My first outing to find birds in NY since returning brings me to Iona Island, a bird sanctuary located in Bear Mountain State Park. My target for the day is the Orchard oriole, a bird not uncommon to this site.

Lots of great opportunities for photographing seabirds as we travel across the Delaware Bay via ferry on our Journey North.

Second stop of our drive north includes a visit to the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge.

As we head north to New York, out first evening will be spent in Santee with a visit to the National Wildlife Refuge. We are thrilled to be treated to a number of fantastically colored birds which makes for great photographic opportunities.

It is only fitting that the theme of today’s post, the last in a series entitled “Parting Shots”, is “Taking flight”. The first image of the day was that of a Fish Crow which launched from a piling as soon as I had it in the view finder, thus setting the tone for the day’s outing. From here, it’s back to the north country.

Today’s outing is in search of mammals rather than birds. As we prepare to head north, I wanted to photograph some of the mammals which I will not see again until next winter in Florida. Bethune Beach Park is the perfect setting to find manatees and dolphins.

Fittingly, the last shot of day was one of my two target birds, the Brown-headed nuthatch. This was truly a “parting shot’>

As our time to be heading north draws closer, it is time to get out to get some final shots of out Florida avian wildlife. Today I head out to the Ponce Inlet jetty at Smyrna Dunes Park.

This morning , I headed down to a location I have visited many times over years past, and I have come to expect to see an “old avian friend”, the Eastern towhee. Today, he did not disappoint me. Canaveral National Seashore has a variety of habitats present, so a wide variety of species can be found within this gem.

A visit to the Indian River Lagoon Preserve in New Smyrna Beach provides us with sightings of migrating warblers heading up to their northern breeding grounds for the summer.

Today’s field trip was to Buschman Park in the city of Port Orange, FL. After a wonderful talk with one of the locals who grew up on the property, sharing what this part of Florida was like in the early 60s, I strolled along the trails, observing and photographing a variety of wildlife.

The final day of our South Florida Birding Adventure is spent visiting Richardson’s Historical and Nature Preserve and Peaceful Waters. Our best sightings include the Spot-breasted oriole, Black-throated blue and Cape May warblers.

The second day of our journey brings us to Lucky Hammock, Frog Pond WMA and the Everglades.

Urban environments with some fascinating Tropical Florida birds make for another great afternoon of birding.

Our second stop of the South Florida Birding Trip is Green Cay Wetlands. The area is similar to Wakodahatchee (see the previous post) but offered a different assemblage of birds and reptiles.

A three-day birding trip through Tropical Florida with friends from Southeast Volusia Audubon begins in Delray Beach at Wakodahatchee Wetlands. The wetlands are a magnet for beautiful nesting birds all in gorgeous breeding plumage.

While many birds are migrating north at this time of year, their numbers are replenished by new species moving into or through the area as they begin to build their nests and raise their families.

Nature releases her unbridled fury to the delight of those in safe quarters along New Smyrna Beach.