Wood Storks in action

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 […]

Everyone looks a little different in the evening

It’s interesting to observe how the colors of the late day sun affect a bird’s appearance. The Red-Bellied Woodpecker above that I spied on a recent early evening walk, certainly looked like he was enjoying the last rays of sun. We usually see the  Boat-tailed Grackle above in his brilliant, shimmering blue feathers in the daytime sun. […]

A glimpse of this morning’s walk . . .

Every morning there is something new and beautiful to see on my walk. This view of the sunrise above was the first sight to greet me as I stepped on to the boardwalk this morning at 7:30 am. What a glorious way to begin the day!! A few steps along the boardwalk, this big ol’ […]

One of a kind

When I first started noticing wading wetland birds on my trips to Florida about a decade ago, one particularly large, somewhat awkward-looking bird really caught my eye – the wonderful, one-of-a-kind Wood Stork! Wood Storks are the only stork native to North America, and they are found in the marshes, lakes, swamps and other wetlands […]

White birds showing their stuff at the marsh ~

In addition to the huge White Stork above, there were a dozen White Ibis, several Great Egrets, and a host of others sloshing around in one small marshy spot yesterday morning.  Must have been some tasty breakfast snacks available.They were literally lined up on the boardwalk railings, and kept taking turns flying in and out […]

Encounters on a chilly morning in the wetlands . . .

The other morning was the chilliest so far this fall, and completely overcast, with occasional drizzle, so I wasn’t sure I’d see much on my walk.  But I was delighted to encounter several of my favorite bird friends!  The Wood Stork featured above was foraging among the marsh grasses, when he suddenly leapt up and made a […]

What’s in a name?

As dusk closed in, the graceful flock of Glossy Ibis featured above sailed toward me in the waning light.  From a distance, I wasn’t quite sure what they were, but as soon as I could discern their body shape and size, it was clear that these were Glossy Ibis and not some other wetland bird […]