Harns Marsh Preserve Summer Activity

The water level at Harns Marsh Preserve during a 19 July visit was very high, but did not deter a large number of waders from finding the habitat suitable.

The Purple Gallinule above (image 1) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

Bud Tom Obrock and I made a drive over to the preserve in Lehigh Acres which also hosted a very good number of Purple Gallinule and Gray-headed Swamphen. A few Least Bittern were active as well. Tom noted that the water was moving opposite its normal direction.

The Mottled Duck above (image 2) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The immature Little Blue Heron above (image 3) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The juvenile Common Gallinule above (image 4) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The Great Egret with prey above (image 5) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The immature Snowy Egret above (image 6) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The Mottled Duck above (image 7) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The juvenile Tricolored Heron above (image 8) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The most abundant wader on hand was Tricolored Heron which seemed to favor a very small footprint in the marsh. As the morning progressed, the primarily juveniles representing the species took off to the west one by one. There was also a dominant Great Egret that drove off several of its kind.

The juvenile Tricolored Heron above (image 9) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The Little Blue Heron above (image 10) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The Great Egret above (image 11) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The Great Egret above (image 12) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The Great Egret above (image 13) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The Great Egret above (image 14) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The Great Egret above (image 15) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

Snail Kite, which is one of the signature species of Harns Marsh Preserve, was not seen during the visit. Tom attributes this in his blog to the high water level. If there were any Apple Snail casings on the vegetation, they were not seen.

The Great Egret with Tricolored Heron above (image 16) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The juvenile Tricolored Heron above (image 17) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The Tricolored Heron above (image 18) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The Sandhill Crane above (image 19) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The Boat-tailed Grackle above (image 20) was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The Red-headed Woodpecker above (image 21) was photographed near Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The Red-headed Woodpecker above (image 22) was photographed near Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

It was also a treat to get back to the Wellington Red-headed Woodpecker site where a pair of Florida Northern Bobwhite were observed walking across the road. There were possibly two more bobwhite on hand as indicated by their calls. The woodpecker colony had at least one active juvenile.

The Blue Jay above (image 23) was photographed near Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

The Blue Jay above (image 24) was photographed near Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.

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The Red-headed Woodpecker above (image 25) was photographed near Harns Marsh Preserve in July 2016.