Pretty In Pink Valentine’s Day
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Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Roseate Spoonbill
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Roseate Spoonbill
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Roseate Spoonbill
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Roseate Spoonbill
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(all photos taken 2/14/21 at 10,000 Islands NWR)
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Birds on a Foggy Morning
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The fog was beginning to burn off this morning as I headed down the trail to reach the wetlands.
One of my first peaks through a window in the trees….
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Oh my! This was looking to be promising morning, as I continued along.
I stopped at another opening through the trees….
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A few more wide angle shots…..
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Birds in the above photos include Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, Little Blue Herons, White Pelicans, Wood Storks, Roseate Spoonbills, White Ibis, Common Gallinules, and Double-crested Cormorants.
Not shown but in the immediate surroundings of the above photos I also photographed Glossy Ibis, Brown Pelicans, Green Herons, Anhingas, Blue-winged Teal, and a few small shorebirds (maybe sandpipers or willets).
Some close-up favorites to come!
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Gray Catbird
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I know many of you are missing one of your summer’s interesting songs of the Gray Catbird. I can happily report many are here in Florida enjoying their winter vacation.
I can hear them just about everywhere I wander, following their ‘mew’ calls, then spotting them doing short flights in shrubs, thickets and vegetation, always hiding behind branches and leaves. They are so secretive!
Finally one gave me a chance out in the open. I took it!
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Gray Catbird
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Blue-Winged Teal
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If there aren’t any/many people at the Marsh Trail observation deck, a few Blue-winged Teal feeding out in the wetlands will work their way closer to the shoreline.
This male did have a lady, but she stayed around the mangrove roots and in the shade.
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Blue-winged Teal (male)
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Not but a minute of rest and the male was on the move again, crossing that lovely, mirrored water to catch up with his lady feeding.
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Blue-winged Teal (male)
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Blue-winged Teal (male)
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Squabbling Wood Storks
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Nicknamed the “old man of the swamp” and the “voiceless bird”, you will generally see the quiet Wood Stork in a calm setting, foraging or resting. They co-habitat nicely with egrets and herons as long as its neighbors play nice.
So I was surprised to see a little aggressive interaction take place between two Wood Storks a couple weeks ago as one came in to land near another.
Here are the highlights!
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Wood Stork squabble begins
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The Wood Stork ‘180’
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Chest to Chest Hissing and Beak Snapping
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‘Hi-YA’ Kung Fu
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New meaning to ‘foot in mouth’
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“Begone, you old fool!”
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“And don’t come back!”
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I guess the one landing wasn’t welcomed!
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Five On The Wing – #4
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Here’s my fourth of my series of sharing five birds in flight in one post.
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Laughing Gull
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Royal Tern
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American Oystercatcher
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Herring Gull
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Caspian Tern
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Oh, to fly like a bird!
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Glossy Ibis and Their Iridescence Feathers
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I felt lucky two mornings ago at the 10,000 Islands NWR’s Marsh Trail, arriving to find three Glossy Ibis, separated and very busy foraging the wetlands.
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Glossy Ibis
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Continually moving and working the waters, it didn’t take very long before one of the Glossy Ibis came in closer for some great photos. Walking up on a tiny ‘island’ to take a break, the Glossy Ibis proceeded to shake off excess water and fluff up for some preening. And the iridescent colors shined!
I narrowed the preening photo shoot to sharing these five photos, and that was hard. 😏
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Are you ready to see my iridescent feathers?
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Glossy Ibis
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Glossy Ibis
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Glossy Ibis
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Glossy Ibis
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More of that morning’s Glossy Ibis to come…. 🙂
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Great Egret Reflections – Swamp Habitat
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Whether it’s birding the wetlands or the swamps, both afford astounding finds. Including reflections!
Here are two photos of a Great Egret reflecting in a swamp in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park.
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Great Egret in a swamp
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Great Egret in a swamp
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Yellow-crowned Night Heron – Juvenile
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A fun post! Scanning the trees, what do you see?
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A juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron hiding amongst the leaves!
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“Peek-A-Boo!”
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Five On The Wire – #1
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As another occasional post, I’m beginning this new five bird species series with the theme of birds perching on those not-so-pretty communication wires.
With 360° views for hunting and resting, we can’t blame the birds for liking them. With a creative composition and catching the light in their eye, birds and wires can prove to be very pretty!
So on with a set of five bird beauties enjoying a swingin’ moment!
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Loggerhead Shrike
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American Kestrel (male)
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Eurasian Collared-Dove
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White Ibis
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Red-shouldered Hawk (juvenile)
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“So many birds sitting around, on a dead wire, a bare branch, a cold ground, a drifting seashore; never realizing the glory in their wings and where it can take them, nor the envy as we look on them.” — Anthony Liccione
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Bay Photos by Donna 