Visiting the Baby Barred Owls

Finally got a chance to go check on the baby Barred Owls that were born next to my backyard at their reported new location down the street at the Greenwood Wetlands. It did not take long for me to find them across the bridge in the Cypress trees.



The first baby Barred Owl I found was looking at me for a couple of seconds but was much more interested in the Red-winged Blackbird flying back and forth across the creek.



I began looking for the other owl when a Great Blue Heron tried to sneak around behind me to go to a new fishing spot.



The other baby was a few tree to the West just relaxing.



Now that I made another contact with my kids, I headed closer to the lake to see what else was around. A Common Gallinule glided out into the open but was not too sure what to make of my presence.



Off to my left, I could see a small flock of Wood Ducks hunkered down among the Cypress knees. How can you ever resist a shot of male Wood Ducks when you get a chance?



Suddenly, an Anhinga bobbed up from the water during its search for breakfast.



I knew there was a family of Limpkin with chicks in the area but I never found the brood. Eventually, I did find one of the adults in the reeds near the willows.



Heading home, I was surprised to see a Raccoon scurrying around the stream below the owls. At least they are not around our house as much as they used to be.



I will have to go back again to try for the Limpkins when I can and there may be even more sights to see. Just need the time.

Baby Barred Owls Have Made the Move

It has been a while since I spotted the baby Barred Owls around the house. In fact, I hadn't seen or heard them in the couple days before I posted about Papa Owl by the deck a few days ago. Luckily, I have nearby neighbors that report bird sightings and it seems that the babies moved to the Greenwood Wetlands not long ago and have been documenting it.

A new friend I have made is Jennifer Gwynne Oliver who has been seeing the owls at dusk and beyond. Here is one of our owls on the bridge to the wetlands.



Nice having some others reporting on the progress of the babies. They seem to be doing well. Just wished they hadn't moved off so quickly this year. Now I need to make a trip out there for myself when I can.

Catching Up: Barred Owl

Fellow birder Gail was back out at Greenwood Wetlands in June when I was holed up at work all month. She asked if this might be one of 'yours'. Most likely.



I haven't been over thhe try and find the baby owls in a while. I am glad she is finding them and sharing.

I Get to Visit Maggie the Barred Owl

I stopped by Greenwood in a light rain and wondered if I would find any of the Barred Owls. Two seconds after I stepped out of the van I heard the familiar hiss of a young owl. I had to walk around a bit to pinpoint the spot but I found Maggie, the youngest of two Barred Owls born next to our house this year, high up in an oak tree. Too far for any good shots so all I could do was say 'hi'.

I decided to walk the sidewalk around the lake and see if anything else was out in the drizzle. Not much. I got half-way around the lake was was about to turn back when I made out a silhouette of a hunched figure under the Cypress trees. I knew it was a Black-crowned Night Heron. The first adult I have seen this year. It was deep in the gloom but I had to try anyway.



I headed back to get out of the sprinkles and heard an adult Barred Owl calling back by the bridge. I could not locate that bird but right after I crossed the bridge, Maggie soared down from her original perch, flew right toward me, and landed in a tree along the sidewalk. She wasn't alone. Several Blue Jays and Red-winged Blackbirds began mobbing her as she tried to find a tight grip on the branch.



The smaller birds soon gave up on their harassment and went back to their business and Maggie kept looking around for that parent that was calling. I left her to the task and headed off in search of other birds for the morning.

Neighborhood Birds

Finally, a little time to hit all my local lakes in one loop again. First stop, Lake Davis. Water levels have dropped a lot over these past few dry months. Now, the once submerged lake bottom along the shore are covered in ground cover with some pretty little yellow flowers.



The Cypress trees are green again and the inner branches are still hosting many Palm Warblers.



One would think that with as much foot traffic there is around Lake Davis that Wood Ducks would stop being so nervous. Maybe that is why there are plenty of them, though. Maybe the dogs are their problem.



Off to the church and to check the vanishing retention pond. I have been driving straight passed this spot for a while. Mergansers were gone and other ducks left a couple months ago to hang out in real lakes so I didn't think it warrented my time but I felt a need to check it today. As soon as I got out of the van I noticed a Red-shouldered Hawk up on the fence.



The bird flew off to the retention pond just as another juvenile flew to the fence. I walked around to the left and the bird flew farther down looking for something but posed for a few moments. Must have been looking through the mud judging by the dirty feet.



Finally scanning the muck of the retention pond I was pleasantly surprised to see a new bird. A Black-necked Stilt.



There were a pair of Black-necked Stilts here last year so perhaps it was the same pair. I was about to leave but I heard a Yellowlegs fly in. Why? The hawks were chasing it. They made 3 shots but missed every time.



Over at Greenwood Wetlands I was looking for any other young birds. While I was looking about someone asked if I had seen the gator? Wha? I have not seen an American Alligator in the wetlands in my 20 years going through there. But up on the far shore...



A gorgeous Great Blue Heron was standing not far from the gator.



Off to the right, a Tricolored Heron swooped in and hunted under the Cypress trees.



Up in the other Cypress trees, more Palm Warblers. I found no other warblers other than Palms today. Weird.



Not a bad hour all within a few miles of home. Could use some more migrants, though.

Good Morning, Barred Owl

Finally got myself out of bed in time to get over to the wetlands just after sunrise. Look who was already there. Gail. She said she saw one of the Barred Owl right near the bridge but we couldn't relocate it quickly. She showed me where a Red-bellied Woodpecker nest hole was before heading off. I could hear the chicks but none came up far enough for a shot. I have to remember to check back soon.

