Most people visiting the Orlando Wetlands these days are going to see the beautiful pink Roseate Spoonbills and their babies. But there’s another little star of the wetlands who isn’t at showy. She’s a Vermilion Flycatcher, an infrequent visitor to Florida during the winter. When you first spot her in the distance, you might mistake her for an Eastern Phoebe. But look a little closer…
Vermilion Flycatcher
She’s in the same flycatcher family as the common Eastern Phoebe, but her coloring is a little lighter. She has streaks. Under her tail, she’s yellow, and starting to turn a faint red. Her normal range is in Mexico and up into the southwestern US, but a few of her friends show up in Florida each year.
Vermilion Flycatcher
Like all flycatchers, this bird likes to find perches out in the open. She sits there watching the insects fly around her. She patiently waits until the time is right, then darts out to grab a bug in mid-air. This can be exciting for photographers because she’ll often return to the same perch. Of course, trying to catch her in mid-flight is hard! Here I scored a picture of her returning with the bug in the quick instant before she devoured it.
Vermilion Flycatcher
She may not stick around much longer, so if you visit the wetlands, keep an eye out for her! You might even catch her posing on the pretty marsh flowers…
I stopped by Circle B a few weeks ago to find that winter was still holding strong. The landscape was brown with tiny hints of green – a sign that spring was thinking of emerging, even before the hard freeze. Regular visitors to the reserve will recognize these vantage points. They look a lot prettier in the spring!
Circle B Landscape
Circle B Landscape
The rest of this post was actually from February 2025. You know you’ve gotten a little busy when you leave a post in Draft for a full year! Even though the landscape is brown, the birds know that the warmer weather is coming. This Pileated Woodpecker flew in to say hi to my dad and me while we walked the trails.
Pileated Woodpecker
It was late afternoon, and the sun was pretty on the resident birds. This Great Blue Heron stalked, and stalked, and extended that long neck, and watched, and waited…then bam! He snagged his supper on his beak. The poor fish went down in one gulp.
Great Blue Heron
A Barred Owl was hidden in plain sight in an oak tree. “Who cooks for you?” he called down as we peered into the branches to locate him. Look at those big eyes. Wouldn’t you love to know what he’s thinking?
Barred Owl
But the real stars of this particular visit were in a different oak tree, surrounded by moss and resurrection ferns. Their parents were off hunting and the two youngsters were alone at the nest. Well, as alone as you get when you are surrounded by friendly paparazzi! This Great Horned Owl nest is always well-loved by visitors. It’s tall enough that the birds don’t worry much about the curious photographers. On this particular day, we had Baby #1 on one side of the nest…
Great Horned Owlet
…and Baby #2 peering out from the other side of the nest! It’s amazing how well they blend in. We waited for a while, hoping the parents would bring in a nice mouse for dinner. Instead, we got to play peek-a-boo with the young owlets. Photographing these little guys never gets old!
Great Horned Owlet
So now I’ve almost cleared out my backlog of draft posts, and it’s springtime – time to get outside and see what other little nature’s miracles are awaiting! :)
Normally the best time to head to the Orlando Wetlands to see the nesting Roseate Spoonbills is during the afternoon, with the light shining directly on the colony. But on a cloudy morning, you can also photograph the spoonies, and the changing light offers fun creative opportunities. The birds definitely had nesting season on the brain when I visited in early January. I bet it won’t be long before we hear reports of the season’s first “teaspoons!”
Roseate Spoonbill – Coming in for the Landing
The above picture was one of my favorite shots of the morning. The bird was flying in towards a branch. Normally I would have been shooting straight into the sun in the morning, but with the clouds, my angle didn’t matter. I captured all sorts of wing positions — back, front, playing “peek a boo” through the wings — but this one best captures the awe of being surrounded by beautiful pink flying angels.
Roseate Spoonbill – Musical Trees!
The birds were playing Musical Tree Stumps and it was so much fun to photograph! A bird would perch on the tree, then another bird would fly in, forcing the first bird to leave. I think it was a territorial show of superiority. The above photo is a composite of two images captured just a few milliseconds apart. (For full disclosure, the photographer did the composite, not AI!) The resulting image captures the essential of the game.
Roseate Spoonbill – The Balance Check
It’s also a little hard not to laugh when the victorious bird has to do a balance check before defending his stump from the next incoming bird.
Roseate Spoonbill – The Tree Victor
The cloudy mornings offer lighting opportunities that just don’t happen in “good light.” The sun kept coming out and then disappearing, creating gorgeous backlight through the birds’ feathers. Here’s a somewhat unique view of the full spoon headed straight toward me…
Roseate Spoonbill – Head on Spoon!
I also really liked this one, with the fiery backlight of the rising sun against the muted tones of the surrounding trees. I think this is the closest this bird will ever be to a phoenix!
Roseate Spoonbill – or Phoenix?
Then as the sun breaks through the clouds, you can turn around and get more traditional images of the Roseate Spoonbill in flight. This one is almost in full breeding plumage and I just love the intensity of color on his face.
Roseate Spoonbill – Flight Shot with Breeding Plumage
I saw plenty of nesting materials being hauled through the air so we know the nurseries are being well prepared for this year’s crop of baby spoonies! I hope the birds’ patience with their nagging offspring is as zealous as their selection of nursery furniture…I can’t wait to go back and find out!
