Various Water Birds Around the Community

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes; Great Egrets; Great Blue Herons; White Pelicans; Mallard Ducks; Canada Geese; and Anhingas have all been regularly spotted each Winter, here on our small ponds and lakes in The Villages, Florida.  It is always a treat to go out and do a bit of bird watching!  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!

Great Egret

Canada Goose, Mallard Ducks, Great Egret

Great Blue Heron

 

 

White Pelicans

Anhinga

White Pelicans

Wordless Wednesday: Canada Geese

Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the photo.  Enjoy!

Waterfowl Wednesday: Egyptian Geese

These seven Egyptian Geese were spotted this afternoon at the lovely Nancy Lopez Legacy Golf Course driving range pond in The Villages, Florida, on the power-line side (multi-modal path area).  This group is the largest gathering of Egyptian Geese I have seen here in three years.  The ancestors of these geese are native to Africa that were brought to Florida a few years ago and turned loose.

I think that some of this group may be the goslings I photographed two years ago here at Freedom Pointe lake.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!

A Pair of Egyptian Geese

Drake (male) Egyptian Goose in breeding plumage

Egyptian Geese were spotted at Lake Paradise in The Villages, FL on Tuesday evening at dusk.  Until recently, I had not seen both genders together.  There are not a lot of Egyptian Geese here so it was not readily apparent what both genders looked like in breeding plumage.  I spotted two drakes and a single hen among  lot of Canada Geese and a lone Wood Stork there at the lake.

All of the geese and the stork, were browsing on the grassy shoreline next to the golf cart multi-modal path (and meandering on that very path!).  Note that in breeding colors, the males have the strong black barring and are a lot brighter in color than the females.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!

Pair of Egyptian Geese with a Canada Goose

Wordless Waterfowl Wednesday: Canada Geese

These Canada Geese and goslings were photographed this past weekend at Paradise Lake in The Villages, FL.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!

Cormorants, Egrets, Goose, Turtles and Herons!

Double-crested Cormorants and a Seagull

Water birds, wading birds and turtles were all spotted at Freedom Pointe and Paradise Lakes in The Villages, Florida this past weekend.  I am happy that the weather was nice enough to permit a bird watching jaunt both on Friday at dusk and on Saturday afternoon.

The Double-crested Cormorant flock will be flying North in coming days.  I was surprised that this flock did not follow the White Pelicans that left for their migration on Friday morning.  The Great Egret, Snowy Egret, the Cooter Turtles, Canada Goose, Great Blue Heron, and what is probably a Try-colored Heron, are all resident birds here in The Villages, Florida.  These birds are mostly meat eaters while the geese love seeds and grasses.  I love getting out and about at the many small ponds and lakes and preserves here!  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!

Double-crested Cormorant in the Live Oak Tree Roost

Tri-colored Heron

Great Blue Heron and Double-crested Cormorants

 

Double-crested Cormorant, Cooter Turtle and a Canada Goose

Great and Snowy Egrets

Cooter Turtle

Egyptian Geese

This pair of Egyptian Geese was spotted up on the shoreline of the Freedom Pointe Lake in The Villages near the parking lot area beside the assisted living housing complex building.

The Egyptian Geese are native to Africa and were brought here to the USA to be golf course pets in some spots (they migrated here to the Villages from elsewhere).  These geese are part shell-duck and part goose.  They are attractive birds.

Egyptian Geese now are resident waterfowl here in The Villages but are not in big numbers here.  They eat grasses grains and seeds and behave in a similar manner to the Canada Geese. These geese are rust colored with cream and black and are between a duck and a goose in size.  The Egyptian Geese seem quite shy.   Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the photo.  Enjoy!  P.S.  I have not seen that Roseate Spoonbill here since my Sunday morning sighting.

The Calm Before That Storm!

A Squadron of Mottled Ducks sails on the Freedom Pointe Lake

Egrets, Egyptian Geese, Canada Geese, Herons and Mottled Ducks were all spotted here in The Villages, FL on the lake at Freedom Pointe and on the street parkway on Buena Vista Blvd. last week.  I so enjoy getting out an about to spot and watch the birds here.  We often see these exotic birds!  It is amazing.

I have been working on hurricane preparations as we expect to see some type of tropical storm force or hurricane force winds here on Sunday and Monday.  We don’t have a firm track for the hurricane so I cannot say how bad it should be but I think we will be better off here inland as we are 60 miles from both coastlines.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Please understand if I don’t post on Monday – perhaps we will have power but likely not.  Thanks.

A Great Egret Hunts in the Shrubbery on Buena Vista Blvd.

White Ibis, Egyptian Goose, Canada Goose and Great Blue Heron

A Great Egret Roosts at Freedom Pointe

Exotic Egyptian Geese

Egyptian Geese are apparently making a home for themselves here in the United States.  I have occasionally spotted pairs or small groups of these African immigrant geese during the last couple of years.

I also recently saw a photo from Texas where a pair of Egyptian Geese were strolling around a golf course.  I think that may have been the idea of bringing these geese here from Africa.  The Egyptian Geese are lovely and seem to have an OK temperament.  I took these pictures on Lake Paradise on May 9, 2017. I also earlier spotted Egyptian Geese at the lake behind Freedom Pointe in The Villages, where there were a family of these geese, but that was about two months back.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.

Scenes from Paradise Lake

Lesser Yellowlegs

White Pelicans and Great Blue Herons

Wood Storks

 

 

 

 

White Pelicans, Sandhill Cranes, a Great Blue Heron, Canada and Egyptian Geese, ducks a plenty and egrets were all spotted at Paradise Lake in Paradise Park, The Villages, Florida on Tuesday (5/9/17) evening at dusk.  No rain in sight and the lake continues to shrink.  As a blog friend mentioned in comments on a recent post here, the birds seem to be benefitting short-term from the low water levels.

Additionally, I took several pictures at the lake this morning (5/12/17) and saw Wood Storks, White Pelicans, shorebirds of some type (Plovers?), and a huge gathering of egrets and herons.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the very slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!  P.S.  Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday!

Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, White Ibis

Sandhill Crane and Great Blue Heron in the Background

Shorebirds (Plovers?)

 

 

Egyptian Geese

Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks

Canada Goose