.Nice photos!
ReplyDeleteThanks Larry. Did you happen to see a Snowy Owl? I've heard that the population is booming this year....this owl, I would love to see.
ReplyDelete