Eight Days and Counting

I'm not sure if the Scarlet Ibis I observed last week was a hybrid (Scarlet X White Ibis) although I believe the bird to be pure as it was quite brilliant in its red.

The White Ibis above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

My effort to observe it again at Lakes Regional Park this week was met with failure.

There was action however in the bathing area, as I now consider it, as the White Ibis in particular flew in from their roosts from the northern area of the park.

The White Ibis above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

The grackles were of course active in the reeds from the start and noisy for my entire stay.

The first ibis flew in after I had settled down on the sidewalk of the park with a concern for the legs of the tripod firmly planted for the low light conditions and the slower shutter speed that would be required.

The White Ibis with juvenile and Mottled Duck above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

It wasn't soon after that I moved the gear into the grass and then the sand to be more comfortable and attempt to have a better view of the wildlife with the rising sun somewhat more directly behind me.

The White Ibis flew in from their roosts and landed in great numbers including numerous juveniles.

The Mottled Duck above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

I noticed in almost every case that the first thing the ibis did was to take a drink of water after arriving on the scene.

There was a lot of opportunity for me to practice capturing images of birds in flight.

The Mottled Duck above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

In addition to the ibis, I also observed a pair of Tricolored Heron, one seemingly much smaller than the other.

An Osprey was seen overhead being chased by a grackle.

The White Ibis above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

I believe I made my first sighting of four Least Bitterns, two pairs in flight, but was unable to photograph them.

A Swallow-tailed Kite was also in the area and offered me the opportunity for a few shots as it flew from the west and then north.

The Common Moorhen above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

Behind me at one point, a pair of Red-bellied Woodpecker were quite vocal and hide and seek in a palm tree.

Four Mottled Duck took claim to some space in the shallow water and seemed to be more dominant of the territory than the ibis.

The Swallow-tailed Kite above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

There was also a Least Sandpiper very seemingly out of place in all the activity which I'm surprised by as this species is considered a winter visitor to my area.

At one point the bird settled down in a clump of grass in a seemingly nesting behavior.

The Least Sandpiper above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

A Common Moorhen was also making its rounds and occasionally made its distinctive call.

The Great Blue Heron arrived on the scene to ply its trade in the reeds and was not well received by the grackles that harassed it.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

Additionally observed in flight at Lakes Park were Great Egret, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, and Snowy Egret.

A Little Blue Heron with great color in its lores was the last to arrive at the time I was speaking with Bob Chamberlain.

The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

I found out that Bob is a member of the Fort Myers camera club.

Bob had asked me if I knew what PSA was and I have to admit I didn't have an immediate answer.

Bob Chamberlain above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

He was referring to the Photography Society of America of course while I had visualized the PRE and PSE icons fresh to my computer with the installation of Photoshop Elements 8.0.

I later found out after visiting the camera club's website that Bob is a PSA representative.

The Common Grackle juvenile with Great Blue Heron above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Bob's wife Bonnie who told me of the delicacies she prepares for the camera club's meetings.

I had the great fortune of hearing from Hemant Kishan, a member of PSA, this past week advising me of his sighting of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher near STA-5.

The White Ibis above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

Hemant also told me that he was able to see the Burrowing Owl at Cape Coral and has images of this species and the flycatcher he has recently photographed which can be accessed here.

I've had the opportunity to use Energizer's latest rechargeable batteries these past weeks and find them inferior to the 2450 mHa available as the flash doesn't seem to cycle as quickly as the 2450 version.

The Mottled Duck above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

The newer version is advertised to be able to be recharged more than others of its type.

I've had the opportunity to see the video recording of the mating Burrowing Owls I made last week and as feared the quality is not what I had hoped.

The White Ibis juvenile above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

I will nonetheless attempt to have it available to view at YouTube which is another project I am excited to learn about.

Among the most interesting and must see wildlife videos I've seen, titled "Battle at Kruger," is one available to view at Ken Conger's wildlife blog and can be accessed here, and be sure to see it full screen for best viewing.

The White Ibis above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

The title of this post is the executive branch's response time to the ecological disaster in the making in the Gulf of Mexico.

The potential impact on Florida's west coast and panhandle is quite chilling to fathom.

The Great Egret above was photographed at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana will certainly be adversely impacted as well.

Mating season on the beach

The signs are up. The big nesting areas are roped off. Fort Desoto has roped off a good portion of the north beach for nesting birds this year. The tons of locals who frequent that beach aren't going to be happy.

Sandwich terns doing a mating dance.

Sandwich terns getting busy.

The terns bring fish to entice the mate. It looks like the one on the right wasn't impressed.

Laughing gulls mating. She looks at me like "I'm going to need a cigarette."

It's mating season on Fort Desoto beach. The beach was full of gulls and terns getting down to business. Soon they will be hiding out nesting and fighting off the blackbirds and bigger gulls who will try and steal the eggs. Please, if you are visiting any Florida beaches, stay out of the roped off areas. It's easy to not see a nest and step on one or scare the parent into abandoning the nests.

Injured manatee - caution

Below is a picture of an injured manatee that is recuperating at the Manatee Hospital at Lowry Park zoo. There were 2 injured manatees floating in this pool. Both had deep cuts to their backs. The update board said both had broken ribs and injured lungs which keeps them from being able to stay under water which is why they were both floating on top. It also stated that with a long rest period and no infections they should both be okay and eventually be released back in the wild. This is from someone going to fast in their boat through a no wake or slow wake zone. I won't get on my soapbox about this here. The pictures below speak for themselves. They weren't the only injured ones there, just ones I could get upclose pictures of (and summer hasn't even started yet).

