Spring Time in Cape Coral

Tuesday March 28th

This morning  I spent time birding various location in Cape Coral, starting at the Ball Fields on Pelican Boulevard. From here, began a series of observations of spring time romance amongst the birds.  Basically noted the Monk Parakeets and Fish Crows present collecting nesting materials. At other location noticed the same behavior with Starlings and Blue Jays, plus Downy Woodpeckers and Flickers prepping nest holes.

Pelican Blvd Ball Fields

This Fish Crow spent time adjusting this twig just so.

Monk Parakeets were busy collecting twigs for their huge nests

Working the nest

Burrowing Owl

Rotary Park

A Few Palm Warblers were present

Visited Rotary Park next and found it rather quite. A few waders, Mockingbirds, Palm, Yellow-rumped and Prairie Warblers and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.

Greater Yellowlegs

Charlotte Harbor Buffer Preserve

Northern Flicker prepping her nest hole

On my first visit to Charlotte Harbor Buffer Preserve, encountered Northern Flickers and Downy Woodpeckers actively prepping nest hole, plus Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Blue Jays carrying nesting material. Lots of Eastern Towhees could be heard and with a high tide not much was happening along the shore line.

Downy female checking her nest hole

Red-bellied Woodpecker in breeding colors

Downy Woodpecker inspection nest hole

    

Banded American Kestrel

This American Kestrel was seen down the road from the entrance. I hadn't ever notice one with a leg band before.

Spring Time at the Beach

Saturday March 25th

Sunrise at Bunche Beach

A sunrise visit to Bunche Beach today to see what's new. Noticing that the shore birds are beginning to molt into their spring-time colors. Mostly we see these winter visitors in there most mundane off-season coloration. They seem to be just getting started. But it won't be long till they reach there breeding molt and head for the arctic or sub-arctic nesting sites.

Black-bellied Plover

Black-bellied Plover

Black-bellied Plover migration map

Dunlin nest in the Canadian Arctic

Dunlin Migration

Willet

Spotted Sandpiper

Sanderlings still in their winter feathers

Sanderlings migration map

Red Knot

Red Knot Migration

Little Blue Heron

Northern Cardinal

Caspian Tern

Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area

Sunday March 19th

White-tailed Deer

The Babcock-Webb property is basically mesic pine flatwoods which hosts three bird species of concern including the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, Brown-headed Nuthatches and Bachman's Sparrow. Of these three birds the Bachman's can be the most difficult to spot due to its more secretive manners.  However, from March into May the males will post itself on a low limb and sing its heart out. This is why I had traveled to this spot today, to look for some Bachman's.

I arrived at dawn and was rewarded with a pair of Bachman's in song. Couldn't get a photograph as they still proved hard to locate. Also singing this morning were a number of Eastern Towhees, Pine Warblers, Northern Cardinals, Eastern Meadowlarks and Northern Bobwhites.

Eastern Bluebird

Green Heron

Pine Warbler

Thistle

This Limpkin has collected a fresh-water muscle

Pine Warbler

 Within the first hour I had been successfully in finding the Big Three, but was able to add, a Great Horned Owl, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellow-throat, Mockingbirds, House Wrens, Palm Warblers, Limpkins, Great Egrets, Eastern Bluebirds, Anhingas, Osprey, Pileated Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Grey Catbirds, Eastern Phoebes, a Great Crested Flycatcher, Northern Flickers, Wilson's Snipe and Tree Swallows.

An Eastern Towhee

Pine Warbler

Pine Warbler

Red-winged Blackbird showing-off his chevrons

This section at, Babcock-Webb, had recently been subjected

to a cleansing prescribed-burn

Great Crested Flycatcher

Great Crested Flycatcher

A Gator laying in wait

Reddish Egerts at Bunche Beach

Saturday, March 11th

Reddish Egret - White Form

Stopped by at day break for a quite visit.  The tide was quit low and the beach was attracting a great many birding enthusiasts.  Lots of bins, scopes and cameras.

Reddish Egret

Note the tracking radio antenna attached to this birds back

Counted four Reddish Egrets today - two were the normal reddish phase and the others were the white phase included one toting a tracking radio.

Dunlin

Other shore birds present included lots of Sanderlings, Dunlin, Least and Western Sandpipers, Black-bellied Plovers, Semipalmated Plovers and a few Piping Plovers.

Spotted Sandpiper

Not very many gulls or terns at the time. Mostly Laughing Gulls with a few Black Skimmers, Ring-billed Gulls and Royal Terns

Western Sandpiper

Sanderling

Additionally seen were a couple of Spotted Sandpipers and Yellow-crowned Night-herons

Black-bellied Plover

Semipalmated Plover

The Swallow-tailed Kites are Back

Sunday, March 5th

Currently my weekend starts at 6 AM on Sunday morning, which I kicked-off today with some birding in  Lehigh Acres.

Swallow-tailed Kite

As I was driving away from the plant, was able to spot my first Swallow-tailed Kite of the day, as it was foraging along side of the road. I always look forward to the return of the Kites after there long flight South America. They will be arriving in the American Southeast to begin their nesting season, and will be heading back to were wintering homes starting at the end of July.

Along the way to Lehigh, I made a small detour through some back roads at the airport to look for Wood Ducks ( found ten, but no pics), but came across this roosting Swallow-tailed Kite.  Saw an addition three kettling further down the road. That was five for the day.

Gray-headed Swamphen

By 8:45 I had reached my destination at Harns Marsh.  The water level has been falling and the wading bird numbers are on the rise. Large numbers of Great Egrets, Wood Storks, Tricolored Herons and more.  There were also a large number of birders on hand.  Most folks from out-of-state enjoying our Florida winter.

Still have a lot of waterfowl present. Not a great variety - Ring-necked Ducks, American Coots, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal and Mottled Ducks.

Only spotted a single female Snail Kite, but lots of Limpkins. We also found  a few Pied-billed Grebes, Anhingas, Cormorants, Grackles, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeer, Common Gallinules, Grey-headed Swamphens, Wilson's Snipe, Sandhill Crane, Tree Swallows, Savannah Sparrows and Robins.

Roseate Spoonbill

Misses included Northern Harrier and Purple Gallinule.

From here, checked out the Florida Scrub Jay spot on 47th Street West, were an individual jay was quite accommodating.

Checked a couple of Red-headed Woodpecker spots in the area, but came up empty. Then up to Alva to see what was happening at the Whites' feeders. Found the their yard much busier with birders than birds. Now its time to head home.

Florida Scrub Jay in Lehigh Acres

Green-winged Duck

Purse Crab

Saturday March 4th

 Today I checked out Bunche Beach, arriving at day break, having just left work. Made a brief check at the Mangrove Cuckoo spot. Not seeing or hearing anything moved onto the beach. The tide was at a low stage and a nice mix of shore birds,waders, gulls and terns were present.

Purse Crab

Spotted a very large live Whelk and a very tiny crab I've never encountered before. A google search helped in identifying the crab as a Mottled Purse Crab. A very strange looking creature

The face of a Purse Crab

Whelk