Dawns bloggy blog: February 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Kapock Park~Clearwater, Florida~Owlets

Howdee all,

Yesterday Jeff and I met up with my Twitter/facebook friend Annette and her hubby Jerry. They took us to a local taco restaurant and then to see some owlets.

Kapock Park

Boardwalk to the tall Oak trees where the Owlets were

Looking east toward the housing development..

A very nice park~built to help control flooding in the area.

Looking west over the bridge

I think this is some kind of Bird of paradise plant..

Close up of the purplish flower

Ahh..here we go

Great horned owlets

There were a few photographers already in the area.

The Owlets were given plenty of room.

I took these two photos with my canon SX1

The one on the left is younger

The next photos digiscoped by Jeff with his Canon powershot

We didn’t take photos of mom and dad~they were nearby

Mom was in the same tree~dad in the next tree over.

Zoomed in with scope and camera

The owlet on the right has more developed feathers..

We had great fun watching these two fluff balls!

Thanks Annette and Jerry!

Annette and Jerry left ~Jeff and I continued to walk the park.

A group of White Ibis in the middle of this photo under the small trees.

Must be nice to live in one of the houses near this very pretty park.

Digiscoped photo of Limpkin

Little Blue Heron working the weeds

Tri-colored heron preening

Little Blue Heron preening

Great Egret eating some sort of crustacean

It was a nice afternoon at this small neighborhood park.

Jeff and I are in the area until Saturday~we then head south toward Sanibel where we will be for another week.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

You NEED to go see these~Biggest Week Birds

Howdee all,

If you want to experience a slice of Warbler Heaven…

GO GO GO to

The Biggest Week in American Birding

Where~Oak Harbor and Oregon Ohio

May 4-13

Q: Why come to Northwest Ohio in May?
A: Because it is quite simply the best place to witness spring migration of songbirds anywhere in North America. The southern edge of Lake Erie acts as a barrier that the birds are reluctant to cross during migration. The birds tend to "pile up" in the woodlots surrounded by marshland on the lake's southern edge to rest and refuel before crossing the Lake. The timing of their arrival is early enough in spring that the trees have not leafed out, there are no bugs, and the birds are incredibly low and accessible. No such thing as "warbler neck" around here! We get HUGE numbers of birds, much like a fallout, only better! Fallouts occur when a weather event pushes birds down, and what birders find are the weary survivors. Here in NW Ohio, we get the same huge numbers of birds as you'd see in a fallout, but the birds are active and vibrant, and by the time they get to this latitude, the males are actively singing!

You can register for the event here.

Lots of Wonderful bird walks and talks.

Jeff and I will return for a second time. We attended the event last year and had a blast!

It touched me to my core…to see so many beautiful birds up close…(Not just warblers)

I was teary eyed more than once on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh.

This year I am honored to be one of the Official Bloggers of The Biggest Week.

I will also be helping with the Bird Sits ~come and join me for some fun birding.

Magee Marsh Bird Sits
Date: May 7 & 9
Time: 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Where: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area (Near the west end of the boardwalk. See the map (to the left) for the exact spot indicated with a red star.)
Fee: Just show your BIGGEST WEEK name badge to participate!

Designed for those with limited mobility—or those who just like to take a break and see what birds come to you—these Bird Sits will allow you to relax and enjoy the birds visiting the edge of the wood lot along the boardwalk. This edge habitat frequently offers some of the best birding in the area and we’ll have expert guides on hand to help you spot birds and tune your ears in to the fine art of birding by ear, too. We’ll post these group sit-ins in the grassy area near the west end of the Magee Marsh boardwalk. (See the map for the exact spot.) Please bring your own chair, birding stool, or blanket to sit on. This area should be fine for those with wheelchairs or motorized carts.