Fly, roost, swim, sit and pick - a week's recap

It seems as if S.W.Florida has been out of sorts this past winter - high winds, overcast days and mucho rain which provided some challenges for bird outings - however not enough to keep me totally away. Today I bring you a few glimpses of where I've been this past week....let's go.....

A spiffy Black-and-white Warbler was spotted at the Bailey Tract.

A Great Egret was sporting its breeding plumage (green face/dusky bill) at the Sanibel Garden Preserve.

A Yellow-rumped Warbler was not too far away.

A visit at Lakes Park provided quite a few sightings of Great Blue Heron in/out of nests....way up in the Australian Pine Trees.

One of my highlight this week was being able to capture bits and pieces of this Hairy Woodpecker.

This pecker looks similar to a Downy however it is slightly bigger (Robin size) and its bill is much larger. 

I did find him along the boardwalk at the Six Mile Cypress Slough among many other woodpeckers (Downy, Pileated, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Red-bellied).

On my way out of the slough - a sweet sighting of an Eastern Bluebird.

A quick stop at Bunche Beach provided another look at the wild American Flamingo that has been making an almost daily return for the past two weeks.

Two out of three Common Loons are pictured here with Estero/Ft.Myers beach in the background.

A pair of Forster Tern bid us farewell for the day - my weather app popped up with warnings of more rain coming. All in all it was a great week for bird watching with the added bonus of capturing some of their sweet faces.

 

Lac Superior, Canada

A visit to see my family was way over due and of course the icing on the cake was to observe some of the wildlife, the rain kept getting in the way but what I did see was quite rewarding.

Just a few feet from the back deck I was able to observe a Hairy Woodpecker - how awesome is that!

A Blue Jay stayed close by - some injury kept him from flying away.

This was quite a highlight for me - a Black-capped Chickadee - and how I loved their song and quick movements!

These little Chipmunks were quite precious.

An American Goldfinch - probably getting fat for the long journey south.

Several Sparrows were spotted, a Chipping Sparrow took the time to pose.

Ha! This one looked familiar - An American  Robin on top surrounded by pine cones.

A pine forest ready for hikers.

A White-throated Sparrow.

A male (whisker) 'yellow-shafted' Northern Flicker showing off his yellow accents.

A fawn was seen following his deer mom.

Another Chipping Sparrow.

A Red-breasted Merganser, by himself on a big lake with not another duck in sight.

This setting was the back yard of the charming B&B that we stayed in - "La Petite Douceur" was charming and homey, the hosts....Francine & Daniel....extremely accomodating and the breakfasts were to die for. If you are ever in this area, I highly recommend a stay with them.

 Another White-throated Sparrow.

This one was a nice surprise - a female Black-throated Blue Warbler.

 Sadly the week went by too quickly, however many happy memories will be treasured for years to come.

Visit at the Slough

 I got a good laugh out of this one when I opened it up on my computer - a bit x-rated.

 The turtles looked like they were ready to start marching, though they were staying put and basking in the sunlight.

 Sparkling white fungi growing on a log - it just had a special quality.

 The elusive Downy Woodpecker - so quick, so sweet and very hard to capture on camera....he made me work for that one.

 Beautiful lilies growing in the pond - so delicate - yet the ferocious gator share it's habitat.

 This pretty yellow flower was planted in a butterfly garden - set just by the entrance to the slough, many butterflies were busy feeding and fluttering around.

 I love the Slough - it is peaceful, it brings serenity to my soul and it happens to be a "cool" place to be at in the hot summer of southwest Florida.