A Cormorant with a Catch

These two Double-crested Cormorants were diving in a local pond for fish.  One was successful and the other was out of luck.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the photo.  Enjoy!

Almost Wordless Wildlife

Mallard Ducks

Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of each of these photos I recently took here in The Villages, Florida.  Enjoy!

Belted Kingfisher

American White Pelicans & Sea Gulls

Snowy Egrets & Double-crested Cormorants

 

Drake Lesser Scaup Duck

White Ibis

Anhinga

Double-crested Cormorants in The Villages, FL

Double-crested Cormorants are water birds that are often found in the company of White Pelicans here in The Villages, Florida during the Winter months.  These dark brown and grey birds have an orange bill that has a slight hook at the tip, blue eyes, and orange-brown legs and feet.  Their feet are webbed like a duck.  After diving for food, they need to spread their wings out while perched to allow their feathers to dry out so they may fly.

Double-crested Cormorants mostly eat fish and are found here in lakes and ponds as well as marshes and along the sea coast.  They are great fliers and roost in tall trees.  Here in The Villages I often see many of these birds at Freedom Pointe Lake and at the little Golf View Lake pond near Lake Paradise.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the photo.  Enjoy!

A Flock of Snowy Egrets

Snowy Egrets were spotted as a small flock of perhaps ten birds, at the lovely little “Golf View Lake” pond behind the Paradise Recreation Center and Mark Twain Library here in The Villages, Florida on Tuesday, February 11, 2020 in the afternoon.  This is likely a migratory flock on its way up North.  It is very unusual to see so many Snowy Egrets (and probably seven Great Egrets) together.  There also was a White Pelican, several Double-crested Cormorants, a Great Blue Heron, and two Canada Geese at the pond while I was there.

These are fish and frog-eating birds that wade in the shallows of ponds, streams, lakes and marshes to catch their prey with the sharp long bill.  Snowy Egrets are small white egrets with mustard yellow legs and feet with a black bill.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the photo.  Enjoy!

 

Double Crested Cormorants

Double Crested Cormorants are somewhat seasonal Winter migrant birds here in The Villages, Florida.  A few do stay all year around though.  These water birds especially like to accompany White Pelicans in their migration from up North.  The cormorants roost in tall trees such as Oaks and Cypress near the water’s edge.

Cormorants often cooperatively hunt with small pods of White Pelicans.  Double Crested Cormorants dive to hunt for fish, frogs, small turtles, and baby alligators in lakes, ponds and rivers as well as fresh and salt water marshes.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

Almost Wordless Wednesday

White Pelicans &  Wood Stork at the Nancy Lopez Legacy Golf Pond

I took these pictures early last evening 10/21/19 in The Villages, FL.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!

Cormorants, Geese, Egrets, Herons at Freedom Pointe Lake

Wood Storks at Freedom Pointe Lake

Double-crested Cormorants at Freedom Pointe Lake

 

Great Blue Heron at the Nancy Lopez Legacy Golf Course Pond

Double-crested Cormorant at the Nancy Lopez Legacy Golf Course Pond

Great Egret at the Lopez Legacy Golf Course Pond

White Pelican, Cormorants, Heron, Egrets, Egyptian Geese and Ducks

Double-crested Cormorants at the Freedom Pointe Lake

Wading birds, ducks, exotic geese, cormorants, and egrets were all spotted in The Villages, FL this past weekend.  It was so fun to see five resident White Pelicans at the Nancy Lopez course.  Those pelicans have now been here for the past three years and apparently do not migrate North with the hundreds of other White Pelicans that spend the Winter here.

Bird watching is such a pleasant hobby!  I so enjoy sharing the views of the many different birds here in The Villages with you via this blog.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the photo.  Enjoy!

Great Blue Heron at the Freedom Pointe Lake

Great Egret at the Glenview Country Club decorative  pond

Snowy Egret at the La Hacienda Golf Course Pond

 

Egyptian Geese at Nancy Lopez Driving Range Pond

White Pelican and Cormorants at the Nancy Lopez Driving Range Pond

Florida Mottled Ducks at the Nancy Lopez Driving Range Pond

Flight

Double-crested Cormorants

Just a few snap-shots of various kinds of birds in flight.  Have a safe happy holiday weekend!  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the photo.  Enjoy!

Bald Eagle

Canada Geese

 

Seagull

 

 

Osprey with fish

White Pelican

Turkey Vulture

Anhingas and Cormorants

Double-crested Cormorant

Anhinga birds and Double-crested Cormorants are very similar aquatic birds.  The differences are the bill and body size with only faint differences about the feathers.  The Anhingas are more slender and have a very straight slender sword-like bill.  The female Anhinga is more brown in color with a light tan throat.  These females are also nicknamed “Piano birds” for the pattern of their feathers.

The Double-crested Cormorants can be distinguished by the slightly hooked tip of their long also sword-like bill.  The cormorants also are much heftier and blocky in body than the Anhingas.  Both eat fish, frogs, and small turtles.  Both are experts in flight as well as swimming.  Both the Anhingas and Double-crested Cormorants are referred to as “Snake birds” as they come up from diving with only their long sinuous neck and their head peeking out of the water.

The Anhingas are here all year long but the cormorants mostly are migratory with the White Pelicans.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!

Anhinga

Anhinga

Double-crested Cormorants

Farewell to the Pelicans

Most of the White Pelicans have started leaving for their homes up North now.  I have only seen just a handful of the big white birds around here in the last week.  We still have several groups of the cormorants but those too, will be off on their Spring migration very soon.

I took most of these pictures within the past month here on the ponds and small lakes at the Nancy Lopez Legacy Golf Course; Freedom Pointe Lakes; La Hacienda Golf Course pond; and Golf View Lake pond, and Lake Paradise.  These are all places where year after year, I have spotted White Pelicans in Winter months.

The White Pelicans arrive in December and leave around the first two weeks of April here.  We did have a few stick around all year long this past year here.  That was unusual.  Our ponds here have been fished heavily with all the pelicans, cormorants, fishing ducks and wading birds that have been here these last few months.  It was wonderful to see the pelicans and I will eagerly await their return next Winter!  Please click on the thumbnail images to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!