We came from here: The thread "Bird Photos-- March 2017" in Gardening for Butterflies, Birds and Bees forum

Some of you know I like to go hiking at a place called Brooker Creek Headwaters Preserve. The headwaters are on my side in Hillsborough County. Across the border in Pinellas County, Brooker Creek Preserve continues and they have a nice educational center there with trails and such. Mom and I have gone there before for butterfly talks and I tagged Monarchs there years ago. Well, I follow them on Facebook and they were giving a talk about Swallow-Tailed Kites today. I marked "interested" since I wasn't sure I wanted to go. Yesterday, they posted they were going to have a real live Swallow-Tailed Kite and a Mississippi Kite there! So of course we went.

FYI, both of the birds can't fly so they help with education. Here's the Mississippi Kite, doing its best impersonation of our national bird.





And here's the Swallow-Tailed Kite, who could really put away the worms!

Melanie, thank you for starting the thread for April!

Oh my, what an experience that must have been seeing the beautiful Kites up close and personal!

They're both pretty.

Melanie, I love that second picture of the Swallow-Tailed Kite; has its eye on you!

Out in the parking lot, I heard a bunch of bird sounds coming from a tree. One was obviously a woodpecker, but the one I saw was this. I showed it to a lady who was also listening for the birds, and she said it was a Northern Parula. I haven't seen one since last year!





So I get home and the Mourning Dove is under the feeder like, "I have pink feet which makes me cooler than other birds." And I can't disagree.



I was checking out my False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa) because it's always one of the last things to leaf out, but the ones at Brooker Creek had leaves and blooms! I see some leaves popping out, but I hear all sorts of bird noises around me. Now, the Indigo is sort of growing next to and in my Red Cedar. So I start looking and I see a Cardinal.



Then, I spot something that looks like a nest. So I stick my hand in the Cedar which freaking hurt! There's nothing in the nest, but all of a sudden, bird noises start escalating.



Out flies a Cardinal, a Tufted Titmouse, and a Carolina Chickadee! And I'm thinking I should start shaking the tree to see if there's anyone else in there!

Here's the Titmouse.



Couldn't get a good shot of the Chickadee, but here you go.



But the female Cardinal is really giving me the business.



Then, the male comes over. She's in the moss, by the way. And if you have sharp eyes, you'll see another visitor I photographed later up at the top of this picture.



Here's a closer look at the Cardinal pair.



So I'm still staring up at the Cedar tree and the surrounding oaks when I see what I think is my very own Northern Parula! Two in one day? It was preening so in a lot of pictures it looks like it's missing a head.





I guess today was picture day because the Tufted Titmouse started preening, too!





I'm not very good at identifying birds in flight, but there were two of these things in the air. They flew out of sight pretty fast. Looked big, like hawks.



This is an airplane.



So what do you guys think? Did I see two Northern Parulas? Did I find a nest? FYI, it's only about six feet off the ground. Will the Cardinals forgive me or is my side mirror going to suffer the consequences?

Melanie, those little cuties sure look like the Northern Parula to me!! Congrats! The Nest you found looks like a clump of Ball Moss and although I've never heard of birds using them for a nest, maybe a pair decided to move in.


The big bird pretending to be an Airliner ....

It's moss, but it had to be deliberately placed in the tree because I really had to stick my arm in there to get to it. If it just fell out of the oak above, it wouldn't have landed where it was. And it was pressed down inside. I need to put on gloves and get more pictures. That cedar was killing my hand! Plus, I wasn't entirely sure that something wasn't going to start pecking at me.

I was reading about the Northern Parulas and apparently they nest in moss, but they nest in the hanging bits. I don't think they take it and move it to another location, if you know what I mean.

I read a lot of research articles at work because I have access to a paid subscription there and I was reading just a few nights ago about how ornithologists have discovered that genetically falcons are more closely related to parrots than anyone would have previously guessed. I was looking at pictures of some of them and decided to cover up the beak. When you do that sometimes you really can see the resemblance.

"Few surprises are more compelling than the recent discovery that falcons are more closely related to parrots than they are to hawks and eagles."

http://birdnote.org/blog/2015/...

Nothing exciting to report from yesterday. The Little Lehigh was up and running murky. Only saw seven ducks and fewer fisher-persons than normal for opening day. So, here are a few Mallard images from last Monday:


And a few more of our solo goose

I noticed today that the nest in the cedar tree had been pushed out toward the edge of the tree. I know I was very careful not to move it so it made me wonder if the birds have rejected it, or if a nocturnal animal got in there last night. Either way, it was easier to take photos of it today.



Besides Spanish Moss, I could see sticks, possibly from my nearby False Indigo. Also, there are leaves, what might be part of a palm frond, and a vine I think is Skunk Vine that is growing up the previously mentioned False Indigo (but not for long, if I can help it).

First, a quick opening day look at our tailgating fishermen by the covered bridge, and then an opening day robin:
All with Conservation Officer oversight.
Today, tons of folks fishing along with walkers, joggers and runners taking advantage of a very pretty day in the park. Did observe four hawks so high they might have needed oxygen. Even with 700 mm and severe cropping, not much detail. Only four ducks, which were spooked too far away for an acceptable image:

But I did capture some young folks participating:

At the end of my walk I caught sight (briefly) of another UFO:

And, that wraps up today.

Melanie, it sure does look like something was building a nest in that moss; keep us posted on the progression!

Robert, more great shots! Love how those children are out in the fresh air, enjoying nature! Your pretty mystery bird looks like maybe an Eastern Phoebe!

Only two pictures from here today; Female Red-bellied Woodpecker and a Male Northern Cardinal:

plantladylin said:
Robert, Your pretty mystery bird looks like maybe an Eastern Phoebe!

After a quick review using the internet, that works for me. Thanks. Lin.

I was thinking eastern kingbird , but either way , a very nice set of flycatcher pictures

The Eastern Kingbird: http://www.audubon.org/field-g... has a square, white tipped tail.

The bird in Robert's photo seems to have the tail of the Eastern Phoebe which looks roundish: http://www.audubon.org/field-g...

A very nice day at midday today; sunny with a light breeze and temperatures low sixties. The stream level continued to approach normal levels, and water clarity had improved, but was not perfect. There were lots of fisher-persons and few waterfowl. However, as I passed over the footbridge, I noticed a hawk in a tree (briefly). It circled for a while and I got what I could before it glided to the east and out of sight:



While I did not notice a lot of trout being caught, two fishermen had some noticeable success:

And I got two bird in tree pics:

The Mallard and Merganser images were nothing special, so we will skip them.

@marsrover, stunning pics of the hawk. And you caught a nice look from one of the fishermen!

I'm jealous of your Robins. I want Robins! I remember learning when I was a kid that they were a sign of spring. I guess at some point I realized I live in Florida. Never understood the "April showers bring May flowers" saying, either. April is one of our driest months and we have flowers all the time! Florida is a weird place.

The nest in my Cedar is still sitting where it was yesterday. I wonder if I should try pushing it back further in the tree. I still wonder which bird made it. The female Cardinal was yelling at me the most and stayed in the nearby oak the longest, but the Cardinals are always yelling at me.