New Year's Hike

I have used New Year's Day a hiking day for the past several years. Usually I choose a place I haven't been to before but today I decided to go back to Clay Island since there was a report of a pair of Groove-billed Ani hanging out by an observation tower. Not sure which direction to head (there was only one tower I knew of from years ago) I headed West. I only found a flock of Tree Swallows in the air after walking the first 15 minutes.



There were zero birds in the water. Not even a Common Gallinule. Just one American Alligator tucked back in the reeds.



I eventually came upon an observation tower. A Red-shouldered Hawk was calling across the canal. A few Palm Warblers were scattered just past the tower. Nothing else was in view.



I got to the top of the tower and was soon at eye level with a single Turkey Vulture drifting by. The rest of the area was clear and still. I was getting bored. I also just realized that I should have gone to the next turn than the one I took. Now I couldn't get to the original tower which was across the canal. Sigh.



I follow the path in the only direction I could travel and eventually got to the observation tower where others had reported the Anis. They were a no-show for me. Really bored. I decided to head home. Up on the wires on the way back was a lone American Kestrel.



I climbed back into the car feeling defeated. These first of the year hikes are usually teaming with birds. I rounded the curve and had a Sandhill Crane feeding in a yard.



90 minutes of hiking. 4 bird photos. At least I know where some birds are. Back in my neighborhood. Happy New Year.

Lake Apopka on Father's Day

I was pondering what I wanted to do on this Father's Day and opted to take a drive along the Lake Apopa North Shore Drive to do some contemplating since this would be the first one without my Dad. I almost decided against it since there was an approaching storm headed that way but when has a little rain stopped birding?

The only problem was that the storm was coming from the East meaning we wouldn't have that nice morning light. One of the first birds I spotted was a juvenile Black-necked Stilt picking at snacks in the water.



Nearby, a juvenile Common Gallinule sat on its nest and called loudly.



The first clouds moved closer and made the morning nearly dark as I tried for my first Osprey photo.



Even with a bit more light I had to do some acrobatics inPhotoshop to show the next Osprey doing its own acrobatics during breakfast.



American Alligators were pretty active this warm morning and they were cruising most everywhere. Some days you can hardly find a few.



The last time I was out here the Green Herons were constantly flying by instead of posing. At least I had one cooperate today.



I thought I had another Green Heron fly over the road ahead of me. It wasn't until I got home to look at my images that I figured out that it was actually a juvenile Least Bittern! Didn't know they nested out here.



Something else I had never seen before was a female Red-winged Blackbird catching a dragonfly to eat. Thought they only ate seeds. I guess mostly...



There were a lot of Anhinga around today and one female perched on a branch next to the drive.



I rounded the next bend and spotted an Osprey with a large fish. He just looked at me like, "Don't even think about it!"



Another Osprey flew in just below the first bird on a perfectly placed branch. I eased forward whispering, "Please don't move..." but he decided to take flight as I snapped. I think I like this shot even better than the one I was hoping for.



As usual, you loose count of the number of Common Gallinules at some point. Still a bunch of juveniles around.



I was pleased to have a couple of Common Ground Dove around, especially at this spot. They are typically seen near the end of the drive.



Hunkered down on the bank of a canal was a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron.



Male Red-winged Blackbirds are always calling from branches all over the property.



Just below him was a young American Alligator prowling though the water as the rain began to fall.



Can't recall seeing so many Bladderwort blooms out here. Perhaps I was never here at the right time. There were large rafts of them all over the back stretch.



Just before the last big turn heading toward the swallow area, a female Boat-tailed Grackle hopped up to take a look around.



Not too much farther along, a Pied-billed Grebe surfaced with a tadpole.



It spent most of the time flinging it around and diving back under water to retrieve it again. It then began to thrash it about to tear off smaller piece. Made me smile for some reason. It was really shaking that thing!



Once it made a small enough collection of pieces it began to eat them one by one.



A juvenile Little Blue Heron paused for a moment before continuing to forage along the road.



Another Black-necked Stilt family was feeding a bit farther into the Marsh with the parents flanking their chick as they picked through the grasses.



This shot reminds me of an Audubon painting the way it is posed.



I really was happy with this shot of the juvenile Black-necked Stilt. The background was perfect and those feathers are just to so pretty.



In between showers, a Rainbow weakly appeared for a minute or so before being swallowed up again.



Speaking of swallow, I was finally at the area where the Barn Swallows nest and many adults were there with juveniles in tow. I didn't even try for a flight shot today. Not in these conditions.



