A sunrise visit to Church Road in Hendry County was made on 2 October to find usual suspects.
The Crested Caracara above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
The hope of finding early in the season Western Kingbirds and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers was not fulfilled. This magnified my attention on the high numbers of Blue Jays that were present.
The Glossy Ibis above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
The Crested Caracara above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
The Blue Jay above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
The Black Vulture above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
The Black Vulture above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
The Northern Cardinal above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
The dragonfly above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
The habitat is very favorable for Crested Caracara which were in good numbers and usually seen in pairs while perched. I did not observe any caracara on the ground which I considered unusual. A Belted Kingfisher was a great tease not allowing an acceptable photograph.
The Blue Jay above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
The Rock Dove above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
The 1st winter Common Yellowthroat above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
The White Peacock butterfly above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
The Florida Softshell Turtle above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
The Wild Turkey above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
Highlights of the trip included a flock of 35 Glossy Ibis and 13 Wild Turkey.
The Zebra Longwing butterfly above was photographed at Church Road in October 2014.
Excellent posting as always Bob. I enjoy the inclusion of butterfly species as well. You have some amazing butterflies in Florida!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dwayne. I occasionally, depending on my location, see a plethora of butterflies that are familiar and not so. A previously unseen butterfly stands out like a sore thumb unlike a bird which may be much more difficult to distinguish. I have identified a few venues that are butterfly prolific which I intend to make special visits to in the future if I am able.
DeleteSo many beautiful photographs of wildlife seen on Church Road! I visit southwest Florida twice and year and have searched far and wide for a Crested Caracara. My fingers are crossed that I will spot one on my next trip. I really love the first photograph of the silhouetted caracaras. I really admire your talent at photographing birds in flight as it is not an easy task. Such pretty butterflies. The wing patterns are lovely. A joy to visit your wonderful blog!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Julie. You will almost certainly find Crested Caracara on Church Road. There has been at least one seen on all my visits there as I recall. See Tom Obrock's blog http://www.floridasuncoastbirding.blogspot.com for an image of his this week that shows a dozen caracara in the same tree! He noted that there were three more before he got around to taking a picture. My two favorite venues for butterflies, dragonflies, and damselflies are Lovers Key State Park (south of Fort Myers Beach) and Dinner Island Ranch WMA (ENE of Immokalee).
DeleteHello Bob,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great shots you show here. Wonderful to see how you've photographed this all so well.
Shot 12 is very well done. Amazing the golden colors.
Best regards,
Marco
Thank you, Marco. As I recall, I used negative exposure bias for that shot. That setting tends to make images "pop" as opposed to washing them out when using a positive exposure bias like I typically tend to do.
DeleteBrilliant post,a variety of delights.
ReplyDeleteJohn.
Thank you, John. It had gotten especially quiet much earlier than normal at this venue (about 0900). Otherwise I would have stayed longer. The calls from the birds at dawn were as usual "in stereo" at this magnificent venue.
DeleteSweet - after reading your blog as well as Bob's, I'm itching for a drive along Church Road - any special location that you can pull over to observe other than the side of the road? The Caracara is such a special sight - one of my favorite birds to see. Happy Birding!
ReplyDelete