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Thursday, April 23, 2015

Green Cay and Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Our visit to two of the famous birding locations in West Palm Beach County started at Green Cay Wetlands. It was a beautiful clear morning, without a cloud in sight. This is the boardwalk that leads out into the wetlands from the Nature Center. 

Green Cay wetlands HDR 20150212

Green Cay boardwalk HDR 20150212

Green Cay HDR 20150212

The birding action started even before we set foot on the boardwalk, with an abundance of Painted Buntings at the feeders along the path to the Nature Center:

Painted Bunting male 20150212

A young Anhinga preened, oblivious to human presence. In the wetlands near our home there are so few people that this species is particulary wary:

Anhinga preening 20150212

Along the boardwalk , this pair of Blue-winged Teal was one of many:

Blue-winged Teal 20150212

A Green Heron hunted so close by that I had to back up to fit it in the viewfinder:

Green Heron 20150212

Pied-billed Grebes dived and swam under the boardwalk:

Pied-billed Grebe 20150212

An American Bittern stood stark still for a long time, emitting soft calls of alarm. Another photographer pointed out that it was reacting to the danger posed by a Northern Harrier that was sitting, hidden deep in the grass only a few feet away:

American Bittern 20150212

The light caught the subtle rusty feathers on a Cattle Egret's head:


Cattle Egret 20150212

A blue-eyed Double Crested Cormaorant posed:

Double-crested Cormorant 20150212

A Red-winged Blackbird sang and displayed on the boardwalk railing:

Red-winged Blackbird 2-20150212

On a snag, a White Ibis provided a nice photo-op:

White ibis on snag 20150212

In the trees on the islands between the boardwalks, we saw warblers, including a Palm Warbler...

Palm Warbler 2-20150212

...Pine Warblers...

Pine Warbler 20150212

...Yellow-rumped Warblers...

Yellow-rumped Warbler 20150212

...and an Orange-crowned Warbler:

Orange-crowned Warbler poss 20150212

We moved on to Wadokahatchee Wetlands, where there were the nests of many herons, Anhingas, cormorants and storks. 

There may have been as many as 12 pairs of Wood Storks, which have practically abandoned their historic breeding grounds to the south:

Wood Storks nesting 20150212

The storks competed with Anhingas for space in a single tree:

Wood Storks nesting 2-20150212

There were many nesting Great Blue Herons:

Great Blue Heron 20150212

A Great Egret arranged a stick in its nest (an Anhinga chick is in the foreground):

Great Egret at nest 20150212

The male Great Egret in this nest exhibits the green face and the nearly black upper mandible that appear at the height of breeding condition:

Great Egrets at nest 2-20150212

A Snowy Egret:

Snowy Egret 2-20150212

One of many Purple Gallinules:

Purple Gallinule 2-20140212

There were numerous Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, which became abundant here only a couple of years ago:

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks 3-20150212

Perhaps the most spectacular bird at Wadokahatchee was this Roseate Spoonbill. I loved its pink reflection:

Roseate Sponbill 03-20150212



Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

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26 comments:

  1. Hello Ken, looks like another great Florida spot for birding.. Awesome photos of the birds and walk..The Painted Bunting will always be my favorite. Great shots, happy Thursday!

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  2. gorgeousness all the way through. you really get to see so many species, it is amazing! loved the lines and shadows on the boardwalk. thanks, ken!

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  3. Oh my! So gorgeous!

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  4. Hi Ken, I loved each and every one of these photos. You saw some incredible bird sightings on your walk. Thanks for sharing them.

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  5. Oh my ... I am not a birdwatcher, and no photographer ... but these creatures and your pictures are exquisite! Thank you for sharing all of this beauty at Good Fences.

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  6. That is a very impressive boardwalk and a wonderful selection of different species of birds - all wonderful images but the last one with the reflection is stunning.

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  7. Wonderful, every bird and every picture is perfect. A great place. The bunting is so beautiful. You definitely have our storks. I hardly see any of them. Hoping they recover.

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  8. What a lovely nature center and boardwalk. The photos throughout this post are absolutely gorgeous. I do love that last one.

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  9. Wow you were able to see all those different birds in this area. That is awesome. The boardwalk is so nice and what a great way to enjoy nature. I would be thrilled to see just that Painted Bunting (so colorful) but you saw even more and I'm so glad you shared.

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  10. An incredible collection of shots! I really like the photo of the palm warbler.

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  11. A beautiful boardwalk and the birding possibilities seem endless. Fabulous bird photos!

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  12. What an amazing series....I loved seeing all these birds and would love to visit this place.

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  13. That's amazing to get such close pictures of those birds!

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  14. What an amazing array of shots...I'd be proud to even get one like them!
    ~

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  15. Wonderful wetlands! You got some incredible pictures!

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  16. So many beautiful birds! I love the walkway too. We have one a bit like that here where I live. It's at the botanical gardens.

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  17. spectacular photographs!!!! Love the spoonbill too.

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  18. Beautiful selection of bird shots!

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  19. What a great set of pictures - always a good day when you have too much lens! Not that it happens very often!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  20. Hi Ken, stopping back to say thank you for linking up and sharing your post.. Have a great day and new week ahead!

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  21. Superior image shares!!!

    PS...as for the warbling vireo...Not only did the Audubon guides all agree it was a warbling vireo, I had to ask the what bird experts found online what bird species it was and the consensus was warbling vireo despite the longer beak.

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  22. Wow! What gorgeous birds and fantastic photography!

    Happy Week to you,
    artmusedog and carol

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  23. You have certainly met some beautiful and fascinating creatures… wonderful photos!

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  24. You made the most of your experience. What a great variety of birds you found.

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