While we get ready for the start of the fall migration, we like to find some new spots to check out. Recently, at the suggestion of one of our birding friends, we took a trip to Deer Prairie Creek Preserve South in North Port, FL. The park sits along the shores of the Myakka River at a point before the river widens and joins the Peace River and flows into Charlotte Harbor by the Gulf of America.
We arrived at the park that morning right before a thunderstorm moved by. It was a typical summer day in Florida with the storms forming over the Gulf of America and coming onshore. The storms can often create some great photo opportunities like interesting cloud formations, lightning shots, and rainbows. This day we had some good cloud and rainbow shots.
While little tributaries of the river flow through the park, most of it is flat prairie and scrub land along with pine forests. There are lots of trails that are easy to hike. It seemed like a great spot to find the elusive Florida Scrub Jay. But we were on a mission to find a Brown-headed Nuthatch. We had gotten reports of sightings of these little birds at the park and decided to try and find them. While eventually identifying one by its call, we only got a brief flash of the bird as it flew off. Unfortunately … no photos.
While going on a nice long hike, there were a few occasions to capture some images of herons and egrets fishing.
See the link below for more information on Deer Prairie Creek Preserve and the Brown-headed Nuthatch.