Mead Gardens, 2/28/2014

Red-headed Woodpecker

During lunch today I had to get a crown replaced on one of my teeth.  Not fun at all.  But my dentist's office is right near Mead Gardens, so after my crown was placed I decided to briefly walk through the park.  If you don't stop too much, you can see most of the park inside of a half-hour or so.  There were three birds I was hoping to see, and thankfully I found them all.  First, Northern Parula are coming back here to breed, and I wanted to get one on my Orange County list for this year; one was singing practically as I got out of the car. Second, I wanted a Hermit Thrush; there are a few places here that are good for finding them, and I've missed them a couple times before this year, but this time one did oblige me with a brief look (though it was always behind tree limbs, so I couldn't get a clean view for photos).  Then I walked over to one of the places a Red-headed Woodpecker has been seen.  It was right out on a tree branch and required very little effort to find.

Anhinga

In addition, an Anhinga posed nicely for some photos, as did a few Red-eared Sliders. Unfortunately, these turtles are not native to Florida, but I do like it when they perch on limbs sticking out of the water.

Red-eared Sliders