Lowry Park Zoo birds

Parrots at the entrance to the zoo. They are not in a cage.

Wild egret hanging around the manatee pool (looking for a handout).



Wild great blue heron stalking the cheetah pond. I've seen one there several times. The food must be good.

Pretty bird in the aviary.

Boat billed heron in the aviary.

I had Monday off so I went to the zoo in the morning. I figured there wouldn't be a lot of people there. I was right. There were also a few animals missing. Keepers were busy cleaning pens so a handfull of animals were not out including the baby rhino and the tigers which I specifically came to see. Lots of birds there though. They have several aviaries that you can walk around and see the birds up close. It's funny to see the wildlife there always looking for a handout. The manatee pools always have pelicans, egrets and herons hanging around wanting to be fed. The penguin pool always has a flock of wild ibis trying to steal fish. There are ducks with babies swimming around the primate pools. I guess if I was a wild animal I would hang out at the zoo as well.

Fort Desoto birds

Rare sighting of a white morph reddish egret.

Marbled godwit going in for a swim.

Great egret looking for food and finding himself.



Great blue heron preening.

I had Friday off so I headed to Fort Desoto park early to see what kinds of birds I could fine. It was a hot sunny morning. There were tons of the usual gulls and terns there as well as marbled godwits, ruddy turnstones, egrets and great blue herons. I was able to get a picture of a fairly rare bird - a white morph of a reddish egret. They are normally dark red from their neck up and dark greyish/blue from the neck down. Occasionally you will see an all white one. They have the same straight beak. He (or she) was prancing around in the water. I got tons of great pictures that morning.

Random Thoughts II

This past week was one where I disappointingly failed to make a trip to see some wildlife action on the Great Florida Birding Trail. I didn't even make a short trip to any of the dozen venues virtually only a stone's throw from me where there was more than one opportunity to do so.

The juvenile Great Egret above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in April 2009.

I spent a lot of time cleaning things up at this blog site which I've been meaning to do for a while. What I did was hopefully create an improved visual appeal for you by having all "labels" noted in lower case.

I also added color to the description below the images to distinguish them from the body of the posts. In addition, I have added more links and now have all the images uniformly placed within the posts.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Tigertail Beach in May 2009.

While this blog entry is uploaded without images within it, many hours in the days ahead will be devoted to adding photography which I hope you find enjoyable. I also added the option for you to listen to some of my favorite music this past week. I hope you find the gadget interesting and consider using the Playlist player yourself.

Tide tables indicate that low tide will be extremely favorable for bird action at Bunche Beach Preserve in the early daylight hours in the first week of October. Take advantage of this if you can.

The Snowy Egret above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in June 2009.

Low tide is the best time to visit Bunche Beach Preserve as the shore and wading birds congregate in great numbers on the flats. It has been a long time now since I've walked east from the parking area as my experience has proven that birds will be much more prolific before the west channel and beyond, although a trip to the east channel should not be overlooked.

It was actually "within" the east channel where I consider some of my better photographs to have been taken at this venue. Based on my experience, wading birds flying from within the mangroves of the preserve into San Carlos Bay from either channel can be expected with equal frequency.

The Reddish Egret above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in June 2009.

Bunche Beach Preserve is currently undergoing major Lee County Land Conservation 20/20 improvements which include facilities and the ability to launch a canoe from within the preserve along waterways that should prove extremely rewarding for wildlife observation.

It will be exciting to see similar improvements at Harns Marsh Preserve in the not too distant future, another must see venue in this corner of the state of Florida. If you visit here prior to the construction of facilities, be forewarned that you are advised to drink a lot of water if you traverse the 578 acre boundary of the preserve which may require a rushed exit after an unexpectedly long visit. Only foot traffic is permitted here although you will likely be passed by construction vehicles.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in June 2009.

There has been a lot of construction at Lakes Park in Fort Myers, which I don't believe to be disruptive to the birds frequenting the venue. This is a place that you will ideally see waders up close with your canoe or kayak (ideally in the summer when the birds are nesting), or with one of the watercraft available for rent.

Lakes Park should prove ideal for observation of migratory species potentially seen along the park's trails. Significant presence of the park has been made with construction of an entrance to it along Summerlin Road opposite Lakewood Boulevard. It's extremely unfortunate that there appears to be no parking accommodations for this entrance which makes the "highlands" of the park immediately accessible, but is otherwise an ideal entry point for pedestrian traffic (from where, I'm not sure).

