Lakes Park

I recently joined the Lee Co Bird Patrol for some volunteer work and my assigned location is Lakes Park - this is a large area and there is much to see....come and join me...

This 279 acre facility features 158 acres of fresh water quarry lake - many of the islands are filled with nests - here two Great Blue Heron chicks were spotted with the parent on a nearby tree.

A female Downy Woodpecker taking a digesting break after feeding on insects from the bark crevices.

A male Mottled Duck

Some authorities consider Mottled Duck to be a subspecies of Mallard.

It is common and can be seen year around in coastal marshes.

Elaine and I ventured onto the garden area looking for Hummingbirds and found many beautiful and breathtaking flowering trees and bushes.

Flame Vine

Roses - bringing back memories of my past gardens.

Several variety of butterflies were observed, here the Monarch is photographed on Milkweed.

Everywhere you go there is some eye candy to be savored.

The blooming Passion Vine was especially stunning.

As we gathered our thoughts and bird lists together - a Palm Warbler was busy picking up crumbs while his feathers were blowing every which way....

showing here is the under layers....shocking me to see so much black.

Being in the shade - the photo does not do him justice because his colors were bright yellow and his cap was brimming with chestnut hues.

Soon he will leave and migrate north with many others. 

 

 Take advantage of this facility and visit the website for more information. My E-Bird List for today.

Bunche Beach & Lakes Park with the Caloosa Bird Club

Monday - Destination: Bunche Beach & Lakes Park in Fort Myers.

It is a sunny day with a mild breeze, the tide is slowly coming in - I think it's going to be a good day.

One of the star of the day - in my opinion - was the Caspian Tern. As a winter adult, its cap is splotchy, gray, and extends over forehead to bill....in the summer, its cap is black.

After feeding on some fish, it came over to give us great views while it was preening.

Ummmm....."nice reflection, dude."

Slowly, it began to yawn and/or stretch its massive blood-red bill, as I watched I am reminded that I have a friend who uses this color for lipstick - "nice shade".

In a jiffy - he up and flew....

and landed in a flock of Black Skimmers - trying to blend in with the rest. Isn't it amazing how its bill is the same shade as the Black Skimmers?

Just for comparison, here is a Royal Tern - notice how the bill is more toward orange than blood-red.

A high-pitched laugh "ha ha ha ha" caught my attention - sure, it's just a Laughing Gull but its plumage as it is transitioning toward it's striking summer black cap is attractive to me.

The Sanderlings on the other hand didn't seemed to be bothered by his outburst and just went on taking care of their belly needs.

The Piping Plovers were drawing attention too - what is not to like!

Several Marbled Godwits were observed - this is a favorite bird of many and I can understand that.

Clean, clean, clean.....

feed, feed, feed.

On the east side of the beach - more Piping Plovers....

these were sporting colorful bands.

After a bit, we all gathered our scopes and headed to Lakes Park.

Several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were here and seen...as well as

 

Black-and-white Warblers and a

Green Heron - staying out of sight for the most part.

And this concludes my birding adventure with the Caloosa Bird Club. So, for today, follow the paths before you and use joy as your compass.....I know I will.

 

Caloosa Bird Club - Trip to Bunche Beach and Lakes Park in Ft.Myers

A beautiful day filled with sun, warmth, good company and plenty of nature to see.

The Caloosa Bird Club met this morning before 8a.m. at Bunche Beach - the moon was still in the horizon as the sun rose and the tides were super low.

White Pelicans approaching.

Brown Pelican circling around.

On the sandbar - many, many Black Skimmers.

The Black Skimmers with the Sanibel Lighthouse in the background.

Our group today consisted of 67 birding folks - of that, 15 were guests....one common denominator - smiles and genuine joie de vive.

My attention was drifting toward the Brown Pelican......its plumage changing ever so gradually....see the eyes in pink hue, the pouch in green, the crown fuzzy yellow and the back of the neck acquiring a chocolate color - how gorgeous is that!

Yum! Breakfast Fish.

Great Blue Heron with the Sanibel Causeway in the background.....notice the low tide and how far you can walk....muck and all.

The Osprey came swooshing by - surprising us in the process.

The Black Skimmers re-positioning themselves after a walker strolled by.

Ha! Several of us were looking through our spotting scope and agreeing that we were seeing 3 Black Scoters in the far distance (this BTW is south of that Causeway seen earlier), so with my camera I zoomed in and took this photo. The Duck on the right seems to have a paler head as well as a whiter breast....anyone want to venture a name for this duck?

We spotted the spotless Spotted Sandpiper who was marking the spots as he went along. Another hint for his identification is that he is a solitary bird.

Time for us to move to our next location. One last look toward Fort Myers Beach and the shrimp boat hard at work.

We arrived at Lakes Park - paid our dues in the parking meter and shed a few layers before proceeding. The group at this point divided into two and went into different directions.

Being a holiday, the place was abuzz with joggers, bikers, walkers, tourists and us. Hey....look at the scenery, who wouldn't want to be here?

A Blue-headed Vireo - my nice capture for the day. There were other warblers noteworthy of photos...but too quick for me.

Eastern Phoebe - busy darting from perching to bug capturing.

A tricolored heron seen in the reeds - quite comfortable with our presence....not his first rodeo.

 

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S17047107  Bunche Beach List

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S17047975 Lakes Park List

A total of 74 species for the day.

The voted trip bird of the day was the Swallow-tailed Kite - which I didn't get to see since I was with the other group. I look forward to see the kites this year, they nested near my house last year and I hope that they will return to that same spot.....they sure are fun to watch and listen to.