Northern Cardinal

Florida, the first week.
The morning I arrived was to partly cloudy skies and great temperatures in the high 70's . Well in Florida that can be short lived, as the afternoon comes on and as I was soon to find out, in rolled the rain clouds and down came the rain. This did not stop the birds from coming in to feed in the backyard though. The birds where coming into two trees that grow in the backyard, not native to Florida but introduced from Australia, the Bottle Brush Trees, for its bottle-brush looking flower that are full of nectar.
 I'm well aware of the birds that can be found around my daughters home but was surprised to find Palm Warblers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Cardinals, Common Grackles, Northern Mockingbirds, occasional Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Monk Parakeets and European Starlings coming into feed on the flowers. I was able to sit on the patio or stand by the side of the house and get most of these photos. The warblers and woodpeckers were quite accommodating when it came to my presence in the area.

Northern Cardinal in Bottle-brush tree

 The birds that were coming into it to feed on the nectar or searching for insects in the branches and bark. There was a pair of Mockingbirds that had a nest in a bush next to one of the Bottle-brush Trees. I was hoping to of been,able to photograph their chicks after they hatched, but unfortunately a pair of crows found the nest one day and that ended that. I don't know how the crows found the nest, because I had to look hard to find it after the incident with the crows.The Mockingbirds fought hard to drive the crows away but lost the battle.

Northern Mockingbird

Palm Warbler

Palm Warbler in the Rain

In the Bottle-brush Tree

Red-bellied Woodpecker

I tried hard to get photos of the parakeets as they feed in these trees but they would either see me and flee or where so blended in I couldn't get a photo if them. They are very vocal and raise quite a lot of noise no matter were they where.

Monk Parakeets

Further out in the yard I was to have Limpkins searching for Apple snails and preening on the railing that goes around the swimming pool. White Ibis grubbing for worms, herons and egrets searching for their meals along the waters edge of the oxbow in the canal that runs behind the house.

Limpkin with snail

Hopefully this video works. I had my 600mm lens on at the time and so there are spots where the Limpkins head gets cropped, but it shows how they shake and stab at the snail to get it loose from the shell. I would find these shells everywhere. These are not true Florida Apple Snails but a species that was introduced, as the Florida snail number are down, to help save the Limpkin and the Snail Kite which are doing quite well now. In fact Limpkin's are like pigeon's in a park, everywhere!

Limpkin working a snail

Preening Limpkin

Little Blue Heron

 The beautiful sunsets where almost never ending. I was to photograph many sunset from off of the back patio or down by the water's edge.

Sunset out the back door

White Ibis looking for a worm

White Ibis

Backyard Birds and Willard Bay Spur

It's about 7:30 in the morning and I'm sitting here at my desk working on this blog with the window open enjoying the birds singing and calling. So far I can hear Robins doing their morning songs, Downy Woodpecker calling and drumming and the American Goldfinch talking to each other. A Magpie is making it's call along with a Crow. Hummmmm just went real quite and the birds have disappeared, something must be lurking out there.
Over the last week, or at least since I've been home, I have had the enjoyment of numerous amounts of American Goldfinch in different degrees of molting into breeding plumage and Lesser Goldfinch coming into the feeders and bath pans. I must add that it is a little saddening to see that the Juncos and Towhees have departed for their summer grounds.

American Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

There have also been others including Townsend's Solitaire, Casin's Finch, House Finch, White-crowned Sparrow and just now an Broad-tailed Hummingbird at the feeder. Also I have had Western Scrub Jay a regular coming in for peanuts or a drink. American Robins and Cedar Waxwings. 

American Robin

Casin's Finch

Cedar Waxwing

Townsend's Solitaire

Western Scrub Jay

 The Eurasian Collared Doves are a regular visitor in for a bite and drink. Oh on another note the Western Screech Owl that spent the winter must of decided to make, to find, another spot to take up residence as we haven't seen it for awhile. Still a few Pine Siskins showing up from time to time.

White-crowned Sparrow

 The birds have started calling again in the backyard, Eurasian Collared Dove doing it cooooing. The White-crowned Sparrows are making their single "seeet" note call as they work around the base of the bushes. So the backyard is alive and doing well.

I made a couple of outings over the last two mornings out to the Willard Bay Spur mostly to photograph the Snowy Plovers but also see what could be found. First morning I was able to count 20 Snowy Plovers, but as Mike Hearell noted in one of his postings it is sad to see them in among-est all the shot up clay pigeons and garbage people have left. Yellow-headed Black birds were making a showing along with the Red-winged Blackbirds. Franklin Gulls in their Pink breeding attire with Bonaparte's Gulls into the molt. Willets, Avocets, White Pelicans and more making there appearance. Not to be left out where several flock of American Pipit's, a few Song Sparrows, a Savannah Sparrow and a sole Lincoln's Sparrow.

Snowy Plover

Snowy Plover

Avocet Scuffle

Swallows a many

Yellow-headed Blackbird

I observed several flights of Sandhill Cranes along with a few Double Crested Cormorants. Great Blue Herons and Greater Scaup. Spring is definitely here and the birds are here to also to make full use of it. Ahhhhh the Cedar Waxwings are in the backyard I can hear.

