Sandhill crane family

I recently came across a sandhill crane family walking along Polk Parkway in Lakeland. I stopped on the side of the road to get a few pictures. There were 2 parents and 3 babies. I stayed pretty far away. I parked a little ways down the road and walked backwards towards them. I'm sure people driving by where thinking "What is this girl doing?". The family was very cute staying close together. They grazed around for a few minutes in front of me and then wandered off.

Baby owl in Clearwater

Baby owl sitting up.

The baby's giving me that "What do you want?" look.

Parent sitting close by.

The owl blinking. It's funny to see their eyelids.

Now that the time has changed, I was able to get out after work and stop by one of my favorite parks close by work. I saw the big owl sitting high up in the tree from pretty far away. I walked by the old nest from last year and wasn't sure what I'd find. Yea, there was a baby owl sitting in it looking right at me. It's only a couple of weeks old. I'm going to try and get there every week to track it's progress growing up. They grow up fast and then leave for up north before the summer.

Where does your trash go?

I was on my way from Gatorland in Orlando to Circle B Bar Reserve this past weekend and noticed this big landfill sitting on the side of the road I was traveling on. There were so many birds sitting on top of the trash pile that I had to stop and take a picture. Pretty sight isn't it? I did notice when I got home and zoomed in on the pictures there was an eagle sitting on top of the pile. I guess one man's trash is another bird's treasure!

Cape Coral Owls In Love

The community of Cape Coral, Florida, certainly must pride itself in its very likely booming population of Burrowing Owls.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

This writing is made one month after my first observation of the species having made in this time ten trips to the area around the Cape Coral Library in search of this very interesting bird.

David Sibley has written that the Burrowing Owl is the only small owl of ten species he's observed and documented in North America likely to be seen readily in daylight.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

The intent of my documentation of this species is for the sheer enjoyment of observing the birds and documenting and understanding their behavior through photography.

Upon my first encounter with this species in the late afternoon, I continued to observe the nest until nearly pitch dark.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

It was my great luck in doing that as I observed the owls I was watching mate after sunset.

In all succeeding visits to study the owls thus far, mating has been observed at each burrow nest on every occasion after sunset.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

I had initially thought that the mating event occurred only at this time, but have been able to document this behavior shortly before sunset.

All of my observations have been made in the late afternoon and later where I cannot say whether mating occurs in the morning hours or at any other time of day or night.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

Typically and predictably, mating of the Burrowing Owl has been observed within 30 minutes after sunset.

This has allowed just enough light on some occasions to photograph the event without flash.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

Of course under such circumstances, even with a camera setting for low light conditions, the result is a need for a slow shutter speed leading to a blurred effect.

With the use of flash photography I have been able to capture the birds in the act with a better appreciation for behavioral aspects like the touching of beaks.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

The owls will typically be seen together at the entrance to the burrow this time of year.

This leads me to believe that there have been no eggs laid yet, at least of the owls I've been watching.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

On my last visit to the Cape Coral Library, I didn't make a drive by the nest where I'd first seen the Burrowing Owl.

The original pair were not there the last few times I attempted to see them which might indicate that mating had successfully occurred.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

I'm also considering that these particular owls abandoned the nest for another in the large expanse to the north of the library.

The latter could easily be explained by kids that are on the move in the area.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

One particular event which required much patience and preparation in setting up the camera for a favorable view and documentation was met with failure as the camera didn't fire when needed.

The owls directly above were observed to mate again nearly exactly 35 minutes later when there was no natural light left for photography.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

The second mating event nonetheless went on without fail, hopefully successfully for the next generation of Florida Burrowing Owl.

The two mating events unable to be photographed due to low light conditions will hopefully be the last.

The scene above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

There simply has to be better anticipation of the event with greater control and understanding of the photo gear.

The photo gear seen above, north of the Cape Coral Library, belongs to Marcus Sonntag visiting the area from Germany.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

The owls are missing in the shot as they were at another burrow commanded by them just to the west and seemed to have control of all the burrows on the significant parcel of land with no other owls immediately present.

I was very surprised that Marcus chose not to wait ten minutes after I last saw him to photograph the Burrowing Owl mating event at my recommendation.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

The owls will almost always, as I recall, "talk" to each other within minutes of the male being allowed to mount the female.

I had been told by pedestrians at a burrow I was observing in late March that a nest in the vicinity of the Cape Coral Library can be found literally only a few feet from the road.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

In my attempt to see it on my last visit led me to get lost briefly as I took too early a turn off of Skyline Boulevard which wasn't a disappointment as I was able to observe owls at other places I would possibly never have otherwise.

I think I ultimately found the nest that was recommended, although there weren't owls at the entrance to the burrow.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

This nest was recommended of Burrowing Owls that had produced five fledglings last year and perhaps these birds had successfully mated and were simply in the burrow.

Continued observation and travels around the area will be helpful in further understanding.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

Another comment I heard from a pedestrian was that the owls will utilize domestic animal poop at their burrow entrances.

