The Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are industrious and fun to watch when feeding in plain view.
This one was in the drinking phase of his routine, from holes previously made in the bark.
Holding still on a short break I got a nice profile view showing off that sturdy beak and beautiful color pattern.
They tend to circle the tree, moving up and down, enough to make the photographer dizzy guessing where they will reappear.
I didn’t have a great view when I first spotted this pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers. I was pretty sure the one on the right zipped into that hole while I maneuvered around the tree between us.
I watched for him to come out before turning my attention to the other one as he was pecking on the tree. Then I could hear the second one calling.
The question then was to keep watching the first subject or risk missing some action there and look for the second. I succumbed to looking and he eventually popped up behind this branch. Or was there the whole time and I just didn’t notice.
He quickly flew off. Meanwhile the first one had moved a little higher, paused a moment, then also flew off.
I heard a number of woodpeckers as I wandered along the boardwalk though the Bald Cypress forest at Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.
The only one I spotted for more than a second was this Pileated Woodpecker who was in view for less then a minute.
I do love that flash of red.
Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
January 2, 2020
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers feed at sapwells, shallow holes they have drilled in tree’s bark.
Like other woodpeckers, Sapsuckers are industrious, and usually their work is in tidy rows.
Check out his sharp beak and the spread of his foot!
As the sapsucker worked around the tree additional sapwells came into view.
Click on any photo for a larger view.Â
A very entertaining group including American White Pelicans, Great Blue Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks, a Great Egret and an Anhinga.
And an Alligator.
Tormentor of this photographer, that is. I often see them at my favorite wildlife management area, but somehow they are always a few wing beats ahead.
I get closer, and just as the the camera is halfway up, zoom…
And sometimes they aren’t Kingfishers at all.
We feed the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in our back yard and I’ve tried off and on this summer with limited success to capture good images. Hurricane Dorian stripped a lot of leaves from the Crepe Myrtle trees which gave me a new opportunity.
At the feeder the light was just right to see what I think is the start of the ruby-throat on a juvenile.
This may be the same bird; he was at a different angle so the throat iridescence didn’t show. They fly so fast and three or four were chasing each other making it impossible to keep track.
This is the first Belted Kingfisher I have seen since last fall and he gave me an amazing, if brief, aerial show.
When I first spotted him he was hovering over a small pond. Before I could lift my camera he was gone.
He came back a couple minutes later and I got a second opportunity.
He hovered for several seconds.
Assumed the dive position
And dove. I never saw him hit the water, actually never saw him again, despite waiting another 15 minutes.
This is a long named bird and long named plant! The Powdery Alligator-flag doesn’t look like it would have much to feed a Hummingbird but this one spent several minutes investigating this single stalk.
After circling a few times she perched for a short rest.
I was able to move to a slightly closer spot, then a cloud covered the sun. And as is the way with Hummingbirds, zip and she was gone.
I first noticed this Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird when she flew through my shot of these ornamental sunflowers. I was surprised that there was nectar in a flower head like this to attract a hummingbird.
This is a view of the back side of a nearby sunflower in the same garden. This variety has multiple seed heads on the same stem.
