The Barred Owl greeted 12 birders at the parking lot. It has nested here for the past 3 years that I know of. Weather was a wee nippy in the AM, but the day turned out nice at around 65 degrees. There were Black-bellied Whistling Ducks aplenty, but only the Blue-winged Teal and a surprise of seeing a Muscovy Duck Storks, a trio of egrets, and likewise herons were spotted, The Roseate Spoonbills were in abundance as were Tree Swallows. Two of our troop decided to take the alternate route back to headquarters and were stopped by a barricade. They turned around and were stopped by a 10 foot alligator who was lying across the trail and was not about to move. A volunteer showed up and tossed a stick at the 'gator'. The 'gator' merely turned around and they had to walk around behind as he showed his displeasure by hissing at them. The eBird list of the 58 species is here.
Owl photo is by Tammy Smith.
Owl photo is by Tammy Smith.
Three of us arrived the day before and experienced a very sunny 81 degree day. I took this photo of a Great Blue Heron who was either just chilling or decided that the day was just too hot and he needed a cool down. It was just odd to see the bird in this pose. The eBird list for the 46 species seen is here Total species for the two days was 65.
Fred Hileman
Fred Hileman
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