Lakeland, FL - 08 Jan 2009


Robin and I flew to Orlando to set up Mom for the next 3 months at her place in Lakeland. As we landed at the airport the first birds to greet us were Double-crested Cormorants, followed by Laughing Gulls, Great Blue Heron, and a Caspian Tern.

We left the airport and stopped for lunch at Denny's just across from the Hertz. The tree next to our car held a chatty Palm Warbler that stayed long enough for me to unpack the camera and grab several frames from about 10 feet away. 


The drive to Lakeland would add a Bald Eagle and dozens of Black and Turkey Vultures.

Orlando International Airport , Orange, Florida, US
Jan 8, 2009 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
10.0 mile(s)
8 species

Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)  2
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  1
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  3
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)  23
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  23
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S166412845

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Once the water was turned on, the house cleaned, and clothes put away I grabbed the scope, cameras and binocs and headed across the street to the best little sewage pond a guy could ask for. I was greeted by a fly-over Osprey that circled several times and hovered before moving on.



Out in the middle of the pond a Tri-colored Heron, 


Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, 







and Great Egret were actively hunting among the dead snags. 


The TCHE and SNEG appeared to be hunting buddies as they constantly followed each other from one end of the pond to the other. Inseparable! 


I had fun digiscoping them in the mid-afternoon sunlight. Exposures were difficult for the white birds, but I managed a few keepers.

I then spotted a snoozing Limpkin to my right along the shoreline. After a few pics w/ the D300 I took the opportunity to get some nice digiscoped images w/ the P5100. What a lovely bird!
More tomorrow!





Lakeland RV Park, FL, Polk, Florida, US
Jan 8, 2009 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.2 mile(s)
6 species

Limpkin (Aramus guarauna)  1
Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)  1
Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor)  1
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)  1
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  1
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S166412548

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)