Five On The Wing – #2
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Continuing with my new series of sharing five birds in flight, here are five birds that have some of the largest wingspans in Florida.
They are in order of the smaller to the larger in wingspan, along with their approximate wingspan measurement.
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Wood Stork – 59-71 inches (150-180 cm)
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Osprey – 59-71 inches (150-180 cm)
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Great Blue Heron – 66-79 inches (168-200 cm)
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Brown Pelican – 78-90 inches (198-228 cm)
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American White Pelican – 95-120 inches (241-304 cm)
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Shhhhh……here’s a bonus sixth photo, another one of the Brown Pelican above. That Brown Pelican was coming straight at me on the dock, to get as close as it could to land next to the fishing table, where a guy was standing with equipment, waiting for incoming boat. I just loved the wingspan partially closed.
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Brown Pelican coming in for a dock landing
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More to come in another later Five On The Wing series post!
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Busy, Busy Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
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It’s been about three weeks since I shared the female Ruby-throated Hummingbird enjoying her winter so far in the Hong Kong Orchid trees along The Broadway in Everglades City.
She is still here to my delight, and I hope yours!
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)
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“Peek-A-Boo”
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)
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“Nailing the Back-Arch Competition”
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)
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I overexposed this next image but loved the overall bird framing. So I tried my hand at a black and white process, then with two crops. I couldn’t decide which I loved better so I’m sharing both.
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)
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By golly, we’ve got great news! This pretty gal now has a male friend who is also hanging around the same orchid trees.
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male)
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male)
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male)
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“Look Ma, No Wings”
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male)
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“Going In For The Prize”
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male)
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Maybe there’s more to this winter meet-up between this pair! hehe 😉
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Male Red-bellied Woodpeckers Collecting Berries
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The palm tree berries in Everglades City are ready for the picking, and the male Red-bellied Woodpeckers are collecting them as fast as they can, then stashing them in tree trunk crevices and holes for later consumption for him, the Mrs, and soon to be babies.
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Red-bellied Woodpecker (male) collecting berries
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Red-bellied Woodpecker (male) collecting berries
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Red-bellied Woodpecker on a palm tree trunk peppered with
holes they create to suck out tree sap and also use for food storage
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Red-bellied Woodpecker (male) delivering a berry to the nest
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“A Brief Break”
Male Red-bellied Woodpecker
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These are taken along “The Broadway” where there are lots of Red-bellies and lots of berries. Needless to say, this is pretty awesome entertainment to watch and have fun trying to photograph! 😃
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Chasing Yellow
For the second day in a row, I received an e-Bird rare bird alert for a Cape May Warbler seen at the Everglades NP Gulf Coast Visitor Center, just two miles from me. A bird I’ve not captured, I decided to go see if I could find it. Heck, maybe someone else was there and could make it easy and show me!
The Cape May Warbler has a mossy green back, tiger-striped breast, chestnut cheek patch, and yellow underparts.
Well….no one else was there looking for it. And none of the Park Rangers set up in the outside tent for services were aware of it. (They are now, lol.)
So I watched the trees and walked the small nature trail, looking for a flash of yellow.
No luck with the Cape May Warbler. But that plan of mine to look for a flash of yellow paid off with two other yellow birds!
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Prairie Warbler
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Great Crested Flycatcher
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The Great Crested Flycatcher was flying back and forth from the tree to the ground, catching insects. I lucked out with one “on the ground” shot.
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Great Crested Flycatcher
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It was still a lucky, chasing yellow morning!
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Anhinga Perches on a Car
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I passed a female Anhinga perched on a branch within a mangrove.
Being very shy and skittish, I was shocked when she flew out of the mangrove, pass me, and then land before me on a car parked alongside the pond of water. 😲
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Anhinga (female) lands on a car
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With a leary eye on me, the female Anhinga then preceded to spread and dry her wings.
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“Excuse me please, while I dry off!”
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I’m very glad to say, it wasn’t my car! 😉
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Great Blue Heron in the Mangroves
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This Great Blue Heron was moving slowly through the dark waters, looking for fish at the roots within the shaded mangroves. A couple times s/he came into an opening where natural lighting filtered through, giving me two wonderful image opportunities.
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Great Blue Heron
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Great Blue Heron
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A Tricolored Heron’s Two Profiles
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I came upon this gorgeous Tricolored Heron standing in some cool spikey-looking grass.
A watchful red eye was already on me.
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Tricolored Heron – Profile #1
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After a couple photos, I did a slow, wide walk around the heron without looking it. When I got to a certain spot, I slowly turned around with my camera already raised and took the next photo.
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Tricolored Heron – Profile #2
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Hehe, is someone flirting with me? 😉
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Great Egret Reflections During Take-Off
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I’m glad I looked in the direction again at two Great Egrets, to see one preparing to launch.
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Great Egrets
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Great Egrets
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Who doesn’t love a windless, wetland reflection morning!
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Five On The Wing – #1
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This is the start of another post series to share photos of five different bird species in flight and ask which is your favored shot if you wish to share. I hope you enjoy them!
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Brown Pelican (juvenile)
Great Egret
Black Skimmers
Blue-winged Teal
Belted Kingfisher (male)
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Which of these birds on the wing do you favor the most? 😊
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Spotted Sandpiper
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I’ve seen Spotted Sandpipers several times on the docks and bulkheads along Barron River.
It’s hard to work with the ugliness of docks, and I finally felt lucky with this photogenic opportunity.
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Spotted Sandpiper
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The Spotted Sandpiper’s name insinuates it has spots, but where are they?
The above Spotted Sandpiper is in nonbreeding plumage, so it lacks its spots.
For comparison, below is a Spotted Sandpiper in breeding plumage I took last Spring.
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Spotted Sandpiper (breeding plumage)
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Bay Photos by Donna 