Barn Swallows at the Cemetery

With our banding season beginning again, I have less time to explore. Well, I still do my lake checks but there has not been a lot around. I try to end my trip by swinging through Greenwood Cemetery while waiting for the return of the Bald Eagles that nest here every year. No eagles yet. However, I was surprised by the large flock of Barn Swallows foraging all over the property.



As always, swallows travel very fast and trying to get a shot is tricky. I got my best one during the middle of the stop. At first, I thought it was a Cliff Swallow but later investigation showed it was a juvenile Barn Swallow.



Several Chimney Swifts were also in the area but darkness was falling so I couldn't get any shots of them. Might have to swing through again tomorrow!

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.

Labor Day at Lake Apopka

Labor Day was upon us and I heard that the Lake Apopa North Shore Drive would be open as it is for Federal holidays. I asked my wife if she would like to go with me and she surprised me by saying, "Sure." Not easy to give up a morning to sleep in and we would have to be there by sunrise. Best time to bird, ya know.

We arrived right on time. I was expecting a line of vehicles since it was a holiday but I think we only counted 5 other cars during our entire trip. Weird. Also, kind of weird was the last time I came out it was one Osprey after another on the poles. Today they were replaced by Red-shouldered Hawks. Our first was calling like crazy as the Sun rose behind us.



A bit farther ahead we found another Red-shouldered Hawk. That thing resembling an emerging alien is the birds talon as it holds its leg close to itself.



A surprise awaited us on the first curve. A juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron posed in the morning light just perfectly.



Last month I hardly saw many Great Blue Herons. Today they were spaced every 500 yards!



Our first American Alligator was lurking near the first heron.



We finally discovered one Osprey enjoying breakfast on the telephone poles but it was the only one of the day.



More American Alligators prowled the basin behind the pump house.



I almost missed the Bald Eagle sitting on the far side of the basin before we headed around the next bend.



All of last month's young Common Gallinules are reaching the teenage look.



I failed to get a shot of the numerous Green Herons flying by in July but we had one try to hide in plain sight next to the road today.



A young Red-shouldered Hawk was perched atop some bushes but was winding what the noise was below it. It was a Limpkin which disappeared into the shadows before a photo could be had.



There were a lot of Yellow and Prairie Warblers flying around feeding but this is the best I could capture as they were moving super fast in search of insects.



I was anxious to get to the spot where all of the swallows were congregated on my previous visit. As we approached I thought I was spotting a Life Bird up on the wires. I have seen a couple of Bank Swallows (right) but never got a shot. To the left is a fluffy Barn Swallow told by the forked tail feathers.



The bird I was after I spotted through the windshield and managed to get one shot as the clouds moved in the cloak the scene. My first ever Cliff Swallow located center-right.



A Shiny Blackbird has been here for a while but I forgot to try for a photo last time.



Among the swallows, I found a single Purple Martin in the group.



Trying to be a little artsy with a silhouette of Swallows against the clouds.



One of Carolyn's favorite birds, a Glossy Ibis, perches along the roadside.



Yet another Red-shouldered Hawk was at the end of the line sending us on our way home.



Not a bad drive on a quiet holiday. We will definitely be back. Maybe a little sleeping in in between, though.

Lake Apopka Swallows

Saving the best for last from my Lake Apopka North Shore Drive trip we revisit the Barn Swallows. When I first started noticing them they were flying over the canal to my right. I was trying to figure if I should get out and try some flight shots but that would have meant shooting into the Sun and hoping for any shots captured in frame. Swallows are so darned fast!

I edged the car forward toward the turn and glanced out to the left. Swallows began to settle on the branches just to my left. In the good light.



One after another, the Barn Swallows settled for a few minutes and twittered away.



Among the adults, a few juveniles dropped by for a few seconds.



A short time later, I drove down the road. Flocks of Barn Swallows where on the wires and there is a small bridge where the birds are nesting and they were feeding and flying under the bridge to feed young.



I made another round of the drive since I had missed one of the legs along the lake but I kept thinking about the Barn Swallows all along the trip. When I got back to the corner there were not birds in the trees but settling down on the railing of a maintenance structure.



This younger bird stayed on the rial longer than others and I snapped away.



A few adult Barn Swallow would stop for a few seconds before heading back into the air in search of insects.



The variety of orange on these birds was remarkable, especially on the older birds.



The juvenile bird would occasionally make little calls, apparently begging to be fed.



I was about to drive away when I noticed another bird flying in next to the juvenile.



While I was taking photos my first thought was that this was a leucistic (a partial loss of pigmentation in an animal resulting in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales or cuticle, but not the eyes) Barn Swallow.



I even mentioned this to some friends I rolled up on later. Then I started thinking about thing I had noticed like a slight size and shape difference. The two interacted for a while before they both flew off. When I got home I processed photos and had major 2nd thoughts and sent the photos into the world of birding forums.



Once I culled all of the responses it seems like the overall conclusion is this is probably a Barn Swallow and Tree Swallow hybrid. There have been Tree Swallows in the area that stayed later than they typically do and it is breeding season. We will never know conclusively but that seems to be the most likely answer.



Definitely not a pure Barn, by any means, but a pretty little bird.



Glad I decided to make that second pass. It was well worth it with just this discovery alone. The entirety of the visit was just as special and I can't wait for a chance to get back out there.