Refuge Friday

Pretty quiet bird day at the refuge yesterday. Pelicans and Great blue herons were far away. Eagles posed for photos, couple of harriers hunting and a Red-tailed hawk circled to check me out. Sunny day, nice to be out there. 

Eagles in their fav tree..

Harrier hunting

Oquirrh mountains in morning sun..

Red-tailed hawk checking me out..

Refuge Saturday

 Saturday was Eagle Day at the refuge, a day when the staff set up viewing stations and information booths for visitors. The weather was beautiful. I went up early, not remembering it was Eagle day. I saw no eagles, hope that they came in later for the visitors. 

Red-winged blackbirds, Harriers and Kestrels were the primary actors, along with the normal complement of gulls and ravens. A few ducks also. Great blue herons seem to be busy with family duties, none appeared along my way. 

Here’s a few photos..

A couple of female Northern Harriers....

American Kestrel...part of a couple at Goose Egg hill..

I couldn’t resist the Mallards on ice..

Meadowlarks are back..

Quite a number of RWB’s around..

Refuge Thursday

 Sunshine in-between storms tempted me to try the refuge yesterday and it worked! There were 6+ inches of wet snow at the refuge although none at our place. Wet, sloppy and beautiful.

I was excited to see the juvenile Black-crowned Night herons again. This is about the time they show up every year. Three pairs of Kestrels - it's mating season - a pair of eagles and some harriers along with a couple of landscapes. A good day..

Enjoy!

Antelope Island - glorious in white..

The eagle pair - perching in their normal tree. 

Juvenile Black-crowned Night heron...difficult to see at first, they blend into the grass quite easily..

Perfect poser....

Luigi the gull, enjoying his view..

Kestrel couple on Goose Egg hill. 

Oquirrh mountains from the north..

Refuge Sunday

A day in between storms and smog..sunny, blue skies, beautiful.

Quite a crowd watching a couple of eagles at the refuge, otherwise quite quiet. We saw a kingfisher, Great Blue heron, several Harriers, the Kestrel couple that is using a box on Goose Egg Hill for nesting, and a number of swamp sparrows. 

We were watching the Kingfisher sitting on a branch when it suddenly raised its wings and squawked loudly. Turns out it was being dive-bombed by a Kestrel. Territorial much??

Here's the best of today..

These two were causing a traffic jam..and they didn't care at all..

Northern Harrier - she waited until I got out of the car, then took off nicely..

Here's the Kingfisher - resting, then squawking..

Here's the Kestrel that dive-bombed the Kingfisher..

Here's a peek-a-boo kestrel from Goose Egg Hill..

Small but beautiful in song and shape..

The Great Blue - never moved as I took several photos of it..

 

Sanibel Day 6

I didn't go to the refuge Wednesday or today. The kids went today and said that there were very few birds around, that I had had the best days. 

So I completed several photographs plus some from the beach..what a great place this is..

The Eagle from the Dairy Queen..

Great White Egret - breeding...

Roseate Spoonbill in flight..

Sunset photos

Sanibel Day 5

 Once again, lots of white birds..Snowy egrets, Great white egrets, Ibis, all mingling with Tri-colored herons and Little blue herons. Lots of White Pelicans - they winter here. And the Osprey of course.

The prize of the day was seeing a Wood Stork, my first time. That plus a Roseate spoonbill lifting up it's pink wings..

Enjoy!

Two Bald Eagles set up a nest in a tree behind the Dairy Queen, very accessible for viewers. They have chicks but not visible.

Snowy egret with a fish catch..

Reddish egret - fishing

Roseate spoonbill and Ibis..the spoonbill kept lifting it's wings, perhaps to get the ibis out of the way..

A couple of juvenile Ibis..

Great white pelican..big and beautiful..

Wood stork...

Sanibel Day 4

 We entered the refuge about 9:30am yesterday. Not a lot of people but boy were there a lot of birds. Osprey, Snowy egrets, white pelicans, brown pelicans, tri-colored herons, Great blue herons, ibis, Spoonbills, etc....

We watched the tri-colors fish, quite fascinating. The osprey were hunting every where. An excellent visit.

Here's some of the birds we saw..enjoy..

Anhinga watching..

Juvenile Tri-color heron fishing

Juvenile yellow-crowned night heron with crab..

Sunrise colors..

Osprey - eating a fish and then gathering nesting materials

So me of the many groups of wildlife we saw..roseate spoonbills among them

Tri-color herons - top one was fishing and the bottom one3 just posing.

A couple of regal tri-colored herons..