The Sunday's addrenaline

I love that title and what it stands for - as it is how it felt to be heading out to my planned out locations with the purposes of finding, seeing and hearing a few species that I had on my list - I gave it my best shot and I had a ball doing it.

Our first stop was in North Cape Coral - near Del Prado and Pine Island Road intersection - a small pond nicknamed the Wigeon Pond.

Right away I saw that the intended target - a Eurasian Wigeon and a Mallard were present but also a whole brood of American Pekin Duck - which, it turns out, is meant for egg laying and general consumption....Pekin Duck anyone?

Since our day light wasn't quite conducive for picture taking - we moved on to the next spot, which happens to be right around the corner from Charlotte Harbor Buffer. I was there to get a visual on a Bobwhite - I heard them all over the place and had a real hard time locating them, my patience paid off. What a beautiful bird this is and what a pretty song it has!

Soon, the male Bobwhite was joined by a molting Starling and then

a Downy Woodpecker - my guess is that they were attracted to his lovely song

Soon after, we returned to the Wigeon Pond - the light was better and we were able to enjoy their plumage in the sunlight.

The Eurasian Wigeon - a very handsome fellow.

Shortly after we drove to North Fort Myers to the Powell Creek Preserve with the hopes of finding a Wood duck that has been seen lately.

The area is lovely, a one mile loop that is surrounded by ponds and trees - some of them were abuzz with Blue-grey Gnatcatchers and White-eyed Vireos, some Hairy Woodpeckers were heard as well.

Several Herons and Egrets were seen as well as Anhingas and Red-winged Blackbirds.....oh, a gator or two too.

From a distance I saw the silhouette of a duck landing - I had high hopes that my wood duck had landed only to find a Mottled Duck - it's okay because as long as there is life, then it's all good.

 

Duck, duck, goose?

After some research and after asking for help within my bird friends community - it turns out that these are American Pekin Duck - it originated from a Mallard from China and has been bred in the U.S.A. for the purpose of producing eggs and becoming the next meal. So, the next time you order Pekin Duck....this is what it looked like while it was living the life, free as a bird.

Back to Bunche

A beautiful morning and a low tide on the horizon, I set out early to re-visit Bunche Beach with the hopes of finding yet more species for my June Challenge.

A nice bunch - some Roseate Spoonbills and White Ibis - both species in Immature and Adult stages.

Short-billed Dowitchers were heard and seen throughout the beach.

Two Immature Roseates with a Snowy Egret.

Short-billed Dowitchers feeding on the flats.

A Willet - I've noticed how they started to appear in greater numbers over the course of the past few weeks.

A Wilson Plover - check his pink legs and strong bill.

The Roseates surely catches the attention, doesn't it?

"I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine".

A great spot for the Great Blue Heron to oversee what is going on.

As I'm about to wrap up my morning, I notice that a group of people is heading out for a day of fishing - Have fun!

The Semi-palmated Plover and

the Wilson Plover wished me farewell.

And then was greeted back home by the Great blue Heron as he swallowed his catch - not a bad birding day. My E-Bird List for today http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18932693

 

 

More families

Hello and welcome back to my Hump Wednesday. I'm glad to be sharing with you my quiet little adventure - let's begin....

One of my first sighting today was a Killdeer and surprisingly, he stayed still while I took his photo - handsome, isn't it? The Killdeers can be heard throughout the Bailey Tract - they are quite vocal this time of the year. Talking about being vocal - not too far away I could hear the Black-necked Stilts and spotted the male flying while fending off a Red-shouldered Hawk - I went closer to investigate.

As I suspected, the male was busy protecting its little family

Looks like we might have 3 chicks here...hard to tell

from where I'm standing - I put a white "x" for you to see where they are at

and a little bit closer....

and closer still. My Canon SX50 is awesome for bringing close up, I often use it to identify species that are far away....further than my binoculars can take me.

The Tricolored Heron told me it was time to move on and step over to the Sanibel Garden Preserves

When I got there, I saw right away this gator as well as the Tricolor coming for a landing....and I'm wondering what will follow.

He's looking a bit sneaky - but it turns out that he was there for a leisurely nap.

The Tricolored Heron on the other hand was quite busy feeding, funny how he had some of the Reddish Egret moves.

Hey, it may be summer time and the bird viewing has diminished but we can't dismiss the fact that this bird is strikingly beautiful.

Within the preserves, I could hear a lot of little chirping within the nesting boxes - and this one was no exception. Just as I came by, Mom brought a juicy worm....

Dad came popping up saying:"It's about time! The kids are starving."

Dad took off to get some more food while Mom watches him go.....there is no resting while raising a family...but, it's so worth it - the dividends and memories are priceless.

The lady Black-necked Stilt said farewell - till the next time.