Baby Owl

I got an email from a fellow OTOW resident that there was an immature Barred Owl just down the street from our community. Bill and I grabbed our binoculars and camera and off we went. 

Sure enough we spotted the owl exactly where the email indicated it would be.

We've been back a couple of times to see if the parents were around, but we haven't seen them.

He's awfully cute and responds when Bill does his owl call.

 Interesting profile.

Peak-a-boo.

After checking on the baby owl, we headed to Shalom Park to check on our nest of Blue Herons.

They don't look much like babies anymore - except for the fuzzy heads.

On the way back to OTOW we stopped to check and see if the Red-headed Woodpeckers were out. We saw several - at least six - flitting from snag to snag.

Looks like a young family to me.

We are getting reports that some of the colorful neo-tropical birds are returning to Florida - so we are keeping a sharp eye out for them. Wish us luck!

Red-headed Woodpeckers

When we stopped to see the Kestrels, we also looked for the Red-headed Woodpeckers. Sure enough, there they were!

We've never seen Red-headed Woodpeckers any other place - but we always see several at this one location.

This one was going in and out of the hole in the dead tree.

Beautiful birds!

I also spotted this bird in a nearby shrub. I think it's an Eastern Phoebe - but the brown on his wings has me confused. I kept going back and forth between the phoebe and Great-crested Flycatcher - but I didn't see any yellow on his chest - so I settled on the phoebe. Please feel free to correct me!

While my daughter Pamela and son Leandro were here, we took a stroll around Rainbow Springs State Park. The water is crystal clear and, as you can see, it's easy to spot the various creatures that call the water home.

The Azaleas and Dogwood Trees were in full bloom so we decided we'd let Bill take our picture. I had a wonderful visit with my beautiful daughter and little Leao (he's the BEST baby!)

On a Mission!

Yesterday, while at lunch with our fellow birders, Bill mentioned that he had never seen a Red-headed Woodpecker and he REALLY wanted to see one. He was told to go out the far gate, turn left onto a dirt road and go way back by the cattle ranch and look for the place where the cattle are loaded onto trucks.

This afternoon, we decided to go looking for our bird.

Along the way, this beautiful American Kestrel and his mate were watching us as we headed down the dirt road. Look at the colors!

We found the cattle ranch. The Hereford Bull came over to the fence to greet us.

A common Eastern Phoebe - but no Woodpeckers. Bill was discouraged.

He wandered off to take this incredible picture. I assume it is a moth (as opposed to a butterfly).

I have been corrected! It is a butterfly - a Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus). Thanks Megan!

Discouraged, we headed around the bend and out to the OTOW exit road. And there they were!

We counted at least 4 Red-headed Woodpeckers flying around the area. There were several dead snags and the woodpeckers went back and forth hunting for insects.

We watched these beautiful birds for about 15 minutes. Bill was pleased - and so was I!