New Year's Eve Shoot

It was a beautiful day and I hadn't been birding for a while, so decided to visit a park I had not been to, Kapok Park. Unfortunately, I had commitments all morning so I knew there would be little to choose from in mid-afternoon. Still, it was a chance to get out and scout the park for future visits. As expected, not that many birds, but potentially very good in early morning. Here are some of the ones I saw.

Wood Stork

Good shots Stan. I must keep a lookout for the shrike as I haven't seen one before that I recall. Thanks too for the tip. Kapok looks like a park worth visiting and it's not too far from here.

Nicely done Stan...that park looks like a great place to go for a good variety of birds.

Don1 wrote in post #11559750
Good shots Stan. I must keep a lookout for the shrike as I haven't seen one before that I recall. Thanks too for the tip. Kapok looks like a park worth visiting and it's not too far from here.

Thanks, Don. The shrikes I've seen before were mostly (perhaps all) loggerheads. I was surprised to see this one.

Shar824 wrote in post #11560068
Nicely done Stan...that park looks like a great place to go for a good variety of birds.

Appreciate it, Sharon. In addition to these, I shot egrets, warblers, moor hens, anhingas, a little blue heron and an osprey, so I got a good variety for the timing.

Well Done Young Man!!!

Looks a good place Stan, very interesting. You must really curse that weather down there

Great looking Stork ,and Shrike not to mention the Limpkin which eluded me last week .Awesome looking pond.

That is a heck of a variety for one outing. Great catch with the Shrike a bird I've love to see. Very nice Stan.

hTr wrote in post #11560165
Well Done Young Man!!!

Thanks, Gary. Good to see you on the forum again, Hope the holidays were good for you.

Inse wrote in post #11560452
Looks a good place Stan, very interesting. You must really curse that weather down there

You know, Ray, we are so spoiled, even a bit of cool weather is hard to take.

andrewhuxman wrote in post #11560515
Great looking Stork ,and Shrike not to mention the Limpkin which eluded me last week .Awesome looking pond.

Thanks, Andrew. I'm optimistic this park will be a good one. Not really close to me, but a change is always good.

Candor wrote in post #11560684
That is a heck of a variety for one outing. Great catch with the Shrike a bird I've love to see. Very nice Stan.

Thanks, Mike.

Nice shootin' Stan. You Floridians are making my winter veeery looong. I can't wait to have another go at the Limpkins at Viera, that was really fun.

What beautiful landscapes Stan... love the colors and habitat setting in #2... the Wood Stork hasn't got much better looking
I think you have a Loggerhead Shrike here, the mask looks too wide for a Northern Shrike and his lower mandible isn't solid black like the Loggerhead, plus the Northern Shrike has a partial white eye ring... but as always, I could be wrong and he may be tired of below zero weather

db

db

Cool stuff, Stan! I'd love to see a shrike!

very nice shots Stan

Nighthound wrote in post #11561014
Nice shootin' Stan. You Floridians are making my winter veeery looong. I can't wait to have another go at the Limpkins at Viera, that was really fun.

Hang in there, Steve.

dbriz wrote in post #11561137
What beautiful landscapes Stan... love the colors and habitat setting in #2... the Wood Stork hasn't got much better looking
I think you have a Loggerhead Shrike here, the mask looks too wide for a Northern Shrike and his lower mandible isn't solid black like the Loggerhead, plus the Northern Shrike has a partial white eye ring... but as always, I could be wrong and he may be tired of below zero weather

db

db

Thanks, Dave. You're likely correct, as I know very little about these birds. My guide book shows a big difference in the tip of the beak and says the range for northerns is variable. In any case, the highly curved beak tip was a new experience for me.

jgrussell wrote in post #11561516
Cool stuff, Stan! I'd love to see a shrike!

Thanks, Judy.

kmunroe wrote in post #11562645
very nice shots Stan

Thank you, k.

Great shots