I made a couple of sunrise visits to the Orlando Wetlands last week, and I wasn’t the only one.
Some familiar faces – and new ones – have returned to the area now that the temperature isn’t so dreadfully hot. Included in this group are Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks, Common Yellowthroats, House Wrens and Swamp Sparrows. Also, I came across another new-to-me bird, a Swamp Wren.
With all the birds coming back, I am hoping it will be a great autumn/winter for birding.
Who is that masked bird? It’s a little male Common Yellowthroat showing a little attitude in the morning at the Orlando Wetlands in November 2023.A female Common Yellowthroat hops among some branches at the Orlando Wetlands in November 2023.A House Wren sings a song to greet visitors at the Orlando Wetlands in November 2023.Wood Storks only live in a few areas of the U.S., and Florida is one of them. This Wood Stork is visiting the Orlando Wetlands in November 2023.This Wood Stork shows off its weathered face and beak at the Orlando Wetlands in November 2023.A pretty Eastern Phoebe greets the morning at the Orlando Wetlands in November 2023.A little Swamp Wren peers out from from some rushes at the Orlando Wetlands on a morning in November 2023.A colorful orange and brown Swamp Sparrow pauses for a second on some rushes during a November 2023 morning at the Orlando Wetlands. A Roseate Spoonbill flies back to the Orlando Wetlands in November 2023. Before this one, I had not seen one flying over the wetlands since spring.A Roseate Spoonbill makes a flyby at the Orlando Wetlands in November 2023.A Roseate Spoonbill does some early morning stretches at the Orlando Wetlands in November 2023.“Hey, do you think George can stick this landing?” is what this group of Eastern Starlings appear to be thinking as they watch one of their own coming toward a snag at the Orlando Wetlands in November 2023.A Gray Catbird, known for its catty mew calls, makes its presence known at the Orlando Wetlands in November 2023.As this Palm Warbler demonstrates at the Orlando Wetlands in November 2023, you got to stop and smell the roses, er, flowers along the way.The early morning light highlights the colors of this Purple Gallinule at the Orlando Wetlands in November 2023.
I was so excited back in May when I was able to take my first pictures of a Northern Parula at the Orlando Wetlands. Fast-forward to July, and it seems these birds are, dare I say, stalking me?
Peregrine Falcons, Bald Eagles, American Kestrels and Northern Harriers returning to the area for winter have joined the year-round raptor residents, the Red-shouldered Hawks.