The juvenile Osprey above was photographed at Tigertail Beach in June 2009.

Another similar venue to Lakes Park is Eagle Lakes Community Park in Naples which I strongly encourage you to visit if you are perhaps already visiting the much more renowned Tigertail Beach on Marco Island. Upon my relatively few visits to ELCP, the water levels were low due to unseasonably low rainfall, although I was never disappointed with a visit there.

There are numerous wildlife venues within this haven that is southwest Florida. Within it is Tigertail Beach which is also a must see venue in the area. This birding hotspot is interestingly not considered worth visiting during the Least and Black Tern breeding season (May-Aug) while a long walk north along the beach is required to see their breeding grounds. The juveniles will be most prolific in July. Low tide is again the best time to visit as the waders and shorebirds in the lagoon will be abundant. If you're lucky, you will see dozens of Roseate Spoonbill, while their plumage is most striking in the winter months.

The juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

I have not been able to corroborate word I've gotten that there is an early draw down of the waters of Ding Darling NWR. The purpose of which would be to attract more wildlife in the upcoming migration season. This is good news to me and should please wildlife photographer, Artie Morris, who has announced that he will not be visiting the venue in the 2010 season for the first time in nearly a decade. Certainly news too late for him to change his itinerary.

My few visits to DDNWR have never been a disappointment. While five mile Wildlife Drive is very convenient, wherein you may never choose to get out of your car, you may also walk extensively here along the drive or choose to walk or bike Wildlife Trail. You may even launch a canoe into the northeastern portion of the refuge's estuary which is bordered by Pine Island Sound and San Carlos Bay. Don't hurry your travels here. In fact, I recommend you make a second or third drive through the refuge within a day's visit as you will likely have a completely different experience each time. This is another place to attempt to time your visit to low tide.

The Roseate Spoonbill above was photographed at San Carlos Bay: Bunche Beach Preserve in July 2009.

I regret not getting this blog entry posted yesterday as promised. I fell asleep prior to completing the entry due to fatigue from my recent shifts at work. I'm actually amazed that I was able to rest through what was the most impressive electrical storm of this past summer. My ears are still ringing from the thunder.

While I suspect it would be most advisable to write these posts on Blogspot itself (which I currently don't do), where there would be apparent automatic saves of the draft, I was able to save my effort within seconds of a power failure. This was made possible through the experience of losing text numerous times in the past.

The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area in October 2009.

I also, this past week, spent a lot of time uploading wildlife images to my primary photography site at pbase's data center in North Carolina which coincidentally had a power failure itself. As of this writing, links to pbase you may attempt to utilize in my previous blog entries will fail to function properly as pbase is still trying to get its main data server back online.

I'm optimistic that the fall 2009 bird migration season will be fortuitous in observing many bird species that are rarely or otherwise never seen during the summer months.

First day of Fall

Frog family in our shutters.

Another beautiful sunset in the backyard.

Today was the first day of fall and it was sunny and 93 degrees. Oh well, maybe by December it will feel like fall. We had a quick rain shower when I got home from work. I went outside to see if the frogs living in our window shutter had come out early from the rain. They usually don't come out until it's completely dark. Tonight there were three staring at me. The sun came out for a few seconds before it went down.

Osprey everywhere.

Osprey couple at Honeymoon Island.

Oprey catching a fish at Sawgrass Lake Park.



Oprey eating a fish on our dock.

I see osprey everywhere. They are very abundant in the Tampa Bay area. When I was growing up and coming down to visit my grandparents here in the 70’s I never saw them on the bridges (or anywhere else). It wasn't until living here in the last 7 years I have noticed they are everywhere. I have a habit of counting how many are on the Courtney Campbell causeway when I am driving home after work. The most I have counted is 22 one day last summer. This summer I have gotten up to 17. In the winter months there are only 3 or 4 on the causeway. Most are eating fish while sitting on the light posts.

We have an osprey that sleeps outside our bedroom window. Our neighbors have a small sailboat that is docked partially in front of our sea wall and the osprey sits on top of the mast to eat and sleep. Most nights right before dark I can here him calling as he flies up to the mast. Occasionally when I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t sleep I’ll peek out the window and can see him there in the moonlight. He’s usually gone in the morning. Recently a bad storm came through when I got home from work. He had just landed with a big fish that was still flopping around. There was lightning all around. The wind was blowing hard and the osprey flew off and circled around the channel. On his way back to the sailboat he dropped the fish back in the water. He hovered over the spot a few minutes and then flew off. I felt so bad. It was right before dark. I hope he was able to get another fish so he would not have to go to bed hungry.

