March 31st
– April 6th
The blend of friends visiting from
the north, the call of the golf links, and cool chilly and even some rainy
weather all added up to limited birding for the Bakers this week. I did carry the camera with me on the
golf course and snuck in a few shots between the multiple shots I took with the mid-range irons, so it wasn’t
really a washout (never actually is!).
The premier shots on the golf course were of the sandhill cranes with
their young. 
Normally, we see the
family group of two adults and two colts, but today there was only one little
guy. Hopefully, the second was
nearby and had not met with an early demise. The family units are quite tight-knit with these birds and
this time of year, it’s much more common to see a group of four than it is to
see a lone crane.
It’s April and the Swallow-tailed
kites are here in earnest. While
not a common bird in any sense of the word, we do see them several times a week
when out in the field on a regular basis.
They certainly have a level of elegance about them which makes them
stand out in the avian world.
Always a thrill to have one or two pass overhead……
We actually tallied about 25
species during our three golf outings this week. White ibises can always be counted on aerating the fairways,
and the multiple water hazards attract the ospreys, wading birds, and
ducks. Bald eagles are often seen
cruising above the courses as well.
Sharon doesn’t play, but will normally ride along with here bins in hand
creating a “course-list” for the day.
It’s one of the beauties of our past-time that you can pursue it just
about any time and any place.
Earlier in the week, on our
weekly Tuesday bird-walks with the Marine Discovery Center, we encounted some
odd behaviors by some of the birds we found on site. The first was a Green heron perched on a power line. It’s normally difficult to find these birds
hidden in among the mangroves, but here was this bird perched and calling from
a utility line! As we watched, we
realized that there was actually a second heron similarly situated on a line
only a short distance away.
The second strange view was of
Cattle egrets feeding on an oyster bar our in the lagoon. There were certainly no cattle to be
found out on the bar and what these egrets were feeding upon is anyone’s
guess.
We did manage two short visits
to two other preserves this week.
The first was at Gemini Springs in Deltona. We were on our way to a photographic show and reception and
had a half hour to kill. We found
plenty of the usual suspects along the shoreline and swimming along the
creek….gallinules, coots, herons, etc.
There were also an abundance of Boat-tailed grackles taking advantage of
any excess bait or leftover snacks left behind by the local fishermen. This female approached us as if to ask if we had anything to
offer.
Finally, we visited Spruce
Creek in the hopes of photographing a King rail we suspected we could find in
the preserve. We had no problem
finding the rails…in fact we located at least 8 of them calling loudly at close
proximity. It was maddening to
have them call from several feet away and not be able to locate them in the
marsh grasses. We did catch a
quick glimpse of four of them in flight, but as soon as they landed, they were
out of sight. The lone shot before
the winds picked up and the rain began to fall once again was of a Snowy plying
the muddy shoreline in search of a crab for a snack.
The forecast for the upcoming
week looks to be a bit drier and warmer than this past week and as I just
upgraded my old Nikon 80 – 400mm with the newer and much faster version of this
same lens, I’ll be looking forward to getting out and putting it to the
test. Check back with us next week
for the results…..
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