Some Florida Wildlife Selections to prepare for Birdmania 2023

Just thought I'd post up some favorite shots I've taken out at the wetlands since the last Birdmania. Though summers can be a little slower than winter and spring, there's not really a bad day out in our wetlands. For those of you considering coming down again, here are some temptations, with some of the cooler birds and shots from Spring through fall...

A wet red-shouldered hawk drying off after a bath in the pond below:


Closeup of a smiling, happy alligator:


A fresh batch of red-winged blackbird chicks in the nest:


A baby bunny (Marsh rabbit):


A great blue heron in the cypress forest with a pig frog for lunch:


The ridiculously beautiful male wood duck in full breeding plumage:


And the ridiculously cute black-necked stilt chick, just a week or two old:


Male least bittern, scoring a fish for dinner:


The atala butterfly - a rare species endemic to S. Florida and thought for decades to be extinct - until some were found on a barrier island - they only feed and nest on a plant called the Coontie, which had been farmed to near-extinction in early 20th century - since then, they've replanted coonties all around south Florida and the atala butterflies have made a comeback:


The gloriously pink roseate spoonbill:


That set was from April 23rd to June 18...I'll post some more here periodically as we get closer to Birdmania season!

 

Some more wildlife...June 18th to July 30th:

Black-bellied whistling duck mom with her ducklings:


The ducklings are simply adorable:


A male red-winged blackbird, complaining about something:


A rare visit - the American white pelicans sometimes come down to Peaceful Waters, but in all my time shooting there, I've never seen one at Wakodahatchee. Until this time:


Bright orange eyeliner might be a little '80s, but the killdeer pulls it off:


Pied-billed grebe mom with her black-and-white striped-head chick following along, begging for food:


We expect to see super-rarities in the winter when the most species are visiting Florida, but to find a super-rarity in the middle of the summer is unusual. So coming across these fulvous whistling ducks was quite a surprise! I've technically NEVER photographed one - 10 years ago I spotted a hybrid whistling duck that was part fulvous, part black-bellied, but never full blooded fulvous ducks like this pair:


A juvenile black-necked stilt flying with mom right behind escorting him to the feeding grounds:


The roseate spoonbills have been hanging around all summer, when few people brave the heat to come see them:


A large bee ball - honeybees gathering around their queen while they travel looking for a new hive location - it's quite the sound, with that buzz audible from hundreds of feet away:

 

Sounds good. I'll work on getting that Friday off - should be no problem with advance-enough notice.

 

Picking up on July 30th, to September 10th:

Cattle egret closeup:


Tricolored heron closeup:


Juvenile tricolored heron taking a bath:


Distant wandering raccoon, with an iguana watching in the background:


Closeup of the funky looking knight anole lizard - bigger than most lizards, but smaller than iguanas, at around a foot long:


Florida softshell turtle getting dry:


Green iguana looking ready for a gunfight - he and I were facing off from 10 paces on the boardwalk - until he finally threw in the towel and got out of my way:


Green heron looking like a villain plotting something sinister:


A northern parula, one of the fall migrating birds passing through:


Far from the world's greatest shot...but this is a bird I've only photographed twice before, so I'll take what I can get! The lovely prothonotary warbler migrating through:

 

September 24th to October 15th:

Halloween-themed photo - giant scary spider! Actually, only about 1/4 inch in size, the orchard orbweaver is very pretty seen up close:


Anhinga heading to shore with its fish catch, where it can eat it without it getting away:


Green heron, showing off some lovely colors:


The strange fellow is back! After sticking around for a few months in Jan-Feb this year, the chuck-will's-widow returned on October 1st:


Night jars are strange looking birds - the chuck is no exception. In fact, he needs a closeup of that weird face to really show how odd looking it is:


Anhingas often catch very large fish - fish so big, they don't look like they could be able to swallow them:


But this little lady was determined to get that thing down in one gulp - took her 5 minutes or so, but eventually she swallowed it:


An osprey heading off with half a fish, after another osprey tried to steal the meal - time to find a new treetop to eat in peace:


The ruby-throated hummingbirds are back for winter - hard little things to find and catch in the wild, but stick close to firebush blooms, and you may find one paying a visit:


And if you can follow them back to a perching spot, you may be able to find one sitting at rest:

 

Thank you kindly. Although I've given away my secret already when we did the first Birdmania. You know you can spend just a few hours out there and come back with hundreds of shots and dozens of species - so when I can post my 'best of' for an entire month, it can make me look like a Nat Geo pro!

 

They should still be around until Spring - so usually April or so. They're hit and miss - because there are no feeders, they have to be found naturally in the wild - so usually looking close around the firebush blooms and occasionally hibiscus and some luck and you'll spot them.

