Wakodahatchee Wildlife

This post is a wrap-up of our walks at Wakodahatchee Wetlands earlier this month and it's very picture heavy, because I just couldn't put my camera down.  There was so much  that I want to remember.

 

 

Wakodahatchee Wetlands is located at Delray Beach near Fort Lauderdale.  We had no idea on this beautiful blue sky day that this area would experience three days of heavy rain and severe flooding starting the day after we were there.  

 

 Florida Wood Storks -- adult and a nest full of young ones.

I can't find any information about whether the floods affected this wetlands.  I hope all the families who live there are still OK.  I suspect the birds knew how to manage.

 

Great Egret on a nest

We tried to decide if there was a baby in that Egret's nest or if that was just a stray feather.  Hoped a closer look at the pictures would show more, but still not sure.

We spent a longer time watching the birds in the series below, trying to decide what they were and what exactly they were doing.  

 

Any guesses?  (I do know the answer now, but it took us a while.)

They were very noisy and very engaged with each other.  At first we weren't even sure what kind of birds they were, but then a large black bird swooped into the picture and cleared things up.  Apparently these two were just a couple of hungry teenagers killing time waiting for dinner to arrive.  We recognized the adult  Anhinga immediately as we see them often here in Florida.    Dad flew right to the young ones and opened his beak wide:

 

 

He wasn't  much larger than his two nearly grown and very hungry offspring.   I didn't know this while we watched this behavior but read later that the parents feed new babies by dropping regurgitated food into their mouths.  It doesn't take long for the babies to learn where the food comes from and by the time they are as big as these two birds, they just reach right down  into the parent bird's mouth for the food.  That's what's going on in the picture above.   (I love learning first hand about bird behavior.  But maybe I should have added a "slightly gross" warning about the above photo for those of you learning it second hand.)  

 

 

Later, we saw a different adult with younger babies.  (This one's a female because she has a brown head and neck.)  Mom looks less frazzled than the dad in the other picture.  And the babies are cuter at this stage.  Although it doesn't demonstrate as much about their behavior,  it's probably a more suitable family portrait for sharing.  

 

Common Gallinule

We watched a whole family of these birds, also known as Moorhens, but they were hard to photograph in the vegetation where they like to forage.

 

 

Stork Spa!  Their wings are much cleaner and the black and white contrast is more noticeable than when they're in their nest.   (Click on the photo to admire their pretty feathers.)  

 The photo below is from a different place and a different time (but still from Florida).  I just wanted to end with a sunset.

 

Grateful for all we see and all we learn.

 

LINKING this week to the following:  Thank you to the hosts.

SATURDAY CRITTERS ;  RATHER B' BIRDING; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; WILD BIRD Wednesday;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;  and SKYWATCH FRIDAY     

Comments

[Sharon Wagner]

I've never seen baby anhinga's! Your post is a feathered nursery. I saw my fist gosling of the Minnesota season last night. Oh, and it's official. We're moving to Florida this fall.

[diane]

A fabulous series of photos. What fun to see that first hand. Hope the flood wasn't too damaging.

[Michelle Keltner]

I enjoy the bird shot. And, those baby storks are adorable :) Thanks for linking up.

[Angie]

Sallie - so many terrific bird photos - like you, I rely on the photos in my phone to help me remember my day!!! Love the wood storks with the family in the nest. Wow.

Your description and photos of the feeding behavior of the Anhinga "children" reminds me of owlet behavior - they are self-centered and think nothing of bullying the "runt" to get the advantage for food brought to them by the parents.

Thanks for visiting my blog recently!

[DeniseinVA]

I am very happy you shared all your photos. I feel the same way about taking them as I want to remember everything. Thank you Sallie, and what a splendid selection of birdlife. Seeing the parents with their chicks was really something. Have a great weekend!

[Soma @ InkTorrents.com]

I hope there wasn't too much flood damage. Really enjoyed seeing the photos and reading about them. So amazing! Gorgeous sunset!

-Soma

[Sognafaret]

So amazing birdlife!

[Peter B.]

Wakodahatchee. That's a mouthfull! The bird life in incredible, as is your closing photo of the sunset!

[Penelope Notes]

One of these days these feathered youngins will have to fend for themselves and probably enjoy tasting something that isn't mashed down by mom and dad. :)

[Jim, Sydney, Australia]

Hot sky.

[Suzan Batz]

Wow spectacular photos.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. It's been a long time since we made contact...Happy Cleaning !
Sue

[tomthebackroadstraveller]

...I thought that the wildlife was gorgeous until to came the the sunset!

[Sandy]

Beautiful photos! No wonder you spent time watching and snapping. Looks like a wonderful place to walk and enjoy nature. Saw an ad the other day on Facebook where you attach a bird feeder with a camera to your window so you can see the birds up close. Think it would be a cool thing to do, but the price was a bit too much. Maybe over time, the cost will go down.

[Heidrun]

This was really a wonderful Trip... you on the Park, and we at reading your fantastisc Post. Hope the feathered friends can stay. Thank you for sharing.

