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.

 

Guided Bird Walk on Bunche Beach

There was two bird walks this morning at Bunche Beach - hard to choose, so when in doubt do both :). I arrived before the sun and bundled up as much as I could and still be able to move - hey, this 50 degree weather is brutal for a Florida girl considering that 6 months out of the year we hover in the mid 90's. Well, enough of that....lots of birders showed up - I'm guessing about 60 people that got split into two groups....so here we go....

We spent some time setting up scopes and checking out the area - some Marbled Godwits took flight and soon after....

so did the Black Skimmers - it is quite a sight to see hundreds of birds flying/dipping/turning - all in unison and mesmerizing us all.

Just a few feet away a Turkey Vulture was enjoying some fish leftovers....

"Did you want some?" No thanks.

Then we came across this print - it is HUGE -

and just for size comparison I had Fran put her foot near - I'm guessing it might have been from a Great Blue Heron.

And then the Tree Swallows started coming closer to the ground and were actively

feeding on the fly as they dipped on the beach. The group went further up the west end and we observed some of the small shorebirds..................

 

 

 

 

 

quite a few Semipalmated Plovers and

several Piping Plovers.....a few

Ruddy Turnstone too. A bit later the wind kicked up a notch so we retreated along the shoreline looking for warmth - it was time for the group to conclude our walk - we counted species and people - a pretty good day after all. We bid farewell until the next time and I set out to walk with Suzanne - a northern visitor - to the East end to check a bit closer what is there.

I'm glad I made the walk over - look - Horned Grebes!

We enjoyed watching them dip in, disappear and reappear with some vegetation in their bill - they are just adorable.

As I headed back, the Black-bellied Plover and a Dunlin seemed to follow me along, so did the

Wilson Plover and Sanderling. As I turn around for one last look, a

Marbled Godwit reminded me to come back soon.

This, my friends, is the way back home.

I made a stop along the Causeway to check on the gulls - a 1st winter Great Black-backed Gull was there

while all the Laughing Gulls kept their distance - notice the size difference even several feet apart, it's amazing.

 And this, folks, conclude my outing for today - a great birding day. Thank you to the Lee Co Bird Patrol and the SanCap Audubon Group for leading the way and for sharing your knowledge, you are appreciated. My E-bird List for Bunche Beach

Big Cypress area with Caloosa Bird Club

Monday is Caloosa Bird Club day and destination this week was the Big Cypress area, our first stop was on the Marsh Trail.

Beautiful vista everywhere you look, on the second photo we could see the top of a high rise from Marco Island.

Our Mascot - the Green Heron - was one of our first sighting.

After checking the area and seeing a handful of birds, we moved on to the next spot - Big Cypress.

The Black Vulture and the Turkey Vulture welcomed us to the center - actually, if truth be told - they barely looked at us as we walked by them - LOL, I bet they see tons of people enter this boardwalk.

As we made our way to the back/end of boardwalk, we saw several species feeding and moving about - the Great Blue Heron above and the Black-crowned Night Heron below.

A water snake lurked just below the boardwalk.

After watching several warblers, woodpeckers and titmouse - we headed off to our next spot - Kirby Storter.

The beginning of this trail (boardwalk) is surrounded by Bald Cypress in their dormant state.

As we got deeper onto the boardwalk more wildlife came into view - this Green Heron is really showing his green coat - the lighting was helpful too.

And what have we got here?

An American Bittern.

The Bittern is a wading bird with long legs, neck and bill for stalking food in shallow water.

As we headed back, we had the opportunity to watch the Green Heron in action - he is quite adept at jumping from branch to branch without missing a beat - ever so graceful.

The Wood Storks were now resting after feeding all morning.

When we exited the boardwalk, we sat and enjoyed our lunch while discussing the sighting of the day - American Bittern was chosen as the bird of the day. As we parted ways - some folks mentioned other venues they were heading to - we started heading north and made a quick stop at Burn Lake.

 

Our target: Bluebirds!

 

I don't get to see Bluebirds but a couple times per year and I wish it was more often.

Except for a few tents and a couple of RV, the place was really quiet - save for the Bluebirds, Warblers and Woodpeckers - well worth the couple of miles of dirt road.

Of course Big Cypress would not be right without Alligators - this big guy was seen by the HP ? facility boardwalk.

My E-Bird List for the day in Collier Co.