Barn Owl

 Wednesday May 27th

This Barn Owl was photographed as it perched on the highway railing in the early morning hours this past Sunday. I had driven to the Everglades Ag Area south Belle Glade, Florida with the idea of finding any swallows.

Cave Swallows are active in their colony site on East Canal Street, south of Belle Glade. My efforts to get a useful photograph were thwarted by the speed of their flight. They are presumable nesting under the closed bridge spanning the canal near the intersection with Brown's Farm Road. Several Barn Swallows were also spotted along Brown's Farm Road. 

The Barn Owl was seen across the road from the Cave Swallow Colony. 

eBird Checklist - 24 May 2026 - 6 Mile Bend Ponds - (No Public Access - View From Road) - 7 species

eBird Checklist - 24 May 2026 - Browns Farm Rd. - 19 species

eBird Checklist - 24 May 2026 - Gladeview Rd. - 15 species

eBird Checklist - 24 May 2026 - East Canal Street South, Belle Glade, Florida, US (26.648, -80.591) - 2 species

Barn Swallow

Common Mynas in Belle Glade

Eurasian Starling in Belle Glade

eBird Checklist - 24 May 2026 - Winn-Dixie Plaza - 8 species

Babies

 Wednesday April 28th

Spring Migration activity is extremely slow for southwest Florida. We are experiencing some variety of migrating birds, but in very low numbers. The last few days in April and into early May we sometime have Bobolinks resting up at Harns Marsh in Lehigh Acres. Checked there today and observed a distance flock flock moving around the cattails.

The Sandhill Cranes at Harns Marsh are nesting and their young, called colts, are now accompanying there parents as they forage. 

Back at home Starlings have been nesting in the cavities in the old trees around the property. The hatchlings are now vocalizing and mom and dad are actively collecting grub for their young broods.

Baby Starling waiting for lunch

Starlings nesting in cavities in the Silk Oak Tree
and in the huge Chinese Laurel

The Florida Sandhill Cranes are the breeding population here
The wintering Greater Sandhill Cranes have already left for the Upper Great Plains

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