Tag: great blue heron baby

Same Ole, Same Ole

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography11 Comments

The barred owls have been hanging out next to the parking lot for a while now.

The reserve is full of green herons. They are now a usual suspect.

Along with male anhingas showing off.

And the glossy ibis sparkling in the sun are a dime a dozen.

The cute pied grebes aren’t as skittish as they use to be.

There’s always snowy egrets in a body of water.

Now I see purple gallinules every time I walk Alligator Alley trail.

Even a great blue heron baby in the nest during spring is common here.

Seeing a bald eagle somewhere in the park is pretty common, even if its way up high half hidden in a cypress tree.

But I still love walking the trails at Circle B Bar Reserve and seeing all of the above every time I’m here. Even when it gets crowded on the weekends. I just get there a little earlier and leave before lunch when the crowd starts coming in.

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Hot walk at Circle B Bar Reserve and a missed opportunity

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography10 Comments

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Sandhill cranes on the ground and in the air.

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A red shoulder hawk hiding in the tree. I blew this out to get the details in his feathers to show up.

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A young limpkin stretching.

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A baby limpkin getting feed.

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A tricolored heron along the water.

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A baby great blue heron still on the nest.  Looking all grown up but not yet ready to fly.

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Green and orange flash in the bushes.

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Alligators were everywhere. They were very loud since it was the beginning of mating season.  Now one of the main trails is closed for the summer since the alligators spend a lot of time on the trails raising their young.

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I was taking a picture of something else when I caught the above out of the corner of my eye. I quickly turned around to snap but I had the wrong settings to get a good clear picture of him. He was gone in a few seconds. I finally see one walking across the trail in front of me and did not get a good picture. I was bummed but at least I wasn’t missing a limb.

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Baby blue is growing up – Skywatch Friday

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography14 Comments

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I walked down the trail and see this up ahead. Mom and baby blue staring off into space. At this point, the baby looks just like the parents.

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He’s still got those baby fuzz feathers on his head.

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His beak is as big as the parent’s. He’s begging to be fed.

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Staring down from high up above.

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The baby really wants to be fed. He kept grabbing Mom’s beak. Mom’s thinking “Your dad better hurry home with that fish.”

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Doing a little house cleaning. Baby was copying whatever Mom was doing.

I think the baby was 8-9 weeks old at this point. Several weeks after I took these I saw a video of him flapping his wings pretty hard. By now he’s probably flying off. I’m not sure how long they hang around the nest continuing to be fed. It was great seeing this big baby grow up after no baby last year. Right across the trail from this nest is a barred owl nest so I’ll be heading back to this same spot a whole lot more.