Three day weekend - nature called!

What a lovely three-day weekend!  Time  spent with John, whose birthday was Sunday.  We finally made it to Corkscrew Swamp and Audubon Sanctuary, where we spent a few hours and shot hundreds of photos.  At the feeder where we saw painted bunting, a rustle from under the boardwalk turned out to be a small bobcat running from our disturbance!  John just caught a glimpse of his pretty pointed ears, but all I saw was the bent grass as he bounded through.  I have been trying to identify all of these birds, but have not yet found them all......So please inform me if you know the names of any!  And enjoy the trip!

Female painted bunting 

Male painted bunting

Blue gray gnatcatcher?

Help!  I can't remember this lovely bird's name!

A gorgeous female cardinal

Red shouldered hawk - one of many we saw.

I believe this is a young woodpecker, or a female, not sure which type.

Beautiful songbird!  Perhaps an eastern phoebe?  

The swamp

We had the privilege of watching a mother and two young racoons feeding.  I love how petite the baby's tail is!

???

Wait for me, Mom!
Click on the picture to see the foot in more detail - it's cool!

One of a pair of hawks.

I believe it's a Carolina wren.

So cool - gator right next to the boardwalk.

A yellow crowned night heron.

One of my favorite shots - This little blue heron was quite a distance away, barely visible through the vegetation, but I zoomed in and shot this photo just to see if I could get him.  And look and what was also in the picture!  Bonus!

I love this little duck....but don't know what kind it is.

An anhing coming up from his fishing trip - beautiful.

Hmmm....pig frog.

We watched this sweetie eat his meal.  Listened to the crunch, too!  :)  I took a lot of chewing shots, but when I downloaded them, they make him look so mean!   He was about 8 feet away.

Hello, water moccasin.

Hope you enjoyed it!  I have so many more photos - maybe next time.

A quiet morning in the marsh

Love the shadows on this screeching hawk.

"Got it!"

Baby?

The great egret.

Beautiful little fellow and his entourage accompanied me for quite a while. 

Trying to hide.

So sweet.

See the yellow dots?  They are insects!  Very small "no see 'ums" we call them, otherwise known as gnats.

There is something so impressive about the ibis....

Quite a few tricolor herons today....

Fishing posture.

Small blue heron.

A few feathered companions flew along with me on parts of the path, but there was nothing unusual today.  Simply a beautiful Sunday morning in the glory of nature.

Migratory birds.....

are about to pass through Harns Marsh, I'm told.  So this morning I took a trip to see what was going on.  Although there were not flocks of all sorts, I was thrilled to see a couple of brand new sights, and be honored with a posing session by one of my favorites, the red-shouldered hawk.


This sweet blue heron tolerated me for quite a while before taking flight.  I am awed by the coloring seen in his wings - they look like a watercolor painting!

Seeing a tricolored heron as well was a treat!

 And of course, our resident egrets and ibis did not let me down.  

There were also several pairs 

of Sandhill cranes within the first quarter mile of the marsh pathway.

Now, this was a real treat, and one that not everyone gets, I understand.  For the first time, I saw a caracara!  He was truly unusual looking, and I thought he was some type of hawk.  He does belong to the falcon family, but has such an unusual looking beak and "headdress".  

Good morning, vulture - the king of the dirt pile......

and the wood pile!

And what pretty little bird do we have here?

 This beauty is a little blue heron....

And this is a juvenile limpkin or ibis (not sure which), playing hide-n-seek with me.

The peace and quiet of this place is remarkable.  

Not far from the location above, I zoomed in on this mother and her young.  However, when I saw the photo on the computer screen, I became enamored with her innocence and charm and tried to identify her - but had no luck.  Please contact me if you know!

And the most wonderful opportunity of all - the red shouldered hawk.  Actually, there were two of them.  On my way in, I came across this one feeding on what appears to be a lizard.   He definitely wants me to leave him alone.

On my way out,   this beauty posed patiently for me.  I didn't want to stop!    Can you  see the strength in his wing muscles?  

 What a terrific visit to Harns Marsh, just two miles from my home!