Around the time I was born, there were fewer than 15 Whooping Cranes in existence. 60 plus years of extensive efforts have raised that number to over 400; 200 - 250 in the wild and another 200 in captivity. On Wednesday, Bill and I were fortunate to see 2 of the 400.
Whooping Cranes are huge birds - standing about 5 feet tall with a wingspan of almost 8 feet. They look like Sandhill Cranes, except they are white with red forehead and cheeks.
A small population of Whooping Cranes lives year around on the Kissimmee Prairie near the Disney complex in central Florida and others winter south of Tallahassee.
Another group is being established on the Gulf coast just west of Ocala at the Crystal River Preserve State Park north of Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. The story about how they are being re-introduced is amazing:
http://www.operationmigration.org/index.htmlBill and I visited the park in Homosassa where two of the birds who were injured during migration now live.
The park is a rehabilitation center for injured and orphaned manatees but they have all kinds of critters living in and around the preserve. Most are free to come and go, while others, like the Whooping Cranes, live in natural - but protected - settings and cannot be released back into the wild because of permanent disabilities. Many of these permanent residents freely co-habituate and breed with their wild counterparts. Main-streaming at its finest!
Here in the U.S., other than an occasional sighting in the Everglades or Key West, flamingos are usually only seen in zoos. The preserve at Homosassa Springs had quite a few - and boy are they beautiful!!
Their red-pink color comes from the pink Gulf shrimp that is their principle food.
They live and nest around the lake that is the centerpiece of the visitors area of the property. There are natural springs with water bubbling up from the ground at a constant 72 degrees - the headwaters of the Homosassa River. Most of the birds here come and go and I saw nothing that kept the Flamingos from leaving as well.
Look at those wings! The black is not visible except in flight - or when they stretch.
The breeding plumage on this Great Egret was stunning! It looks like the Mute Swan was impressed.
Two Bald Eagles live in the park. Both are unable to fly. So sad - but it's nice that people can see them. There were a few cages for the protection of certain animals like the Florida Panthers, Key Deer and Black Bears - but mostly just fences along the boardwalk.
I was thrilled to see this Crested Caracara as I've never seen one before.
Isn't he wonderful?
High in the trees, there were all sorts of nests. These Anhinga are raising their chicks right there in the park - alongside the water.
Mr. Red Fox was getting ready to take a nap.
All of the birds and animals - including this magnificent Red-tailed Hawk - are native to Florida.
Well, all but the hippo. This is Lucifer. Apparently he was left over after the State of Florida purchased the land from an exotic animal park. The plan was to convert it to a wildlife preserve with only native Florida birds and animals. Area school children petitioned the state for "Luc" - a former movie star - to stay. Since all of the animals had to be Florida residents, the Florida legislature made Lucifer an honorary Florida citizen. At 46, he is the oldest resident.
We saw several Sandhill Cranes.
The Mute Swans are beautiful.
There was a large family of White Pelicans.
I was curious about the growth on the beaks of some of the adults and learned that during mating season the male develops this fibrous plate on the upper part of the beak. I have no clue if it has a purpose.
This guy wanted to show me the black on his wings. He flew to the other side of the lake to join the ladies.
You might have to click on this picture for a larger image to see the Wood Ducks in the trees. Wood Ducks nest in trees and once all the eggs have hatched, the little birds have to jump down. Not all of them make it.
It's always nice to see a father bonding with his children.
I saw Wood Ducks in Colorado, but this is the first I've seen them in Florida.
This picture shows the beautiful setting. The boardwalk is in the background and Pelican Island is in the middle of the small lake.
The Brown Pelicans were nesting - sitting on their eggs. Too cool!
Bill and I will definitely go back - and if you come for a visit, this might just be a "must" day trip.
Just pretty flowers. I took this picture on one of our trips to Rainbow Springs State Park. Finding this picture reminded me that we wanted to take Beth there during her visit. Since today is her last day here, maybe we'll head over to the park this afternoon.
This was also taken at Rainbow Springs. I was playing with my camera settings to make the water look silky.
This is one of my pictures from Cedar Key. I was looking for a better picture of the American Avocets - and discovered this one with an identifiable Marbled Godwit.
The other day we took Beth to Leesburg so she could see a Purple Gallinule - and that's where I took this picture of an Anhinga.
Both Beth and I took lots of pictures of the Purple Gallinules. They are one of my favorite Florida birds and a Life Bird for Beth.
There were even a couple of Canada Geese at the park. Beth got great shots of Coots, Moorhens and Purple Gallinules and will compare them on her blog at http://quilterb-bethsblog.blogspot.com/.
Out first outing late in the day was to Six Mile Cypress Slough where we walked the boardwalk through the swamp visiting and taking pictures. Anhingas are common at the swamp, but I always like to see them posing for the camera with their wings spread out to dry in the afternoon sun.
