I love visiting Circle B bar Ranch Reserve, located not far from Orlando, Florida. Circle B’s 6 miles of trails encompass many diverse habitats, including marshes, swamps, hardwood hammocks, and the 4500-acre Lake Hancock. Following are just a few of the many delights I saw on a recent visit. ☺️
Tag Archives: Anhinga
Anhingas are often seen diving into ponds and open water, as underwater fishing is their specialty. But this fellow looked a little awkward, leaning WAY over the railing, apparently peering at something tasty among these densely growing emergent plants in very shallow water. We frequently see Anhingas dive into open water, swim around, and then […]
The Wood Stork “… is the only stork breeding in the United States and was placed on the Federal Endangered Species list in 1984. The species was downlisted from endangered to threatened in June 2014, reflecting a successful conservation and recovery effort spanning three decades.” (many more details here: National Park Service) The previously endangered […]
The Wakodahatchee Wetlands is a unique “constructed wetlands” in Delray Beach, Florida, and one of the places I go birding and blog about most often. “Each day, the Southern Region Water Reclamation Facility pumps approximately two million gallons of highly treated wastewater into the Wakodahatchee Wetlands, which in turn acts as a percolation pond, returning billions of […]
Learn more, and take a virtual visit to this special place: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
The glow of the sky at sunrise looks so lovely behind the birds as we all (the birds and I!) begin our day. On the first several tree islands, each bird appears as a silhouette, as I walk toward them facing east.. A lone Fish Crow rests in the crook of the tree branches as the […]
It seems amazing that one can arrive at the preserve at 6:30 am, and still miss some of the best morning light! How much earlier can sunrise get?? Nonetheless, I was happy to see the White Ibis featured above looking stunningly rosy, just as the dawn broke (alternatively, one might say he looked like he’d just […]
During late Winter and early Spring, the preserves were bustling with activity. The warblers and other migratory birds had arrived. The wading birds and other Florida natives were busy courting, nesting, and caring for their noisy chicks. And, the boardwalks were filled with nature-lovers of all kinds, enjoying our spectacular weather and scenery – families […]
This adult male Wood Stork featured above was very busy as usual yesterday morning, flying back and forth to the woods to get nesting materials.At one point, he seemed to make an abrupt decision to stop at the very top of the ‘rookery’ island. Interestingly, he landed right above some occupied Cormorant and Anhinga nests, barely visible here in […]
The birds in our local wetlands are in their glory at this time of year. And so are the birdwatchers!! Like the Great Egret I included in last week’s post, nearly everyone is in breeding colors, and there are birds of every type and size nesting in all the trees! Some are extremely close to the […]
Birder's Journey 