We enjoyed a magnificent morning watching the elegant foraging maneuvers of the Snowy Egrets. One of the highlights of our visit to Orlando Wetlands! The water was a perfect, beautiful deep blue! The temperature was heavenly! ☀️ Non-stop grace in action! . . . . . . . But every once in a while the […]
Tag Archives: wildlife
I noticed some rustling amidst the leafy tree branches on my walk this morning and stopped for a closer look. Sure enough, a juvenile Purple Gallinule was peeking out from a tree right next to the boardwalk. His soft, brown plumage and the subtle blue shield above his beak are distinctive characteristics which distinguish this […]
I spotted this handsome Great Blue Heron on the morning of Valentine’s Day, last February 14 ♥️. In late winter to early spring our Great Blue Herons begin to engage in “elaborate courtship and pair-bonding displays…” (All About Birds) “Displays include stretching neck up with bill pointing skyward, flying in circles above colony with neck […]
I’ve always been partial to Little Blue Herons, the elegant wading birds who are entirely white as juveniles, then gradually develop patches of blue plumage until they mature into entirely blue adults. (All About Birds – Little Blue Heron). On a trip to Merritt Island NWR I was admiring the sleek Little Blue Heron in […]
It was springtime and romance was in the air in the wetlands 💚 But somehow this draft post of the dating and mating season got lost in my files! Better late than never!☀️ These lovebird Great Egrets eventually had chicks – the youngsters have long since fledged and moved on. ☀️
The irresistible, iridescent Purple Gallinule was one of the first wetland birds I got to know after moving to Florida. Still a favorite!! 🩵💜
“At distance, Glossy Ibises look uniformly dark, but a close look in good light reveals stunning colors: deep maroon, emerald, bronze, and violet.” (All About Birds) I was surprised to learn that the Glossy Ibis breeds throughout the world, but “they were almost unknown in the US, even in the 19th century. John James Audubon […]
We are fortunate to have Wood Ducks like this handsome pair appearing in our wetlands regularly in recent years. These cavity nesters enjoy our freshwater marsh and have nested there in a hollow, dead palm tree overhanging the pond. But you have to be there at just the right moment if you hope to watch […]
It’s actually very easy to get this close to an alligator…. (though a photo like this is best taken with a long lens!) After all, we birders frequent many of the same natural areas that ‘gators do. When the weather is just right, alligators love sunning themselves along the edges of pathways and trails. But […]
Yellow-crown Night Herons are found throughout Florida, but we don’t often see them actually nesting in our local wetlands. This spring, however, there were three different breeding pairs nesting high up over the mile-long boardwalk! “Nests are constructed by both birds, but it is more the case that the male gathers sticks and the female […]
Birder's Journey 