Hugs by Heidrun

[Little Wandering Wren]

Incredible birding photos here, you know that's my thing! I love the stork Spa idea, they certainly look gleaming after a good wash!

[Jennifer A. Jilks]

You cannot have too many bird photos. Yours are excellent!
My Percy is not a koi, not that expensive. There are so many varieties of goldfish. It was something like Shubukin, or something. I really don't know!
Thanks for visiting!

[Beatrice]

Sallie, no worries about a photo overload post as I not only enjoyed seeing what you saw at Wakodahatchee Wetlands (what a great name), but would have also taken a lot of photos. I would not have "guessed" the name of the Anhinga bird. Interesting to read how adults feed the young and I believe the same pattern is followed with many other birds. The sunset from a different place and time was beautiful as always.

[Veronica Lee]

WOW! Fabulous shots, Sallie.

Love how you end the series with the gorgeous sunset shot.

Hugs and blessings

[A ShutterBug Explores]

Wow! Fantastic series of photos of the 'feathered friends and their babies ~ what an adventure for you both and great photos for us to see and read about ~ thanks so much ~

Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

[somewhereinireland]

Beautiful shots, Sallie. The sunset is gorgeous. Have a nice May!

[Carol]

I love your bird captures and the sunset at the end is perfection

[Cathy Keller]

As always, you have some breathtaking photos! Thank you and have a grand week!

[Green Comotion]

Gorgeous birds and a great sunset photo!

[hena]

Oh wow.. you captured some amazing birds!

[Amy]

I remember seeing a documentary when I was younger about how parent birds feed their babies, it was yucky at the time but part of nature now that I know better. Quite fascinating for you seeing the birds actually doing this.

[Vagabonde]

These are wonderful photos. I certainly can understand you wanting to snap as many as possible as this was a great opportunity and the weather looked very favorable. The last photo of the sunset is gorgeous. I hope the birds’ nests were safe with the flood.

[Traude "Rostrose"]

Dear Sallie, I understand that you couldn't stop taking pictures. Wonderful to see Florida Wood Storks with their babies in the nest. And I'm also happy about the storks in the spa. I firmly believe the Great Egret is having a baby too! I wouldn't have recognized the Anhingas before our Costa Rica trip, but now I know what males and females look like. I didn't know their young ones before and I'm very happy to see them. Have I ever seen a Common Gallinule? I don't believe. Your sunset is a dream finish!
🌸❤️🌸
Have a great start to May!
Hugs, Traude 😘
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2023/04/monets-garten-ein-blumiger-tag-in-wien.html

[Linda W]

Wonderful bird photos! And you can’t lose with a sunset photo.

[Shiju Sugunan]

Those baby birds are so adorable! Love the black and white wings of the stork.

[Adam Jones]

Love that Great Egret. It always looks very odd when such large birds are up in the trees, and you're used to seeing them on the ground.

[DeniseinVA]

Oh wow, fabulous photos Sallie and I love those babies! Thanks for sharing them. I remember going to a place at Sebastian and riding on a small tour boat to an island where the birds roosted, but I think there were more pelicans than anything else. That was years ago and maybe it's changed, but it is such a great memory. Happy weekend to you!

[William Kendall]

Excellent shots!

[Lavender Dreams]

I wanted to let you know that the book Hang the Moon is very good but I don't like to buy books because I seldom read them more than once. I put a hold for the Kindle version at my library and read them on my IPAD with the Kindle app. It takes awhile to get them but it saves money! Hugs, Diane PS My hubby is reading it now and loves it too.

[Breathtaking]

Hello Sallie :=) Excellent photos of all the birds, especially the Anhingas and the Wood Storks.You visited just at the right time of year to witness these magnificent birds with their chicks and youngsters.I really enjoyed seeing your photos of the Florida wildlife. The Egrets in the trees is another fine shot, and the wingspan of the Storks is another. I would never see any of these nature images but for wonderful blogs like yours. Thank you so much for closing with a spectacular Florida sunset, and thank you for such an engaging post.
All the best.

[Lavender Dreams]

Wow! I would never have guessed Anhingas! I don't think I've ever seen a young one and didn't know they were white. How neat. I'm glad you got your trip in before the torrential rains! Enjoy your weekend!

[Ellen Bayles]

I love a walk like this that makes you want to click click and click some more. Love the shot of that wing spread! Glad you had a good time there. Hope the last couple days of April go well!

[Alan]

Looks like you had a great time. Florida is the bomb for birds.

[Linda P]

Amazing photos including the sunset. It must be very interesting to study the adults and young at close quarters as you do in these protected nature reserves.

[mae]

We have made a number of trips there and always loved the birds. Our visits were all in January or February so the breeding season wasn’t as advanced, but the birds are always numerous. Your photos are neat (though one of them can’t load on my device).

best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

[Eileen]

Hello,
I think I have visited the wetland park, it is great to see the Wood Storks and their nest up close. I love the Anhinga family, the babies are cute. The sunset is beautiful. Great photos! Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend.