Friday, January 24, 2014

Birding is fun in Florida



 This week I am thinking warm and reliving my Florida trip. A warm and sunny place compared to the extreme cold we are having this next to last week of January.

I am sharing my birding fun in Florida back in April 2013.  We started out in Tampa drove down the gulf coast stopping in various places along the way to Key West and then back to Tampa. We saw awesome birds, beaches, preserves, wildlife refuges and gorgeous sunsets.  I will show some of the highlights of the trip and my Florida lifers.





 We started out in Tampa with a quick visit at my SIL’s place. It was neat to see the Sandhill Cranes walking around her development. This Sandhill Crane should watch out for the golf balls. BTW, no birds were hurt with golf balls at least at the time of my visit.



 Driving south we made a quick detour to see the Burrowing Owls in Cape Corals.  The Burrowing Owls were easy to find and a lifer for me. Another lifer seen with the Burrowing Owls was a Loggerhead Shrike.




Our next stop was to see the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. At the Corkscrew Swamp we saw the Wood Stork which was a lifer. The Roseate Spoonbills and the Painted Buntings are always a treat to see.





 Next we headed to Sanibel Island and Ding Darling NWR. It is a beautiful spot to see Egrets, Little Blue Herons were plentiful, many White Ibis and my first sighting of the Swallow-tailed Kite.




Our next stop was Key West, just the drive to the Keys is a treat. The scenery and birds are awesome along the way. 




 Leaving Key West we stopped for a couple of days to explore the Everglades Nat’l Park. We rode the tram at Shark Valley and also walked the boardwalk trail.

 We drove west to the Flamingo Visitor Center, stopping along the way for some trails and birding.  There were many Wood Stork, Heron and Anhinga rookeries in the Everglades National Park.





Leaving the Everglades behind we headed north up the gulf coast again. Stopping at Marco Island for another quickie sighting of the Burrowing Owls.


 Continuing our drive north we made another stop at the Myakko River State Park. It was at Myakko, I saw my lifer the Limpkin.



 Leaving Myakko and as we headed back to highway to Tampa we came across this family of Sandhill Cranes. A very cool sighting for me to see the crane chicks.


 The Venice Audubon Rookery was another stop on our way north to Tampa. Here we saw my favorite the Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron Rookeries and some Glossy Ibis.




Fort Desoto was our final birding stop before heading to the Tampa Airport hotel. Florida is an awesome place to visit, especially for the birding.  Many of the places we stopped at were on the Florida Birding Trail. I love that various states have these birding trail map, beside Florida I have loved using the Delaware Birding Trail. Does you state have a birding trail? They come in handy while traveling.  I hope you enjoyed the birds and my post.


Florida lifers: Wood Stork, Burrowing Owl, Loggerhead Shrike, Swallowtail Kite, Sora, Eurasian-collared Dove and Limpkin. Linking up with my Saturday's Critters

Eileeninmd

33 comments:

  1. Beautiful birds! well captures, specially last one..

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  2. Marvelous photos of the different birds. Amazing !
    Best regards, Synnöve

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  3. Fantastic trip, I can understand you felt like sharing it and relive it!!
    Florida is such a fabulous place to see fauna and birds!
    I never had an opportunity to stay long enough to nose around, all I know is the Parrot Jungle! LOL!

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  4. Great post Eileen!!Amazing pictures!!So many beautiful and different birds!!Florida is such an interesting place to visit!!Thank you for sharing!Have a lovely weekend!!
    Dimi...

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  5. So many people go, visit, but just don't SEE ! ...:)JP

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  6. Tyle pięknych i różnych ptaków zobaczyć w trakcie jednej podróży to wspaniałe przeżycie. Dziękuję, że je pokazałeś. Pozdrawiam.
    So many beautiful and different birds seen during a trip a great experience. Thank you showed them. Yours.

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  7. Nice to read your post this morning. I'm sitting in my Florida home and I'm bundled up with the temps in the 40's...brrr....a chilly Florida for me. I wanted to say too that because we've had more rain fall this year - the Wood Storks are nesting at Corckscrew...Yeah! And...should you return in Florida during the winter months - you will see the White Pelicans in Ding Darling - just magestic!

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  8. very cool. I try to hit a different park every Sunday Safari. You have me ready to drive farther south. :O)

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  9. You all made your way to so many great places! The crane surrounded by golf balls is too funny, but its good to hear you didn't see any cranes get injured by all those flying balls! Awesome captures of the Burrowing Owls; they are just adorable! Have a great weekend:)

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  10. definitely a lot of birds i don't get to see here (except for BBWDs!) would love to see a shrike, burrowing owl, crane, etc. :)

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  11. Most epic Eileen! Very nice:) I remember those pics and am hoping to visit this place down the road. Thanks for showing us these beauties!

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  12. lovely series of photos, lots of great birds

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  13. Would love to see the burrowing owl! You got so many cool shots and great set of lifers. :)

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  14. So many beautiful birds! I really like the Burrowing Owl and the Painted Bunting. It was nice to see some beach views on a cold day like today!

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  15. Wonderful pictures. Sometimes we have to go back into the "vault" to find things that we love to bring back the smiles again!

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  16. You definitely found the secret to a successful Florida vacation.

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  18. Hi Eileen and Chris, Great photos from FL. I especially love the Sandhill Cranes. My son sees them in his area near Galveston, Texas during the winter. Such beauties.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  19. What a great set of birds/images!! I have never seen Florida in this way!! I would love to see those burrowing owls!!

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  20. Those little owls are adorable. Great shots.

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  21. Oh yes, nice one Eileen, you shot so many I can't recognize all, lol.

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  22. That is a fabulous collection of birds. I like the crane and the chicks.

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  23. This WAS fun! :) That little blue / red bird...the shrike ? Just stunning! They all are but he just pops out with those brilliant colors! :)

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  24. Birds who frequent golf courses are very, very brave. ;)) We have sandhill cranes that breed in a conservation area north of us but I have yet to get a good photo of them. Maybe this year. ;))

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  25. Beautiful bird shots and you have managed to make me feel hopeful that spring is coming soon.

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  26. Wonderful birds. I love the cranes and the owls. What a great trip you had.

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  27. Looks like Florida is the place to go for great birding! Terrific captures!

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  28. Here I am living in Florida and still have barely explored the Great Florida Birding Trail. Congrats on so many lifers and beautiful images!

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  29. I know I've told you this before, but you saw more birds during your vacation here than we have in five winter seasons! Beautiful pictures. We visited a rehab facility in Sarasota and saw a whole bunch of sandhill cranes being fitted with prostheses because they lost a leg to golfers.

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  30. Awesome trip! Lots of lifers for you. I've still not seen a burrowing owl, and I've birded FL a few times. Lovely post.

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  31. Eileen your shots are just wonderful! I would love going to this area and seeing all of these birds. You have just been responsible for me adding something on my bucket list. Great shots. also thanks for stopping by my blog. I am just beginning to have some interest in photographing birds, and loved your shots of the sandhill crane especially. have a wonderful day!

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  32. An interesting post with some good photos.

    Thank you. Love love, Andrew. Bye.

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  33. Eileen, thanks for warming me up with this wonderful post filled with stunning bird sightings. What a glorious time you spent in Florida birding! Florida is truly a great place to see some especially beautiful birds. Love the little Burrowing Owls! I might have to visit Corkscrew Swamp next time I visit the west coast of Florida. Terrific photographs!

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