During one of our recent visits to Fort DeSoto State Park in St. Petersburg, we saw several types of shore birds. Some live in this area all year while a few are just temporary residents until returning to distant nesting grounds. The whimbrel is one of the birds that migrates here from way up north along the arctic waters.
Whimbrel Walking Along the Edge of the Water
Another shore bird that travels long distances between their winter getaways and their arctic nesting homes is the Ruddy Turnstone. An interesting fact about turnstones is that there are only 2 species of turnstones in the world, and both live in North America.
Ruddy Turnstone with a Small Worm
For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
We visited one of the local nature preserves a few days ago just to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. To our surprise, we found a bunch of indigo buntings along with a single male painted bunting. We thought maybe they had started their journey north for the summer but to our delight, they’re still here. We were even able to get some shots of males that have finished their molting into full color.
Male Indigo Bunting on the End of a Branch
Our backyard painted buntings are also still here. Yesterday we saw multiple males and the lone female at the feeder. We keep hoping that they’ll decide to forego the northern travel and stay here for nesting season! They have been so fun to watch over the past 6 months.
For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
I apologize for getting a little “political” but one thing I learned years ago is that the vast, vast majority of sportsmen and sportswomen are more concerned with actually doing something about the environment than our government. Maybe the best example of this is the Ducks Unlimited organization.
The attached article highlights the efforts that DU has put forth over the years to restore and save habitat for waterfowl and all the other wildlife that coexists with these beautiful birds. Enjoy!
One of my favorite birds to photograph is the burrowing owl. They are absolutely adorable. The past few years we’ve had to travel 90 minutes to Cape Coral, FL to find them. The city of Cape Coral has become a sanctuary city for the owls.
Burrowing Owl Stretching His Right Wing
But this year, thanks to a tip from fellow photographers and bird watchers, we were able to find a nesting pair much closer to home. It was exciting to see these little birds of prey move north. Unfortunately, loss of habitat has reduced their population over the years to the point of being threatened or even endangered in certain areas.
Burrowing Owl on the Ground By His Nest
For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
The nesting season is in full force. It seems like there are babies everywhere. We picked one day recently to check on bald eagle nests and found a total of 6 new eaglets in 4 nesting sites! It appears that they are all well on their way to growing into young adults.
Two Juvenile Bald Eagles in Their Nest
There are also many sandhill crane babies around. The colts started appearing several weeks ago and we continue to see youngsters of all sizes. Most owls have grown and left their nests, and many songbirds are building nests or feeding chicks. It’s a busy time that will continue for another couple of months.
Wow! When I looked at the date on my last post, I couldn’t believe it’s been 6 weeks!! There has been plenty going on to keep us busy. But 6 weeks? Shame on me.
During my hiatus from the website, I had the opportunity to get out a few times with the camera and capture some new subjects. I’ll cover those journeys in the next couple of posts.
I also made the leap to a new Canon camera body. After months of research and trial, I finally jumped aboard the new mirrorless camera train. I won’t get into all the technical details, only to say that technology has made some amazing advances in modern cameras. The focusing on the new camera is incredible. It can actually zero in on the eye of an animal and track the animal while it’s moving! Unfortunately, as with all new things, it has so many settings that it will take a while to learn all the capabilities and customize it to my liking. But the good news is I am able to use all of my current lenses with a simple adapter and it works great!
Here are a couple of shots of a red-shouldered hawk from my first time in the field with the new camera. More to come.
Red-shouldered Hawk with a Ruffled Feather on the End of a Branch
Our favorite male painted bunting has been coming to our caged millet feeder since early November. Hardly a day goes by that we don’t see him several times. A couple of weeks ago he surprised us by bringing a buddy to the feeder. Two male painted buntings on the feeder at the same time is quite a sight! The second bunting is now a regular visitor. Hopefully they’ll spread the word and we can attract a female before they head north for the summer.
