Birding Alva

It's Monday and if you've been following my blog for some time now, you know that means it's birding time! Today our adventure is taking us to Alva, come along.....

Truth be told, we had heard about this Baltimore Oriole being seen off Pearl Street and we hoped to see it too - and we did! What a beautiful bird this is!

We walked the nearby neighborhood and spotted this young Red-headed Woodpecker,

a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,

A White-winged Dove and

another Red-headed Woodpecker. Isn't life grand!

Birding is priceless

I've come to the conclusion that birding is one of the best therapy by far and having a friend to come along makes it even sweeter and for that I am  grateful.

Today's venue: Gator Hole. My friend Elaine and I did wondered why it was called a "gator hole" since there is no hole, nor were there any gators....for the time being it is a mystery.  It is a Pine forest amidst native wild flowers, scrubs and bushes and even though it is surrounded by heavy traffic - once you get immersed in the experience - the background noise gets forgotten.

Come along and see....

Because of the heat, this time of the year you need to take advantage of the early hours and what better way to appreciate nature than to start with the sunrise.

A few Dragonflies kept us company and we appreciated the fact that there were no other insects to speak of.

We were blessed with many woodpeckers today - other than this Downy, we were gifted the sight of Flickers, Red-Bellies, Pileated and Red-Headed Woodpeckers - very, very sweet!

A Bluebird family made some fleeting appearances and this youngster stayed put just long enough.

One of the Flickers that I mentioned earlier - funny how they position themselves so that they get a clear view position to look at us.

And the Brown-headed Nuthatch - they were whizzing by in little groups, we saw two nests and it was at that moment that my camera decided to retire for the day!!

So, you'll have to take my word that we also saw several families of Bobwhites crossing the trails in front of us as well as this Red-Headed Woodpecker which made quite a few appearances showing us its striking white rump, bright red head and jet black back....what's not to love! All in all it was a great day with many surprises along the way.

Harn's Marsh with the Caloosa Bird Club

It's Monday and today's destination: Harn's Marsh which is located in Lehigh Acres. I haven't been there in several months and I was really happy to have the opportunity to visit with the group.

My breath is always taken away when I arrive and take in the vast expanse before me - what's not to love.

The closest pond from the parking lot - across the way the vultures can be seen perched atop the trees....

Turkey and Black Vultures.

And the Sandhill Crane families - always fun to come across them, listen to them and watch them as they fly off.

Come fall and winter time - the ducks start to arrive and make the Marsh their home for the season.

Some of the ducks are further and hidden between the reeds along the many water channels that exist within the Harn's Marsh.

A nice find today: A Redhead Duck.

Harn's Marsh is a 4 mile loop and if you travel toward the back portion of it, often times you'll find shorebirds just like these 3 Least Sandpipers.

Snail Kites were in big numbers today - we saw at least 5 of them throughout the Marsh.

An odd sighting of what appears to be a Boat-tailed Grackle with most of its tail feathers missing and a lot of white feathers.

After leaving the Marsh - we went for lunch and on the way home we checked a few key spots - such as North River Road where Red-headed Woodpeckers can be found.

Across the way a Cow taking care of her calf.

Once again - a great birding event with the group as well as beautiful Florida weather - it doesn't get much better than that. My E-Bird list for the Harn's Marsh.

Harn's Marsh - Lehigh Acres

It is June and it happens to be one of the slowest month of the year for birding in Florida, hence the reason why E-bird puts out a challenge to get folks out there to go birding. So, what better way to start the month than a visit to Harn's Marsh in Lehigh Acres! This is one of those out of the way spot that is quite rewarding to visit.

Several Limpkins were already having a breakfast feast - juicy apple snails.

One of 5 Roseate Spoonbills that I spotted along the Marsh.

Some Black Vultures were lazily stretching as they were waking up for the day.

My favorites - Sandhill Cranes - Here is a family with a young colt.

Oh boy! "What big wings you have!"

I was very pleased that they came closer and gave us great views.

Close to the reeds - a family of Common Gallinule.

Several Wood Storks flew over our heads - it is nice to see them.

Some more Black Vultures were spotted - we saw several of them in/out of the trees. After a bit we ventured out and cruised some of the streets in Lehigh Acres in search of....

Red Headed Woodpeckers. I have to warn you here because several of the following photos are....

more Red-headed Woodpeckers.

Once in a while there was a little surprise here and there - such as this juvenile Northern Flicker...

and a Downy Woodpecker - one of the ways to differentiate between a Downy & a Hairy is that a Downy has dots on its tail as well as a smaller bill.

Some Purple Martins were seen hanging around this particular dead tree - unusual spot as they are usually seen in/around gourds in people's yards.

Isn't that the most gorgeous woodpecker?

More Purple Martins - ladies and immatures.

This is an optical illusion and the woodpecker is not trapped.

I've never been in such close proximity of Red-headed Woodpecker - and this really made my day.

This is the type of habitat where we found those woodpeckers.

Well, folks, is there a better way to end the day than with a Red-tailed Hawk....I think not. My E-bird (Harn's Marsh), E-bird (Lehigh Acres) Lists for today.

      

Red-tailed Hawk?? I think not.