Lots of little birds in late March

This little titmouse seemed to be showing me his snack.

 

So many little birds at Lettuce Lake Park in late March including that little spotted Hermit thrush in the last 2 pictures (or so I was told by the bird experts at the park that morning). This was a first sighting of a hermit for me.

A little blue heron posing for me.

Taken directly into the sun, this red shoulder hawk was right over my head on the boardwalk.

Two parks in one morning.

A starling peeking out of what was probably a former woodpecker nest.

Thanks to Ken at Rosyfinch Ramblings for the ID on the above Orange crowned warbler. A first for me.

Little birds at Hammock Park.

A small wood stork party at Possum Branch Preserve.

Typical great egret shot but I noticed after I cropped it up that he’s missing part of his upper beak.

I started out at Hammock Park, a small park in Dunedin that I had not been before. After walking around for an hour and seeing very little, I left there and stopped at Possum Branch Preserve for a walk before heading home.

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Bok Tower Gardens birds

I see towhees here pretty regularly.

This was only my 2nd time to see bobwhites out in the wild. They were really fast crossing the trail and heading into the bushes. The 2nd one is an older juvenile.

A cardinal with a mouth full.

I think this is a pine warbler with a mouthful.

Downy woodpeckers are common everywhere but they are so cute.

The hummingbirds were very active when I first got to the gardens right at 8am when they open. By 9am they had all disappeared.

Birds from my trip to Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales in late December.

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5 days into winter and it’s still hot down here.

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A lone pelican floating in the lake.

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Pretty pigeons.

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The obnoxious geese gang.

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A limpkin getting a snack.

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I’m thinking this is a palm warbler but not sure.

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A couple of coots.

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Sexy squirrel.

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Ibis at the lake.

Random things on my recent walk around the downtown St. Pete neighborhood lake, Crescent Lake Park.

Largo Nature Preserve

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The usual friendly gnatcatcher.

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Some type of warbler?  Looks like a palm warbler but they don’t have the white tips on their wings.

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Osprey right over the boardwalk.

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Female anhinga right over the boardwalk.

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Weird spiky plant.

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This guy was right below the boardwalk. I only had my fixed 300mm so this was all I could get.

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Yellow crowned night heron looking grumpy.

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Ducks on the golf course across the creek.

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Bitter gourd or balsam pear are both names for this fruit. You can only eat it when it’s green and then you must cook it.  Eating it uncooked or when it’s yellow/orange is very toxic. I think I’ll skip it even though it has a ton of nutritional value.

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Male anhinga drying off his feathers (or showing off for the ladies nearby).

I hadn’t been to the Largo Central Park Nature Preserve in months. Since it’s not too far away and I had limited time on a recent Saturday morning I headed over for a visit. It’s a small park with a golf course on one side of it and an electrical plant on one side. Not a lot of birds but I did get to see the otters that live there. More on those later.

Check out more pictures at Our World Tuesday  Our World Tuesday Graphic

Also, check out more birds at Paying Ready Attention