Burrowing Owls, Tons of Baby Birds and Can We Find a Snail Kite?

Birding in Florida Part Seven, as we continue our search for Florida birds.We're trying to see as many birds as we can to add to our 300 Bird Challenge before the end of 2024. In this Florida episode we look for any new birds in Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Green Cay, and Grassy Wetland Preserve. Plus we start out with a look at some awesome Burrowing Owls.
Stay tuned to this Florida series to see some of the birds, nature and parks the state has to offer.
My other Florida videos can be found here:
• Epic Florida Birding T...
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BritHikesOntario, is Stu Hall. I'm a displaced Brit... who hikes and goes birding in Ontario, Canada (and beyond, like Florida!). I'm usually joined by my wife, Sara.
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For more birding content, photos, teasers, the occasional short video and general updates from us - including details about upcoming videos and more behind-the-scenes stuff.......give me a follow on Social Media:
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[@Hummingbirder1]

Anyway, you got your Snail Kite at last, thx to Sara doing the "lets walk there as well, first, before leaving" thing, a suggestion that often pays off! Many MANY nice sightings on this day's locations, a very good day imo. I've heard about the lightning fast evolution of the Kite's bills in Everglades due to the invasive new apple snail, it's VERY interesting. A silver lining on an otherwise dark cloud, for once. Fingers crossed for continued rise in numbers of that special bird.🤞

[@susanmatako8469]

It's been awhile since I left a comment.(very busy.) First I wanted to say was how in the world you don't have a million subscribers. I love you guy's! From the calming commentry, very informative not only on bird's to the editing❤ I might have to make a trip to Florida next year. Thank's for the vid's.

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thank you for such a lovely comment! Appreciate it 😊

[@Handmaiduns]

Love the owls 🦉 Those yellow legs are CLEARLY a lesser yellowlegs as they have less leg up top 😅 Another great video of your trip 🎉

[@BritHikesOntario]

Lol thanks Kate x

[@marksak455]

A useful tip for yellowlegs is to compare the head size to the length of their bill. For Lesser, the head is as long as their bill, but for Greater, their bill is about 1.5 times as long as their head

[@BritHikesOntario]

That's a good tip, thank you 👍

[@TheBackyardAviaryAdventures]

nice vid guys, love the birds of prey.

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thanks Nigel 😊

[@92kingsly]

Well, that cornucopia certainly makes up for the disappointment the other day. I''ll have to think about a visit to Broward County. Wood storks -- aren't they magnificently ugly?

[@BritHikesOntario]

Haha yeah. Interesting and ancient looking too, though!

[@RogerMacKertich]

Awesome, loved the storks, looked like larger versions of our Aussie white ibis.

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thank you Roger 😊

[@Hummingbirder1]

I'm so hoping you'll visit Loxahatchee before leaving Florida. It has been the best place to view Limpkin and Snail Kite for me, however that was long ago (1995 and 2009) so maybe things have changed.

[@BritHikesOntario]

Spoiler alert, but afraid not. We basically had several locations in mind for the area we were staying each day, but then researched (via ebird) recent sightings nearby for target species and allowed that to guide us to specific locations. If we'd had more time, I'm sure we'd have visited tons more spots (and gone further north).

[@brighteyedbirding]

Oh wow! Two videos in one week! Awesome views on that Snail Kite and congrats on seeing such amazing birds!

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thanks. Two videos. Need a lie down now 😂

[@pastapangolin9261]

As a Florida native who does not get outside nearly enough, many of these birds were brand new to me! I'm always excited to learn about new animals, especially ones I didn't know graced my backyard. Awfully brave of you to endure the humid, hot spring to get these incredible shots. You may have already picked it up, but Florida's wet season (spring to summer) reliably brings a rain shower nearly every day. The time it hits varies by area, where I grew up in the summers it always rained right around 5. But now in central Florida it's less predictable by the hour than it was on the coast. Burrowing owls are a favorite of mine as well. Back in high school when I was first learning to drive, there was an active burrow of them in the middle of the empty lot I practiced around. They'd watch me drive in shaky circles on that long forgotten road. They were a huge comfort and something to look forward to when driving, despite my huge fear of it. I hope you got some shots of sandhill cranes as well! There's a mated pair that frequents our yard here in central Florida, they are some graceful and funny sounding large guys.

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thanks for the lovely comment and for sharing your story. Pleased to hear people in Florida are enjoying. Thanks for watching 😊

[@davidparker6465]

I really look forward to your videos. Whereas your focus is on birds, I like your attention to describing the habitats and identifying other wildlife that you see. I last went to Florida in 1987, so it has been good to revisit many of the places we went to, and reassuring that they are still there!

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thank you David for the kind and thoughtful comments, we appreciate it.