A relaxing tour of the property. Happy with some of the photos. Missing Dad.

Bronzed Cowbird at Newton Park

Twitch alert! There was Bronzed Cowbird reported over by Lake Apopka at a place called Newton Park. Never heard of the spot but needed that species for my Life List. I headed over and wandered around Nice little park right on the waterfront but a storm was on its way from the far side of the lake.

I saw some blackbirds around the information sign and headed that way. They were feeding on the ground and suddenly one of them started making a call I had never heard before. Found them! However, as I got the camera up for a shot something flushed them all toward the mobile homes to the North. Dang. After a few minutes of waiting a single female returned and landed in a tree above my head.



Tried of waiting for them to return, I decided to take a walk around. I circled around toward the direction the birds flew and looked back at the pier and made a mental note as to how far off the rain was.



A Palm Warbler was still hanging around. Molting into Spring colors nicely.



A baby American Alligator swam by. I was surprised I did not see any larger ones as this lake is full of big gators.



The Cowbirds were still out of view so I went back to the pier and decided to walk out to the end.



Tree Swallows were flying by in larger numbers but they were banking so quickly that it was hard to even get one in frame.



A lone Bonaparte's Gull rested on a barrel not far from shore. I noticed another bird beginning to wander the park and could tell he was going to head out to me. He introduced himself as Leo and we went back to shore to search for the Cowbirds again.



As we approached the mobile home area a few grackles and Red-winged blackbirds flew in to a lawn. I also noticed a couple of smaller birds with them. The Bronzed Cowbirds were back and feeding on the grasses. One pair actually let us get quite close for some shots.



Male Bronzed Cowbirds are interesting. When they make their calls they raise the feathers around their head and neck forming a hood.



I could never get the full display in my shots. Always clicked a bit too slowly.



This was the best I got. Love that sound they make when calling. Leo and I parted ways as the rain was even closer. At least we both got our Life Bird for the day.



The Tree Swallow flock increased to hundreds and they began flying through the reeds and cattails feeding on midges. They were flying even more swiftly now but I tried to get any in focus. There were so many and flying so fast that I could never pick a particular subject.



Eventually I just stopped trying for a single bird and just set a focal point and hoped I could get anything worth keeping.



Finally, a single bird in focus. But the rain was getting closer so I turned to leave.



Behind me, I heard a weird kind of croak. I reversed course and suddenly a Purple Gallinule climbed up right in front of me and then disappeared just as quickly.



A perfect ending to a twitching day. I headed home in the rain and had a little smile on my face. I look forward to a day out there with better weather.

Lake Apopka New Year's Drive, Part 1

Another year, another trip to Lake Apopka. I am really starting to enjoy the fact that I get there right as the gate opens and can be one of the first, and then the first, to be out on the drive. Gives me time to get to birds before others and snag some shots before the traffic scares anything off. Like this American Bittern that strode upon the stage just after sunrise.



The first American Alligator of the morning cruises the canal.



While more begin to hunt near the Pumphouse.



Red-winged Blackbirds are easy to spot through out the drive.



You can see and hear them calling all day long.



Ospreys are busy having breakfast as soon as the Sun has come up and can be found atop most phone poles.



I spotted this Limpkin along the edge of the road and followed it to an open space just up ahead.



There it revealed it had breakfast, too, and tried to position the snail shell to extract the tasty snail inside.



It let me watch the whole time even though it was still weary of my clicking camera.



Around the bend, a Snowy Egret prowled along a branch.



You can never have too many shots of Great Blue Herons. Especially when they let you get right next to them in the early morning light.



Wilson's Snipe are typically very skittish and you usually see them fly off in front of you when you walk through their hiding places. For some reason, I found a pair on the side of the drive that decided staying still was a better choice.



I guess they figured that those few blades of grass were disguise enough.



Common Gallinule are copious and as hard as I try I can't resist a shot now and again.



Another more showy Snowy Egret wades into shallow water in search of a snack.



A Red-shouldered Hawk called from one of the few manmade items on the back part of the drive.



A few Savannah Sparrows can be found flitting through the green grasses right along the road but seldom pause for a good shot.



Most of the Eastern Phoebes I saw today were so busy feeding that I couldn't get many good shots. This one stayed still for a little bit for me.



One final Red-shouldered Hawk was perched in a snag at the last turn out of the drive.



I am still trying to find the reported Gray-headed Swamphen. I have missed it on the previous 5 times around. The day is young so why not have one more try before heading home? Part Two is next!