Many Roseate Spoonbills feeding and resting and just plain hanging out!
This was such a pretty anhinga, I had to add him or her to the blog even though I have had them on the blog before!
Well, I wanted to make sure that my sister got to see roseate spoonbills as part of her Florida bird education. We didn't see any at Lover's Key the other day which was very disappointing as that is where I saw them last year. Ding Darling did not disappoint us though!!!! There were many, many roseates and many were close enough to get some decent pictures. There were also many, many white pelicans and again many that were close enough to get a good picture. I also spotted a couple of tri-colored herons although I wasn't sure what they were until I enlarged the pictures. I am still trying to identify a bird we saw in a tree though. There are a couple of other birds that I have seen who are still nameless as well. Even having a picture in front of you is sometimes not enough!!
Our respective husbands have been doing a lot of eye rolling lately but it is fun to have a partner in identifying all this wonderful flora and fauna (guess that birds fall into the fauna category). We are all working on getting red, black and white mangroves straight.
This was just a few of the pelicans that were standing in one area of the marsh. There were more than I have seen before there and they were flying above as well. So many times, they all look like they are sleeping and you don't get the impact of the size of these magnificent birds (I believe something like a nine foot wing span). They migrate here from Washington State and north and can be seen in the summer in Alaska (I saw them there during my Alaska trip). From below you can see the black on their wings.
This roseate spoonbill either had flees or he was strutting his stuff. He just kept dancing and dancing around in the water in front of the other spoonbills. There were many more spoonbills there than I have seen before. We were there a couple of hours after low tide but in the later afternoon.
This pelican looked particularly stately amongst his sleeping brethren.
This was a view into the mangroves with a really nice reflection onto the waters. I took several pictures that you would swear were the object, not the reflection.
This I have dubbed "Gail's Great Egret" as she ran out of battery life just as she was trying for a picture of this solitary fellow on top of the tree.
This is a bevy of white pelicans with a few double crested cormorants standing amongst the flock (somehow flock of pelicans doesn't sound majestic enough).
This was a particularly nice sighting of a Great Egret and a Snowy Egret posing by the side of the road. I like getting pictures of the birds in the canal behind me but seeing them in a natural setting makes them that much more beautiful (at least to my eyes). Double click on any of these images to make them bigger.
This was such a pretty anhinga, I had to add him or her to the blog even though I have had them on the blog before!What a surprise to find out that the entry was free because we have one of those Senior America the Beautiful passes. They only cost $10 for lifetime usage. We probably saved $500 when we went cross country last year as campsites were half price as well. You only need to be 62 and appear in person at a National Park where they sell them. They entitle everyone in a car to a free pass to the parks (some of the national parks have a $25 daily entrance fee). So Warren, my sister Gail and her husband Bill and I all got to go to this wonderful Refuge for free!
Well, I wanted to make sure that my sister got to see roseate spoonbills as part of her Florida bird education. We didn't see any at Lover's Key the other day which was very disappointing as that is where I saw them last year. Ding Darling did not disappoint us though!!!! There were many, many roseates and many were close enough to get some decent pictures. There were also many, many white pelicans and again many that were close enough to get a good picture. I also spotted a couple of tri-colored herons although I wasn't sure what they were until I enlarged the pictures. I am still trying to identify a bird we saw in a tree though. There are a couple of other birds that I have seen who are still nameless as well. Even having a picture in front of you is sometimes not enough!!
Our respective husbands have been doing a lot of eye rolling lately but it is fun to have a partner in identifying all this wonderful flora and fauna (guess that birds fall into the fauna category). We are all working on getting red, black and white mangroves straight.
I confirmed that there have been sightings of the magnificent frigatebird in the area so I am positive that is what I saw during the storms last week. From my reading on the bird, that is when you are most apt to see them in this area-- right after storms. As my friend Sue says, I am easily amused!!
This was just a few of the pelicans that were standing in one area of the marsh. There were more than I have seen before there and they were flying above as well. So many times, they all look like they are sleeping and you don't get the impact of the size of these magnificent birds (I believe something like a nine foot wing span). They migrate here from Washington State and north and can be seen in the summer in Alaska (I saw them there during my Alaska trip). From below you can see the black on their wings.
This roseate spoonbill either had flees or he was strutting his stuff. He just kept dancing and dancing around in the water in front of the other spoonbills. There were many more spoonbills there than I have seen before. We were there a couple of hours after low tide but in the later afternoon.
This pelican looked particularly stately amongst his sleeping brethren.
This was a view into the mangroves with a really nice reflection onto the waters. I took several pictures that you would swear were the object, not the reflection.
This I have dubbed "Gail's Great Egret" as she ran out of battery life just as she was trying for a picture of this solitary fellow on top of the tree.
This is a bevy of white pelicans with a few double crested cormorants standing amongst the flock (somehow flock of pelicans doesn't sound majestic enough).
This was a particularly nice sighting of a Great Egret and a Snowy Egret posing by the side of the road. I like getting pictures of the birds in the canal behind me but seeing them in a natural setting makes them that much more beautiful (at least to my eyes). Double click on any of these images to make them bigger.
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