Saint Marks II

Another view of the St. Marks Lighthouse.

According to what I've read online about the lighthouse, it is still being used but I saw no signs to confirm that. I understand it is open to the public once a year.

The Water Lilies were in full bloom on all of the numerous ponds. We kept looking for the frogs that we could hear croaking thinking one of them sitting on a lily pad would make a great picture - but no such luck.

The Pied-billed Grebes were well represented...

as were the Scaups. I believe this is a Greater Scaup, which we don't usually see here in Florida. You can just barely see the green sheen on the head. His bill is blueish.

We had to stop the car and wait for this Black Snake to pass. He wasn't in any hurry so I got out and took a picture. The little no-seeum bugs were biting like crazy and we had to cover ourselves with bug spray. In addition, the mosquitoes were making their spring appearance. We all have numerous bites.

I think this a Rat Snake. He has a full belly and was trying to climb up the side of the lighthouse, but was too heavy.

There were several groups of what I think are Savannah Sparrows (just a hint of yellow over the eye) along the road looking for insects. They were not eating them fast enough!

The Bald Eagle on the left is probably 3 to 4 years old as there is very little brown mixed with the white on his head and tail
.

The Cattle Egrets are really cute with their puffy pink heads.

In Colorado we see (and hear!) the Broad-tailed Hummingbirds. This is a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. They move quickly and when the sun catches their neck feathers - they flash bright red. It's really hard for me to get a decent picture showing the quick flash of red.

This is probably the best picture of the bunch.

Our Belted Kingfisher was once again sitting by the road...

having a bad hair day.

St. Marks NWR

The town of St. Marks is 3 plus hours North and West of Ocala, 17 miles South of Tallahassee and home to the St. Marks National Wildlife Preserve. We stayed in an Art-Deco Bed and Breakfast "Sweet Magnolia Inn" with a "get-comfortable-and-help-yourself" relaxed style. The Inn-keepers, Andy and his wife Denise, were great hosts - making breakfast to order and visiting over wine and munchies in the evenings.

 But our destination was the huge - 68,000 acres - National Wildlife Preserve just down Route 98. The entrance is a beautiful seven-mile drive to the St. Marks lighthouse and the preserve is home to many species of migratory birds.

The Saint Marks Lighthouse

We saw Bald Eagles all three days we visited. One of the volunteers told us there are 23 nesting pairs in the park. The light was not great for pictures - but I took lots and lots anyway.

I love these Cattle Egrets with their pink blush indicating they are ready and willing to begin mating.

Boat-tailed Grackles were everywhere.

We saw many kinds of shore birds and ducks. This is a Laughing Gull sporting his mating plumage with the black head.

The Great Blue Herons are always fun to photograph. They stay still - unlike the little birds.

The Thistle were blooming along the road and I was surprised to see Ruby-throated Hummingbirds flitting from flower to flower showing off their bright red throats when the sun hit them just right. I really tried to get a great picture - showing the whole bird AND the beautiful flower AND his ruby-red throat, but it was a chore! I have a couple of so-so sucesses that I will share in future blogs.

The Red-winged Blackbirds were also everywhere - making lots of noise.

One of my favorites - a Belted Kingfisher. It may look like he has two eyes on the side - but the one closer to his spectacular beak is a white spot.

The State Bird of Florida is the Mockingbird - and they were well represented in the park.

The Wisteria was blooming - everywhere. Bill took this picture in the parking lot of the Sweet Magnolia Inn. Ocala is too far south for Wisteria, so we were thrilled when we realized our short trip to the Forgotten Coast coincided with the plant's short blooming cycle.

Harns Marsh

Harns Marsh in Lehigh Acres is one of our favorite birding venues here in SW Florida - but we never know what we'll see.

This time of year, the water level is low - but we saw lots and lots of birds.

The Wood Storks spent the morning with their heads in the water looking for fish.

Wood Storks are huge birds with ugly heads and beautiful bodies.

These twins were moving from one pond to another.

We always see lots of Tricolored Herons. They are small - about the size of the Little Blue Herons, but have white on their necks and chests.

One of my favorite South Florida birds - Roseate Spoonbills.

Beautiful, beautiful birds with unusual bills.

We saw more Limpkin than we've ever seen in one place.

They were nesting.

This is an immature White Ibis. He will turn all white within the year. That's a noisy female Grackle in the background.

Snowy Egret, Great Egret and Roseate Spoonbill.

Everywhere we looked we saw lots of birds - all trying to get their share of the items on the day's menu. The dark birds are Glossy Ibis.

The Great Egret are about the same size as the Great Blue Heron.







While we were there, what must have been an Eco-Safari arrived to see the birds. They didn't stay very long - but took lots of pictures.

Great Egret





The Glossy Ibis wore colors that I've never seen before - full mating plumage.



The Cattle Egret are clowns. Notice the pink blush on his head and chest - mating colors.

This Wood Stork seems to be having an angry discussion with his friend - but he's just coming in for a landing.

A Little Blue Heron - notice the bright blue beak typical of mating season.

It was a special treat to see Black-necked Stilts.

We got to Harns Marsh shortly after sunrise and this photographer was already there. His name is Dave. Bill commented to him that we hadn't seen any Snail Kites. This is usually the place to see these rare birds. Well Dave, a regular, told us we needed to head down Sunshine, turn on 25th and look for the school. He told us to turn onto the dirt road and go back to the other side of the Marsh to see the Kites. We followed his directions and our adventure (!) will be in my next blog. Stay tuned.