Harn's Marsh

I was happy to have the opportunity to revisit Harns Marsh, it had been a couple of months since my last visit - it's a lot quieter today but still quite an enjoyable place to be.

How fun to discover a couple fuzzy Least Bittern!

Several Limpkins were seen and some were feeding their little ones - apple snail are their Wheaties!

A Cattle Egret in breeding plumage - very lovely.

A Gray-headed Swamphen is photographed here, we later saw another adult with a young one.

The Marsh - such a vast expanse and always lovely to see - in that lone tree was a....

Snail Kite.

One family of Sandhill Crane.

A Tricolored Heron on a mission.

These eggs are the future Apple Snail which is food for the Limpkin and Snail Kite.

After leaving the Marsh, we were fortunate to come upon this pair of Bobwhite - I think they are the coolest quails!

 They didn't serenade us but the view was spectacular!

Harn's Marsh

An opportunity came up to visit Harn's Marsh and some vicinity - how could I pass that up?? I made my 'wish list', got my map and itinerary together and picked up Elaine. Our first "wanna" see specie was a Bobwhite - off we went.

We searched high and low, up and down several streets and hoped for the best - the Bobwhite were a no show - instead we were treated to several.....

American Robins. For me this is a special treat because I don't get to see them very often. My E-Bird List for that particular location.

 Shortly after, we arrived at Harn's Marsh.

A Palm Warbler welcomed us by the gate.

Several Limpkins were seen, some of them fighting for their own personal space.

Several ducks, like this Ring-necked, take the Harns Marsh as home for the winter.

Several Savannah Sparrows were busy feeding and pruning - I was blessed with many clear views. I enjoy seeing Sparrows - also a specie that I don't see very often.

Tree Swallows were having a feast of a breakfast this morning - how fun!

Isn't that Savannah precious?

Sandhill Cranes were heard and seen - look how well they blend in.

Here's the shot that I missed - the Sandhill Cranes were coming right at us and I didn't have enough time to react until they were above our heads - maybe next time.

A nice mix of birds here - all sharing the same fish hole.

Here's a Glossy Ibis.

A Pretty "Great Southern White" butterfly finding plenty of nectar.

A pair of Red-Shouldered Hawks watching us as we exit the area.....

All good things must come to an end - and it was time to head home. My E-Bird List for Harns Marsh.

The Sunday's addrenaline

I love that title and what it stands for - as it is how it felt to be heading out to my planned out locations with the purposes of finding, seeing and hearing a few species that I had on my list - I gave it my best shot and I had a ball doing it.

Our first stop was in North Cape Coral - near Del Prado and Pine Island Road intersection - a small pond nicknamed the Wigeon Pond.

Right away I saw that the intended target - a Eurasian Wigeon and a Mallard were present but also a whole brood of American Pekin Duck - which, it turns out, is meant for egg laying and general consumption....Pekin Duck anyone?

Since our day light wasn't quite conducive for picture taking - we moved on to the next spot, which happens to be right around the corner from Charlotte Harbor Buffer. I was there to get a visual on a Bobwhite - I heard them all over the place and had a real hard time locating them, my patience paid off. What a beautiful bird this is and what a pretty song it has!

Soon, the male Bobwhite was joined by a molting Starling and then

a Downy Woodpecker - my guess is that they were attracted to his lovely song

Soon after, we returned to the Wigeon Pond - the light was better and we were able to enjoy their plumage in the sunlight.

The Eurasian Wigeon - a very handsome fellow.

Shortly after we drove to North Fort Myers to the Powell Creek Preserve with the hopes of finding a Wood duck that has been seen lately.

The area is lovely, a one mile loop that is surrounded by ponds and trees - some of them were abuzz with Blue-grey Gnatcatchers and White-eyed Vireos, some Hairy Woodpeckers were heard as well.

Several Herons and Egrets were seen as well as Anhingas and Red-winged Blackbirds.....oh, a gator or two too.

From a distance I saw the silhouette of a duck landing - I had high hopes that my wood duck had landed only to find a Mottled Duck - it's okay because as long as there is life, then it's all good.