 

Some more wildlife - picking up from October 15th and running through October 22:

A red-bellied woodpecker all fluffed up:


A knight anole lizard - not as big as iguanas, but still pretty chunky lizards around 12-15 inches long:


A male common yellowthroat:


A red-shouldered hawk flying over:


An adult green iguana, in orange mating colors, sitting on a branch in the late afternoon with some lovely backlight:


A female American redstart up close:


Raccoon, searching around the cypress forest for some food:


American alligator up close:


An eastern phoebe, who had just stolen all of the spider's captures out of the web:


A black-and-white warbler, running around a cypress trunk for bugs:

 

Some more stuff - starting from October 22, and running through November 5.

Alligator on approach:


Vultures are often unappreciated - they may not be the most attractive birds, but they have a purpose and do a great service to mankind:


Nice to have the northern shoveler ducks back in town for winter:


A female anhinga heading to shore to eat her catch:


Probably not as exciting for all of you, but very exciting for me - only the second time I've ever seen and photographed a Tennessee warbler:


A Cuban tree frog attempting to hide from me on the side of a reed:


A lovely ovenbird, popping out of the forest where they usually lurk, and raising its crown at me:


Male common yellowthroat:


So why are they called 'white eyed vireos'? This is why:


A tricolored heron flying my way, in a light rainshower:

 

Now that Pixelmania is over, Birdmania is next up on the schedule. So, to pick up where I left off and share some more of the goodies down here in Florida, this set will pick up on November 6th and go through November 19th:

A green darner dragonfly in flight:


An American bittern, really close up:


And that American bittern plunged into the reeds, and came out with a nice watersnake for dinner...but the dinner was fighting back by coiling around the bird's bill to try to avoid being swallowed:


The lovely yellow-bellied sapsucker, one of the less common woodpeckers we see:


Super-rarity - in fact, a lifer for me at least in the U.S. (the only other one I saw was 11 years ago in Costa Rica)...a yellow warbler:


The very same day, just minutes later, I found these three ruddy ducks cruising - this is only my 3rd sighting of ruddys in 20+ years:


Closer look at one of the ruddy ducks:


A happy looking black-crowned night heron, backlit:


A very intense-looking green heron:


Yes, the chuck-will's-widow was STILL sticking around - in fact, as of last weekend it's still hanging around...maybe it willa ctually stay through Birdmania this time:


Roseate spoonbill having a little stretch:

 

Excellent. Now, let's see if any other Pixelmaniacs want to see how amazing these two birding spots are!
Oh, and definitely leave the Covid at home.

 

Picking up with some shots taken from November 25th through December 4th:

A few from Peaceful Waters again - which I tend not to visit much in summer - too hot - but come fall through Spring I start working it back in...this is a duck I've only seen once before - a gadwall:


A spotted sandpiper:


Another lifer bird for me - my first-ever sighting of a Wilson's warbler:


The beautiful male northern shoveler:


And back to Green Cay and Wakodahatchee...first, this closeup visit with a northern parula:


Pair of cooter turtles on a log:


Distant female belted kingfisher:


Happy looking alligator getting some sun on the levee:


Anhinga finding a little post to stand on and dry off:


Tricolored heron on a fishing expedition:

 

Picking up AFTER Pixelmania, the next set will start on Dec 18th and run through Dec 31, 2022.

The lovely chuck will's widow, out again:


Female common yellowthroat:


Red-shouldered hawk flying overhead:


The very elusive sora, out in the open for a change:


If you want to keep your BIF skills up to par, spend a little time panning with these missiles - tree swallows buzzing over the water:


The silly river otters were enjoying a very cold Florida day - chasing each other in the water, running up on the bank in front of me, then jumping back in the water playfully:


Another rarity - in fact, only the second time in 15 years I've ever seen them. A group of ring-necked ducks had arrived, probably pushed farther south than normal due to the extreme Christmas Eve cold blast (our high was 54 that day...a temp that is often our lowest LOW of the winter):


A great blue heron cruising past, low over the reeds:


A least bittern poking out of the reeds, though staying down in the shadows:


The normally cute and fluffy pied-billed grebe can get a little angry when another grebe gets in his territory during breeding season:

 

Moving along into the new year - a few more from 12/31/22 and then some shots from 1/2/23

Pied-billed grebe:


Great blue heron landing on its nesting spot:


Ibis making a close fly-by in lovely warm late afternoon light:


Double-crested cormorant coming in for a landing:


Red-shouldered hawk flying against the setting sun:


Ruby-throated hummingbird sampling the firebush flowers:


Male red-bellied woodpecker on a clear day and lovely light:


Black-and-white warbler defying gravity, checking the bottom of the branch for some bugs:


Female anhinga drying herself on a small watermark board sticking out of the water:


Big male green iguana, all oranged-up for breeding - and looking proud after having just driven off another male iguana trying to move in on his territory: