A visit to Green Cay and Wakodahatchee

Once per year the Caloosa Bird Club takes a bus trip to go to the East Coast of Florida to visit Green Cay and Wakodahatchee - it is a trip that I really look forward to and this Sunday was the day! Come along and visit with me.....

Along the entrance to Green Cay - which was shielded from the 30+mph wind gusts - a few butterflies caught my attention, this Atala stole the show.

This bird feeder is quite the attractor for the Painted Buntings.

This following segment takes place at Wakodahatchee - here is a Gray-cheeked Swamphen, notice the red face and bill which matches the legs and feet.

Further down a Common Gallinule family captured my interest...

The Pied-billed Grebe might be pondering the fact that it will be in breeding mode soon.

A first time sighting for me was this Juvenile Purple Gallinule.

It was pretty amazing that it was able to stay put while eating the flowers while the wind kept on gusting.

Not too far away....perhaps the parent to the above juvenile....notice the candy cane bill is just like the Common Gallinule bill....one difference being that the Purple Gallinule, beside being purple has a blue patch between the eyes.

And let's not forget about the Wood Storks! This year is seemingly a successful season for nesting and that's a very good thing.

Check those chicks out!

Good thing the parents know what they're doing - with all those legs in such a small nesting area I'd be afraid to step on my babies.

A couple Great Blue Heron chicks waiting for the parents to return with more food.

Another Wood Stork family.

A soon to fledge Cormorant (left) with parent on right.

More Gray-cheeked Moorhen.

A Cattle Egret in full breeding attire.

And, as with all my adventure, this too comes to an end.....I hope that you enjoyed this visit.

Harn's Marsh with the Caloosa Bird Club

Today turned out to be one of those Florida days - perfectly blue sky and warm sunshine - the type of days that is usually associated with Florida. We left early to arrive at Harn's Marsh with the sunrise, many bird folks beat us to it.

Come along and see some of the highlights of the day....

If I had embedded sound within this photo you would have heard the Limpkins calling.

This one was busy looking for apple snails.

A Tern whizzed on by several times - the sun hitting the bill and making it look like a Royal Tern but with closer study it was obvious that we were looking at a Caspian Tern - a bit bigger with a brighter 'reddish' bill.

Several coots, grebes and ducks were observed - these Ring-necked were particularly sharp looking.

In the distance, a pair of Sandhill Cranes were busy getting their nest in order.

A scope provided us with the perfect tool to observed them without disturbing them.

A Gray-headed Swamphen - aka Purple Swamphen - was in front of us playing peek-a-boo within the reeds. This Swamphen resembles a huge Purple Gallinule  with a reddish bill, frontal shield, iris and legs.

I wish I had a better photo to show you the difference between this Purple Gallinule and the Gray-headed Swamphen - however if you look closely you can see one of the difference being the legs and toes are bright yellow

One of several Savannah Sparrows.

American Wigeon in flight

Some happy yellow flowers - well, at least, that's how it makes me feel.

A Crested Caracara - one of my favorites.

More Sandhill Cranes - several were seen through the 4 mile loop - I never tire of watching them.....a great time for all. My E-Bird List for today.

 

Circle B Bar Preserve with the Caloosa Bird Club

I've been waiting for this moment for some time now and I'm so glad it's finally here. And it seemed to be very fitting to start the day with an owl considering how the day ended yesterday (you'll just have to scroll down to the previous post to see what I'm talking about). So, come along with me and see what the day brought...

A Barred Owl - what a beauty!

It sets the day and leads us to the trail.

And the trail took us to the next surprise....

A Wood Duck on top of a deal Palm tree.

A family of Sandhill Cranes was not too far.

Limpkins were heard and seen through the entire preserve.

Our group seems dwarfed by the mossy Oak Trees.

A House Wren

A Swamp Sparrow - right out in the open by my feet - I love this place!

A female Common Yellow-throat.

Another Limpkin

One of three Purple Gallinule that I saw.

An Anhinga in his beautiful breeding Plumage.

A Great Blue Heron on its nest.

A Glossy Ibis

An Eastern Phoebe

Can you see the Wilson Snipe?

How about now? Amazing how they blend in, hey?

A beautiful little Sora which wasn't much bigger than the Snipe.

Another Sandhill Crane.

A couple Forster Terns

A Royal Tern

A Green Heron

100+ Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

And that one odd ball in the back is a Fulvous Whistling Duck

The ducks were also perched within the mossy tree limbs.

Another Limpkin - this one is busy making its nest.

A close up of those Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.

An American Robin - I never get tired of seeing them.

And the last sighting of the day - two Great Horned Owlets on the way out of Circle B Bar Reserve

One of them could be seen hiding behind the Ressurection Fern

What a perfect way to end a beautiful weekend - I feel blessed and my spirit is filled to the brim.