Babcock Webb with the Caloosa Bird Club

A long awaited outing to the Babcock Webb - today was the day! It turned out to be quite cool and very windy with gusts up to 25mph+ - it made for a quieter than normal day but it was beautiful and quite enjoyable as always.

Bluebird - one of my favorite and they make it so easy to photograph too.

Pine Warblers - right in their element.

The Red-cockaded Woodpeckers were a bit more tricky to find this morning.

It was way off the path - and I'm thankful for the 'eagle eyes' in the group for spotting this one from so far away.

So many birds, so many acres and so little time.

Talk about a dose of sunshine! I love these bright Eastern Meadowlark - even when they are quiet.

 Another fantastic day of birding with the club. My E-Bird List for today.

Babcock Webb with Caloosa Bird Club

Since this yearly trip is very well attended, it has been preferable to set up two separate outing - we opted to go today and were pleased to have such a nice intimate group. The day started out a bit foggy - as spring morning goes - and improved as the hours unfolded....come and take a look....

This particular location is known for their Red-cockaded Woodpecker and the fact that the best way to see them is to be there before sunrise.

We watched the scenery unfold and waited patiently.

We pay particular attention to the trees that are marked with a wide white band - as these are the trees the RCWO nest in.

And here is our star - a 8-1/2" Black-and-white barred back, black cap and large white cheek patch. Even though it looks similar to a Downy or Hairy - this one does not have the solid white back.

The RCWO inhabits open, mature pine woodlands.

We also spotted a few Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers - as pictured here - as well as Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied and Pileated Woodpeckers.

The woodlands and the wildflowers provided a beautiful vista.

A Killdeer on the edge of a dirt road, sitting on his nest - a typical fashion for them to set it up on open ground.

A few Eastern Meadowlarks entertained us with their songs today - I love to hear those guys.

And, oh, what a surprise! A Great Horned Owl perched on the tree top - a fine looking fellow.

Thanks to my Canon SX50, I was able to zoom in to this "X" where the Owl was sitting.

I wonder if he paid us as much attention as we did - I bet not.

Another Meadowlark.

Sweet little Brown-headed Nuthatch sitting nicely for us to observe.

A Shrike! I am used to see them on power lines - this is so much better.

Lilly Pads with Lotus flowers - Lotus to me signify enlightment and purity.

A swamp buggy coming down the trail - Babcock has trips/tours available - a different way to see the place.

For it's size, it was pretty quiet.

The road is open, the price is right and the experience is priceless....try it, you'll like it. My E-Bird List for today.

 

Babcock-Webb with the Caloosa Bird Club

It's Monday! My favorite day of the week - and off I go to meet up with the Caloosa Bird Club, today's destination is Babcock-Webb in Punta Gorda.

This is a large wildlife management area and filled with recreation opportunity. Other than wildlife viewing, you can do hiking, biking, camping, fishing and driving through a large portion of the area. There is a shooting range to the side and hunting is permitted from late October through mid November. Plenty of picnic tables - some with shade....along the Webb Lake that I saw - others available too - the place is so big that it would take me several visits to get familiar with it all.

The sun was peeking through and we hoped that the weatherman had been mistaken about the predicted rain.

Our first sighting - a Red-cockaded woodpecker. We arrived before sunrise in order to catch a glimpse of this little fellow coming out of their 'marked' pine trees.

The vista all around is just breath-taking.

A male Bluebird was spotted in the far distance,

and a Towhee

Beautiful male - surrounded by nature colors at its best.

Here's "The Man" inspecting one of the Bluebird's residence.

This Bluebird resides at 20 Seaboard Grade

Here's the Bluebird's neighbor on 22 Seaboard Grade - note that the boxes are sporting our bird club name.

Our Mascot - the Green Heron

Spring in Florida is beautiful.

We made our way back to the parking lot and talked about the birds we saw and we made a list. A few decided to go to another location, some went home and I stayed behind and drove around a bit.

Along the Webb Lake - I saw this Anhinga in breeding plumage as well as a family of Killdeer.

On my way back - I spotted a family of Sandhill Cranes

I love these guys....can you tell?

The End.

 

 I will return to this big little gem and spend more time to discover its treasures. My E-Bird list for today

  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S17580255