Rich Found a Turtle at Orlando Wetlands

Posted Jess Yarnell2 CommentsPosted in Orlando Wetlands

Rich accompanied me to Orlando Wetlands one afternoon over his spring break. We walked a lot and then enjoyed the golden hour on the boardwalk. But Rich’s favorite image of the day wasn’t pink. It wasn’t even a bird.

Yep, we saw a turtle! I am under strict orders to feature this image on the blog, even though it’s kind of hard to see the turtle. According to my turtle fanatic husband, this is the best image I’ve made in years.

Turtle
Turtle

It was fun to share the wetlands with Rich. He got to see the coots walking on water, the Roseate Spoonbills flying around, and all the begging babies near the boardwalk. Activity was a bit down, but the wind direction wasn’t ideal for flight photography. Still, we did pretty well.

Anhinga Headshot (Breeding Plumage)
Anhinga Headshot (Breeding Plumage)

This Snowy Egret made a pretty picture flying toward the boardwalk. It made me realize that I haven’t seen many Snowies in breeding plumage at the wetlands this year. All the other wading birds have shown off their fancy colors!

Snowy Egret
Snowy Egret

I love trying to catch the Little Blue Herons as they dart in and out of the nesting trees. I caught a fun pose with this next one.

Little Blue Heron
Little Blue Heron

The Roseate Spoonbills were still busy bringing in nesting material. I saw some good sticks coming across the marsh, but not of them were going to win the Big Stick Competition.

Roseate Spoonbill
Roseate Spoonbill

As the sun started to set, the birds got more active. Tricolored Herons emerged from the nesting area and flew towards the boardwalk. You don’t realize how many birds are sitting on their nests until they all emerge together! At times I thought an air traffic controller might be useful. Maybe that’s what the vultures are for.

Tricolored Heron
Tricolored Heron

Everybody’s favorite Great Egret nest became very active with the last rays of the sun. Both chicks woke up and started to dance for food. Mom regurgitated their supper and fed it straight into their mouths. Baby #1 watched carefully as Baby #2 swallowed his meal.

Great Egret Feeding Chicks
Great Egret Feeding Chicks

Sunset always comes too quickly. I put on my landscape lens and played hide-and-seek with the sun as we walked back to the car. I asked Rich if he now understands my addition to Orlando Wetlands. I think he does!

Sunset at Orlando Wetlands
Sunset at Orlando Wetlands

More Fun from Orlando Wetlands

Posted Jess Yarnell1 CommentPosted in Orlando Wetlands

Well, this is my third post from a mid-March afternoon visit to Orlando Wetlands Park. I’m officially addicted to the new boardwalk! After enjoying the Big Stick Competition and laughing at the “Honey, I’m Home!” Roseate Spoonbill nest, there was still so much to see at the wetlands. Let’s see if I can get through a whole post without including another Roseate Spoonbill.

My first birds of the afternoon were actually not the most popular. I came across these two vultures on the side of the path. They were preening each other very gently. Something tells me they will be building a nest soon.

Black Vulture Couple Preening
Black Vulture Couple Preening

I took the long way to the boardwalk to see if my favorite cooperative hawks were around. They weren’t, but I came across some other familiar faces. Remember the Sandhill Crane colts from last week? Well, babies sure grow quickly!

Sandhill Crane with Colt
Sandhill Crane with Colt

Knowing that these birds have had a little too much love, I took a quick photo and moved on. But it was good to see the family doing well.

It was hot that afternoon. This White Ibis decided to take a bath. It was fun to watch him splashing around and showing off his breeding-colored beak!

White Ibis Bath
White Ibis Bath

I made it over to the boardwalk, where I promptly became mesmerized by Roseate Spoonbills. But there were plenty of non-pink-colored birds that distracted me, too. Like this pair of Little Blue Herons who worked hard to build their nest, then started to fill it…

Making More Little Blue Herons
Making More Little Blue Herons

Tricolored Herons were flying around like crazy that afternoon. They were a challenge because they’d dart out, fly close to the bushes, and disappear quickly. But sometimes you get lucky and catch two of them flying together in front of the pretty green tree background.

Tricolored Herons
Tricolored Herons

Wild Irises are starting to pop up everywhere in the marsh. They are so pretty. I added a high-key effect to this one because it makes me think of springtime and Easter.

Wild Iris
Wild Iris

My last shot of the day was–yep, you guessed it, I can’t do a whole post without including at least one Roseate Spoonbill. This one made me laugh because he kept doing weird twists as he flew. Here he stretches his wings as he comes in for a landing. A great end to a great visit!

Roseate Spoonbill
Roseate Spoonbill

Honey, I’m Home! Roseate Spoonbill Nest

Posted Jess Yarnell1 CommentPosted in Orlando Wetlands

One of the Roseate Spoonbill nests that thrived this year at Orlando Wetlands Park was buried deep in a palm tree. It was far enough from the boardwalk that I needed my 600mm lens with 2x teleconverter. The babies were pretty big before I started to get good pictures of them.

Roseate Spoonbills at Nest
Roseate Spoonbills at Nest

The chicks are so cute! This guy is starting to get a spoon-shaped bill. He proudly stretched his wings while Mom preened nearby.

There were three babies in the nest. As the sun started to set, the babies woke up and started to pester Mom for dinner. She had her beak full with three spoons. In the meantime, Dad kept bringing in sticks for the nest.

Roseate Spoonbills at Nest
Roseate Spoonbills at Nest

Dad would fly in holding his big stick prize, and he’d pause to show it off to his wife. She’d throw him a quick look like, “Seriously? I’m kind of busy here.” Dad didn’t understand. In the pre-kid days, when they were building the nest, she praised him for every stick!

Roseate Spoonbills at Nest
Roseate Spoonbills at Nest

Here he brings a very big stick. He’s trying to win the next Big Stick Contest! His kids are so busy with supper that nobody even turns to greet him. How sad.

Roseate Spoonbills at Nest
Roseate Spoonbills at Nest

He ended up placing the stick himself while Mom regurgitated for the youngest chick. I’m not sure how nobody loses an eye with these sorts of feeding habits!

Roseate Spoonbills at Nest
Roseate Spoonbills at Nest

It’s hard to express the frenetic feeding with still images. Here’s a short video of the nest, with all the frantic head-bobbing. I never get tired of these guys!