Juvenile Little Blue Heron
Yellow-rumped Warbler
At one of our stops in this WMA, we saw a good sized flock of Pine Warblers. The bold and bright fresh plumage colors of the males were in stark contrast with the dull brown coloring of the first spring females. It was easy to see why this species is sometimes confused with Prarie Warblers, as some of the males had bold, dark facial and breast streaking.
Male Pine Warbler
Male Pine Warbler
Male Pine Warbler
Male Pine Warbler
First spring female Pine Warbler
First spring femal Pine Warbler
First spring femal Pine Warbler
Male Pine Warbler
Male Pine Warbler
Male Pine Warbler
We drove and walked along one of the less traveled roads, and saw lot of alligators, but only a few birds.
Alligator
Alligator
We planned to leave around 4 p.m., and had been to the three major Red-cockaded Woodpecker clusters a couple of times without any luck, but we decided to try a last time. We started at the first one, drove to the second and third clusters, and then back again. Just before we reached the first cluster (and our last one to try), I spotted a Red-cockaded Woodpecker in a tree about 50 feet from the road - success!
Red-cockaded Woodpecker
Red-cockaded Woodpecker
Red-cockaded Woodpecker
Red-cockaded Woodpecker
After taking lots of photos, the woodpecker flew away, and I saw a brightly colored Florida Giant Orange Grasshopper in the nearby grass.
Florida Giant Orange Grasshopper
Florida Giant Orange Grasshopper