We took a field trip this morning and went to two places we had never been before. We started out by heading north to the Sarasota area to visit the Myakka River State Park. As the name implies it is set on the banks of the Myakka River. It is a beautiful park with many photo ops, not just birds. I was lucky enough to get fairly close to a doe and her fawn while I was there. The doe knew I was there but she was not particularly afraid of me. As long as I didn’t make any sudden moves I was okay. And the little fawn was so cute!!

We ate a picnic lunch at the park and headed to our next destination which was the Venice Rookery. This small rookery is situated right in the heart of a commercial area in Venice itself. It appears that the Audubon Society bought the small area of land and the town just built in around it. But it doesn’t seem to bother the birds! There was a small pond there and in the middle was an equally small patch of Mangroves, which was absolutely loaded with birds!! As you can see from the pictures it was like an apartment complex for birds. They all nested very close to each other. I can’t believe there weren’t more fights! And they were in all stages of rearing their young ones, from newborn chick to almost fully fledged ones! Unfortunately we got there at about noon, so the light and the pics are not the best! I will certainly be back here!

Click on the pics to enlarge.....