Florida Scrub-Jay

The Florida Scrub-Jay is restricted to the rare oak scrub community of Florida, a habitat under constant threat of development, and is classified as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
The birds shown in these pictures were taken in Lee County Florida in an area which future development will surely push them out. This was my first sighting and I felt very lucky knowing that next time they may not be there.

Painted Bunting

This is the most colorful bird I have ever photographed. Southern Florida is its winter home and it is not always easy to find. I was lucky and spent one afternoon taking pictures and to make things even better I was photographing with professional photographer Lillian Stokes. Check out Stokes Birding blog for more bunting information.

White Morph and Immature

The top one is an immature Little Blue Heron. The other is the "white morph" of the Reddish Egret in a common hunting pose.These could be easily overlooked for a Great Egret and Snowy Egret.

Red-breasted Merganser

There were several Mergansers in Tower pond of Ding Darling Sunday morning. These had just finished preening and were shaking water off. My old dog does this after taking a bath or getting wet. Its the same thing but different.