Polk County, FL ~ Circle B Bar Ranch Preserve

Northern Parula

Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

Black-crowned Night-heron

Common Gallinule and chick

Green Heron

Roseate Spoonbill

Nummy Island - migration is beginning

Black-crowned Night Heron all spiffed up for spring!

Short-billed Dowitcher hiding in the grasses.

American Oystercatcher

44th Street Rookery - Avalon

I love when spring starts and the herons return to the rookery on 44th Street.  I feel like spring migration is really going to start.  There were about 15 Yellow-crowned Night Herons along with 6 Black-crowned Night Herons.  As a great added surprise there were also 6 Red-breasted Nuthatches working the trees along the sidewalk.

Nummy Island - Start of a great day of birding

When arriving on Nummy Island where the Terns were catching fish I went forward to walk along the side of the road so I could get in better range for pictures and almost walked on top of an American Oystercatcher nest.  Momma/Dad Oystercatcher was so buried I couldn't see the bird in amongst the wrack.  As the AO left the nest I caught a glimpse of her eggs so I took a quick photo before backing away from the area and letting Momma return to nest.  The AO returned quickly to the nest.

 The terns were fishing as were the Snowy and Great Egrets.  Almost every time the terns dived a fish was caught and across the way on the spit the egrets were feasting on small fish.

I saw Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, (left) a Tri-colored Heron, Greater Yellow Legs, Black-bellied Plovers, Dowitchers,  Red-winged Blackbirds, Willets, Laughing Gulls and more.

Further down the road the Black-crowned Night Heron was catching breakfast. It was fun to watch the BCNH catch the fish caught up in the green slime, get the fish out and eat it.

Bombay Hook NWR- con't

Bear Swamp Trail had a colony of roosting Black-crowned Night Herons, more Coots, Green Heron, plus the prize of a sunning Belted Kingfisher that showed nicely until a passing car flushed it. I walked the walking path at the beginning where I saw a Hermit Thrush (lifer), 2 Eastern Towhee, tons of Great White Egrets and some Black-capped Chickadees.

I must say that I was disappointed in Bombay but that's probably my fault as the birds were just not there in the numbers I had expected.  Apparently, it's just after the main duck season and at the start of the shorebird migration season.  Also there were dog ticks everywhere blowing in my car window as the day's temperatures reached 85 which is a record for 4/16.  I was happy to have some new lifers but would have liked to see more birds.