Birding on SPI February 23

Skip and I got up relatively early and scurried over to the birding centre to see what we could see. It wasn't even open yet so we went around the main building to get to the boardwalk. There was a lot of dew on the boardwalk and by the dewy footprints, we could see that only a couple of other people had visited there before us this morning.

The green heron was right beside the first pond. It was all scrunched up.

I was so happy to get this shot of an oyster catcher - my first of this year.

Out on the Laguna there were dozens of black skimmers. I only noticed the royal tern when I downloaded my photos.

There are still a few redheads that haven't migrated yet.

The skimmers were all facing into the wind.

The brown pelicans must have been drying out their wings. They really weren't moving, just standing in this posture.

Far away, near the Convention Centre, I spotted this lone reddish egret.

Two long-tailed grackles flew in and posed. This one was not afraid of us at all as we stood only a couple of feet away.

We spotted this plover. I think it's a black-bellied.

There were two belted kingfishers working the area.

We think this gator is a teen-ager.

Here's the other kingfisher surveying the area from an overhead wire.

Roseate spoonbills snoozed in the morning sunshine. Many stood on only one leg.

I like getting pictures of the birds with their reflections.

Beside one of the ponds, we spotted this Cooper's hawk just sitting on the dried reeds. After a while it walked into the tall reeds an out of view.

I really tried to get shots of the pinkest spoonbill

as well as good shots of the bills.

We believe these are greater yellowlegs.

There always seems to be a lone pied-bill grebe.

We heard, then saw this killdeer fly in.

And what was with this mallard drake? I've never seen one here before.

Wayyyyy over at the Convention Centre, one of the other birders saw people looking at something. He figured out it was this scissor-tailed flycatcher. It was several hundred metres away.

We were fortunate to see it fly catching with the flash of peach colour under its wings.

On the way back to the parking lot, we saw this guy resting on a 2 x 8.

He then turned around and inflated his neck a couple of times. The inflated part was bright red. Further investigation determined that it is a brown anole.

At the waterfall pond, this red-eared slider just floated around with its appendages stretched out. In spite of the observers, it appeared very relaxed.

Then this black insect with feathery antennae flew in and landed on the railing right in front of us. It is about 1cm long. I'm still trying to identify it.

It was a fabulous morning for birding.