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January

I took no photos of birds in January. I saw nothing new to inspire me and it was cold. However, present were the grackle, redwing blackbirds, mottled ducks, cormorant, loggerhead shrike, seagulls, sandhill crane, mockingbird, warbler, etc.

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February

2-9-2025: Greater Yellowlegs (above)- I think Greater Yellowlegs are the smallest wading bird that behaves like the bigger wading birds. They are usually alone and not with a mate of their own species, but fish all day along with similar wading birds. That is what the egrets and heron do. The smaller sandpipers travel in flocks and behave differently.

2-21-2025: These Common Tern, above, are new this year. They dive bomb for fish. They are like seagull birds, and we have seagulls that are new this year too. I think something is bringing the shore birds 20-miles inland.

2-24-2025- A new lone Sandhill Crane. I think it was left out of the mating process and the pairs are nesting. It is smart and eats peanuts well. It is like my buddy. This photo was 10-feet away with 600-mm lens, so I got this closeup.

2-25-2025- (above) We had a long rain overnight and the lake rose about a foot. Then, all of a sudden, the wide diversity of wading birds returned. Above are two wood storks (new this year), with the little blue and tricolor herons, and the snowy egret. Also in the lake were a cormorant, greater yellow leg, and sandpiper. The common terns, new this year, were dive bombing.

2-26-2025 (above) Some up-close shots of one of the three or so mockingbirds. They are usually alone, like this one. They sure seem a lot like the loggerhead shrike. I also caught a grackle from close range.

March

March 3, 2025-

March 9, 2025- Holy cow. I just checked the memory card from my camera. When I saw those eagle-like birds the other day, I pointed the camera and hoped. I got them!They were about 1,000 feet away and 500 feet high.

Google Images says they are bald eagles, but I don’t need that. We have in Ohio a nest of bald eagles about a 1,000 yards from my old house. I know what they look like when they fly. That is why I immediately spotted them.

Also, I filmed bald eagles down here in 2020. We have a pair of Bald Eagles in 2025.

3-9-2025: Tricolored Heron and Greater Yellowleg hunting bass minnows. Note the water disturbance under the heron. The cichlid and bass try to eat them as they fly over.

March 11, 2025- The rare Great Egret stopped by. Look at its size compared to a Snowy Egret. The Great Egret is one of the giant birds like the Great Blue heron, Sandhill Crane, Wood Stork, and Bald Eagle. They have about a 7-feet wingspan and weight 7 to 14 pounds.