We were standing around looking at the great horned owl and talking to a Japanese couple (who live in the area) – they told us about some burrowing owls they had seen on a different road. We found them – they burrow under the cattle troughs.
We found an owl nest on a topless palm tree tucked away behind a large tree dripping with Spanish moss. The first day we were there it was somewhat cloudy. Vic had to brighten the picture.
The next day we saw one owlet standing up.
The parent owl was on the top of an adjacent palm tree.
We watched her/him take flight.
We were lucky to find this owl and her nest. We’ve been wishing for great shots of this bird for a long time.
These photos are from yesterday afternoon, when we visited Joe Overstreet road again and walked out onto the observation pier. Vic got this gorgeous shot.
Then I saw this red shoulder hawk.
I also saw a Meadowlark sitting on a fence post, great light, he/she is sitting 20 feet from me singing! Here’s the video I took with my phone. If you enlarge the bird before you play you’ll enjoy it more. Such a pretty and distinctive sound!
The wildlife is so plentiful here, we continue to be amazed at the variety.
Another day in Paradise, having so much fun taking these pictures.
This morning we rode around the area, mostly up and down Joe Overstreet which is a paved road lined with cattle ranches and sod companies. Joe Overstreet and his family have the biggest cattle ranch and it ends at a boat launch area/10 spot campground/snack bar. You can book an air boat tour there as well.
These photos are all Vic’s. The best lighting was on his side of the road.
I think this Kildeer is a masterpiece.
We’ve gotten this bird before but never in flight.
These photos were all taken this morning can you believe that?
Kenansville, FL
We met a super nice couple who came out to the road as we were pulling in and warned us where it’s still very wet from last weekend’s rain. And it’s buggy over there so whew! Thanks for that! they are from Nova Scotia, recently retired.
It’s been a long while since we’ve come to this area and we never camped here before.
Already we’ve got two photos to share.
The Kestrel especially is difficult to get because first he’s usually on a telephone wire and second flies away before you can get the camera focused. Very frustrating! So today I got them both on a tree branch. Major coup!
A few more beauties to share …
The first day we got here the very first thing I took a picture of is this Northern Flicker. We have seen several different woodpeckers in Florida but this is the one we hadn’t seen before so it was very exciting. We never saw it again and this was the only shot I got.
This is a sequence of Hooded Mergansers.
We are returning to Clerbrook tomorrow (Saturday). It’s been a wonderful wonderful week.
I have another post drafted that will come out later.
Hope you enjoyed sharing our week. XO
Today is day 5 of our visit here. We’ve seen some incredible wildlife and had so much fun taking pictures. We still haven’t gotten a good Osprey dive but have lots of other great photos to share. Today’s star is the Green Heron.
Skimmers are appropriately named because of the way they fly low and fast across the water with their beaks open trying to snag a little fish. Vic thinks this is our best shot and I’m proud to say it’s mine.
Here are some more. Vic does the editing and groaned when he saw how many photos we took the day we saw Skimmers.
You may be thinking enough skimmers already. It’s exhilarating to see them flying in and start skimming right towards you! If you google black skimmers what you will find is a ton of black skimmers in the sitting pose. It’s hard to find any shots of two skimming in tandem. I sure would love to see them with babies though. That shot is on my bucket list.
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