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:
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:
Along the boardwalk , this pair of Blue-winged Teal was one of many:
A Green Heron hunted so close by that I had to back up to fit it in the viewfinder:
Pied-billed Grebes dived and swam under the boardwalk:
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:
The light caught the subtle rusty feathers on a Cattle Egret's head:
A blue-eyed Double Crested Cormaorant posed:
A Red-winged Blackbird sang and displayed on the boardwalk railing:
On a snag, a White Ibis provided a nice photo-op:
In the trees on the islands between the boardwalks, we saw warblers, including a Palm Warbler...
...Pine Warblers...
...Yellow-rumped Warblers...
...and an Orange-crowned Warbler:
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:
The storks competed with Anhingas for space in a single tree:
There were many nesting Great Blue Herons:
A Great Egret arranged a stick in its nest (an Anhinga chick is in the foreground):
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:
A Snowy Egret:
One of many Purple Gallinules:
There were numerous Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, which became abundant here only a couple of years ago:
Perhaps the most spectacular bird at Wadokahatchee was this Roseate Spoonbill. I loved its pink reflection:
Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa).
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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