Ring-necked Snake at Harm's Marsh

Tuesday, March 20th.

This Ring-necked Snake was found sunning itself at Harn's Marsh

The water level seems to be falling at Harn's Marsh and more wading and shore birds were found. Had a single Black-necked Stilt, some Yellowlegs in breeding colors, Western Sandpipers and Killdeers. The duck population is greatly diminished with absence of ring-necked and lesser scaup. Plenty of Blue-winged Teal still and plenty of Mottled Ducks.  Was surprised to find a pair of male Wood Ducks. I don't recall seeing wood ducks here before. The American Coot population remains very large and Common Gallinules are still common.

Black-necked Stilt

Limpkins and Snail Kites still have a strong presence. Did find that Northern Harrier and American Kestrel are still here, but for the past several days I noticed an absence of the tree swallows that had been so numerous this winter. A few Palm Warblers and Savannah Sparrows were found today also.

Tri-Colored Heron

Sharp-shinned Hawks - Visits to Babcock-Webb and Harns Marsh

Wednesday, October 26th

Typical habitat at babcock-Webb

After spending so much time lately chasing the fall migration I took some time to visit a couple of my favorite spots. Spent the mourning visiting Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area in Charlotte County.  Started with locating a pair of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers.  The most common birds were Common Grackles followed by White Ibis, Pied-billed Grebes, Eastern Meadowlarks, Belted Kingfishers and Pine Warblers.  Other warblers included a lot of Palm Warblers, a few Common Yellowthroats and a sole Prairie Warbler. Was able to add a FOS Wilson's Snipe, a Bald Eagle, Common Ground Doves, an Eastern Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, a Yellow-throated Vireo, a single Eastern Bluebird , at least four Eastern Towhees, several chattering House Wrens.  Found several Northern Mockingbirds, a couple of Brown Thrashers, plus several Northern Cardinals.

While making a final stab at locating any nuthatches or bobwhites, which I dipped on, I was surprised to find a Broad-winged Hawk and then a Sharp-shinned Hawk flew past my car. Both hawks are migrants. Some of the them may stay for the winter, but mostly they are heading south.

Juvenile White Ibis, was part of a large flock of juveniles

Pied-billed Grebe

Great Blue Heron at Webb Lake

Later in the day I headed over to Harn's Marsh in Lee County.  The water level was still high so waders were not very numerous.  Did get Great Blue Herons, a couple of Limpkins,  Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Tricolored Herons, a single Glossy Ibis, a dozen Cattle Egrets and no white ibis.  American Coots have arrived and had a couple of Common Gallinule, another Wilson's Snipe, a trio of Least Sandpipers and a single Killdeer. The usual Turkey and Black Vultures are present and did find only two Snail Kites today. But the migrant hawks were present here too, including another Broad-winged Hawk, a Merlin, a Kestrel and a Sharp-shinned Hawk.  Had a couple of Savannah Sparrows in the company of a couple of Palm Warblers and a flock of Tree Swallows passed over just as I was leaving. As for ducks I counted twenty Mottled Ducks and a trio of Blue-winged Teal.  Won't be long and the variety of ducks will be increasing soon.

Least Sandpiper at Harn's Marsh

Bobolinks and Pelicans - a visit to Harn's Marsh

Tuesday, May 3rd

I wasn't able to get out for some birding till the afternoon.  Headed over to Harn's Marsh in Lehigh Acres with the idea of seeing if any migrating Bobolinks could be found.  Had a seen a flock there a year ago.  Plus last week I had see a flock of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks close to the parking area.  Maybe they were still around.

First checked out the activity of at the Harn's Marsh School entrance. Counted at least eight Snail Kites, most were juveniles. Limpkins were everywhere. Also present were the usual waders including Little Blue Herons, Glossy Ibis, Snowy Egrets and a Sandhill Crane. The nearby cypress stand provided a pair of Northern Parula and a Yellow-throated Warbler

Limpkins were very numerous

At the 38th Street entrance, the water level at the marsh has become much lower lately, exposing a growing amount of the muddy bottom. This developed into two good birding experiences.  First was that were several shore birds, including Least Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeers a Semipalmated Plover and a Pectoral Sandpiper were located.  If I had a scope, might have found more.  Secondly, there was a huge concentration of wading birds in one corner of the marsh, including Wood Storks, Roseate Spoonbills, Glossy and White Ibis, at least a hundred Great Egrets, attracted to the concentration  of their prey.

