Monk Parakeets

I read on another birder's blog that you can usually find Monk Parakeets on Cape Coral by the ball fields - so yesterday, after a wonderful afternoon at the pool, we headed over the $2.00 bridge to find them.

We looked around the ball fields with no success and had decided to go on to dinner when we saw what looked like an odd pair of doves up on the wires. Bill turned around, parked the car and I hopped out with my binoculars and camera. Sure enough, we had found the Monk Parakeets! They are lime green with beautiful bright blue wing feathers.

I usually hate to have man-made structures in my pictures, but I made an exception with these. The pictures are not great, but they certainly confirm our identification. Monk Parakeets have unusual toes. Instead of three toes forward and one back like most birds, they have two forward and two back. This arrangement helps them hold and eat their food.


Monk Parakeets are originally from Argentina and were brought to the United States as pets. Enough were released or escaped that they now successfully breed in small clusters here in South Florida. The only native North American parakeet was the now extinct Carolina Parakeet.

Happy to add a new bird to our list, we headed over to Ariels for dinner with our good friends Wendy and Larry - the perfect ending to another wonderful day in paradise.

Birding with New Friends

Yesterday started out foggy and looking like rain but we had made arrangements to take our new friends, Carol and Chuck to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary - so off we went. The day could not have been more perfect!

Looking at this picture, you can really see how the Red-shouldered Hawk got his name.

We always look for the Painted Buntings. The multi-colored male was there for a second but was scared off by the other ground critters. This female Painted Bunting stood her ground and continued eating the seeds that had fallen from the feeders - right next to a squirrel and a raccoon.

And this hungry raccoon wasn't the least bit interested in the bird and would not even lift his head long enough for a decent picture! He was determined to get every last seed.

This Yellow-crowned Night Heron was hiding in the trees but Chuck found an opening for me to take a picture through.

The Great Egrets are so graceful and elegant - this one has his neck stretched out looking for a small fish.

A day at Corkscrew wouldn't be complete without seeing at least one alligator. This guy was bigger than most that we see there - snuggled in the leaves taking a nap.

We saw several kinds of little birds including this Eastern Phoebe. I think Carol and Chuck enjoyed their stroll through the swamp. We didn't see tons of birds, but enough to hold our interest - and it's always a nice calming walk.

Instead of driving right back to Ft. Myers, we headed to Immokalee to see the new casino. The casino is okay - just okay. It's not as smokey as the old one - but certainly not smoke-free like the ones in Colorado. The gambling is ridiculous, you might as well just throw your money out the car window on the way by. $20 was sucked out of my hand in a nanosecond. I didn't get to play at all. Since it was getting late, we decided to eat lunch and the food at the casino deli was fabulous! Bill and I split a pastrami sandwich - there was no way either of us could (or should!) eat a whole one - and it was one of the best we have had here in Florida.

With full tummies, we headed to Manatee Park so Carol could see a manatee. There were quite a few getting warm in the waters by the power plant, but the lighting was terrible for pictures.

Instead, I took this shot of the huge mural on the welcome center. This shows a nursing calf with her mother.

Chuck, Carol and Bill posing for the camera towards the end of a great day with our friends.

The day before, Bill and I walked the entire loop at Harns Marsh. This time we took our GPS and I can report it was exactly 4-miles around. We didn't see anything too unusual for the area and didn't even spot a Snail Kite. We did see lots of buzzards, Limpkins, swallows, Killdeer, shore-birds, hawks, heron, egrets, ibis and ducks (including Blue-winged Teal). This is a beautiful American Kestrel. I usually don't like to photograph birds on wires, but I made an exception with this little guy. The river otters also made an appearance - but it was brief.

Mottled Duck on the left, Glossy Ibis on the right. Mottled Ducks are all over Florida - but not much anywhere else. They are similar to Mallards and the two species are often are seen together. The Glossy Ibis are just beginning to acquire their beautiful breeding plumages - iridescent reds, blues and purples that shine in the sunlight. Spring is coming.

We haven't been back to Ocala and are still torn with our decision. There are so many pluses to moving to a retirement community - but I just LOVE it here in Southwest Florida! The weather this year has not been ideal - but it has not been great up north either. Ocala would bring all new opportunities for adventures - including new birding and hiking sites - but I would miss being close to the Everglades, beach, tropical marshes and swamps. Decisions, decisions....

Caloosa Bird Club Field Trip

Bill and I spent a day birding around Sarasota with the Caloose Bird Club. We started at Ackerman Park before moving on to the Celery Fields Regional Stormwater Facility and several small lakes in the area and finished up at the Myakka River State Park. The official club count of different species sighted that day was over 70. I identified over 50 different species including several birds I had never seen before. Most, I would have never spotted, let alone identified, if I had not been with so many friendly and knowledgeable birders.

This is a large flock of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks that are native to Texas and rarely seen on the east coast.

I'm sure I've seen a Savannah Sparrow before but had no clue what it was.

I was very excited to be the first one in the club to spot this Sora, a type of rail. I had to have help with identification as I had never seen a rail before. Soras are small chickenlike birds that feed along the edges of water - hiding in the weeds looking for aquatic insects and seeds.

The club had lunch at Myakka River State Park, where I saw this beautiful Limpkin hunting for snails. S/He took this one back to the two babies hiding in the tall grass. I'm sure the snail was as much a treat for them as just seeing them was for me.

Learning to Use a Tripod

On our last trip through Babcock Webb Wildlife Management Area before they closed full vehicle access after hunting season, I took along my tripod to see if it really made a difference in my pictures. I learned it makes a huge difference.

This shot was taken at full zoom (24X) and has been cropped and re-sized. The flock of Great Egret could barely be seen with the naked eye. The committee of buzzards on the left are feasting on the dead fish produced by the long spell of cold weather and hard freezes here in Florida. Dead fish are washing up everywhere - including the beaches. Thank goodness for the buzzards!

This is another of the panoramic shots that I was able to crop way down so I could identify all the various species including a Wood Stork.

Another of the several Wood Storks we saw at Babcock Webb.

Imagine my surprise when a large herd of Feral Hogs ran in front of the car! According to the species account at http://www.myfwc.com/:

"The wild hog is not a Florida native, and may have been introduced by explorer Hernando DeSoto as early as 1539. They may weigh over 150 pounds, and be 5-6 feet long. They travel in herds containing several females and their offspring.

Wild hogs occur throughout Florida in various habitats, but prefer moist forests and swamps, and pine flatwoods. They are omnivorous (eating all kinds of foods, both plants and animals, indiscriminately) and feed by rooting with their broad snouts. They may cause great damage of the understory and leave an area looking like a plowed field."

I've been trying to get a decent picture of a Belted Kingfisher. Not bad but I will still be working to improve on it. Most of the birds I photograph will not sit still while I set up a tripod - heck, they barely sit still for me to point and shoot!

This very tiny sandpiper was hunting for food along the side of the lake. I think it is either a Least Sandpiper or a Western Sandpiper.

Eagles, Hawks and Ocala

It's been a busy few days and I have lots of new pictures to share - and some uncertain identifications. We've been back to Babcock-Webb a couple of times to continue our search for the rare Red-cockaded Woodpecker, but he is no where to be seen. Instead we've seen hawks and eagles.

We were watching this juvenile Bald Eagle - off in the distance - having no clue what it was at the time.

We turned our attention to this Northern Mockingbird who had landed in a nearby Palm tree when,

what seemed like a fight broke out overhead.

At the time we thought this was an Osprey.

He seemed to be clashing with a Bald Eagle. We now realize the two birds were both Bald Eagles, the adult and the juvenile.

This beautiful Bald Eagle landed in a tree on the other side of a lake. He was at quite a distance - but I had seen him land so I knew where he was. In the commotion, the juvenile - that I did not identify until I later looked at my pictures - had disappeared.

I took this picture of what I'm sure is the same eagle a couple of days later. Wow - I can't begin to describe the feeling when you see such a magnificent animal.

This hawk was another stumper. We have tentatively decided it is a Northern Harrier. When he finished his meal and flew away, he glided low to the ground. This is typical of Northern Harriers.

We found lots of Bluebirds in the Pine trees. Babcock-Webb has worked to increase the Bluebird population with good success.

Along a canal, we found this thistle in full bloom.

And lots and lots of white Ibis. This one is a youngster and has not yet turned snowy white - but he will.

Killdeer are the only Plovers you will find inland. I've seen them in Kansas and Colorado as well as here in Florida.

It's always a good day when we see a Pileated Woodpecker!

The next day we visited Six-Mile Cypress Slough and the little birds were everywhere - but would they stay still long enough to have their picture taken? NO! We saw Blue-gray Gnatcatchers; Yellow-throated, Yellow-rumped and Black-and-white Warblers; Pine and Palm Warblers; Solitary and Yellow-throated Vireos along with some we have no clue what they were!

This Palm Warbler was playing a fast game of hide-and-seek.

I never get tired of seeing Great Blue Herons.

On Thursday, we drove back up to Ocala - about an hour north of Orlando - to take another look at On Top of the World - a 55 and older retirement community. Alex showed us lots of homes - from a $35,000 attached villa (that was amazingly nice!) to newer and nicer single family homes. We are impressed with all of the activities offered - including an RC flying club with their own flying field, several pools (both outdoors and in), birding club, photography club, wood shop, etc. This is the house we liked - it's small, 2 bedrooms, two bathrooms, nice eat-in kitchen, lanai with heat and air, a 2-car garage with room for a shop and a backyard where we could have a BBQ grill, bird-feeders, etc. There is a lot to consider. I would miss the vacation paradise here in Fort Myers with the beach just 5 miles away, a beautiful lake in our backyard and all the friends we've met, but would enjoy an adult community and a single family house where we have more freedom. Bill would certainly love to have a flying field closer than he has here.

We have to take another look....