Monday, December 8, 2008
BIRDS!
We had a wonderful day Saturday,birding back country in the shallow water skiff. It was one of those special, flat-calm days. The white pelicans are back!! We also spotted many osprey nests with both Mom and Dad close by, scolding if we poled in too close! . Did you know they mate for life and come back to the same nest every year? If it is a small nest they are newlyweds! If the nest is large - and they get large! - they are old married folks like us! Sadly, we only saw one roseate spoonbill back by the Bob Keys where we used to see hundreds. I hear they have now chosen to winter further North in Florida as our enviornment for them has deteriorated so much. We also went to our favorite rookery - it's a secret place - and watched as at least 6 Great White Herons built their nests. We think one already has eggs in it! The egrets were there, too, in full mating colors! And the cormorants, and the ibis and the snowy egrets.....what a fun time! Thanks, Jack - for going birding with me! 
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What great pictures! I also miss the spoonbills...I remember when I was a little girl there would be hundreds of them gliding along the water next to the stretch. So beautiful.
ReplyDeleteOh, Heather. With all the construction on the stretch we never see Roseates there anymore. But we do have a new bird down here - the Sandhill Crane - and they occasionally appear on the northern part of the stretch. Until recently, they haven't been further south than Kissimmee.
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