Bobolinks would not allow a close enough approach for a good picture

 My big surprise is the presence of at least five American White Pelicans.  Had not ever seen them there before.  Probably a group of juveniles not interested it migration to the breeding grounds.

Wood Storks

Roseate Spoonbill

 Present was a family of Sandhill Cranes with a pair of colts. And as for the Boblinks, I did find a flock of of sixteen moving between the the brush alongside the road and cattails in the marsh.

Sandhill Crane family



Was surprised to find American White Pelicans



A great many birds were concentrating in the shrinking pools

My Day's List (38) - Mottled Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, American White Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Green Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Snail Kite, Common Moorhen, Limpkin, Sandhill Crane, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilt, Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Least Tern, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Parula, Yellow-throated Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Bobolink, Red-winged Blackbird, Boat-tailed Grackle

Pine Warblers - Lee County

Tuesday February First

Elected to bird Harn's Marsh and Alva this morning.  It was a nice day especially compared to the heavy snows and cold weather our family and friends are experiencing up-north.  Began the day with a stop on nearby Domestic Street to check the ponds for ducks and the shrub for sparrows.  Found the ponds much emptier than expected. Not as many American Coots were present as I have noticed these past few weeks, and no ducks. Perhaps later in the mourning they will arrive. And no sparrows.  A few Palm Warblers and a calling Eastern Meadowlark were noted.

Pine Warbler photographed at Hickey Creek Preserve

Had to stop at the bank by the I-75 rest stop area, which gave me an opportunity for a quick check of the wetlands located there and got to see Greater and a Lesser Yellowlegs fly-in. 

From here headed to Alva to look for woodpeckers and buntings. Stopped by the Hickey Creek Preserve, which was on the way, to check for any red-headed woodpeckers and Florida scrub jays.  Did not see the woodpecker or jays but had great views of Eastern Phoebes and Pine Warblers. I have had very few successful results from trying to photograph small, active birds like warblers. Just have a point and shoot camera.  So I was happy with the results of the pine warblers photos, as they let me get close enough and would pose long enough for the shot.

Stopped by the White's house in Alva to view their feeders and the gracious Mr White came out to say hello.  Noted the many Painted and Indigo Buntings present along with a trio of White-winged Doves. Didn't see any goldfinch's, but Mr White did assure me that they were still around.

Red-headed Woodpecker found in Alva, Florida.

Checked the nearby pasture for the Red-headed Woodpecker. Had a chance to get a photo of the bird as it investigated a telephone pole, but it would not pose and flew back into the pasture.  Had to settle for for photos from further away.  Also seen here were American Kestrel, Sandhill Crane, European Starlings, Boat-tailed Grackles, Eastern Meadowlark, Loggerhead Shrike, Northern Mockingbird and Limpkin. Down the road I was able to add a Blue-headed Vireo at the Caloosahatchee Regional Park
.

Hundreds of Tree Swallows in a huge swirling flock in LeHigh Acres, Florida

Came across this huge ball of swirling Tree Swallows as I came into LeHigh Acres.  Could of been a thousand birds.  As I arrived at Harn's Marsh I could see that hundreds of Tree Swallows were present as well. 

A mud turtle interrupted on its way to the water at Harn's Marsh

The water was higher than on my last visit, and I not sure if it had an effect on the Snail Kites  Just that they seemed less numerous as I only saw two from a distance. If the apple snails they consume diminish, the kites will spread out.  But the Limpkins, who also survive on apple snails, were very numerous today.

Apple Snail Shells, remnants from Snail Kite meals

Still had numerous American Coots and large numbers of Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaups, and Pied-billed Grebes. Only saw a couple of Mottled Ducks today  and a pair of Sandhill Cranes are nesting in the middle of the marsh. All of the usual waders were still present Great Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, Great Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Egrets, Glossy Ibis, and White Ibis. Killdeer would rise up and noisily fly off as you approach too closely, just as the Wilson's Snipe would rise up silently. The only other raptors seen aside the snail kites was a soaring Bald Eagle and lone American Kestrel

A Little Blue Heron at Harn's Marsh

I will eventually add a page on this blog with directions to my favorite birding spots in southwest Florida, as I have meet several people who were visiting Harn's Marsh for the first time complaining on how hard it is to find. I believe that Lee County is working on plans to develop this location for better public access. A good idea as I have met birders from all over the USA, Canada and overseas.  Maybe we could look at developing something like The Celery Fields in Sarasota.