We have spent the last few days hanging around the park. Taking walks, birding and enjoying other hobbies. It has been cool, temperatures in the 60’s. We are loving the lower temps!
Remember my header photo of the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks? The reason they were able to rest with their eyes closed is, because they always have one watching for signs of danger.
A beautiful Northern Cardinal, daily visitor to our site.
A late evening walk along the river gave me these two gifts above.
Great Blue Heron
Look closely at the Great Blue Heron photo above. The two additional Anhinga photos are of it trying to dry its feathers after hunting.
A few additional Anhinga photos from walks around the park.
Little Blue Herons, Tri-colored Herons, Great Egrets, all seen in Myakka River State Park.
Along with Black-crowned and Green Herons
Glossy and White Ibis, another late evening shot.
Myakka River State Park is a wonderful place to visit if you enjoy birding, biking, hiking, kayaking, or just the peacefulness of being out in nature.
Coming up, a late evening photo shoot with a Snowy Egret.
Last Thursday, Howard and I took a walk down a path in the park.
We ran into a naturalist, on Wednesday when we arrived, and he told us about this path, saying he has seen Barred Owls in this area. We met him last year when we visited the park for the first time, and found him to be a real character and very knowledgeable.
I was sharing with him my lack of never having seen a Barred Owl in the wild. Saying, “it would be a nice Life List bird for me”. So off we go in search of this elusive owl.
It was a pleasant walk with temperatures just about perfect. The path we were walking on was slightly higher than the forest floor with swampy areas between us and the trees.
As we walked along enjoying the scenery, we saw something fly across the road up ahead of us. We tracked it to where we thought it entered the forrest. We were looking up into the trees and this Red-shouldered Hawk had landed on the ground next to the water. Seeing it standing there, near the water, was a surprise. It appeared to be digging in the moist earth. Of course as we approached it flew up into the trees.
Sadly, no Barred Owl sighting for me on this day, just a beautiful hawk. I will keep searching.
We continued, over the next 30 minutes or so, to watch this hawk as it hunted along this path. After observing, it fly into several different places and its behavior, I believe it was gathering nesting material; however, I can’t be sure.
Here are several photos as it flew from the ground to tree to tree.
The hawk flew to this stump and sat there looking around. Notice its muddy beak.
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It took to higher ground landing on this tree branch.
This spot was near the ground; a low branch over the swamp.
Last location, was back into a tree. This photo is blurry, but it shows this beautiful Red-shouldered hawk snapping small twigs.
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The feathered photo above shows a Palm Warbler with its back to me. I took this photo while watching the Red-shouldered Hawk.
Later in the day, in a different location, I took this photo of another Palm Warbler.
The header photo above shows Black-bellied Whistling Ducks catching a few winks.
Wednesday evening we arrived at Myakka River State Park in Sarasota, Florida. This is our second visit, and it is so much fun to be here again. We are in a large, corner, full hook-up, pull-thru, with lots of vegetation between sites, so whats not to enjoy!
All you have to do is walk out the door of your RV and the sights and sounds of nature engulf you. This afternoon, a Red-shouldered Hawk flew into a tree near us. He was screeching so loudly and what seemed like a very long time. We couldn’t figure out what had him so upset.
Myakka is a nature lovers paradise! Since Wednesday, I have seen over 44 species of birds, and have taken hundreds of photos! I hope to post a few of them, which depends on the quality of the internet. It has been slow…..
I captured this White Heron hunting for a late meal, the evening light was gorgeous. (Note the yellow legs and bill on.)
“Listen up guys, if I fish here will you leave me alone?”
“Okay, thanks. I will hold you all, to your word.”
“This little guy, I don’t trust so much.”
“I can tell, he is still watching me, I better get out of here.”
“I got a little itch.”
“That feels better; how do I look? Now I just need to catch a fish.”
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Click on this link Myakka River to see what activities this beautiful park has to offer. It has become one of my very favorite locations.
Yesterday, we ventured out of the park for lunch. Found a local place called Cedar Reef Fish Camp to eat. I had butternut squash ravioli with shrimp and Howard had Fish n Chips (fresh catch haddock). It was all delicious; we love to find local and unique places to eat. Here is their web-site: Cedar Reef.
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Manatee Springs State Park)Black Vulture (Manatee Springs State Park)Snowy Egrets (Myakka River State Park)Turkey VultureGreat Egret (Manatee Springs State Park)Northern Cardinal (Manatee Springs State Park)Loggerhead Shrike (near Myakka River State Park)Great Blue Heron (Myakka River State Park)Getting ready to take off.
With one last opportunity to observe the beautiful Myakka River and the numerous birds that visit this area, we stood on a bridge and looked out across the water. I knew, for this winter season, it would be my last visit to Myakka River State Park. I fell in love with this state park and this spot on the bridge.
The next morning we were leaving and I remember feeling sad. My photos of this Tricolored Heron were taken on this evening.
The Tricolored heron, formerly known as Louisiana Heron, is truly gorgeous The name tricolored refers to the dark upperparts, white underparts, and the reddish brown stripes on the fore neck. You will often see this heron wading out into a salt marsh belly deep; deeper than most other herons.
The heron was running back and forth stirring the water hoping to scare up something to eat. He didn’t know it, but he was entertaining us with his actions.
By this time the sun was setting and the light was fading. The heron seemed to become more frantic trying to catch something to eat before nightfall. It was getting harder to capture sharp shots, but it sure was fun trying. Several times he would run, stop and lift his wings over his head!
Thank you Tricolored for giving me a wonderful experience, making me smile and lifting my sadness. I hope to see you again when we return to Myakka River.
“That feels better; how do I look? Now I just need to catch a fish.”
Wolf Song Blog 