We don't have Cardinals in Colorado, so they are a treat to our eyes.
I love the colors in the background behind this beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk.
This Great Blue Heron was really displaying his colors in the sunlight.
Two of them were flying back and forth over one of the ponds.
No, this White Ibis hasn't injured his leg - they often stand on one leg, resting the other. This time of year his bill and legs are pink but in the Spring, when thoughts of love dance through his head, his bill and legs will turn bright red.
Boy did I have a hard time getting this Yellow-throated Warbler to stand still long enough for a decent picture. I also took pictures of a Blue-grey Gnatcatcher and a Common Yellowthroat, but those pictures were not good enough to post. Maybe next time.
Another busy, busy bird - a Black-and-white Warbler.
The sunrise was beautiful as we headed to one of my favorite places: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.
We were one of the first people out on the boardwalk that winds through the swamp, so we got to clear the spider webs for the people behind us.
There were lots of noisy Carolina Wrens, but not much else on this visit.
Oh yes, the little Blue Heron was still looking for food - but they are so abundant that they hardly count. We still had a great walk on a beautiful day. We met several nice people including a new birder from Massachusetts who was on a whirlwind trip through Florida hoping to add to his life list. We shared adventures and information on hot birding spots in the state.
After we left the swamp, we decided to go down some of the back roads in the area and that's where I spotted this beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk sitting on a fence post.
I'm trying to get more action shots - birds in flight, but when you freeze the motion, sometimes they don't look natural - maybe it's the way his legs and feet hang straight down.
Along one of the canals, this Anhinga had just caught a catfish. He kept banging it back and forth against the rocks.
I'm still trying to get a decent shot of a Belted Kingfisher - but they are shy around people and don't sit still very long.
Whooping Cranes are huge birds - standing about 5 feet tall with a wingspan of almost 8 feet. They look like Sandhill Cranes, except they are white with red forehead and cheeks.
A small population of Whooping Cranes lives year around on the Kissimmee Prairie near the Disney complex in central Florida and others winter south of Tallahassee.
Another group is being established on the Gulf coast just west of Ocala at the Crystal River Preserve State Park north of Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. The story about how they are being re-introduced is amazing: http://www.operationmigration.org/index.html
Here in the U.S., other than an occasional sighting in the Everglades or Key West, flamingos are usually only seen in zoos. The preserve at Homosassa Springs had quite a few - and boy are they beautiful!!
Their red-pink color comes from the pink Gulf shrimp that is their principle food.
They live and nest around the lake that is the centerpiece of the visitors area of the property. There are natural springs with water bubbling up from the ground at a constant 72 degrees - the headwaters of the Homosassa River. Most of the birds here come and go and I saw nothing that kept the Flamingos from leaving as well.
Look at those wings! The black is not visible except in flight - or when they stretch.
The breeding plumage on this Great Egret was stunning! It looks like the Mute Swan was impressed.
Two Bald Eagles live in the park. Both are unable to fly. So sad - but it's nice that people can see them. There were a few cages for the protection of certain animals like the Florida Panthers, Key Deer and Black Bears - but mostly just fences along the boardwalk.
I was thrilled to see this Crested Caracara as I've never seen one before.
Isn't he wonderful?
High in the trees, there were all sorts of nests. These Anhinga are raising their chicks right there in the park - alongside the water.
Mr. Red Fox was getting ready to take a nap.
All of the birds and animals - including this magnificent Red-tailed Hawk - are native to Florida.
Well, all but the hippo. This is Lucifer. Apparently he was left over after the State of Florida purchased the land from an exotic animal park. The plan was to convert it to a wildlife preserve with only native Florida birds and animals. Area school children petitioned the state for "Luc" - a former movie star - to stay. Since all of the animals had to be Florida residents, the Florida legislature made Lucifer an honorary Florida citizen. At 46, he is the oldest resident.
We saw several Sandhill Cranes.
The Mute Swans are beautiful.
There was a large family of White Pelicans.
I was curious about the growth on the beaks of some of the adults and learned that during mating season the male develops this fibrous plate on the upper part of the beak. I have no clue if it has a purpose.
This guy wanted to show me the black on his wings. He flew to the other side of the lake to join the ladies.
You might have to click on this picture for a larger image to see the Wood Ducks in the trees. Wood Ducks nest in trees and once all the eggs have hatched, the little birds have to jump down. Not all of them make it.
It's always nice to see a father bonding with his children.
I saw Wood Ducks in Colorado, but this is the first I've seen them in Florida.
This picture shows the beautiful setting. The boardwalk is in the background and Pelican Island is in the middle of the small lake.
The Brown Pelicans were nesting - sitting on their eggs. Too cool!