If true, it would certainly be for deterrence of predatory behavior against the fledglings in the late spring through summer months before the young are expected to fend for themselves.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

The mating of the Burrowing Owl is a very brief event as with all other bird species I've observed.

With your good fortune, you'll hopefully consider participating in observation of the event in the future.

Babies at Gatorland

It all starts here. Two egrets getting frisky in the bushes.


Mom! Where'd you go?

Mom with her back to me with 3 babies.

A set of parents admiring their 2 babies.

Another mom feeding her 2 babies.

I had a Flickr meetup this past Saturday at Gatorland in Orlando. It was perfect timing as the great egrets were having babies. The bird rookery there was full of wild birds mating and laying eggs. There were several nests that already had babies on them. These babies will fledge and take off in around 6-7 weeks. It's funny how their beaks seem to grow first. It seem bigger than the rest of their body. There were tricolored herons there starting to mate so I'll have to go back in another month.

Opsrey babies getting big

The 2 osprey babies in Dunedin that are on the nest with a web cam are getting big. They will be flying off some time in early April. It's amazing how fast these birds grow up. You can really see them now on the nest since they have grown in the last week. The above picture is from the web cam. The 2 babies are on the left with Mom on the right. You should check out the site before they are gone.


http://ospreynest.info/

Pretty flowers at Hollis Gardens

I was in Lakeland recently and had to stop by Hollis Gardens and get some pictures of the flowers there. It's a small place but very beautiful. It sits right on a lake in downtown Lakeland. You can get married there and they were getting ready for a wedding the day I was there. Considering we had recently been through some very cold nights, the flowers still looked pretty. There were lots of bees around which is a sign spring is coming.

Another eagle sighting

I found another eagle's nest. This one is close to work. I was going back to work with my favorite lunch take out, Panera, and was sitting at a red light when I noticed something big and brown sitting on top of a cell tower. I turned at the light, drove closer to the cell tower and thought it looked like an eagle. I didn't have my camera with me at that time. I drove by several times later in the next two weeks and finally saw the eagle again on top of the tower. Of course it was cloudy and drizzling but was able to get a picture. You can see the nest in the left corner. If there are babies they should be flying soon. Most of the eaglets in Pinellas already are. I'll check back later to see if there are any eaglets sitting on the tower.

White Pelicans in Lakeland.

I found these 5 white pelicans hanging out at Lake Morton in Lakeland. Soon they will be going home, some as far as Canada. They seemed to be calm and tolerate all the other birds and people at the park. Other white pelicans that I have seen in the area stay far away from people. They were doing a lot of yawning, stretching and scratching.

Flip of A Coin

At the start of the day, I had no set destination in mind.

The musician above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in March 2010.

When too late to take advantage of early morning light for ideal photography and too cold and breezy to consider use of the kayak, I decided a trip to Lovers Key State Park was in order.

The traffic was stopped and bumper to bumper over a mile from the Matanzas bridge so I made a U-turn to avoid the worst of the tourist effect.

The musician above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in March 2010.

Parking at Bunche Beach Preserve shortly thereafter proved equal evidence of the peak of the season.

Walking west from the parking area along San Carlos Bay proved that putting in the kayak earlier would have been disastrous as the wind was unseasonably strong again.

The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in March 2010.

The approaching high tide required walking very close to shore as I've only had to do on a couple prior occasions.

Until I hunkered down at the entrance of the west channel, I had only observed the Laughing Gull which showed peak evidence of its mating colors.

The Wood Stork above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in March 2010.

There were only a few Snowy Egrets at the channel in the water hunting with over flights of the gull, Osprey and Wood Stork.

With an intent to photograph the Burrowing Owl in late afternoon light, I headed back to the car.

The beach enthusiast above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in March 2010.

A call from my brother Jim requesting shots of the Red Sox in spring training was fresh in my mind as I approached beach enthusiasts with gloves in hand.

They were welcomed as I had the opportunity to practice framing and timing the throw of a ball.

The beach enthusiast above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in March 2010.

With a little spare time before the sun was low on the horizon, I stopped at Lakes Park with a hope to see the Roseate Spoonbill.

I was captivated by a small stand of cypress trees where I decided to settle down at and study passerines which preserved my energy.

The beach enthusiasts above were photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in March 2010.

From this vantage point I noted the presence of a few smaller species and over flights of flocks of wading birds.

My visit to Cape Coral for Burrowing Owl observation turned out to be a little early which allowed me to drive around to see what action might be happening at different nests that had previously appeared inactive.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

It was my great fortune to see the mating of owls around the Cape Coral Library which was an unexpectedly early occurrence as the sun was very close to setting.

With the event occurring so relatively early in good light, I was able to return to another nest that I had observed a pair of owls at.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

My return to this nest still had only the female guarding its territory.

Before leaving the nest earlier, the male owl had flown out of sight with its return for the mating event which occurred very briefly and before the last of the day's light to record the event with benefit of flash.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

A perfect day it was overall.