Saturday, December 20, 2008

Northern Cardinals on Vacation in Florida

Cardinal 
Norther Cardinal Eating 

Northern Cardinal 

Female Cardinal 


Photos of Northern Cardinals from Honeymoon Island (top) and John Chestnut, Sr. Park (the rest).

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Wood Stork

Wood Stork 

Stork
Wood Stork 


Wood Storks from Boyd Hill Nature Park, St. Petersburg (top) Fort De Soto Park (middle) and Sand Key Park, Clearwater (bottom).

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Friday, December 19, 2008

Happy Bird Day

Pileated Woodpecker 

Pileated Woodpecker Eating 

Pileated Woodpecker 


We went to John Chestnut, Sr. Park on Lake Tarpon in Clearwater, Florida, in hopes of spotting a limpkin. We had no such luck. As we were getting ready to leave, we heard a bird that sounded a bit like a kingfisher fly overhead. Chris noticed that it flew more like a woodpecker and was larger than a kingfisher. We followed it and immediately identified it as a Pileated Woodpecker by its size and distinctive "hair." Chris jumped for joy, but didn't scare it away. It stayed in our area for about 10 minutes in a few different trees and briefly interacted with a second one. What a happy bird day!!!

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White Ibis

White Ibis  


Here is a photo of a White Ibis from Boyd Hill Nature Park in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Bald Eagles Nesting

Bald Eagle 

Bald Eagles 

Bald Eagles Mating 


There is a pair of nesting bald eagles at Honeymoon Island State Park. Part of the trail is fenced off by orange fencing (also known as snow fencing outside of Florida) for 300 feet around the nest to protect the eagles. We arrived first thing in the morning and saw the nest but it was empty. In an uncharacteristic act of persistence and patience, Mike suggested that we return later in the day before leaving. This time, one eagle flew away as we arrived. We waited a while and it flew back. As it landed, we saw that another eagle had been concealed in the nest. We watched them interact a bit, fly to a branch near the nest and mate.

The close-up on top is of an injured eagle cared for in an aviary at Boyd Hill Nature Park.

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Armadillo

Armadillo 

We know it's not a bird and we didn't take the picture in New Jersey.

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Yellow Crowned Night Heron

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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Dining in Clearwater and St. Petersburg

Egret Fishing
The seafood is supposed to be good in the greater Tampa area. This great egret on Honeymoon Island must have been thrilled when he caught this fish.

Egret with a large fish
However, he had never heard that you should never eat anything larger than your head. He tried many different ways for about 5 minutes, but was unable to swallow the fish.

Egret with Fish
The next day, we saw another egret at Sand Key Park struggle a while with a fish, but eventually positioned it and swallowed it.

Osprey With Fish
This osprey shows a different way to deal with a large fish.


Egret with Grasshopper
We were surprised to see that the great egret also eats grasshoppers.

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Monday, December 15, 2008

Florida Birds

Pileated Woodpecker

Roseate Spoonbill

Bald Eagle,

Yellow-crowned Night Heron


It will take a while to sort through the photos, but here are four good ones from St. Pete.
Pileated Woodpecker, Roseate Spoonbill, Bald Eagles, Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

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