There were lots of fun birds to photograph on my last visit to Lake Morton.  Besides the juvenile swans, there was a family of baby Limpkins, as well as the regular “menagerie” of ducks and geese.  Early mornings are always good for bath shots!  So here’s some more from Lake Morton…

A pair of Black-necked Swans was added to the lake last year.  They are very pretty, and I really enjoy photographing them.  This one was splashing around and peeping to his partner.  I love the open beak in the image above!

All sorts of juvenile ducks are growing up around the lake shores.  Those ducks interbreed so much that some of the juvies have some very interesting colors.  This one was pretty with his white feathers that contrast with his bright green patches.

Lake Morton is a good place to go to photograph Wood Ducks.  These birds are usually secretive and hard to approach, but at Lake Morton, they are used to people.  I saw plenty of juvenile male Wood Ducks during my visit.  Their molting feathers aren’t quite as impressive as their parents’ feathers!  This adult posed near me, and the calm waters made for a perfect reflection of his beautiful colors.

I found a family of baby Limpkins hidden in the grasses.  There were six tiny chicks sitting next to Mom.  They were the smallest Limpkin babies I’ve ever seen, and Mom wasn’t letting them go far!  They were really hard to photograph through the grasses.  It’d be fun to go back in a week or so after they are more mobile.

Speaking of inter-breeding, these ducks below are some of the birds that breed with the Mallards.  Now do you see why the Mallard in my shot above has white patches?  These guys seem to think it’s springtime still.  It’s not the first time I’ve seen a three-way piggy-back ride at Lake Morton!!

This Mallard wandered up to me while I was photographing the Limpkins.  He had such a bunch of feathers on the back of his head!  I did some reading after I left and found that certain Mallards have this “crest” on their heads as a result of inter-breeding.  I wonder if he’s proud of his crown? :)

It’s hard to walk around the lake without finding a few Anhingas sunning themselves.  I liked the colors of this shot – somehow it reminds me of fall!  It’s coming!! :)