I stopped by Lake Morton in Lakeland in early August on my way back from Bok Tower Gardens. I wasn’t expecting to see much since it was August and hot. Right away I found some of the young swans that were born earlier in the spring.
They were busy preening and ignored me.
There were several adult gray swans (I’ve heard they are kids of the mute and black swans).
There were also some juvenile wood ducks swimming close by.
Bathing beauties!
Out at Circle B Bar Reserve in early March, I was greeted by a tricolored heron and a kingfisher, both flying by.
Green herons are common along the trail but I can’t help but take more pictures of them.
I saw this great blue heron high up in a tree doing a mating dance. They look straight up and bob up and down. It looks like he, or she, was sitting on a nest already. I guess she was ready to start a family.
Here comes another one. Maybe a looking for a mate? She did not want any part of him as she screamed at him.
He flew around in a circle and still came back to land on the same tree. She chased him off so maybe that wasn’t her boyfriend.
A blue winged teal taking a nap.
I’ve been told the gray swans here are offspring of mute swans and black swans that had paired up. There are several on the lake.
An anhinga posing for me.
The baby black swans are growing up fast. They looked so cute cuddling together.
Flowers were blooming in early March.
One great blue heron wagging his tongue. The other had his pretty breeding colors on his face. You can see the color difference in the one above that’s not ready for a girlfriend yet.
After a bath.
There’s several fully grown gray swans. Might be a hybrid of the white mute swan and the black swan? They are really pretty.
Baby swan up close. The original “ugly duckling”.
Looking at the feet of a wood stork. It looks like his toenails are painted.
A quick walk around Lake Morton in downtown Lakeland before lunch. I only found one baby swan and not many swans nesting. Maybe they are nesting late this year.
