Birds...

Note: This post is directly linked to the one before it, so you may wish to go there first to keep things in chronological order.

Our eco tours in Florida were a treasure trove of bird sightings. I am not what one would call a "bird watcher," but I do love wildlife, and feathered things. We saw some rare birds on our trip, each one thrilled me.  There were American Oyster Catchers, our tour guide was elated to see them.

At a tantalizing distance we caught a glimpse of Roseate Spoonbills, large, pink shore birds with long beaks, outfitted with a round tip for sifting through silt for tasty wee crustaceans.  They were too far away to get a decent shot, but here is a hint of their lovely color.

 

 

Endlessly moving was the unusual Purple Gallinule. These birds are about the size of a quail, with long legs and the most enormous yellow feet. They are able to walk right over the tops of lily pads, and have brilliant feathers that almost glow in the sun.

 

 

We saw white Ibis, and the more unusual Glossy Ibis, a big flock of them, winging overhead.
Massive white pelicans dwarfed their brown cousin.

 

When I was a child I read about birds called Anhinga's. Their feathers lack oil that repels water, so when the birds dive into the drink to catch their prey, the gravity of their soaked feathers helps weigh them down and keep them under water. Then they spread their wings to dry. I had seen them many years ago, and was excited to have the opportunity to photograph them.

 

Black vultures were everywhere we looked, smaller than Turkey vultures, with such fascinating faces. 







 Brown Pelicans were abundant. Watching them glide through the air, then dive headlong into the water never ceases to delight me. This one was resting on a piling, and let me approach closely to capture this shot.



 Great Blue Herons were plentiful, standing still at waters edge, waiting for fish to swim past their reed-like legs.

I saw my first Yellow Crowned Night Heron, too.

 

 

And finally, there was this Great Egret, just outside our room on Islamorada. It was walking among the landscape plants, doing an odd dance. It would crouch low, then slowly rise. Stretch it's neck, then bob its head back and forth, up and down. I was mesmerized. 

 







Then in a blink, it stabbed its head deep into the center of a plant, and came up, triumphant, clutching a little lizard.

 

Dance, stab, swallow, repeat. And I was there to see it all.

Far from the familiar Chickadees, Juncos and Cardinals of home, I was in my element trying to catch the images of the lovely birds we found in Florida.