![Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uleaLsJznFESqfKDeuHOHHAXtB7Qs9NGIbMFY6aynStfKOGH1KOkpvaUmqyqhb2_uBDfAHypYPYY9ca0KfaRb2eTVNmn0QXExwcQrQ9nG1HCn0OYx2XXaTCa5z75HYeCLT-hC76AYq2TJxzzYq6zkeONrGogE=s0-d) |
Snowy Egret catching a Fish |
I don't think I'll ever get tired of Orlando Wetlands Park, though this morning I tried. We decided to try an area I've never visited--the north-east quadrant north of Lake Searcy. There's a trail there that goes to the northern edge of the park, and I thought it would be fun to walk the trail through the woods to observe a different kind of habitat. It became clear to me, though, as we approached the trail, that we were leaving the birds behind. And after walking the trail for a minute, I decided it was so muddy and mosquito-ridden to travel, so we decided to turn back. This decision cost us perhaps an hour of good photography time. The consolation prize, though, was the opportunity to observe a rookery of Cattle Egrets. Easily 100 egrets were flying back and forth from a clump of trees gathering nesting material--a never ending line of Cattle Egrets with a mission. One of these egrets found a branch with leaves that appeared to make him unable to see.
![Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uS_l6WdQhY_oJpFSA5-4Xbg5OmCvA6iej6lnpaaSzYEffcIJ0M2asFkerAXdgLnm7-bwjHN_JJvJJ44l4osLYK7Jf1EhwjdeOz4t7yRT4rf9c30-4byE2to5GnyAsK_NK5GEk3AnKeuW0irziBftTmeRrQ=s0-d) |
Cattle Egret |
Once returning to the "birding loop" of the park, we never left it again until we made it back to the car. We counted about 8 Least Bitterns and found all the usual Herons and Egrets. I never tire of watching the Snowy Egrets fly low above the water catching fish during flight. We also saw a Glossy Ibis and White Ibis standing next to each other, and the shot I think illustrates the relative size and bill shapes of these two species.
![Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tIT8BrfXhvQYsP4S-jDezqIJpGLOfh_je63AEMS7Ji4KvtUyvHx2rxLIBGkZKagPAYdDxqMIQgEHt4GYeTqWyk5SaN64FwF3kCzwejlYpcuWaDqAHjbI9DY7GGcRlqNe11iVGByxOHG8E7baYReeHh_m9uuA=s0-d) |
White and Glossy Ibis |
![Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_s-TP8ZCbFf0XvH6pCh21F7Y3a7rxIhvRSO-rxnoLegdg5ATII8j2tl0t6pAqpLYIyhj_RKkEr_fxTKp4V_T-OM97tpjTLUAimOcR65wKB5avwUGBbN1dfD3IwXt1pBagT8RHdbu1FnYmouiMHl2BqDNNv8hg=s0-d) |
Least Bittern |
![Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vIAn-vuHok_5suPFbHQEBszq_Z2hocF-1cRQpcv2I8HgULgEnXobBgKFKvnoMzljzsAZUJmKZH6YW8OLRmvneq5fqHEyq4sbvVPU-QlMKfkXapoeXjA4tbJ1-LOjSVb2JU_HaYegG_Q6BujPZHq0Y-xB6Vvw=s0-d) |
Red-winged Blackbird |
Here's a list of the 41 species we saw in the park this morning:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 30
Wood Duck 2
Mottled Duck 2
Wild Turkey 1
Wood Stork 2
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Anhinga 10
Least Bittern 8
Great Blue Heron (Blue form) 7
Great Egret 12
Snowy Egret 7
Little Blue Heron 3
Tricolored Heron 4
Cattle Egret 100
Green Heron 3
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
White Ibis 15
Glossy Ibis 2
Black Vulture 50
Turkey Vulture 15
Osprey 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 4
Purple Gallinule 2
Common Gallinule X
American Coot X
Limpkin 1
Sandhill Crane 5
Mourning Dove 5
Common Ground-Dove 5
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 5
Fish Crow X
Purple Martin 1
Carolina Wren 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Northern Parula 3
Northern Cardinal 3
Red-winged Blackbird 8
Common Grackle X
Boat-tailed Grackle X
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