More Big Birds

Great Egret

A Great Egret ,White Ibis, and Double Crested Cormorants, and a Turkey Vulture, were spotted a few days ago.  The Ibis are numerous here in Florida and love being around the water.  The White Ibis eat aquatic snails, aquatic worms, land worm, and assorted insects. The White Ibis also will eat aquatic plants and some grains.

The Double Crested Cormorants are meat-eating birds that are water birds.  They love to follow White Pelicans and also the herons and egrets in search of food.   These birds dive into the water for fish or frogs.  The Double Crested Cormorants look quite similar to the Anhinga birds but the cormorants are a bit blockier and also have the hook on the end of their bill.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture.  Enjoy!

Double Crested Cormorants

Turkey Vulture

White Ibis

 

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Random Pictures

A Turkey Vulture, a Snowy Egret, an Anhinga, a Swallowtail Butterfly, a pair of Common Moorhens, a hybrid Mallard and Mottled Duck, a Snowy Egret, and a Great Blue Heron, all were spotted an photographed this past week here in my area.  I so enjoy getting out with my camera and taking pictures of the wildlife!  Please click on the thumbnail image to see a slightly larger version of that same photograph.  Enjoy!

Some of the Bird Sightings of the Past Month

Snowy Egret and Florida Mottled Ducks

Over-heated Common Crows

Eastern Blue Jay Perched on a Fence

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

Florida Mottled Duck

Older Juvenile American White Ibises

Turkey Vulture

Male Downy Woodpecker

Killdeer

It is likely a House Finch that is attempting to use a decorative nest as it’s own.  (Edited caption)

American White Ibises Here and There

I saw a flock of American White Ibises in a small park along the shoreline of a very small lake a few days ago.  Now, seeing Ibises near a lake or in a park here in Florida is really, no big deal.  I was absolutely thrilled, to spot another small group of Ibises hunting for bugs in the grass at the side of our now dry, rainfall retention pond here on my own street!  By the way, the Ibises that have brown streaks are older juveniles which are in the process of turning from cocoa brown to mostly all white!

There was also a unique back story to the Ibises being on my block here.  I had heard a commotion among the throng of Crows and went outside to see what was going on.  I spotted not only the Ibis flock, but there was a Turkey Vulture trying to get a drink of water from the little pool of rainwater left in the basin at that time!  It has been very hot here so I can imagine that the vulture just put up with the white birds, the black birds, and yes, that crazy lady with her camera!  A few moments later, the vulture flew off to parts unknown.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger picture.  Enjoy!

 

Crows vs. A Turkey Vulture

 

All this Turkey Vulture wanted to do was get a quick drink out of the rainfall pond across the street here.  No, the small group of about five crows would not have it.  The crows ganged up on the poor vulture and off all flew.  It sounded like the battle that happens when the crows chase the neighborhood Red-shouldered Hawk!  Lots of noise and commotion.  In the end, the carrion- eating vulture was the loser and has left the area – for how long, we won’t know.  I took these pictures on Sept. 28, 2014.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger photo.  Enjoy!

Crows and Buzzards

Turkey Vulture

Buzzards or Vultures along with Common Crows are natures “Clean-up Crew”.  That is a fact of life that is occasionally played-out here in the wide-open spaces where cattle pastures meet ponds and lakes.  I don’t know what the birds had found but certainly like all of us, they have to eat too.  The Crows come in small groups of four or five with one or two staying up in the trees while the others eat in the grass.  The Turkey Vulture showed up yesterday and just flew a circle above the cow pasture and then flew up into the clouds and away.  I took the picture of the Crows on Jan. 1, 2013 from my porch and the picture of the Vulture on Jan. 6, 2013.  Additionally, I took several pictures of the Crows on Jan. 16, 2013 through my living room window.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture.

Turkey Vulture

Common Crows

Birds in Flight

Here are a number of pictures I have taken of birds in flight.  I have taken these photographs on various days in the last couple of months.  The pictures show European Starlings, a Great Blue Heron, Canada Geese, a Turkey Vulture, a Bald Eagle, a Mallard Duck, an Eastern Bluebird, and an Eastern Bluejay.  It is so interesting to watch birds fly.  Taking pictures of birds flying is a sometimes frustrating thing.   The larger the bird and closer the bird is to me, the better the picture is.   Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture.  Enjoy!