Mead Gardens and Marl Bed Flats, 11/16/2011

Tricolored Heron

It was a dreary morning this morning.  It threatened rain, though it never did, but the sky was covered with a thick blanket of clouds.  Lighting was poor for photography.  So we stayed close by and went to Central Winds Park near Lake Jessup.  There was next to nothing there.  So we went off to Marl Bed Flats on the other side of Lake Jessup.  There were many Eastern Phoebe there, and we saw a beautiful Bald Eagle, and heard House and Carolina Wrens.  There were also many birds we could see in the distance, but there was no way to get near them, since the water level was so high.  So we gave up on Lake Jessup and drove down to Mead Gardens.  There we had more success.  The weather cleared up, giving us more sunlight, and we also found Palm, Yellow-Rumped and Black and White Warblers, Downy Woodpeckers and a Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers, and several others.  The only really nice photo opportunities for us though were of an Anhinga and Tricolored Heron.  So I figured I'd share those with you.

Tricolored Heron

Anhinga

Anhinga

Marl Bed Flats

Here's a list of species we saw at Mead Gardens from 9:30am to about 11:30am:

Mallard 2
Wood Stork 2
Anhinga 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 1
Tricolored Heron 1
White Ibis 2
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Rock Pigeon X
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 1
Carolina Wren 1
House Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
American Robin 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Palm Warbler X
Yellow-rumped Warbler X
Common Grackle X
Boat-tailed Grackle X
House Finch 3