A great place to see osprey nests in the spring is at Honeymoon Island State Park in Dunedin, Florida. The nature trail has nests all along it and some of the nests sit right on the trail. You can see them flying around with fish and sticks to build nests. Fort Desoto in St. Petersburg is another place to see them. There are nests all over the park and we usually see them flying around while we are at the beach.

Please don’t confuse the osprey with the eagle. I hear many people say “look at that eagle” when it’s actually an osprey. Just look for the all white chest.

Osprey on our neighbor's sailboat at sunset (view from our window).

Harns Marsh Preserve IV and V

It was a treat to make my fourth and fifth trips to Harns Marsh Preserve this past week.

The fisherman above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

On my fourth visit to the preserve, there seemed a relative absence of wildlife. I didn't see the handful of waders that I had been accustomed to seeing on previous visits. As I approached the weir, a Tricolored Heron made flight across the expanse of water to my right and then things became exhilarating as hoped.

With regret for not making much closer diligent observation, I inadvertently flushed a female Snail Kite from its perch in a pine tree as I walked under it. I can only imagine all the birding opportunities I've missed due to my inexperience and virtually all birds I've observed having the ability of being extremely well camouflaged.

The Red-shouldered Hawk above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

I had the Harns Hawk on my mind after speaking to my friend Suzanne on the way to the preserve. She told me the preserve was named after it. This bird must be known by another name as I did not find it in my Sibley Guide to Birds upon my return home.

In all, I made the walk nearly exactly as I had upon my first visit to the preserve three weeks ago.

The Red-shouldered Hawk above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

The Limpkin was not to be seen closely in the trees, but more closely on the ground as seems more typical for this species. Its calls were again distinctive, but did not carry across the marsh from any perspective I've experienced on preceding visits to the preserve.

On the way back to the weir, after observing the birds typically seen, I heard the call of a Limpkin relatively strongly from the north and a reply much closer to me from a stand of pines. It caused a Snail Kite within them to take flight and exit the area. I was never able to catch sight of the closer Limpkin as it was extremely well hidden.

The Limpkin above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

My first sighting of the Pileated Woodpecker at the preserve was made on my fourth visit. I saw it upon my entry and was excited to still see it where I had left it upon my return from what I would describe as an ideal vantage point at the preserve where there is some welcome shade.

After a twenty minute observation of the woodpecker diligently attempt to find some insects under some tree bark, I watched it settle for the consumption of some berries high above the ground when it ultimately made its distinctive flight well out of range.

The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker was in the immediate company of the pileated. Also with the two woodpeckers in the cypress strand was a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. I was not able to get a photograph of the latter, but very much enjoyed its call which is my favorite.

A female Snail Kite made a snatch of its quarry from the south marsh which I've observed on most of my visits to the preserve. This observation was preceded by photographing the male which was on the tree typically populated by vultures.

The Snail Kite above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

The male kite was in somewhat good light for a shot when he was about to consume the snail, and then changed his perch. I moved on after light conditions were abysmal with the bird in the shade.

I had walked to the area I have seen the Glossy Ibis which I don't recall observing on my fourth trip to the preserve at all.

The Snail Kite above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

Media Coordinator, for BirdPatrol.org, Gayle Schmidt, has confirmed my Rock Dove sighting on 8 September 2009 as the 120th bird species to be documented at the preserve. The pigeons had a great variety of plumage, which for me, made the sighting especially extraordinary.

On my last three visits to Harns Marsh Preserve, I've had the opportunity to photograph a duck flying low at me from the north, but haven't been able to react quickly enough to get the shot.

The Great Egret above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

My fifth visit to the preserve was very interesting as I observed the Red-shouldered Hawk consuming a Little Blue Heron. After I inadvertently caused the hawk to leave its quarry (with great effort on its part to take flight with the remains of the heron), I continued to observe the scene for about thirty minutes. The hawk didn't return to the massacre though stayed close enough for me to be aware of its presence and have regret for disturbing its meal.

The Turkey and Black Vultures apparently became aware of the carcass as they circled the area for quite a while before I chose to give the hawk some peace.

