Six Mile Cypress Lake In Transition

I am breaking a rule here, for the second time if I'm not mistaken, otherwise normally presenting wildlife images captured in chronological order.

The Common Grackle above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The lead image of the grackles is one of my favorites from this week, and placed it at "the top" though it was captured later than many other images presented from this day. Six Mile Cypress Lake had previously not been personally visited in well over a year.

The Snowy Egret above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The immature Little Blue Heron above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The water level at the lake (which is becoming more like a marsh over time) appeared high on the 24 April visit which was reflective of the heavy rains this past winter. Vince McGrath has told me that shorebirds were once prolific at this venue, however the habitat is certainly no longer suitable for them.

The Frontier jet aircraft with mallard above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The Mottled Duck above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The Wood Duck above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

I was pleased to add Yellow-crowned Night-Heron this day as a species personally seen here for the first time after many visits. A trio of Wood Duck made a flyby from north to south minutes after a jet aircraft with a bird picture on its tail flew by maybe 90 minutes before sunset.

The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The Red-shouldered Hawk above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

In the field, I didn't notice the art on the plane's tail which was that of a bird. In initial image review after the trip, I thought the bird was a Wood Duck though realized after closer scrutiny that the bird was actually a Mallard. I did find through research that Frontier Airlines has a Wood Duck pictured on the tail of one of its planes.

The Mottled Duck above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The Mottled Duck above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The Anhinga above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The activity at Six Mile and Metro Parkway (now Michael G. Rippe Parkway) was relatively quite compared to previous visits here. It was fun to just relax and make observations of anything that moved. It appeared that the high water level impacted the number of birds and species seen.

The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The Cattle Egret above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The Cattle Egret above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

Even at the optimal time of flight activity of waders making way to their roosts, numbers of birds seemed unusually light. It was weird actually. I attribute this to a weather anomaly with too much rain, cold, and whatever else unknown.

The Cattle Egret above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The Killdeer above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

There appear to be many alarmists with a need for affiliation with this subject. All comments are welcome.

The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The Glossy Ibis above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

The Glossy Ibis above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.

It was rewarding to find another species of bird not seen here before on a following visit which will be reported next week.

The Red-shouldered Hawk above was photographed at Six Mile Cypress Lake in April 2014.