Birding Gator Hole, a 20/20 preserve in Lee Co.

It had been a while since I visited the Corkscrew/Alico Rd area and since I have the day off and much desire to bird - I and Libby headed out at the pre-crack of dawn....

I drove down Alico with the hopes of hearing the Whip-poor-will but had to settle for this Big Cypress Fox Squirrel - very cool!

One of the perks of being a volunteer for the Lee Co Bird Patrol is that I have access to some of the less traveled preserve such as this Gator Hole. We arrived after sunrise but the fog was still pretty thick in some patches - a common occurrence in Florida.

At the opposite end of the preserve we spotted two Wild Turkeys perched high in the trees!....not exactly where I would expect them to be.

One of many Palm Warblers seen flying in a frenzy while getting their feathers cleaned.

A few Eastern Towhee were heard before they were seen - what a beautiful male!

Many Butterflies were observed along the preserve, beside this Phaon Crescent we had Gulf Fritillary, Zebra Longwing, White Peacock and Barred Yellow.

Some moths too - beside the Rattlebox Moth we spotted this pink/orange moth and after much searching Libby found this to be a Southern Purple Mint moth.

Along the western edge of the property we noticed something down the path....

White-tailed Deer, two on the trail and 3 in the bushes - they quickly disappeared as we traveled down the path.

A Gulf Fritillary

Beautiful fauna within the preserve, don't you agree?

A very bright and yellow Palm Warbler.

One of my favorite - a Brown-headed Nuthatch.

A bright yellow flower bush going into seed.

Another beautiful butterfly that was a challenge to identify - at last it was - I introduce to you: Mallow-scrub Hairstreak - a pretty name that  does this butterfly justice.

Some of the very few remaining Aster at the Preserve - I love the pale yet bright color.

And, as all good things must come to an end - so does this adventure ..... in the meantime I'll keep a keen 'hawk'eye on things until the next time. My E-Bird List for today.

Church Road in Hendry Co

A great northern friend, whom I've introduced birding to (Hi Larissa) is visiting me and I thought: "What a great opportunity to return to Church Road!". My intents were to spot Cara Cara, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and Kingbirds.....well, as birding goes - sometimes anything goes.

When I entered Church Road I was looking on the power lines and off-mindedly saying:"Dove, Dove, DEER!" LOL, I was not expecting that - a White-tailed Deer was coming at me and then entertained us by darting right, left, right, left....until it found a clearing into the bushes.

Well, that is how it all started.....come along and see what else we were exposed to.

Far in the distance I could see Wild Turkeys strutting along the back fence, had it not been for my camera (Canon SX50), I would not be able to share this image with you.

Near those Orange Groves that lines Church Road are numerous trees, twigs and bushes where the birds can be located - not always well photographed - such as this Yellow-rumped Warbler .... these guys seemed to have a ball crossing the street back and forth while visiting the trees.

 

 

Our recently returned celebrity - the Swallow-tailed Kite - several were spotted flying overhead and dipping down for meals on the fly.

A Sparrow! I was really surprised to see a sparrow high in a tree and right away I thought to myself: "I don't think I've seen this guy before". So, with excitement, I took a bunch of photos and at my first opportunity, I checked my book to find its identity....

A Lark Sparrow! How very sweet that is.

He was soon joined by a Savannah Sparrow - also in the trees!

 The Red-shouldered Hawks were numerous this morning and easily spotted among the twigs and flying loudly.

 Another Savannah Sparrow.....sweet!

 Finally....a pair of Cara Cara was spotted flying overhead - the only ones in sight this morning.

A Kestrel - watching for prey and catching them successfully.

 An Eastern Phoebe getting ready to gobble down his fat and juicy spider.

The Red-shouldered hawk doing more watching than catching. Take note of the "red" in the shoulders, quite visible here.

 After a bit, we drove further along Church Road while still looking for some Kingbirds - in the process I saw a Robin....nice!

 Shortly after, we saw and heard the Towhees - I love these guys.

Aha! A burst of color such as this can only be a male Painted Bunting - seen very well through Binoculars, not so much with the camera lens.

A female Painted Bunting on the other hand graced us with her presence, somewhat in the open - not without having me scratching my head with her orange and yellow hues - some folks indicated that it was a young male. In any event, several Buntings were present and brightened our day.

It is true that we didn't get to see Kingbirds during this outing, however we were blessed with many sightings of great feathered friends. My E-Bird list for this day....43 species in all.

Myakka River State Park

 What a great day to be visiting this beautiful
State Park in Sarasota. The weather turned out to be just beautiful today and rain free too. 
We were hoping to see many birds, however our recent rain fall prevented the birds from feeding in their usual spot - which I used to see right off this boardwalk. One of the few feathered friend we encountered today were wild turkeys - crossing the roads and heading into the Palmettos. (See down the post for the link to my E-Bird List.)

 The Water Hyacinth were plentiful as you can see and just breathtaking.

 To me, wildflowers have a special appeal, each one being alluring.

 After taking in the beautiful vista - we ventured into the woods for a short hike.

 Since the birds were in hiding, I turned my attention to the other little creatures, such as these.

 Spiders....oh the web they weave....this one can turn you on with his pretty colors.

 Pretty colorful eyes and gentle hands.

And my precious friends, Carol and John. A day with them is very special indeed! Thanks for being YOU.

My E-Bird List for the day