Ankle deep in the water were a few Glossy Ibis.
A few yards away, a Great Egret prepares to snag a snack.
The Snowy Egrets were using the vegetation to skip across the water in search of a quick meal.
There was a nice surprise near our destination (searching for a Flycatcher) at the far side of the park. Shifting near the opposite shore was a nice, pink Roseate Spoonbill.
We could not find the flycatcher but there was a perfectly posed Wood Stork up in a Pine Tree.
Did we mention that Purple Gallinules were all over the place today?
This American Alligator was practically asking for its picture to be taken. OK.
Another nice surprise today were many American White Pelicans on the property. One flock of juveniles was right along the berm scooping out fish left and right.
They would often form a line and herd the fish toward the shallower waters.
Spring must be closer than it seems. This Palm Warbler was molting into breeding plumage already.
This is a blurry photo but an ID shot was in order since we don't see too many Caspian Terns this far inland. It was flying almost as fast as the Tree Swallows!
Back in the reeds, a tiny bird was flitting about just out of sight. Eventually we got some good views of a male Common Yellowthroat.
As we got closer to the banding table Maria spotted something moving near the reeds. Turns out it was an American Bittern! Usually, these birds stay hidden in the reeds and can often be mistaken for them. Oddly, this bird was in the open and moving towards us...
We took 60 photos of this beautiful American Bittern and helped a birding hike group spot it as they passed by. Might never get this opportunity again.
By the time we got back to the banding table we could tell the day was shifting. The wind had picked up so our chances of getting many more birds had now dropped.
The hiking group we helped spot the Bittern paid us back by alerting us to a bird in the nets. An Ovenbird. A common bird during migration but not out here at this time of year.
A very elated visitor got to release the Ovenbird.
Even if the catch rates were down we had birds at the right time most of the time when groups stopped by.
Another visitor gets to release a Gray Catbird.
Our nets this years stretched just around the corner but is was a good thing we checked all the way around. At the very end of the net we had a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Probably the same one that had been flying back and forth around the banding table all morning. Andrew was asked to go onto a passing tour bus to explain banding and to let visitors get some photos.
Another Myrtle Warbler is added to the day's tally.
Our final capture of the day was a Palm Warbler. The earlier photo out on the berms was a Western Palm but this was an Eastern, or Yellow Palm, also molting into its Spring plumage.
One more happy child gets to release our Palm Warbler.
Lynn captured a perfectly posed Gray Catbird that avoided our nets but it is a good representative photo since we heard so many today.
Overall, all reports were very positive about the day and the overall event. This was our 3rd best catch rate at the Orlando Wetlands Festival and we all had a great time. Back to home next Sunday. Might be a little chilly, but not too bad.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, February 28th.
All nets will be opened by 6:20 A.M.
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