Carillon Wetlands

Female anhinga panting in the heat. This one has pretty colors on her face.

My first brown thrasher. They're suppose to be fairly common but I haven't seen one before. It was getting dark and even with a flash I had a hard time getting this bird.

Alien duck!  (Baby moorhen)

Another alien duck in the shadows right before dark.

More alligator food.

There's a small wetlands park in the middle of an office park very near where I work. There are two small lakes, one is surrounded by office buildings and has a boardwalk around it. The other is surrounded by townhomes and has a walking path around it. I had heard there were bitterns there so I stopped by after work last week. I didn't find the bitterns but I found a few other things. Right before dark I found a moorhen with a baby. They are the funniest looking babies. Yes, both lakes have alligators so that rabbit better watch out!

Hanging with the hoodies.

My hubby came home from the gym one Saturday afternoon recently and said "There are hoodies down at the pond. Bring your camera and let's run down there and get some pictures." Usually, there are only a few mallards there. So off we went, to the small pond down the street.  We found two hooded merganser couples hanging out there. It was an overcast day and the reflection of the trees on the pond made the pond seem red and green.

Hooded mergansers are short distance migratory ducks. They are probably coming from somewhere in New England and hang out in Florida during the winter. They are diving ducks which dive under water to catch their food. They won't hang around to be fed like mallards so they are usually pretty skittish. I sat on the edge of the pond for about half an hour and watched them swim around and preen. There was a couple in the channel behind our house for about two weeks but I haven't seen them recently. I wonder if one of these were the same couple.

The below is a moorhen couple that was hanging out with the hoodies as well.

Boardwalk at Carillon - My World Tuesday

After work last week I stopped at a park close by for a walk. I was walking along this boardwalk where there are always a lot of joggers. The above anhinga is so use to people now she would not move for me. I was afraid to get that close to walk by the tight boardwalk. After a few minutes I shooed her away with my camera.

This is the first time I've seen moorhens preening each other. My cockatiels at home do it all the time but I've never seen wild birds like these do it. That shows how use to people they are here.

The above tricolored heron was strutting along the lakeshore.

Dragonflies are still everywhere.

This small lake has a few small alligators.

I wanted to get some exercise in before the drive home one day last week after work. Now that it's getting darker earlier I have to hit some places really close to work. Carillon Park is an office park that has a small lake with a boardwalk around it. After work it's full of joggers and walkers so most of the big water birds are use to having people around. It started out sunny then the clouds moved in right before I left.

Variety at Kapok Park

Glossy ibis yawning.

Hawk hiding in a tree.

You can always count on an anhinga sitting in a park.

Cowbird in a small tree.

Two juvenile moorhens heading towards me.

Juvenile moorhens hanging together.

I stopped by Kapok Park after work in between the rain storms last week. I didn't think I'd see much there but I did manage to find a few birds. The glossy ibis was a nice surprise. I have never seen them there before. There were several moorhen families with juveniles together. I didn't see very many ducks and the park is usually filled with them. I saw the hawk for about a second and then it flew off and headed out of the park. I looked for the great horned owls but could not find them. Hopefully they'll be back soon and we'll have another baby this winter.

Hot night at Lake Seminole Park

The usual dragonfly.


Great egret posing. He must be used to all of the people at the park. He didn't even flinch when I stopped to take his picture.

Tri color heron landing in the reeds. Taken into the sun right before sunset.

Great egret flying across the lake.

Juvenile moorhen screaming for a snack. I love their big yellow feet.

A large group of ducks waiting for a handout. The stick in the upper middle is a big sign that says "Do not feed the wildlife, including ducks." People ignore it. There's a spot at the lake near a small parking lot that the ducks congregate at. People park there and feed the ducks. The ducks are very aggressive and will charge at your ankles if you don't feed them.

I stopped off at Lake Seminole Park one day last week to check on the limpkin nest. I had been there 2 weeks before and there were several eggs in a nest built on a shallow section of the lake. I wanted to see if the eggs had hatched. Since it had been raining every day for a week the nest was under 2 feet of water. I couldn't see from the boardwalk if the eggs were still there so I don't know if they had already hatched and the family had moved on. I didn't see any limpkins on that end of the lake which is unusual. Sad, hot and depressed I started the walk back to my car. I was thinking I wouldn't find any birds around but I did manage to see a few before I left.

Moorhen family - Cute baby

I stopped by the zoo last weekend in between the rain storms and found this cute moorhen family. It looks like there was an older sibling in the family. Moorhens often have 2 broods a year. They were swimming in the gibbon pond and stayed close together. That little baby definitely has a face only a mother could love.

Quiet morning at Largo Botanical Gardens

I went for a walk at the Largo Botanical Gardens last weekend and didn't see too many birds. In fact, I think the only thing I saw were moorhens. The above picture is of a juvenile moorhen. I didn't see any alligators there and usually they are everywhere. I'm assuming they are hiding under the water. There were tons of butterflies and dragonflies buzzing everywhere. If it wasn't so hot I probably would have spent more time trying to get different pictures. After two hours in the heat I headed home.

Baby ducks and moorhens

Muscovy duck family on the side of the lake.

What a cutie hiding in the reeds.



Big muscovy duck family.

Baby moorhen with mom.

Baby moorhen siblings.

There are still a lot of babies around this summer. A recent trip to Crescent Lake park revealed two families, a muscovy duck family and a moorhen family. It's funny how opposite these babies look. The muscovy babies are so cute when they are babies. They look like wood ducks or mallards as babies. Unfortunately, when they grow up they become one of the least attractive ducks. Moorhens, on the other hand, start out as the funniest looking aliens. Once that red beaks comes in they become pretty. I know, all babies are cute.

Birds at Kapok Park

Red winged blackbird taking off.


Limpkin

Moorhen seeing his reflection in the sunset.

Common grackle resting.

Blackbird

There were lots of different birds at Kapok Park this past week. Since the boardwalk was closed due to a fire I was not able to walk around most of the lake to see what water birds were there. It was right before the sun went down when I got there. Above are a few of the smaller birds I was able to find before it got dark along with a limpkin, who I heard a mile away from his loud call.