Today’s photos come from Bernie Grossman of Florida. His captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them. We don’t have the Latin binomials today (remember to put them in your submissions), but you can easily look them up.
FLORIDA BIRDING, May, 2022
Bernie Grossman
COVID has cancelled five of our planned birding trips since spring, 2020. Our most recent attempt was a guided trip to Finland in late May, 2022. As a consolation prize, we took a tour of Florida (we live in Tallahassee) seeking birds not on our life list. The trip took us to the Ocala National Forest, Key West and The Dry Tortugas National Park, The Everglades including the 10,000 Islands, and the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.
It was the dry season in the Everglades, so wildlife viewing was limited. This alligator was sitting alongside the Shark Valley tram route. Later, we drove along the lightly traveled Loop Road just south of the Tamiami Trail through the Cypress Swamp National Forest. It was alligator mating season, so there were at least 50 gators along the roadside.
American Alligator, Everglades NP.:
Florida Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens). Yearling Trail, Ocala National forest:
The White-crowned Pigeon is a very localized breeder in the Lower Keys. This bird perched on a wire outside our motel room in Key West. Large numbers of Brown Noddy use the area around Fort Jefferson as a nesting ground. A few Black Noddy occur, although we didn’t see any. A few migrating birds were seen on the island, too.
White-crowned Pigeon, Key West, FL:
Brown Noddy, Dry Tortugas National Park:
We took a two hour boat tour off Everglades City through some of the 10,000 Islands. The Black Skimmers and Sanderlings were on an exposed sandbar. Our guide was also able to show us a few endangered Sawfish.
Black Skimmers and Sanderlings, 10,000 Islands, western Everglades:
The Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is located northeast of Naples, FL, and it preserves a beautiful virgin Bald Cypress woodland. Some of the trees are over 500 years old. The Sanctuary has a 2.4-mile boardwalk through the forest. Although it was dry season, we were able to see lots of flowers and birds. The wading bird photos were taken at the two remaining wet areas along the boardwalk.
Red-shouldered Hawk Pair. Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary:
Barred Owl, Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary:
Red-shouldered Hawk Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Limpkin, Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary:
Adult Little Blue Heron, Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Great Egret,, Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary:
American Bittern, Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary:
Great Egret, Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary:
Immature Little Blue Heron, Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary:
Me – scrutinizing photo #1 before reading captions: “What is on that big rock outcrop that I am supposed to be looking at?” Whoops…
The American Bittern photo looks to me much more like a juvenile Green Heron
yes i would agree.
I also got the impression of green heron Butorides virescens<. from the photo of the American bittern.
Great pictures! That seems like a wonderful adventure.
Thanks for this great batch of photos. I didn’t know there was a “little blue heron”…just the “great blue”; it’s a nice looking bird.
Nice photos. I saw a Limpkin yesterday while kayaking the Wekiva River. I was able to get quite close to it.
Beautiful photos. I get terribly annoyed by the people and politics here in Florida, but there’s no denying the natural beauty, especially the birds!! And the alligators, of course.
Wonderful sightings, Bernie. Thanks for sharing them!