[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by Angel & Mariel on 23:29:45 03/08/08
Hi everyone,
Yesterday after work we decided to drive over to ENP to see what was happening. Our first stop was for a beautiful Short-tailed Hawk which we were able to observe for a couple of minutes getting good lucks. Next stop would be Mahogany Hammock in search of the Barred Owls chicks which we found rather easy thanks to them hissing and making other noises. One of the chicks seem to be a little ahead of the other in development, the one chick kept stretching it's wings and moving alot showing signs that it's first flight can't be that far away. We were able to get awesome looks at the chicks which was great. On our way out of Mahogany Hammock we found this beautiful Robin which must have been in the modeling mood. The bird would turn it's head, as if we were saying... ok now the other side... it was an awesome opportunity to photograph a beautiful bird.
Onward to our next stop Research Road, with a quick stop to photograph the sun set behind a small Cypress tree. The night was starting off just right.
Arriving at Research Road right as the sky got dark we drove on down to the old missile site flushing about 9-11 Sparrows along the way. Only one Sparrow gave us good enough looks to say Savannah Sparrow, we did have one Sparrow that we flushed sit in front the headlights for a couple of seconds. The bird appeared to be a Grasshopper Sparrow but the bird dropped down into the grass as I reached for my binos. We drove on to the end of the road in hopes of having a Barred or Barn Owl, but no luck. With that being a flop we decided to get going when a Nighthawk which I was unable to identify flew maybe 10 feet from me. I said to Mariel let's drive down the road with our high beams on and see if we flush any other birds. Just as we started driving again another nighthawk flushed and flew right into the beams. The Nighthawk flew in front of the beams for about 45 seconds giving us clear views of a Lesser Nighthawk. Awesome, and with a high five we were on our way.
Driving back down Research Road we saw two separate large red spots on the ground in the Pinelands area which we both feel were Whip-poor-Will after talking to Toe.
What a way to end the day a beautiful sunset in a amazing place.
Nature is Awesome!
Angel & Mariel
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]