WHOOPING CRANE MOLTING INTO ADULT PLUMAGE, BOLEN BLUFF TRAIL/BASIN TRAIL,PAYNES PRAIRIE PRESERVE STATE PARK,GAINESVILLE,FLORIDA, 1/17/2021-OUR 1,000TH LIFER

    This Whooping Crane had been reported on ebird.   It was seen from the observation tower on the Basin Trail which is an offshoot of the Bolen Bluff Trail.  The main Bolen Brook trail goes through a forest, while it's offshoot, the Basin Trail goes through the prairie   

   We can ID this Crane as a Whooping Crane that is molting into its full adult plumage as follows:

• Overall white.
• On its chin, the darker brown malar (see first photo) of the juvenile Crane is still there.  This will eventually turn red.
• If you look closely in both photos you can see some of the red cap of the adult crane starting to appear.

     The Whooping Crane is an endangered species.  Because of unregulated hunting and loss of habitat the Whooping Crane was pushed to the brink of extinction by 1941.  There were just 21 wild and two captive Whooping Cranes left.  Conservation efforts have led to limited recovery.  It is estimated that the population now exceeds 800 birds.

   The Whooping Crane is a new species to our Photographic Life List, which now stands at 1,000.  It took us 6 years to reach this;  we started to seriously bird in January, 2016.

 

LARGE SQUADRONS OR PODS OF AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS, DING DARLING NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE,SANIBEL,FLORIDA, 1/14/2021

 

 

MANGROVE CUCKOO, DING DARLING NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, SANIBEL,FLORIDA, 1/14/2021

   We visited Ding Darling this past Thursday, January 14, with a group of other birders.  Ebird has recently reported the sighting of a Mangrove Cuckoo in the vicinity of the Mangrove Overlook in Ding Darling.  When we arrived at the Mangrove Overlook, there was a large group of birders and photographers looking at something, further on down Wildlife Drive.  Low and behold, there was the Mangrove Cuckoo.

   We can ID this bird as a Mangrove Cuckoo as follows:

• Sighted in a habitat near mangroves
• Downcurved, stout bill with a yellow lower mandible with black tip (see 4th photo) and a black upper mandible
• Black ear patch and yellow eyering (see 2nd photo)
• Gray-brown upperparts
• Underparts are whitish with yellow-peachy wash
• Long, black tail with six large white spots

   The Mangrove Cuckoo is a new species to our Photographic Life List, which now stands at 999.

 

FLORIDA MAPLE TREES, FREEDOM PARK,NAPLES,FLORIDA, 1/10/2021

 

SPADDERDOCK WATER LILY, FREEDOM PARK,NAPLES,FLORIDA, 1/10/2021

 

NORTHERN PERULA, FREEDOM PARK,NAPLES,FLORIDA, 1/10/2021

 

EUROPEAN STARLINGS, FREEDOM PARK,NAPLES,FLORIDA, 1/10/2021