Some White Ibis

White Ibis are pretty commonly seen here in The Villages, FL.  These big birds are white as adults and brown and white as juveniles.  They have blue eyes and pink legs, feet, and bills.  They eat insects, worms, grubs, as well as grains and seeds.

The most common place to see Ibis here in The Villages is at the parking lot next to Lake Mira-mar in Spanish Springs.  There is a resident flock of about sixty or so birds there.

The Ibis also will fly around the community and browse for insects on the lawns of homes here so that is something that at first seemed strange to me.  One does get used to that sight.  These are beneficial birds.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the photo.  Enjoy!

Wordless Fri.: Flying Waders

Juvenile White Ibis

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

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

Great Egret

Tri-colored Heron

Wood Stork

 

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Wood Stork

Eufala National Wildlife Refuge, Alabama

Red-head Woodpecker

We escaped what we had feared would be a hit from Hurricane Dorian and thankfully was not.  We went North to Alabama and camped at the lovely Lakepointe Resort State Park campground in Eufala, Alabama.  The Eufala National Wildlife Refuge is about 3 miles from this campground so we visited the refuge several times.

We did not see many animals or birds but I think it may be that the action really happens in the Winter months.  We did see a juvenile White Ibis, some wonderful Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, a few Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, a family of wild piglets with their mother (too fast to catch with my camera as they sprinted across the road) and a few really large American Alligators.  We saw the woodpecker at the campground and some of the alligators and the vultures, at the state park’s marina area.

This refuge is on Lake George which is an enormous lake bordering between Alabama and Georgia.  I was glad we came home to no damage and no drama.  I am praying for those in The Bahamas who were in the most catastrophic part of the storm and received a lot of major damage.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!

Hen Common Moorhen

American Alligator

Scenic View of Some of the Eufala National Wildlife Refuge on Lake George

 

Juvenile White Ibis

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and Ducklings

Black Vultures

Wordless Wednesday: White and Glossy Ibises

Adult White Ibis

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

Adult White Ibis

Glossy Ibis

Juvenile and Adult White Ibis

Some Avian Villagers

Drake Hooded Merganser Duck

Tai-Colored Herons, Wood Storks, Hooded Merganser Ducks, Sandhill Cranes, White Ibis, Double-Crested Cormorants, Anhingas, and many more large exotic birds are seen here in The Villages, Florida on and in our many ponds and small lakes.  It also is not unusual to see a Great Egret strolling through the shrubbery on street parkways.

There are always many varieties of large and small birds around this community and its many neighborhoods to observe!  It is such a pleasant hobby to go out bird watching!  I am sure many of the readers here will agree!  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the photo!  Enjoy!

Wood Stork

Double-Crested Cormorants

White Ibis

 

 

Sandhill Crane

Tri-Colored Heron

Anhinga Drying its Wings

Strolling White Ibises

A flock of White Ibis were strolling around the yards in my neighborhood yesterday afternoon.  It has rained a lot  so the big white birds were out for any earthworms or grubs they could find.  The birds search with their rubbery long bills for their prey.

The White and brown bird is an older juvenile.  These birds are a cocoa brown and white color as babies and gradually turn white as they age.  The White Ibis are flock birds.  I often joke that there are a “Herd” of ibis on the lawn as they tend to walk around in groups that resemble how cattle walk.  Yes, a group of Ibis are really known as a flock.

These ibis roost as a flock, together in trees. Usually their roost is in lower tree branches over swamp wetlands where American Alligators patrol.  Alligators below the roosts help the birds stay safe from Coyotes and Bobcats.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger picture.  Enjoy!

 

A Flock of Glossy Ibis With Whistlers

This flock of Glossy Ibis were hanging out on the side of a freshwater marsh and golf course area here in The Villages, FL early this evening at about 5:00pm.  This is the first time I have ever seen these two types of birds together.  I also have never seen so many Glossy Ibis in one spot.  These birds are a dark mahogany brown with blue-green accents and are oh-so-pretty!  The Glossy Ibis’ feathers really shine in a metallic way when in breeding plumage (now).

The ducks are nearly the same color as the ibis.  I also saw a scant few Mallards and some crows there too.  A beautiful pair of Sandhill Cranes (photographs will be posted here in coming days) joined in the feeding frenzy.  There must have been some really tasty stuff there – perhaps duck chow grain from a neighbor?  Who can say.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!

Water Birds at Lake Mira-mar in The Villages, FL

Hooded Merganser Ducks

On Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017,  I spotted a small flock of Hooded Merganser ducks, a Great Egret, a Pied-billed Grebe and a Wood Stork with White Ibis at Lake Mira-mar in The Villages, FL.  The ducks, egret and grebe were in the arm of the lake bordering the highway and the Veteran’s Memorial Park.  The Wood Stork was in the parking lot area on the main body of the little pond-like lake.  All were such fun to watch!  I will be taking a break from blogging for the next couple of weeks and will be posting at my normal schedule when I begin blogging again.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the photo.  Enjoy!

Pied-billed Grebe

Great Egret

Wood Stork with Ibis

Water Birds and Waterfowl in Flight

A Double-crested Cormorant

White Ibis, Mallard Duck, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, a Double Crested Cormorant, A Snowy Egret, Sandhill Cranes, and a Little Blue Heron were all photographed while in flight.  All were moving from place to place here in Central Florida in The Villages and in the Ocala area.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the photo.  Enjoy!

A Hen Mallard Duck

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

White Ibis

 

Sandhill Cranes

A Snowy Egret

A Little Blue Heron

A Morning of Egrets!

Great and Snowy Egrets and Mallard Ducks

Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, and several other kinds of wading birds and water birds were all spotted at a large freshwater marsh/rainfall retention area that is a nature preserve here in The Villages, FL community.  This bird spot is located on Buena Vista Blvd. just South of the Lake Miona Recreation Center and the Bass Fishing Pond on that same street.

There were perhaps fifty egrets there with additional Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, White Ibis, and Mottled Ducks, Mallard Ducks and the ever popular Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (including many juvenile whistlers)!  A truly nice gathering of birds to observe.  I took these pictures yesterday morning from the grassy area off of the multi-modal path near a nicely placed bench.  I of course used my long lens as the birds were quite a distance away.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly smaller version of the photo.  Enjoy!

Egrets and Florida Mottled Ducks

Egrets in the Preserve

Snowy Egret