Orlando Wetlands

It seems as though I have taken a little bit of a vacation from blogging…one whole week!

Its April already!

We left John Prince Park Campground on the 29th and are now in Titusville so that Homey can have a few repairs and some paint work done.

After 14 years Homey had a few dings and scratches.

So here we are…and this is where we spend the night.

Lovely isn't it? 

Its our penance for too many sunset views.

We are kicked out at eight in the morning so they can continue working on Homey.

 

We usually go for a drive to see what we can see..and most times it includes birds.

Yesterday we went to Orlando Wetlands.

Sandhill Crane

It was a nice cool morning..

Common Gallinule

^{Lots of gators out sunning..}

Coot playing follow the leader..

One of their favorite games..

We saw many Purple Gallinule but never close enough for a decent photo.

This will do…

 

We took the birding trail…

 

Tri-colored Heron

Little Blue heron getting some more blue..

 

It started to warm up …

We walked on..

                                                

                                                                     Carolina Saddlebags

Soon some relief from the heat when the clouds came in……

Stumbled upon this pretty little snake on the path.

Blue stripe Garter Snake

Anhinga drying out..

As we took the road back south we saw Mother otter and two young heading towards us.

mother led them into the reeds away from us.

Orlando Wetlands is a wonderful place to walk…

There is no shelter from the heat so if it’s a hot day you might want to bring and umbrella.

Common Gallinule…

I cant tell you how inviting the clouds were.

Its really been very hot here in Florida this past month.

Much warmer than I remember it being this time of year.

There were plenty of Purple Gallinule…

I loved this area…

Tree Islands..

 

 

Yeah….bear with me..

I really liked taking photos of these trees..

 

 

Oh..enough of that…back to birds..

Great Egret in the Greens…

Great Blue Heron

We took a side trip a dead end road..we saw vultures at the end of it and wondered what they were up to.

Oppsie…

How did this get here…More tree islands..

 

Oh there they are…

at the end of a dead end trail.

Are you thinking what I am thinking?

Thankfully no hangings happen here…

Sorry Vultures…go find some road kill.

Again,

Those darn tree islands..

captivating me…

We walk on…This is the second time today we do the Birding loop trail.

I need the exercise…somehow a few more pounds latched on to me this winter…and they, plus the ten previous need to go away.

Another Great Blue Heron

Little Blue heron….

See how I snuck that tree island in…cunning I am.

These are not technically tree islands..so..

 

Loved the colors here…yellow greens…stormy looking clouds and the white mound.

Gator hanging out near water lilies..

If I was a gator I would sit here..

 

We ended the walk with some great views of Least Bittern.

A bit too far for my tiny point and shoot..but..not far enough..used a bit of the digital zoom for this.

We left the park as the clouds were leaving and it was starting to heat up.

We had lunch at a local Vietnamese restaurant and headed for a quick drive around Wildlife drive.

It was pretty slow…but this little fella had us stumped for a while..it was mostly in the water…

so its body looked odd and until we got close we couldn’t tell it was a Tri-colored heron.

 

 

Homey and us still spend the night in the Paint Bay…

Hoping to be out on Friday and head north before we fry.

 

 

 

Orlando Wetlands Park, Orange, US-FL
Apr 1, 2015 8:30 AM - 12:20 PM
Protocol: Traveling
6.0 mile(s)
Comments:     <br />Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.8
51 species
Blue-winged Teal  X
Pied-billed Grebe  X
Double-crested Cormorant  X
Anhinga  X
Least Bittern  X
Great Blue Heron  X
Great Egret  X
Little Blue Heron  X
Tricolored Heron  X
Cattle Egret  X
Green Heron  X
White Ibis  X
Glossy Ibis  X
Black Vulture  X
Turkey Vulture  X
Osprey  X
Northern Harrier  X
Red-shouldered Hawk  X
Purple Gallinule  X
Common Gallinule  X
American Coot  X
Limpkin  X
Sandhill Crane  X
Killdeer  X
Common Ground-Dove  X
Mourning Dove  X
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  X
Belted Kingfisher  X
Red-bellied Woodpecker  X
White-eyed Vireo  X
Fish Crow  X
Tree Swallow  X
House Wren  X
Marsh Wren  X
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  X
Gray Catbird  X
Brown Thrasher  X
Northern Mockingbird  X
European Starling  X
Cedar Waxwing  X
Common Yellowthroat  X
Northern Parula  X
Palm Warbler  X
Yellow-rumped Warbler  X
Prairie Warbler  X
Savannah Sparrow  X
Swamp Sparrow  X
Painted Bunting  X
Red-winged Blackbird  X
Boat-tailed Grackle  X