Florida Gulf Coast Creations

Tag: Black Swan

  • A Couple of Recent Trips

    A Couple of Recent Trips

    Last week Pam and I took a quick trip over to Lakeland to meet up with an old friend from Canada who spends the winters with his wife and dogs in Florida. We met him at Lake Morton, which is one of our favorite bird spots in the region. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were a lot of ducks present. We only saw a couple of wood ducks, which was a little disappointing, but there were several ringed-neck ducks and a stunning male redhead duck that provided some great photo opportunities.

    Male Redhead Duck Slowly Swimming Past
    Male Redhead Duck Slowly Swimming Past

    Lake Morton is also known for its population of swans, and we saw several mute swans and black swans. There were even some new black swan cygnets in the breeding pens. It was a good day for pictures and to catch up with a friend. On the way home we got to eat lunch at Cheddar’s, which is one of favorite restaurants. After a delicious meal, we headed over to Plant City to pick up a flat of fresh strawberries. Yum! Just a fun day all around.

    Black Swan Cygnets Resting
    Black Swan Cygnets Resting

    A few days later we headed to another one of our favorite bird spots in Sarasota. The Celery Fields nature preserve is a designated Audubon sanctuary and is home to a large variety of birds. One of the highlights of the morning was photographing the nanday parakeets at the feeders.

    Nanday Parakeet Finishing Up Drink
    Nanday Parakeet Finishing Up a Drink

    We’ve added new photos to several galleries listed below:

  • Lakeland Area

    Lakeland Area

    As the “snowbird” season comes to an end in Florida, we wanted to try and photograph a few waterfowl species before they begin or continue their journeys north. One of the species that spends time here is the ruddy duck. We’ve photographed the attractive little ducks in the past, but we’re always on a mission to find that perfect shot. So, we headed to Lakeland where we have always found ruddy ducks in the past. We follow the recent sightings from birders on Cornell University’s website so we knew the ducks were still in the area from several reports. As luck would have it, they chose a different lake that day!

    But all was not lost. This day turned out to be one of the best days we’ve ever had for wood ducks. We saw almost 30, and many were just perched and preening in the morning sun. Their colors are simply amazing. Other birds that settled on or around the lake that day included mallards, ring-necked ducks, mute swans, black swans, lesser scaup, and a large flock of white pelicans.

    Wood Duck Male Resting On Wall
    Wood Duck Male Resting on a Wall

    The male pelicans were hilariously courting the females by cruising around the lake with their wings lifted over their backs.

    White Pelican Male With Wings Up Pose
    White Pelican Male with a Wings Up Pose

    Here is a link to Cornell’s website which is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in birds.

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

  • Lakeland

    Lakeland

    One of my favorite photo destinations is Lakeland, FL. As the name implies, Lakeland is a city of lakes. According to recent data, there are 38 named lakes in the city. Lakeland is famous for its population of mute swans that are descendants of a pair of swans given to the city by Queen Elizabeth in the 1950s.

    Mute Swan Chattering
    Mute Swan Chattering

    On our last visit we encountered the swans on their nests. Many were incubating eggs while some little cygnets had already hatched and were kept protected in enclosures. There were still many ducks around including wood ducks, ring-necked ducks, mallards and ruddy ducks. I had not seen a male ruddy duck for many years. A few white pelicans were also cruising the lake.

    Ruddy Duck Male Resting On Lake
    Male Ruddy Duck Resting on a Lake

    A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.

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