On my way back to the parking lot, the Jays began to alert. Blue Jays are great at finding predators and once they find one they alert the whole neighborhood. I followed their calls to the cypress trees and soon found one of the Barred Owls on a limb over the lakeside creek entrance.



It was busy hunting and only looked at me twice. That first flashed version is OK. The light was low. I held steady and shot without it. My youngest prefers this shot, though I keep noticing the missing foot as he was adjusting his weight.



But I probably like it better, anyway. Off to work!

Breakfast for an Anhinga

Another late-ish start for a Barred Owl hunt but what's a boy to do? I headed around the Greenwood Wetlands to search, again, for herons and owls. Along the way to the eastern edge of the wetlands I got distracted by a bird off to my left. A female Anhinga had caught herself a fish.

So, this becomes the second in our series of birds eating things at the wetlands!

Lighting wasn't great and the bird was a bit far away but I decide to see what would happen. A lot of times Anhinga will bolt when you stop near them but this was was nice and hungry and I was just far enough away. Here, it holds its prey and decides what to do next.



I just missed the toss as I found my footing. The bird was getting the fish into a better head-down position for easier swallowing. Wish I could have the whole fish in view.



Just about into position. Just needs a little more shifting.



Al...most...there...



A quick flip to the left...



Ahhhhhhhhhhh....



Gulp! Wasn't that refreshing? I was even thinking of making an animation but I am fresh out of time these days.



This morning I only had a few more minutes to find other birds. I headed down by the water, searched the cypress trees, searched the oaks, no luck. I said to myself, "Well, not today." and turned back to the sidewalk.

As I reached the top of the rise, an owl flew right past me and into the cypress branches. Looks like Papa was heading back to roost. Finally found one again!



On the way back to the van I saw the Anhinga, currently sated and resting on the cypress knees.



I try for an artsy shot before heading out.



Will I be back after I have found the owl? Why...of course! Still have to talk to baby again at some point.

Baby Barred Owl Doing Fine

I have been getting reports from my birding friend Gail. She has been seeing the Night Heron even though they have been hiding from me. Better yet, she sends observations of the Barred Owls that nested and fledged a young one earlier in the year. That is all archived in this blog under the Barred Owl label.

She has been seeing them right after sunrise. By the time I get there a couple hours later, everything has disappeared. However, Gail managed a photo during the latest sighting and she graciously let me share it. Seems our dark little owl is growing into a dark big owl!



Also of interest, I was about to email Gail when I received the photos. I was going to tell her about the encounter I had last night...

Just before total nightfall, I heard a Great-horned Owl calling outside our kitchen window. I grabbed a flashlight and a camera and ran out to try for any photo I could get. Before I got to the side of the house, baby Barred Owl flew in and started skreeing like it does for food from the parents.

It figured out pretty quickly that it wasn't Mom or Dad and started making its way along the telephone poles before fading into the dark.

I didn't get any good shots of either bird but it sure was exciting. Then I get photos of Baby the next morning. Excellent.

Green Heron Youngster

With a break in the weather in sight I headed over to the wetlands again to search for the Black-crowned Night Herons. They would elude me again but I did spot a shape overlooking the smaller pond. I flanked around to see if I could get in some better light for shots of this young Green Heron.



It stayed very calm the entire time. It was actually more interested in the flock of Fish Crows that were flying in and out of the top of the tree that it was sitting in.



Every now and then it would glance up at the ruckus and gaze at the crows as they flew off. This went on for quite some time.



So long that I grabbed a couple more shots and headed off in search of other birds, leaving our Green Heron to watch the crows some more before staring back out at the water.



Nice to see one of the babies from earlier in the year getting so grown up.

Walking Around the Lakes

Another day, another lake check. I started by driving along the shore of Lake Lancaster and found an adult Great Blue Heron going in for a rather deep dip.



Then I decided to walk through the Greenwood Wetlands to do the usual Night Heron and owl search. Again, neither could be found. The other usual suspects were there but I was more impressed by the Red-eared Slider peering out of the shallow water.



Under the shade of the cypress trees, a few ducklings rest before their next round of foraging in the Duck Weed.



Since I could use the exercise, and since it was such a nice day, I decided to extend my walk and head over to Lake Davis. I drive by every day but it has been awhile since the last proper inspection.

Dodging the Swan Geese, always looking for a handout, I found a small flock of young Wood Ducks basking in the sunlight.



A young Mallard figured it was much better to rest up in the grasses along the shore of the lake.



There wasn't a lot going on along the southern end of the lake so I took some time to chat with a Northern Mockingbird.



On the West side of the lake I was tracking a Tricolored and Great Blue Heron when I noticed something more interesting. Deep in the reeds where the herons were stalking prey, a Common Gallinule sits on a nest. A nice find since we are in full swing of the Florida Bird Breeding Atlas. Every record of breeding birds is a good thing.



Soon I was attracted to another set of flying things. Dragonflies were cruising the reeds for insects so I was trying to get some shots for later ID. The wind was picking up so getting the insects to pause for any length of time was a chore. I did get one in focus and I think it is a type of Saddlebags.



While I finished up my dragonfly experiment another Common Gallinule decided I wasn't a threat and swam out past me.



As I reached the northern side of the lake I was pleased to see an entire family of Common Gallinules. For those keeping score, they officially changed the name of these bird back to Common Gallinule from Common Moorhen last year.



Every now and then the chicks would peck at the adults looking like they were giving little kisses. Love those bald heads.



A final close up as I finish my trip around the lakes.



This year has been very productive for all of our lake and marsh birds. That means that there will be plenty more photo opportunities in the future.