Eagle Lake Park

Baby mallard swimming around.


More babies.

The usual red winged blackbird.

Green heron hiding in the bushes.

There's a new park in town and it's called Eagle Lake Park. It's in Largo and it was the original home of the Taylor family who started one of the first citrus packing plants in Florida. Largo was original known as "Citrus City" back in the early 1900's. The park is beautifully landscaped with great bike paths, walking paths, boardwalks over the lakes and playgrounds. The original house built by the Taylor family in 1929 still stands there but I did not have a chance to check it out while I was there after work one day last week. There were a ton of people there and not too many birds. I walked halfway through the park thinking I wouldn't even take my camera out of my backpack. I found a handful of baby ducks in one of the lakes. Right before I was leaving I saw the above green heron hiding in the bushes. I'll try and check out the park later in the summer after the newness dies down. There is suppose to be several eagle nests in the park but I did not see any nests in the trees.

Northern flicker

I had my first Northern Flicker sighting on a recent trip to Kapok Park. They are a type of woodpecker. They are the only type that sometimes feeds on the ground. I first saw a bird banging hard on something on the ground. When I got closer I thought it was weird to see a woodpecker sitting on the grass banging on something. They are pretty birds with the red stripe on the back of their heads and polka dots on their stomachs. Northern Flickers are one of the few woodpeckers who migrate so this little guy might be leaving my park soon to go up north for the summer.

Audio Visual

In my hope to observe the Scarlet Ibis, I finally found it at Lakes Regional Park this past week.

The scene above was photographed from a kayak at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

I had brought my kayak with the expectation that I would find it roosting in one of the park's many very small islands within it.

Mere minutes after getting the watercraft on the ground upon my arrival, I caught a glimpse of a red spot out of the corner of my eye.

The scene above was photographed from a kayak at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

The Scarlet Ibis was in a group of White Ibis feeding in the shallow water at the park's south beach.

As I stealthily approached to get my first photograph of the creature, from about 50 feet, all the birds nonetheless took flight and I missed the shot.

The scene above was photographed from a kayak at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

Within minutes all the birds returned after circling the park, except for the Scarlet Ibis.

I launched the kayak to have an enjoyable morning attempting to find the Scarlet Ibis roosting, though was disappointed to find that the prime area for that possibility is off limits to public paddle boats.

The Green Heron above was photographed from a kayak at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

There are tremendous opportunities to capture images of a diversity of birds in flight at Lakes Park and I will return to take advantage of that.

Yesterday evening offered another first for me when I made another trip to Cape Coral to observe the Burrowing Owl.

The juvenile Bald Eagle above was photographed from a kayak at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

While I initially captured a few still images of the birds I was observing, the primary intent was to create a movie of the owl's mating behavior which the Canon 5DM2 is capable of doing.

After finding a burrow and birds that might accommodate my mission, I settled down and prepared the camera's settings.

The White Ibis above was photographed from a kayak at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

With patience, I was rewarded with documenting the event at the burrow which I had only observed the male at the last few occasions I drove through the area.

Regrettably on this first attempt, the male's wings were clipped out of the frame and the composition of the birds could have been much improved.

The White Ibis above was photographed from a kayak at Lakes Regional Park in April 2010.

The quality of the audio recording could also be much improved with an external mic as the wind was buffeting the camera gear pretty hard.

When I acquired the latest version of Photoshop Elements this past week, I chose the basic version, so back it will go to be exchanged for the version that can edit movies.

New babies at the zoo

Baby orangutan playing.

Momma duck with her new babies.



New baby white rhino in the African section of the zoo being very curious. Yum!


New baby zebra nursing.

Baby siamang gibbon learning to swing.

There are lots of babies at the Lowry Park zoo right now. While I was there recently, they were all running around playing since it was still a little cool out in the morning. Soon it will be so hot that all of the animals will be sleeping most of the day. There were already several baby duck groups. The pond in the elephant exhibit had a duck with several babies. I guess they don't mind swimming with the elephants. The above picture of the ducks were taken in one of the primate ponds. Soon the zoo will be full of baby ducks. The wild birds were starting to nest in the area around the alligator exhibit. Little blue herons were sitting on nests. There were already baby great egrets high up in the trees. Caution note - keep an eye out in the trees on the boardwalk there. You could get pooped on by the wild birds who live up in those trees.

How I spent Earth Day

Spent this Earth Day out working in the yard. I started off with sowing some butterfly weed seeds in a raised bed. I have not had much luck with butterfly weed in the past, I have only had it actually come up once. I used to grow common milkweed in the front yard for the monarch butterflies, but the neighbor would harass me about growing weeds despite my attempts to educate her about how it is the host plant for the monarch butterfly. From what I have read, monarchs are going to need all the help they can get this year due to the loss of 50% of the population on their wintering grounds in Mexico. While preparing the bed, I heard my first of the season (FOS) Baltimore Oriole singing high in the maple trees. I also heard and then seen a Brown Thrasher fly over my head, heading for the birdbath.


It then gave me a look like "what you lookin' at!"


I could hear the sound of numerous Eastern Meadowlarks singing their "It's the spring of the yearrr" song. I love that sound! I managed to spot one very far off at the top of a sweetgum tree.


Knowing it was Earth Day, I tried not to have to use the lawnmower, but I couldn't. Have to get caught up before the rain. While coming in from putting my lawn tractor away, I came across this cool looking Isabella Tiger Moth Pyrrharctia isabella in the driveway.


This is what those brown and black wooly bear caterpillars (the ones that are supposed to foretell how bad the winter is going to be based on the amount of black on them) turn into when they become an adult.