Male Painted Bunting on the Ground Looking for Grass Seeds
For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
Tis the season for our northern visitors. I’m not talking about the mass migration of “snowbirds”. I’m talking about waterfowl. We have huge numbers of ducks just about everywhere. One small lake behind Costco has become the winter home for ring-necked ducks and lesser scaup. They look very similar. The main differentiating feature is the bill. The ring-necked duck ironically has a white ring on their blue-gray bill while the scaup’s bill is completely light blue. The males’ heads have an iridescence element that changes color in different light. At times their heads have a purple shimmer and other times they shine with a dark green look.
Male Lesser Scaup Duck with a Purple Head Looking Back
The ducks like the Costco lake because it has a good crop of snails which they devour quickly. If we’re near one of the snail beds, the birds are easy to approach and photograph.
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
The young great horned owls are growing quickly. Last week we checked in on our favorite family and they are still doing great. On Friday we visited an eagle nest for the first time in several months and to our surprise, the eagles had been displaced by great horned owls. In fact, their lone owlet is close to leaving the nest. I’ll post updates as the youngsters grow up.
Great Horned Owl Female with Her Chick on the Nest
Last week I had the pleasure of joining a group of some of the top birders in Manatee County, Florida for a field trip to Port Manatee. The trip was hosted by the Army Corps of Engineers due to a number of highly restricted areas. The fields and ponds consist of silt dredged from the shipping canals in Tampa Bay. The silt must be drained before it can be used for fill dirt, so it doesn’t settle at the building site. It’s a very interesting process that creates several small shallow lakes. But the silt can be dangerous. It looks dried and cracked but just under the surface it is still wet and behaves like quicksand.
There are many species of ducks and shore birds that are attracted to the ponds. Ducks we saw included lesser scaup, redheads, ruddy ducks, buffleheads, northern shovelers, green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, ring-necked ducks, hooded mergansers and red-breasted mergansers.
We also saw several varieties of shore birds, but my favorite was an American avocet. It was my first time seeing an avocet. They are close relatives to the black-necked stilt. Like the stilts, they have very long legs and long bills to slide through the water sifting for small shrimp and snails. Most of the birds were beyond the range for good photos but just seeing so many different species made it a great day. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank my good friend Art Nadelman for getting us connected with the group.
Two American Avocets Walking through Shallow Water
A few more pictures from this journey are featured below. For a larger selection of photos, go to the galleries listed.
Yesterday turned out to be a great day to capture some photos of a female great horned owl guarding her nest. Great horned owls usually find the absolute worst spot in a tree for a successful photograph. It seems like they always want to sit on the darkest branches facing away from the sun amongst the sticks and Spanish moss which means lousy photo opportunities. But yesterday we caught a break. A female was sitting outside her nest filled with two new chicks watching over the area. Best of all, she was out in the open with good lighting!
Great Horned Owl Female Resting on a Branch by Her Nest
We watched her and her mate all summer but lost track of them a couple of months ago. Two weeks ago, we were trying to locate them and heard a call coming from a tree but simply couldn’t find them. As it turns out, she was calling from her nest which was located in a crotch of a pine tree and covered with Spanish moss. She was completely hidden from view. What a joy to finally see her and her two new babies.
I mentioned in my previous post that we found a very large flock of green-winged teal ducks on Thursday. Finding the green-wings completes the “teal trifecta” for me for 2021. There are 3 species of teal in North America – blue-winged, green-winged and cinnamon. Two weeks ago we found a cinnamon teal which is a rare sight this far east. There were blue-winged teal with the cinnamon teal. We see the blue-wings frequently. Although green-winged teal are fairly common in this area, they’re often tucked away on ponds or marshes that are inaccessible except by boat.
Male Green-winged Teal Watches Across the Water
These were the first green-winged teal I’ve seen in over 30 years. They are beautiful little ducks. I’m hoping to get back out and attempt to get closer to them. If I’m successful, you’ll see the results right here.
