Babcock-Webb

 Thursday March 24th

Red-cockaded Woodpecker seen on nest tree near to the nest hole,
 were, presumably, the female is seen

Arrived a bit too late to find a calling chucks-will-widow, as the sun was brightening up the day already. But did find two different active Red-cockaded Woodpecker nest sites. Took a little longer but singing Backman's Sparrows were heard.  And calling Bobwhites, Meadowlarks and Eastern Towhees as well.

Purple Thistle with a sweet bee

Limewater Brookweed

Carolina Ruellia

Netted Pawpaw

Purple Thistle, Leavenworth's Tickseed, Netted Pawpaw and Limewater Brookweed are in bloom. I like to check out the thistle for opportunities to photograph any butterflies feeding on the blossoms.

Corn Snake

Best observation for the day was a coyote.  I haven't seen them here in quite a while. This guy looked pretty healthy and had a blackish tail. It won't let me get close enough for a photo. Lots of deer today too.  Including dawns. The alligators were sunning themselves and a corn snake and a garter snake were spotted catching some sun too as they stretched out on the road.

Eastern Garter Snake

American White Pelicans

At the eastern end of Tuckers Grade, the impoundments are drying up. Here was a concentration of shorebirds including numerous Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitchers, plus a pair of Wilson's Snipes. What got your attention was the forty American White Pelicans resting at the site.

Greater Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Great Blue Heron

Pine Warbler

Purple Gallinule

Boat-tailed Grackle

Birding at Home

Saturday, April 10th

Mangrove Cuckoo 

was very reluctant to pose for the camera

With the beaches, parks and preserved closed to enhance social distancing, birding during Spring Migration has become very frustrating.  Locally the wildlife drive at Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island  remains open and one can bird by car.

I recently did bird from the Ding darling Wildlife Drive and was rewarded with a with a few interesting birds. Not much in the way of any neo-tropical migrating birds though on that day.  Did spot and heard a Mangrove Cuckoo, plus a soaring Broad-winged Hawk and several Red-breasted Mergansers were still present.

Lots of Cedar Waxwings dining on figs

House Sparrow

At home I have a couple of feeders set up under a huge, old and fruiting Laurel Fig tree.  Cedar Waxwings are a constant these days, feeding on figs and several Gray Catbirds have been hanging around, plus numerous European Starlings are preparing nesting sites in that big, old tree. But, again not much in the way of interesting migrants yet. The feeders are very popular with the expected resident birds.

Northern Cardinal

Gray Catbird

Brown-headed Cowbird. 

Only a single cowbird visits these days, but in earlier days flocks of 30 or 40 were common visitors

Starlings

Common Ground Dove

Common Ground Dove

Blue Jay

Starling

Eurasian Collared-dove

Boat-tailed Grackles don't visit the feeders very much

Gray Catbird

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Sunday January 13th

Boat-tailed Grackles were active at this watering spot

Had to make three attempts to locate the Yellow-headed Blackbird.  Its a western bird and not very commonly seem in Florida and to have a brightly colored male hanging out thirty miles from home, I had to see it.

Last week Eary Warren with wife Jennifer and Dave & Tammy McQuade had discovered the yellow-headed blackbird in the parking lot of the Win Dixie store at corner of US 17 and Bermont Road in Charlotte County.  Eary, Jennifer, Dave and Tammy have been racking up a long list birds, as the awesome birders that they are, to start the new year and it is no surprise that Eary was going to spot this guy.

Great Egret

Arrived to day about 2:30 pm and note that the parking lot lacked any grackles.  The yellow-head has been hanging with a local flock of boat-tailed grackles.  drove behind the stores to the retention pond, where wood storks, white ibis, laughing gulls, Ring-billed Gulls and the 

The Yellow-headed Blackbird was initially very hard to find. 

As it was well concealed in the shrubbery

grackles were found. Ran into Monica Higgins who was already monitoring the grackles for our target bird. Made a quick recheck in the parking lot.  Still empty.  returned to the pond an was informed that the flock had been spooked by an eagle and the yellow-headed blackbird

was easily seen and photographed. Big oops on my part, as I ended up waiting for well past an hour for the target to reappear.  The grackles were still active, so the blackbird was still expected to be at hand.  Was joined in the wait by Margi Haas and several ladies from Sarasota.

Eventually the bird was seen deep in the foliage, preening and being very inconspicuous. Patience paid off and the Yellow-headed Blackbird finally came out into the open.  Got my pics.  Yeah..

Early Florida settlers called these birds Old Flintheads 

and found them not to be very appetizing for the pot

Wood Stork

Harn's Marsh

Thursday September 21st

Needed to get my daily birding done, but so many venues are closed to the public. Ended up

spending an hour at Harn's Marsh.

Greetings from a Boat-tailed Grackle

It has dried some and the waters are still high, but there were birds.

Had my FOS Palm Warbler and pair of Tree Swallows. A Gray-headed Swamphen heard calling, but saw no water fowl. Had some Moorhens, Sandhill Cranes, Pied-billed Grebe, Belted Kingfisher and Waders

White Ibis

A Turkey Vulture

Florida Sandhill Crane

There is speculation that this Sandhill Crane is actually

a Lesser Sandhill Crane. 

A sub-species not expected here.

We see the non-migratory Florida sub-species and

wintering Greater Sandhills, from the Midwest

Little Blue Heron

Probably a Marl Pennant Dragonfly