Red Knot, 56/150

I continue to have a little bit of a difficult time identifying the Dowitcher, Dunlin, Willet,  and Red Knot.  I posted this one on my FB page, and an expert identified it as a Red Knot.  I took this image a cold, windy, late afternoon in January.  I do love all the shore birds I get to photograph in Florida :-)

Interesting facts:
On nonbreeding plumage, note barred flanks. Salmon and gray breeding plumage distinctive (which I will probably never see)

Ruddy Turnstone, #46/50

The Ruddy Turnstone seems to be at almost every beach I go to, so I seem to be taking it's picture a lot!

The Ruddy Turnstone uses it's short upturned bill to flip over rocks in search of food.

I love the orange legs and calico plumage pattern~

Flipping over a shell in search of food~

Spotted Sandpiper, #42/50

I found this Spotted Sandpiper @ Bunch Beach, Fort Meyers.

Its teetering and bobbing walk is very distinctive.  Forages alone, or in pairs, along margins of both fresh and salt waterbodies. 

This common bird has bright white underparts with black spots, there is a smudge on the side of the neck and the base of the bill is yellow, becoming orange during breeding season. 

Red-bellied Woodpecker, #39/50

I spotted this female Red-bellied at Eagle Lakes.  I completely enjoy watching this bird walk around the tree trunk - it seems to have a little hop and appears to "stick" to the tree.  Very enjoyable to watch.

I spotted the male Red-bellied in the same tree as the female @ Eagle Lakes.  At first, I thought it was a Red Headed, but realized it was the male red-bellied.  

Interesting facts:  The most common woodpecker in southern Florida, it inhabits pines, mangroves woodlands and even urban areas. Males have a red crown and nape. The females head is plainer, but it has a red nape and forehead. The red belly patch, from which it takes its name, is usually obscure. It feeds on insects, nuts, fruits and berries, and sometimes stores its food.   Common at feeders where it is very vocal and aggressive.

Burrowing Owl, 35/50

The above Burrowing Owl lives in a protected area, on a soccer field.  There are quite a few owls that live at Brian Piccolo Park. The one above was not going to let me get any closer! I was using my 80-400mm, but I was very low to the ground and I think he felt threatened. I took a few pictures but didn't want to stress him out, so I left the area right after I took these shots.

I spotted this roped off area as I left Tiger Tail beach, and when I pulled over I noticed him.  There were a lot of high weeds around him, and I didn't want his sand pile in the back ground, and as you can see, he kept his eye on me as I carefully circled around to his side.

Interesting facts:

Mottled brown with barred underparts, long legs and an upright stance, this species is one of the most charismatic owls. As its name suggests, it lives and nests in underground burrows. Hunts usually at dusk, but also during the day.

Snail Kite, #33/50

Florida's wild places are home to an incredible diversity of birds.  More than 70 natural community types support this diversity from the pine flatwoods, to the scrub communities, to the vast sawgrass marshes and mangroves swamps. Our natural areas harbor many bird species seen nowhere else in the United States: including the Florida ScrubJay, Mangrove Cuckoo and Snail Kite.  (In addition, Florida's birdlife is every changing with the cycle of the seasons, a constant turnover of breeding, wintering and migratory species)

I found this (female) Snail Kite @ Wellington Environmental Preserve (Flying Cow Road) early one chilly overcast  Sunday morning. This image is cropped, as the bird never came close to the boardwalk.  Here he was on a perch on a little island and I was able to walk to an edge to get this, and yet not scare him off.  The Wellington Preserve also had a large amount of Limpkin feasting on all the apple snails in this area.

I am excited to be moving into the Raptor Section of this project, up coming images will include, a juvenile Eagle, a red shouldered and coopers hawk~

Interesting facts:

Distinctively shaped raptor of the wetlands.  Males are slate-gray with red legs, Females are dark brown and have a white eyebrow. Juveniles are similar to females, but have white-streaked underparts. Feeds upon large aquatic snails. It perches to feed, patiently waiting for the snail to emerge from its shell. Ranges from southern Florida throughout South America.

Double-crested Cormorant, # 32/50

I spotted this Cormorant last summer @ Vierra Wetlands. The GETTY Editors contacted me through my Flickr account stating an interest in this image, and it is now available for Sale @ GETTY.

I am not a big fan of photographing birds straight on,  but this look was too funny to pass up.  He was very friendly, as tourists stood right next to him having their pictures taken, like a celebrity!  Some of my friends have seen the Neotropic Cormorant here @ Wakodohatchee, but I have not yet seen it. (distinguished by white around the eye/face)

Drying his wings on Miami Beach, near the Crandon Park area.

Interesting Facts:

Dark overal coloration, long neck, hooked bill with yellow throat patch.   Saltwater and freshwater species. Swims and dives well, and can sink out of sight if danger is sensed, but must periodically perch to dry its wings in the sun. Can be seen by the thousands in Florida Bay.

