My last visit to Lake Morton turned out to be incredibly productive. After my first walk around the lake in deep fog, the sun finally came out! So I set out on a second pass around the lake, this time enjoying lots of flight shots and my lifer Louisiana Waterthrush. :)

Remember the American White Pelicans from my last post? After photographing them up close, they flew right me from across the lake. It reminded me of my early days of photography at Circle B. :)

The ducks have mostly left Florida for the summer. However, the mixed crew of hybrid Mallards lives at Lake Morton year-round. They entertained me flying across the lake and showing off their beautiful colors.

As I wandered around the lake, I spotted a small bird hopping around at the edge of the lake. It was a little bigger than a warbler. Intrigued, I got closer, and spotted my lifer Louisiana Waterthrush! Waterthrushes migrate through Florida in the spring and fall. He bobbed his tail up and down continuously as he fished little bugs from the water’s edge.

The resident birds are showing off their breeding colors and thinking of the families they’ll be raising in the new few months. This White Ibis is sporting a bright red face and nose. You can tell she’s a girl because of the pouch under her chin. Her babies will be brown to provide camouflage at her nesting site.

I looked up just in time to snap a photo of the American Coot walking on water!

This Great Blue Heron wasn’t impressed by the coot’s super-powers.

As I left, I spotted a Red-shouldered Hawk sitting in a nest at the top of a Kapok tree. She looked bored. Pretty soon she’s be running herself ragged trying to feed her babies!

My best shots of the morning came towards the very end of my visit. You’ll have to wait for the next post to see them!