Whatbird.com

 

Adult Tricolored fishing 

Juvenile fishing

same juvenile with his feathers ruffled

Swallow-tailed Kite

Snowy Egret

Sandhill Crane near Lake Okeechobee

 

Beautiful pictures - most of these birds we never see up here.  The sandhills are just migrating thru the eastern part of the state now, we saw a flock of 30 fly over last weekend.

Thanks. In February, I don't know if you can tell which Sandhill Crane subspecies you're looking at in Florida. Some of them are non-migratory and breed right there and the Greater Sandhills just spend the winter there. I don't think the Florida birds are distinguishable from the migratory birds, until you see them nesting or with chicks/colts. I couldn't tell anyway.

MJ,

Beautiful pics! Wondering where you caught the swallowtail kite? Have seen them before, but very far away, (close enuf to know what it is and far enuf to be VERY frustrated), have any ideas for sites? I am in Jupiter, FL

MJ, gorgeous birds.  The long-legged wading birds are some of the finest I've ever seen in my travels in Florida.  It pains me to say I've never seen a crane of any species, tho'...don't know why they're avoiding me.  I won't complain too hard, since a number of other species have gone the extra mile to pick up the slack:

Here's a pair of roseate spoonbills chatting in the mud flats of the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel (I understand they also frequent the Everglades from time to time, consistent with your subject line):

 

...and here's another pair, in flight, also at the Ding:

 

---

Posted by Charlie

Canon EOS 20D DSLR with
Sigma 80-400mm Ultrazoom w/Stabilizer or
Canon 28-135mm Zoom

Here's an extraordinarily bold great egret...probably feeling some mating-season bravery:

 

Another one, close by, even hopped down from the sea grape into the mangroves and gave me a close-up:

---

Posted by Charlie

Canon EOS 20D DSLR with
Sigma 80-400mm Ultrazoom w/Stabilizer or
Canon 28-135mm Zoom

susanwinfl:

Wondering where you caught the swallowtail kite? Have seen them before, but very far away, (close enuf to know what it is and far enuf to be VERY frustrated), have any ideas for sites? I am in Jupiter, FL

 

I've heard Lake Okeechobee is a good place to spot them.  Supposedly, if you get there the right time of year, they all gather together before migrating south.  I've not seen this myself, though, so take with a grain of salt.

If you go to http://myfwc.com/gfbt/index.htm there are several links to lots of information about birding in Florida.  You can browse by species to see the various areas where particular species are known to be found.

lyceel:

susanwinfl:

Wondering where you caught the swallowtail kite? Have seen them before, but very far away, (close enuf to know what it is and far enuf to be VERY frustrated), have any ideas for sites? I am in Jupiter, FL

I've heard Lake Okeechobee is a good place to spot them.  Supposedly, if you get there the right time of year, they all gather together before migrating south.  I've not seen this myself, though, so take with a grain of salt.

If you go to http://myfwc.com/gfbt/index.htm there are several links to lots of information about birding in Florida.  You can browse by species to see the various areas where particular species are known to be found.

One place I always see at least one swallowtail kite when I visit is Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, the Audubon preserve in Naples, FL.  I do have some photos, but they're not all that great...if you go there I can virtually guarantee you'll see one (usually close to the beginning of the main trail).

---

Posted by Charlie

Canon EOS 20D DSLR with
Sigma 80-400mm Ultrazoom w/Stabilizer or
Canon 28-135mm Zoom

GooberMax:

One place I always see at least one swallowtail kite when I visit is Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, the Audubon preserve in Naples, FL.  I do have some photos, but they're not all that great...if you go there I can virtually guarantee you'll see one (usually close to the beginning of the main trail).

Yeah, that's definitely on my list of places to visit.  I've only been birding seriously about four months, and it's amazing how many great places in Florida I've never heard of until I started looking for birding hotspots.  I didn't even know we had a national forest! (Ocala)

I love your Spoonbill shots, by the way.  Ding Darling is another place near the top of the list.

lyceel:

GooberMax:

One place I always see at least one swallowtail kite when I visit is Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, the Audubon preserve in Naples, FL.  I do have some photos, but they're not all that great...if you go there I can virtually guarantee you'll see one (usually close to the beginning of the main trail).

Yeah, that's definitely on my list of places to visit.  I've only been birding seriously about four months, and it's amazing how many great places in Florida I've never heard of until I started looking for birding hotspots.  I didn't even know we had a national forest! (Ocala)

I love your Spoonbill shots, by the way.  Ding Darling is another place near the top of the list.

Just about the entire island of Sanibel is ripe for birding.  Outside of the Ding, there's:

  (1) The service road to Sanibel Lighthouse on the east end of the island (lots of woodpeckers, raptors, and warblers);

  (2) The public fishing pier on the beach next to the lighthouse (many long-legged birds and pelicans engaging in aggressive thievery);

  (3) Punta Rassa marina on the mainland end of the causeway, just before you hit water (similar birds to fishing pier, and they let you get very close);

  (4) The marsh behind Bailey's market, which is just across the road from Ding territory and where you might also find box turtles;

  (5) Of all places, the Dairy Queen on Periwinkle Way, which last I checked still had a nesting pair of bald eagles behind it.

I've had great luck on the east end of the island in general.  Glad you like the spoonbills, thanks...have fun!

---

Posted by Charlie

Canon EOS 20D DSLR with
Sigma 80-400mm Ultrazoom w/Stabilizer or
Canon 28-135mm Zoom

Thanks. That kite was soaring directly over the main park road somewhere along the southern 1/3rd on the way to Flamingo. The last time I visited the Everglades was 1986 and I saw them in the exact same area. That picture was taken at 300mm with my Canon 70-300 zoom and cropped a bunch. I lightened it in Photoshop Elements and actually got a lot more detail out of it than I expected.

GooberMax:

MJ, gorgeous birds.  The long-legged wading birds are some of the finest I've ever seen in my travels in Florida.  It pains me to say I've never seen a crane of any species, tho'...don't know why they're avoiding me.  I won't complain too hard, since a number of other species have gone the extra mile to pick up the slack:

Here's a pair of roseate spoonbills chatting in the mud flats of the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel (I understand they also frequent the Everglades from time to time, consistent with your subject line):

 

...and here's another pair, in flight, also at the Ding:

 

Very nice shots. I visited Ding Darling in 1986 but didn't get there this time around. Here's one I took on this trip. It's not as good as yours, but if you blow it up you can see a band on one leg and a tracking device on the other.

Heh...both, really?  He's carrying quite a bit of luggage.

One of the user-submitted photos in the Snowy Plover entry on the WhatBird.com searchable database is a photo of a little snowy plover with no fewer than four bands (two on each leg)!  Way more bling than one very tiny bird should have.

     http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/414/overview/Snowy_Plover.aspx

 

---

Posted by Charlie

Canon EOS 20D DSLR with
Sigma 80-400mm Ultrazoom w/Stabilizer or
Canon 28-135mm Zoom

Caught these Tricoloreds at Merritt Island earlier this month (click to enlarge):