Last year, we went in March (see my blog entry for March 27) and there were hundreds of wading birds, ducks, coots and shore birds - all in full mating plumage. The spring flowers added bright colors to the green grasses and blues of the water and the sky. Yesterday, we had a great walk, saw a few birds and it was still wonderful.
There was a large flock of Cattle Egret that kept landing in front of us. As we approached, the group flew as one and landed just a little further up the path.
We heard the machine-gun-like call of this Belted Kingfisher before we spotted him perched by the water looking for a fish lunch.
We call this the WalMart bird because they gather in the trees in every WalMart parking lot. It is actually a Brown-headed Cowbird - noisy, nasty birds.
There were several Great Egrets - large, beautiful birds.
This grasshopper was walking around in circles in the sand. If you click on the picture to see a larger version - you can see the tracks. He had created a large, interesting pattern while looking for smaller insects.
This is a Snail Kite - rare birds found only in a small area of central Florida. They eat the large apple snails that are abundant in the swamp.
I'm not very happy with the pictures I took on this trip to Harns Marsh - I need to remember my tripod so when I zoom all the way in, I can keep the camera steady.
We were joined on our return walk by these lively - and noisy - Killdeer.
Another uncommon bird found mainly in Florida (rarely seen further north than southern Georgia) - a Limpkin. He is probably shopping for frogs and snails.
As we were leaving, this Osprey flew over to a tall tree on the other side of the lake with a fish in his talons. He looks proud of his catch.
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