Florida Gulf Coast Creations

Tag: Wood Duck

  • Sarasota Celery Fields

    Sarasota Celery Fields

    The Celery Fields nature preserve in Sarasota is another top destination for birders and photographers on the gulf coast of Florida. It’s also a popular place for runners and walkers with a series of trails.

    From the 1920s to around 1995, the fields were used for growing celery crops which is how the area got its name. The Celery Fields is also on the Great Florida Birding Trail.

    What makes the Celery Fields so popular is the wide range of bird species. We generally see several birds of prey, wading birds, songbirds and during the winter months, many ducks. The preserve is managed by the Audubon society, and they maintain feeders which are frequently visited by nanday parakeets, red-winged blackbirds, and other songbirds.

    Bluebird Male Sitting In Small Pine Tree
    Bluebird Male Sitting in a Small Pine Tree

    The past two years, a yellow-headed blackbird has appeared at the feeders, and he stayed there for the entire winter.

    The link below provides more information about the Celery Fields.

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

  • 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.

  • Lake Morton Waterfowl

    Lake Morton Waterfowl

    Lakeland, FL is aptly named with over 30 lakes within the city limits. The best lake for photography always seems to be Lake Morton. It’s famous for its population of swans. But the main reason we like Lake Morton is for the wood ducks and several migrating ducks that visit every year. It’s a nice easy walk of about 1 mile to go completely around the lake. But it can take over an hour because of all the photo opportunities.

    Mallard Drake Peacefully Resting
    Mallard Drake Resting Peacefully with His Head Tucked Under His Wing

    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.

  • Wood Ducks

    Wood Ducks

    This past Friday we visited Lake Morton in Lakeland, FL. It was a great day for photos. We saw several beautiful wood ducks and mallards. There were a few ring-necked ducks that have arrived from their northern summer homes. The lake is famous for its flock of mute swans and black swans. For anyone visiting central Florida, I would highly recommend a stop at Lake Morton.

    Mute Swan Swimming Toward Shore
    Mute Swan Swims Toward the Shore

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

Don`t copy text!