Last week right before hurricane Helene decided to wreak havoc on our area, my friend Art and I took a ride over by Sebring. It’s an area that we like to visit because of the diverse landscape. Most of the region is comprised of large farms with citrus groves, and a lot of cattle ranches. But there are also roads that go through hardwood forests and swamps. We typically find a wide variety of wildlife. It seems like every trip provides some kind of pleasant surprise.
On this day we found almost 60 different species of birds. During his last trip to Sebring, Art came across a family of endangered Florida Scrub Jays. We hoped that they hadn’t moved on to a different area. Fortunately, they were still there. I’ve posted about scrub jays in the past if you would like to read more. They are amiable and curious birds that will often come to calls.
One of our nice surprises of the day happened early in our trip. We came across a beautiful red-headed woodpecker that was picking bugs off a fence post. We usually find them up in the trees but rarely down low. This bird would fly back and forth from the post to a large pine tree, and it gave us some nice poses.
Agricultural land is often a good place to find crested caracaras. This trip was no exception. We saw several. But the best action happened when we spotted two sitting on top of a tall utility pole. They stayed for a few minutes then flew off, but quickly returned. It gave us a chance to get some good flight pictures. Caracaras seem to be more trusting of people than other birds of prey. Maybe because they are scavengers and are often around farm workers and machinery.
There were meadowlarks everywhere on this trip. We saw dozens of them. Their distinctive calls seemed endless. After reviewing photos, there were several juveniles so it must have been a good nesting season. The early morning sun really highlighted their bright yellow breasts and provided for some good photos.
Finally, a trip to this area wouldn’t be complete without an encounter with some owls. There is a spot we found a couple of years ago that we know is home to some barred owls. Certain times of the year they will respond to a call. On this day, a pair came to check out our call. While one of the owls stayed hidden among the palm fronds, the other perched on an outer frond to see what to see what the noise was about. It stayed for several minutes and gave us some good photo opportunities.
Other birds we saw were many sandhill cranes, egrets, herons, wild turkeys, hawks, and even a bald eagle. It was a good day. A few more pictures from the trip are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, please visit the galleries listed.