Birding Florida

Well I'm back from my stay with family in Florida and wanted to share some of the photos I was able to create while I was there of the many birds I saw. My first posting will be of the of the birds that were new to me, the story to finding them and some of the photos I was able to collect.

The first 4 new life birds where the Yellow-throated Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Eastern Phoebe and the Eastern Screech Owl. All four where to be found in different locations at Loxahatchee one of the places I enjoy birding. The Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge stretches for about 13 miles long and 12 miles wide with the north end just west of my daughters home. The visitor center & the area I like to bird and photograph at are located at the south end of the refuge off of  hwy 441 south and Lee road.
I had made a list of the birds I hoped to see while I was in Florida and in my search of the internet for places to bird and locate birds for my life list I came across a gentleman, John Schwarz, a very knowledgeable and enjoyable individual on birds. He knew where and when to locate them. Through this contact I was able to find out that there was a Eastern Screech Owl being seen at a nest box located behind the visitor's center at Loxahatchee. I made a run out there late that day and was rewarded with one of my golden birds!

Prairie Warbler

Eastern Phoebe

  

Eastern Screech Owl

  Two other areas not far from daughters that I like to bird and photograph are Wakodahatchee Wetlands and Green Cay Wetlands in the Boynton Beach area. These are quite amazing as they are located within the city and are like big wetland parks with a visitor center and raised boardwalks that you walk through the park on, putting you at eye level with a lot of the nesting Herons, Egrets, Cormorants and Anhingas that use these areas. Makes for some great photographic opportunities. The bird I picked up here is actually a newer invasive species that is starting to increase in numbers, the Purple Swamphen, (Pukeko), is originally from Thailand. These birds are fairly good sized and reminded me of  looking much like a Purple Gallinule on steroids.

Purple Swamphen

   My next three birds I was able to find where, north, up by Cape Kennedy at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Upon pulling up in line to the main entry gate I spotted my next bird as it came over and lit on the lawn at the gate-house, Florida Scrub-jay. I had taken photos of it and unfortunately for some reason when I transferred the photos over to my portable harddrive from my cameras memory card they were lost along with Reddish Egret, Wilson's Plover and others, very disappointing! I was able to locate the Wilson's Plover along a small salt water slew in the mangroves. There were two of them working along the shore line and I was able to get in good photographic range while they worked the water line and had some great shots of them. Reddish Egret at an area on the refuge called Black Point Drive. I was not expecting to see the egret here as I was under the impression it was more a bird found along the west coast of Florida, but this is not true thank goodness. When I spotted the two birds about 200 yards out, I knew immediately what they were by their peculiar way they hunt, running around in the water and spreading their wings out to shade the surface. Fantastic as this was one on my list I was really hoping to see. 
   A trip west and south out past Belle Glades took myself and John Schwarz to STA-5. This is one of many water treatment areas found around southern Florida. This area is known for the Snail Kite which was on my list to find and bingo we found a many. Apparently this is one of the few breeding areas for them. Along with the Snail Kite we also saw Stilt Sandpiper, and Florida race of Grasshopper Sparrow which added three more birds to my life list.

Snail Kite

Another trip with John would take us north to the Lake Kissimmee area at a place called Three Lakes. We were going to be in search of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker which required us to be on the road heading north by 5:30 in the morning as you want to be at the site at first light. We were very fortunate in locating 8 different birds and we believed due to the weather conditions, overcast, very high humidity and showers off and on during the night helped in us seeing as many birds as we did. The didn't disperse out to forage as quickly as they normally do, keeping them closer to their nesting trees. The weather conditions did make for very poor photographing as the lighting was very poor. We also picked up the Bachman's Sparrow that prefers the same general habitat as the woodpecker and Pine Warbler.

Bachman's Sparrow

Bachman's Sparrow

Pine Warbler

Red-cockaded Woodpecker
The next bird on my list was the White-eyed Vireo which John and I located at Kissimmee Prairie Park. Our plan was to go into the park to try and find the Vireo and the White-tailed Kite. As we parked got out of the vehicle at the main gate we could hear Northern Bobwhite Quail calling from a field off to the west of us and as John had not gotten any photographs of one we wanted to try and locate one. We started down a dirt road that skirted the field but was also lined with shrubs on both sides. Apparently this is the prefered habitat of the White-eyed Vireo as we soon heard one calling from within the shrubs. We were able to locate it but couldn't get any photos as it stayed pretty much hidden.  I was to see several more on my trip down to the Keys, but was unable to photograph them for the same reason.
Miami and Key Largo were my last runs for my life birds and I was able to pick up in Miami the following; White-winged Parakeet, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Mitered Parakeet, Common Myna-bird and Hill Myna-bird. In Key Largo I was able to see the Thick-billed Vireo along with several White-eyed Vireos but unable to get photos of either. I did have photos of the birds in Miami but do to my mistake or something with the transfer to the portable hard drive I lost all of those photos.
My goal was to get 20 new life birds and I ended up getting 21, a very pleasing time!