Harn's Marsh in Lehich Acres with the Caloosa Bird Club

Before I begin today I want to express my gratitude to all of you who follow my blog on a regular basis, it brought a huge smile when I realized that the 100,000 views rolled over, so Thank You All, I could not have done it without YOU!

 Now, without much further adoo, let's move on to today's expedition.

It had been a couple of weeks since I went out with the bird club and several months since I visited Harn's Marsh - it was with great anticipation that we started our bird outing today. Come along and see what we feasted our eyes on .....

I love the big expanse of land and water and the peace that this space provides, don't you?

Harn's Marsh wouldn't be Harn's Marsh without all the Black and Turkey Vultures greeting us at the beginning.

The Boat-tailed Grackles wanted to make it more personal too.

Several Glossy Ibis can be seen around the Marsh.

And the Sandhill Cranes! Oh My!

We got a huge treat when they started their dance rituals while calling one another.

The Savannah Sparrows are always fun to watch too - up one minute and down the next.

The Gray-headed Swamp hen are alive and well.

More Crane action.

Harn's Marsh has a trail that loops around and if you have the energy you can easily walk it - all 4 miles of it. As a group, we signed up and had special permission to drive around but as you can see we all get out of our cars and spend time observing what takes place.

Another bunch - just how beautiful are they?

They granted me a group photo, thank you!

Other than large Crane, some tiny butterflies were observed as well - a Barred Sulphur is seen here.

My favorite: a bright yellow happy flower :)

Did you know that birders are great listeners?

How about an American Bittern - always hiding - but this time one of our members spotted it.

You can see how they can easily be missed.

A Limpkin - a regular at the Marsh.

More great spaces.

Looking for a Spotted Sandpiper - instead we spotted a Hooded Merganser and several Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.

A Greater Yellowlegs sat long enough for me to capture it, the Lesser not so much.

Another Hooded - sweet!

Our last sweet bunch - Least Sandpipers! When you get a chance, make sure to visit Harn's Marsh - it will provide you with priceless time filled with beautiful creatures - big and small.

 

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.

 

Celery Fields with the Caloosa Bird Club

It's a new day, a new month and a perfect time to meet up with the Caloosa Bird Club for a birding adventure - today's destination: Celery Fields....let's go!

We arrive early (the early bird gets the worm, you know - and the early birder gets the bird) and set out with bins and start looking. Right off the edge of those fence post - I found a Yellow-headed Blackbird mixed in with a dozen Brown-headed Cowbirds and as many Grackles. As soon as I got ready to take its photo, the whole flock took flight and disappeared down the street.

Across the way some Savannah Sparrows popped up.

Now, take this view in and see how inviting the area is.

Along the boardwalks we found several Soras - right out in the open for good looks. The Common Gallinule wished it had that much attention.

And that was the end of it.

A Swamp Sparrow probably wondered what was the fuss about.

In the meantime - "who's looking at who?" (A Red-shouldered Hawk on a camouflaged motion activated camera)

A Boat-tailed Grackle, my picture does not do it justice - it's plumage a rich and deep glossy blue.

A few Blue-winged Teal.

And a boat load of Northern Shovelers.

And up they went.

The Red-shouldered Hawk seemed to enjoy the show.

After a bit, we made our way into Myakka River State Park - this Tricolored Heron was one of the highlight.

The water levels were quite high following all the rain storms that we've had for the past two months - too deep for shorebirds.

Sweet sounds of birds raises our attention.

After doing our bird list and finishing up our lunches - we made a point of stopping along the bridge before leaving the park. A friend of mine (Hi Patch!) had mentioned that a white morph of the Great Blue Heron was hanging around - I was glad to be able to locate it.

It was a great day birding as always - way worth getting up in the wee hours of the morning. My E-Bird List for the Celery Fields, my E-Bird List for Palmer Blvd and my E-Bird List for Myakka River State Park.