[@NathanWebb-c5h]

That was great footage of the snail kite. That was awesome you got to see one.

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thanks Nathan. Kites in general are some of my favourite raptors 🦅

[@johnlai4129]

Burrowing Owls! Amazing! 😍😍😍😍

[@BritHikesOntario]

One of my favourites 🐦🐦🐦

[@Hummingbirder1]

13:38 Hmm, yes, where are the males? It's so funny, totally the opposite from when we were in Texas in April 2010 (and in Florida extremely early May 2009) we only saw males. I gather they migrate back to the breeding grounds earlier than the females, to place dibs on breeding territory? So maybe your visit was later in the spring (I'm not sure *when* you were there) and you got the time when the females arrive? Or at the time when they're still wintering in S Florida? We got our first female on the last day of our Texas trip (April 30). Breeding ground for Painted Buntings in Florida seems to be only along the NE coast. Maybe that's where the males were? My first Painted Bunting ever was in an abandoned(?) orange orchard in Titusville May 3, maybe that's as far south as they breed in Florida? Now I'm curious if your Florida visit will include those parts of the state in videos to come!

[@BritHikesOntario]

My understanding from conversations with other birders and staff at various places we visited is, yes, the males migrate north slightly earlier. The dates of each stop we make are in the captions, but we were there Apr 14 - 27 with this current video being filmed on the 21st.

[@ryanhuffman301]

Awesome video, especially the voiceover sections with all the info!

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thanks Ryan, appreciate it 👍

[@wingsanddaydreams]

So many wonderful sightings! New subscriber here ✨

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thank you!

[@tracyreaume6451]

Good eyes, Sarah! Congrats on your finds.

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thank you!

[@shreecreativearts5132]

Thanks for sharing,hope you will reach 300 soon

[@BritHikesOntario]

Hopefully, but I think the last few birds will be tough and we're not sure yet if the goal might be a little optimistic. Either way, we're enjoying sharing the story. Thanks for watching 😊

[@normanfranke4041]

just magnificent...

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thanks Norman!

[@paulrandall9782]

Just wanted to let you know your Fish Crow is a Boat-tailed Grackle! Fish crows are essentially indistinguishable from American crows by appearance. You can see this has a sheen on the head and the bill is too thin and pointy for a crow

[@BritHikesOntario]

Oops. Makes sense. Thanks Paul 👍

[@HaydenEpp]

Congrats on the snail kite! It was one of my top birds to find on my recent trip to Florida too! I got really lucky with it too. I happened to be watching a grackle fly into some reeds through my binoculars and there was a juvenile snail kite perched in the reeds in the same direction! I would never have looked in that direction otherwise! It was basically impossible to see just with the naked eye.

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thanks man. It's a pretty cool bird. Glad you got to see it, too 😊

[@HawkInTheLens]

I really enjoyed the Black-bellied Whistling Duck for some reason. Just a sharp looking bird haha. The Florida trip has been great so far!

[@BritHikesOntario]

Yeah they're pretty cool. Maybe not an absolute Florida favourite, but definitely one we wanted to see and we're happy to get.

[@richardwalker9330]

I love your videos. They are long enough to contain a lot of cool birds, but not so long to cause me to get antsy. You have made Florida one of my top places to get to soon as possible!!!! Thanks.

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thanks Richard, appreciate it. Hope you get to go to Florida sometime soon 😊

[@marcussmith1768]

Fantastic spot to get the Snail Kite. Well done and congrats. :)

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thanks Marcus, made a nice end to the day.

[@erniescabin4256]

Wow!! great footage really enjoyed this one, 😊💕👍🦩🌴🐊

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thank you! 😊

[@Hummingbirder1]

11:14 I'm quite certain that's a Queen/Danaus gilippus.🤓

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thanks for that, never seen one before and I just assumed Monarch (should remember never to assume).

[@Hummingbirder1]

@@BritHikesOntario Ha! That gave you a new butterfly-tick, which must be considered a good thing 🙂

[@KendelsBestDays]

My daughter loves the green and tri colour herons. And I think the snail kite was so neat to see!

[@BritHikesOntario]

Thanks, me too. Reddish Egret is probably my favourite, though, the way it dances around 😆

[@charliestreets8018]

Loved the video you guys, less than a hundred to go now, are you confident you'll reach the big 300 mark, could be tricky........

[@BritHikesOntario]

A bit behind on editing and trying to catch up. But knowing where we are at and that we are into mid-June, I am genuinely concerned we might not make it. We'll just have to see. It would be nice to hit 300, but these videos are about telling the story of the journey and showcasing the birds and environments as much as hitting our goal. If we don't quite make it, it'll still be a story.

[@charliestreets8018]

@@BritHikesOntario well said, setting a target of 300 is the perfect incentive for making fond memories that will last a lifetime 🙂