The Turkey Vulture above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

My visit to the preserve was not planned before getting there. I was content to hang around the area I'd become so familiar with, but chose, after getting the inspiration from a fisherman, to walk around the preserve's boundary.

As I was nearly out of earshot from him, he asked me if I was afraid of snakes. I could only reply that I believed the cottonmouth to be observed here. Since looking at Gayle's checklist for the preserve, I'm much more cautious when walking in the grass.

The Queen Butterfly above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

The trip around the preserve was much longer than I had anticipated and at one point I might be described as delirious as I'd swear that the horizon was in motion when I stopped to take a photograph.

It was a very rewarding experience nonetheless as I observed the Sandhill Crane for the first time. I regret that I flushed a pair while unaware of their presence and was only able to get a parting few shots of them.

The Mottled Duck above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

I also saw numerous Snail Kite and Limpkin, as well as the Mottled Duck fairly closely (which I believe to be the ducks I've seen flying toward me on previous visits to the preserve). The Great Egret was in abundance as well in the company of the Pied-billed Grebe that I hadn't seen in a long while.

I didn't see the Glossy Ibis again today, which was disappointing, but saw four Belted Kingfisher in the oaks and over the marsh to the north of the trail head.

The Snail Kite above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

There are prolific smaller creatures here including butterflies which may suite your interest as well. The butterflies I've observed at the preserve thus far (late summer) have been quite worn showing significant damage to their wings.

Though I was very fortunate not to observe the fire ant on previous visits, today was not the case. While attempting to photograph a butterfly, I realized I was in trouble after a sting from one of the ants on my hand. I immediately looked down to see one of my tripod legs completely covered by the ants. I spent upwards of ten minutes removing them from the gear before I continued on.

The Snail Kite above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

I hadn't experienced this pest as a nuisance near the trail head, but it will easily be found on your walk around the preserve. Be very careful to avoid these ants which are extremely aggressive.

Cooler weather will certainly bring an abundance of additional wildlife and more visitors to this magnificent place.

The Pileated Woodpecker above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in September 2009.

A two to four hour walk should be expected to see Harns Marsh Preserve in its entirety.

Midwest Birding Symposium

Finally made it up to Lakeside. Checked in and got the key for my cabin. When I registered, I was told that everything was full, so I had to settle for a rustic cabin. Here is the rustic cabin that I'm staying in


Not too bad with a sleeping bag. I enjoy not having the temptation of watching TV!


Birders were chumming for birds using popcorn. Didn't draw much other than Ring-billed Gulls and a few Herring Gulls. A few Canada Geese flew over as well. One birder advised that the popcorn was blowing into the windows of the lower deck of the boat. Saw some Caspian Terns earlier, but none while on the cruise.



Cruising by island, note the dead trees from all of the Double-crested Cormorant whitewash.



Beautiful sunset as we were heading back to the Lakeside dock.



Meeting lots of new birders, internet bird friends, and ones I haven't seen in a long time!

Tractor birds

Today as I was coming back from getting lunch I passed a large flock of cattle egrets gathered on the side of the road. Of course I pulled off to the shoulder to get a few pictures since I had my point & shoot with me. I noticed as I pulled off a tractor across the little pond was starting to cut the grass. The birds started to fly over to where he was cutting. He must have been stirring up the bugs. I'm sure he's used to having birds following him around when he's cutting the grass but it looked so funny to me to watch. There was a great blue heron hanging out with the cattle egrets.

Early American Pipit

I decided to stop by East Fork State Park Wednesday morning before going to the store to get everything I need for the upcoming Midwest Birding Symposium. Since there was only one fisherman on the beach, I thought I might have a chance of seeing some shorebirds. There wasn't much going on bird wise, despite the lack of people and dogs. I did manage to see one Pectoral Sandpiper looking for bugs in the grass with the Killdeer - it even puffed up and threatened the Killdeer - pretty cool. There was also an Osprey flying around.

Went to the other side of the beach by the fisherman, I wasn't expecting to see anything. From a considerable distance, a small bird briefly caught my eye in the grass. I was hoping it was another wondering Northern Wheatear, but I know that would be unlikely. I went over to investigate and found this American Pipit (Anthus rubescens) (dang, but still good bird) chasing bugs in the grass with a Killdeer.



If everything goes right with my laptop, my next post should be from the south shore of Lake Erie from the Midwest Birding Symposium.