Roxie and I have started on the move again and will be easing our way west over the next couple of months (actually closer to 3). I have decided after the last few days that there is something worse than having no Internet connection: having one that works when it wants to work. With the weather being particularly nasty for the better part of the past two weeks, I've spent a lot of time building the new searchable image catalog on my website. And I have managed to already exceed my goal for the month of 1,000 images in about a week. I'd be even farther along with a consistent connection - last night it took 5 attempts just to send an email to a friend.
With the weather being nice (if not a bit chilly), yesterday was mostly spent out and about in and around Lakeland, FL. The first stop was at a location called Lakeland HighlandsScrub where one of the target species was everybody's favorite, the Florida Scrub-jay (above). If this species is not one of your favorites, they would be given the opportunity to interact with them. They will take nuts from your hand. We didn't have much luck with some the other birds we were looking for there and moved on to another Polk County property, the Circle B-Bar River Reserve. This posing Savannah Sparrow was my best shot at that location, Wilson's Snipes that are in the wetlands proving to be somewhat elusive.
Returning home after lunch I took Roxie (having been cooped up in the trailer all morning) for a long walk around the RV park and discovered a pond with a few birds around the perimeter. About 7 Least Sandpipers (at right) were foraging along the water's edge while several skittish Killdeer were in the grass not far from the pond. The open areas around the park are literally crawling with hundreds of American Robins, too.
This pair was also seen along the edge of the pond though they were much tougher to get close to than the Leasts. I had to really crop this image to get to here but what is nice about it is the fact the image is very diagnostic for seeing subtle differences in Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs in nonbreeding plumage. One important thing I have learned about is the difference in bill length between the 2 species as a way to tell which one you are looking at given that most of the time you won't be seeing them together where size is obvious. The Greater's bill is equal to or a little longer than the head while the Lesser's bill is shorter.
During the latter part of the afternoon we visited a couple of local lakes. The highlight of that adventure was getting shots of this immature Purple Gallinule on the shores of Lake Parker in Lakeland. The feather colors are not as flashy of the, as I understand it they are mostly brown in the nest. Still a great looking bird.
With more Sun on the way today, hopefully it will turn out to be a good shooting day, too.
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