American Coot, #30/50

I am constantly surprising myself with this project, and not always in a good way LOL. On almost every outing,  & every day trip I take in nature with my camera, there are Coots.  Coots are everywhere! I am trying to keep order or a system with my identification project, so, only naturally, in the Rallidae family, the American Coot would be next in line for a BLOG post (since I haven't seen  a Rail yet, not a Clapper Rail, Black Rail, Yellow Rail, etc, no Rail for me) so I surprised myself to find that I don't have one "decent" American Coot image to post, but do have one half decent that I took @ Merritt Island when I saw hundreds flocked together doing the Macarena~

Common Moorhen, #29/50

The Common Moorhen is a hoot to watch run on top of the water. They seem to be chasing one another - and I've never seen any other bird be able to run on top of the water like the Moorhen~ We all want to feel special, and I feel bad for anything that has the word "common" in their name :-(

The yellow-tipped red bill, red frontal shield and white line on the flanks distinguish it from similar species.  It is a very dark duck like bird, with long legs and toes, and swims readily with a bobbing-head motion, despite its unwebbed feet.

Purple Gallinule, #28/50

This colorful creature was so close to me, he didn't seem to mind that I was watching him.  The sky was overcast which brought out the beautiful bluish-purple plumage and bright yellow legs.

Interesting facts:

Climbs to the top of taller swamp vegetation, where it roosts during the evening.   Common resident of  South Florida.

White Ibis, # 26/50

Beautiful White Ibis, images take at sunrise @ Bunche Beach, Fort Meyers, FL

An immature White Ibis

A baby White Ibis getting ready to fledge the nest.

Interesting facts:

The adult is unmistakable, being pure white with a bright red face and legs, and a long sickle-shaped bill. Common in Florida. 

This Scarlett Ibis is not part of my project, (this is a photo I took @ the Palm Beach Zoo) but I wanted to include the image for diagnostic purposes. The Scarlett Ibis is closely related to the White Ibis of South America and is a vagrant that was subject of a failed introduction attempt to southern Florida in the 1960's.

Roseate Spoonbill, #25/50

Ahhh, The  Roseate Spoonbill.  This bird,  and this image,  on this day,  began my fascination with all birds.  I've been a photographer my whole life, I planted a sunflower seed in my backyard when I was 12 for the sole purpose of taking its picture, while I waited with my Vivitar 110 camera.  Today that sunflower photo hangs in a frame. I love landscapes, I love portraiture, and then this pretty pink bird flew past my viewfinder . . . . and I'm still looking for the perfect spoonie image. I've since upgraded from that Vivitar and now use a Nikon D700, 80-400mm.

These images were taken this past January @ Green Cay, my first sighting of the spoonie all season, it was a white sky, so I added some blue around the edges in LR3.

Bottom image taken this February @ Merritt Island NWR~

And so, it is the Spoonie that I celebrate today as my #25/50.  I am mid-way through my personal Bird Identification project . . . . and I am on schedule (50 in 60 days).  

Thank you all for your encouragement and comments :-)

Glossy Ibis, #24/50

Image taken @ Vierra Wetlands.  I have other shots of this beautiful dark iridescent, but none show the coloration like this one does.  Lighting has to be almost perfect to catch the violets, greens, and chestnuts.

Interesting facts:

Usually appears dark at a distance, with a long, thin decurved bill. As an expanding New World invasive, its population will never approach the numbers of the cattle egret, although it is increasing annually.

Anhinga, #23/50

Here we have the Anhinga, the only bird listed in the  Category, "Anhingidae - Anhingas & Darters". The top image is a male, and the female has the brown neck, or "is wearing a brown turtle neck sweater" as I like to say. The second image shows breeding colors. The Anhinga is almost always around, whether I am visiting Green Cay, Wakodohatchee, Wellington, National Everglades, this species can be found. The breeding colors are especially beautiful~

Interesting Facts:

Like cormorants, to which it is closely related, it must dry its wings intermittently in the sun after fishing forays. It often swims below the surface with only the neck and head exposed, hence another of its names, "snake-bird".

Wood Stork, # 22/50

I am almost half way into my project, to identify 50 birds in 60 days. The majority of the images were all taken in the past twelve months, this is an effort on my part to identify them, and my blog keeps me focused on the project.  I have also started a flickr group, Wings Over Florida, which is growing and will be a resource guide of amazing images of Florida Birds, for those that need help with identification and those that just would like to enjoy viewing.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1946322@N22/

The top image was taken @ the Wild Bird Center in the Florida Keys, the middle image was taken @ Wakodohatchee Wetlands, and the bottom, at my favorite pull off on Alligator Alley.

Interesting Facts:

The large size, naked all-dark head, long, slightly decurved bill and white plumage, make this species easily identifiable.

Osprey, 21/50

I had an excellent view of this Osprey and his fresh catch. In the first image he had just returned from the water and landed on the branch, in the second image, the first squirts of blood from the fish can be seen.  These images were taken at Delnor-Wiggins Pass  State Park in Naples, where their nest can also be viewed from the sand,  in a roped off area with a sign indicating "osprey nest".

Interesting facts:

Virtually cosmopolitan, being absent only from the tundra and the antarctic. Eagle sized, the head and neck are largely white.  When soaring, the Osprey kinks the wings at the "wrist", rendering it unmistakable in flight. Nests are huge and added to every year. The  Florida race is entirely white-headed and wholly white below.