Northern Cardinals on Vacation in Florida

 

 

 

 

Photos of Northern Cardinals from Honeymoon Island (top) and John Chestnut, Sr. Park (the rest).

Wood Stork

 

 

Wood Storks from Boyd Hill Nature Park, St. Petersburg (top) Fort De Soto Park (middle) and Sand Key Park, Clearwater (bottom).

Happy Bird Day

 

 

 

We went to John Chestnut, Sr. Park on Lake Tarpon in Clearwater, Florida, in hopes of spotting a limpkin. We had no such luck. As we were getting ready to leave, we heard a bird that sounded a bit like a kingfisher fly overhead. Chris noticed that it flew more like a woodpecker and was larger than a kingfisher. We followed it and immediately identified it as a Pileated Woodpecker by its size and distinctive "hair." Chris jumped for joy, but didn't scare it away. It stayed in our area for about 10 minutes in a few different trees and briefly interacted with a second one. What a happy bird day!!!

White Ibis

 

Here is a photo of a White Ibis from Boyd Hill Nature Park in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Bald Eagles Nesting

 

 

 

There is a pair of nesting bald eagles at Honeymoon Island State Park. Part of the trail is fenced off by orange fencing (also known as snow fencing outside of Florida) for 300 feet around the nest to protect the eagles. We arrived first thing in the morning and saw the nest but it was empty. In an uncharacteristic act of persistence and patience, Mike suggested that we return later in the day before leaving. This time, one eagle flew away as we arrived. We waited a while and it flew back. As it landed, we saw that another eagle had been concealed in the nest. We watched them interact a bit, fly to a branch near the nest and mate.

The close-up on top is of an injured eagle cared for in an aviary at Boyd Hill Nature Park.

Armadillo

 

We know it's not a bird and we didn't take the picture in New Jersey.

Yellow Crowned Night Heron

 

Dining in Clearwater and St. Petersburg

The seafood is supposed to be good in the greater Tampa area. This great egret on Honeymoon Island must have been thrilled when he caught this fish.


However, he had never heard that you should never eat anything larger than your head. He tried many different ways for about 5 minutes, but was unable to swallow the fish.


The next day, we saw another egret at Sand Key Park struggle a while with a fish, but eventually positioned it and swallowed it.


This osprey shows a different way to deal with a large fish.



We were surprised to see that the great egret also eats grasshoppers.

Florida Birds

It will take a while to sort through the photos, but here are four good ones from St. Pete.
Pileated Woodpecker, Roseate Spoonbill, Bald Eagles, Yellow-crowned Night Heron.