March 5, 2026
If it’s Thursday it’s Stick Marsh day 😊.
Vic drove and Paul rode with us. Tom was busy at his other house in Ft Lauderdale. Paul has been going to the stick marsh for many years so he knows his way around the maze of roads.
Looks like they are swapping recipes haha
Harriers are notoriously difficult to photograph. They rarely come in close enough. Vic has been trying to get a great shot like this for years.
Stay safe! XO
Mar. 4, 2026
We are calling this post “potpourri”.
It looks pretty big but you can be sure it will be eaten!
Hope you enjoyed the show.
Stay safe! XO
Mar. 3, 2026
Warning- these images are not for the faint of heart.
It’s no wonder that most people believe Cara Cara are vultures (they are hawks) the way they feed on carrion. in this case they are feeding on a deer that was roadkill.
These two were taking some food back to their nest (which we haven’t found).
After the Cara Cara’s were finished, the vultures moved in.
We left the hunt camp and have moved further down the road to an RV park called Lake Marian RV & Resort. Most of the waterfront on this lake (roughly 8 miles x 2 miles) is wildlife protected wetlands. This place, a farm that’s been there a long time that has 7 miles of waterfront and one other business that has a couple of miles. It’s next to impossible to get a building permit which I’m glad to hear.
There is a marina with plenty of places to tie up your boat. The sites are half and half campers and manufactured homes. Our friend Tom has the house built by the original property owner. It’s a triple wide plus a deck and other extras. Our friend Paul also has a house, not as big but still very nice. Paul came over while we were setting up to welcome us to the neighborhood and invite us for a pontoon boat ride. Tom was in Ft Lauderdale.
Here is Paul driving the boat.
Here is Vic with the camera having the time of his life. 😊
I had charge of Zoe. She loved the wind in her face.
We had an awesome time and can’t wait to go again.
Stay safe everyone. XO
Feb. 28, 2026
During the past week the weather was perfect: clear, sunny and cool. Each morning we had our coffee and went right out to check all our favorite spots. We’d come back home for lunch and a break. Then back out around 4 pm and look for birds until sundown. The weather has changed with cloudy days and some rain. Now we are catching up with pictures to share.
The baby great horned owl grew so much while we were in Ruskin for two weeks!
We met a couple at the GHO nest who only photograph owls, not just here but many other places. Vic asked her a couple of questions about their experiences. The woman said the male and female have different calls. She demonstrated each one’s calls. She’s been listening and filming them so long she knew that and could make their sounds! It was amazing.
He/she reminds you of a toddler in a snowsuit don’t they?
Two years ago we found burrowing owls on the side of a road going to a drive through zoo attraction. This year there is a construction project of some kind and the owls have left. We found them last week! Yay! The new burrow is on Joe Overstreet. There was only one owl but we talked to Tom today who says now there is a pair.
We have to include a picture of the Barred Owl.
Hope you enjoyed!
Stay safe everyone. XO
Feb. 26, 2026
Yesterday we followed our friends Tom and Paul to the Vero Beach area to a place known as Stick Marsh. It is called Cypress Branch on the map.
It’s popular with boaters and birders. We stood on a grassy area where lots of sticks had been gathered. Roseate Spoonbills were roosting in mangroves across the water. They would fly in and choose a stick to take back. All that flying and landing was perfect for photographers!
There are narrow dirt roads for traveling around in the preserve. The dirt road part is only open on Thursdays for 7 hours.
The following were taken out in the larger area with roads.
Moving on to other birds.
Off on our right I noticed turkey vultures were mating.
We love this place. Despite the restricted hours and that it’s an hour away we will definitely return.
Stay safe everyone. XO
Feb. 15, 2026
We’ve spent the past week in Ruskin, FL at an RV park / retirement homes on a lake. It’s very nice with all the amenities and plenty of good walking. It’s also 30 minutes from the condo my sister and brother in law Holly and Andy rented for the winter.
My nephew, wife and son (Shane, Andrea and Beckett) came down from NY. My daughter Kelly came down from VA for 3 days.
We were very excited to meet Beckett for the first time. He’s 2-1/2 years old but talks like he’s 4. We loved playing with him and getting to know him.
Beckett was playing with a broom. Zoe was watching him warily. When Beckett got a second broom Zoe said uh oh and got as far away as she could – Andy’s lap!
Beckett was eating blueberries one by one and saying crunch crunch knowing he was being silly. Sitting across from him I said blueberries don’t go crunch crunch. He played along and continued saying crunch crunch. With that nonsense going on I became aunty blueberry. 🥳
Our last day here in Ruskin was today. We went to Tampa to visit our friend Donna and have lunch at a place with amazing sushi. Afterwards she introduced us to her new neighbor Andrea who has a Shi-Tzu, also named Zoe!
Here is the two of them.
We are returning to Three Lakes Wildlife Area tomorrow.
Stay safe everyone! XO
It takes about 5 years for an eagle to mature and get his white head and tail feathers.
One day we saw 20 eagles in all stages of development. It prompted us to wonder what such a gathering is called. The answer is a Convocation.
The juvenile is female while the adult is a male. You can tell because the juvenile is so much bigger. The juvenile is trying to get a fish away from the adult. Pursuit started about 200 yards and then they were about 250 yards from us so the images are not very sharp.
Some kind of drama eh?!!
Stay safe everyone. XO
Feb. 8, 2026
We found a new eagle place! Eagles are all over the place on someone’s ranch. The pond must be much deeper than it appears to us because there seems to be an endless fish supply. Vic has looked at these two closely and thinks they are siblings, maybe even twins.
By now you know Vic is obsessed with juvenile eagles lol.
We are moving tomorrow to get closer to my sister for a family visit. Can’t wait!!
Also I want to give a shout out to my son in law Justin, an awesome man. Happy Birthday Justin! 🥰
Stay safe y’all. XO
Feb. 4, 2026
Yesterday it warmed up a little so we went over the the Great Horned Owl’s nest. Vic was shooting out his window at the owl and I was shooting out my window at birds moving around the palm tree across the road from us.
This is what the nest looks like from the truck.
And from my side …
There might be a cardinal nest in this campground so I was walking around looking for it and the birds. Haven’t found it yet but I did capture Zoe with Ed’s cat Ringo. She is obsessed with him but he isn’t interested. He tolerates her a little and then runs and hides.
My daughter Holly made this for me and it’s so cute I wanted to share.
One more thing, I found this interesting illustration of the kinds of owls.
Stay safe. XO
Jan. 31, 2026
We are getting some cold and cloudy weather that will keep us inside. Until we can get back to our birding fun we have some shots to share.
If you could see how far out the nest is you would be surprised.
A few days ago we saw a pair of Crested Caracara feeding on some carrion. We couldn’t get close because of a fence and most of the action was in tall grass but we managed by my getting up in the tool box of the truck where I was high enough to see.
This bird is a falcon, not a vulture like I previously thought. They like to eat carrion, lizards, insects and rodents.
What a gorgeous bird, and the background is so pretty.
We mostly see this kingfisher near a stream on Joe Overstreet Rd. This is one of his favorite perches over the stream.
Stay Safe and stay warm XO.
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