Prairie

We've spent quite a bit of time this summer watching baseball. Not the boring professional stuff but the really fun 9 and 12 year old games starring Bill's grandkids. His grandson was part of the All-Star Team that played in the state finals in La Junta, Colorado. He had two games on Sunday - one at 9 AM and one at 4 PM. During the intermission, we drove around hoping to do a little birding out on the prairie.

There wasn't much water around, so we were surprised to find a Black-necked Stilt along side this small puddle which was once the Holbrook Reservoir.

We see Killdeer both in Colorado and Florida.

Bill got some great shots of the Black-necked Stilt in flight.

I finally got my camera away from Bill just in time to see this American Avocet.

Our actual destination was Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site along the mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail. The adobe trading post was built around 1840.  

The fort is an amazing slice of Colorado history!

One of the permanent residents at the fort. One of the guides told us there were 4 babies but we couldn't locate them. Apparently the Peafowl couple are quite prolific and  park rangers are running out of local farms that will take the many offspring. Want a Peacock?

The Barn Swallows were busy building nests in the rafters. This beautiful female was gathering materials - minding her own business when.....

  Notice that she never dropped the nesting materials.

On our way back to the baseball field we passed a farm with some strange animals. I have no idea what these are.

Now I really didn't expect to see zebras in La Junta!

Back at home we have an interesting "problem."

This darling kitty is spending quite a bit of time in our yard. What you can't see is that he is right under one of our bird feeders. He lays in wait and tries to grab one of the birds - and unfortunately, is successful all too often. He has a partner in crime - another grey cat (all grey, no white chin or paws) who is very skittish and will not stick around for pictures. I assume they belong to someone and if I catch them I will tie a note on them asking their owners to keep them closer to home. Think I'll have any luck?

A Short Visit to Fort Myers

Bill and I had an unexpected trip to Fort Myers after the couple renting our condo left early. Last year at this time we experienced a bird fall-out on Sanibel Island (http://parkersbarkers.blogspot.com/2012/04/sanibel-lighthouse-migratory-bird.html) so even before we set our suitcase down, we hurried over the causeway to Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and Sanibel's Lighthouse Beach hoping to see some of the neo-tropical migrants flying north from South and Central America. There were none. Looking at the empty Gumbo Limbo Tree, I realized what an extraordinary experience we had last year. Even Metro Parkway was devoid of birds!

This is the only picture I took at Ding Darling - a Catbird. Yes, there was a tiny smattering of the usual shore birds - one White Pelican, the usual Osprey, a couple of Cormorants and several Willets - but that was it! Lighthouse Beach was even more disappointing. We had planned to spend the next day on the island but went to Harns Marsh instead.

We were greeted at Harns Marsh by a Sandhill Crane family. One adult flew away and the others quickly hid in the heavy foliage.

The marsh was beautiful with the early morning light playing on the water. We usually see large flocks of herons and egrets, coots and moorhens, but there were only a few this time. It didn't matter - this Great Egret, in breeding plumage is always fun to see.

...as was this Tri-colored Heron. Look at that bright blue beak!

He was showing off his feathered headdress. I hadn't noticed this before my sister showed pictures on her blog (http://quilterb-bethsblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/i-just-cant-stop-making-purses-worse.html).

His colors were wonderful!

There were several Limpkin making lots of noise.

...and the usual Red-winged Blackbirds.

A couple of Black-necked Stilts flew over the marsh.

...and the Sandhill Crane returned and posed for pictures. Our trip to Fort Myers was short. We met with our rental agent, restocked and replaced a couple of lanai chairs, visited with friends and closed the condo for the summer before heading back to Ocala.

Next week Bill and I will head back to Colorado for the summer. We plan to travel via Route 10 through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, doing some birding along the way. I hate to see the season end as I really love it here at On Top of the World - but we'll be back!

Metro Parkway - Again!

My sister Beth arrived on Thursday and we couldn't wait to take her to the new birding place we recently discovered. She barely had time to change into her shorts before Bill was explaining the "here after." She didn't want to be "here after we were gone" so she was quick!

It was a beautiful afternoon and the birds were everywhere!

Osprey

We don't see as many Osprey in Ocala, so it's nice to see so many here in Fort Myers. This one was searching the water below for fish.

He kept circling back and forth,

and then seemed to stop mid-air,

before taking a drastic turn downwards,

plunging into the water,

and grabbing a fish.

Off he went with his prize!

Roseate Spoonbill

The Roseate Spoonbills are such a treat!

White Pelican

Isn't it time for the White Pelicans to head north? They DO fly north, don't they?

Wood Stork

I wonder if the Wood Stork likes his reflection.

Lesser Yellowlegs

When we were at Harns Marsh, I saw what I decided was a Greater Yellowlegs. When I saw this one I assumed it was the same - but after looking at the pictures more closely, I think it's a Juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs. Feel free to correct me.

Black-necked Stilt

Another Black-necked Stilt. This was a new life bird for my sister.

Anhinga drying his wings

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

 Beautiful, just beautiful.

Least Sandpiper

This is a great birding spot and since it's so close, I'm sure we'll stop again. (and again...)

Metro Parkway

We found a new place right here in Fort Myers that's full of tropical birds. It's at the intersection of Metro Parkway and Six Mile Cypress - beside the Orange Juice place. We first saw it from the road - then I checked http://swfloridabirder.blogspot.com/ and he confirmed this was a place to see!

There was a huge variety of birds: stilts, herons, egrets, spoonbills, kites, ibises, storks and pelicans.

This is an immature Little Blue Heron.



I can't get over how red the bill and feet are on this breeding White Ibis!

I never get tired of seeing Black-necked Stilt. They are so cute - maybe it's the long pink legs.

The pond was clear so I got some nice reflections.

The way this Snowy Egret is all puffed up - I think it must be a juvenile.

The Roseate Spoonbill in the middle is a 1st year juvenile and the ones on either side (with the bright red stripe on the wings) are breeding adults. White Pelicans are swimming and feeding behind them.

White Pelicans - right here in town!

This immature Little Blue Heron had me stumped - because of the crown feathers - but after looking at my pictures, the adults also have these.

White Ibis sporting their best breeding plumage.

Tricolor Heron canopy feeding: they shade the water with their wings to better see the fish.

I was surprised to see so many Wood Storks. The staff at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary reports that the Wood Stork did not nest again this year - a very bad sign for the species.



I know the Great Egrets are common - but I never tire of seeing them.

It's a happy day in the state of Florida when the Swallow-tail Kites return in March. They are so cool to watch - but we are told they are very nasty birds - king of the sky.

These three babies (at least I think they're babies!) have me stumped. They were on one of the islands in the pond - so that probably rules out Cattle Egret as they prefer dry land.

I can't see their bills well enough to see the shape - could they be Roseate Spoonbill chicks? We saw several Roseate Spoonbill adults and 1st year juveniles in the vicinity. There were also lots of Great Egrets around - but their babies shouldn't be pink. Please let me know if you know what they are!