This morning I arrived at the Venice Rookery in mid-morning.  This is a famous spot among bird photographers.  The attraction is the tiny pond where many egrets (and other birds) build their nests.  Last year I got some great photos here, including a wonderful silhouette shot at sunset.  The map below shows the general location.


This year there seemed to be far fewer nests at the rookery than last year.  The water color was again delicious, but no birds were in the water when I was there, and no-one reported having seen any moorhens there this morning (a bird I’d had much luck with last year at this site).  Some birders suggested several other sites that they said were excellent this year, so I soon left the rookery without really taking any photos (remember, I don’t like “sticky” images) and proceeded to Oscar Scherer State Park.  I drove around slowly, but didn’t see anything other than a mockingbird and a lot of picnickers.  I quickly left and went to Myakka River State Park (see the map above).  That park is very large.  There were many people, and a few birds (just a couple of egrets), but no really photogenic backgrounds.  There was an armadillo.  After slowly driving the length of the park I left and headed over to the Celery Fields.
    I visited the Celery Fields very briefly last year, and got virtually no photos.  This year I wasn’t expecting to see much.  I did notice, however, that the fields were much wetter this year than last, and there were actually some birds here this time.  The photo of the white ibis in flight, below, was taken at this location.


There were a number of birds (egrets, coots, tricolored herons, gulls, white and brown pelicans) loitering about the pools, but they were far less approachable than any other places I’ve been in Florida, so I quickly left and returned to Venice.  In mid-afternoon I got a call from a friend who was coincidentally vacationing in Florida with his family at the same time as me, and he informed me that he and his father had found some Florida scrub jays at Oscar Scherer, and that one had actually perched on his father’s head (!).  (Apparently, this is a common behavior, typically when the birds are hoping for a handout of peanuts.)  I immediately drove to Oscar Scherer and was delighted to spend the rest of the day shooting the jays.


This is a favorite bird of mine.  Last year I found several of them on Merritt Island, but that site isn’t on my itinerary for this year (as of yet), so I was glad to see these birds here.  Even with the leg bands (see below), I’m very satisfied with these shots of this endangered species.  (I could easily edit out the leg bands in Photoshop, and probably will at some point, but haven’t had time to do so yet).


Below are some more photos of this beautiful bird.  At Oscar Scherer it is very easy to get close to the jays, due to their extreme tameness.  All of these photos were taken either in the parking lot or close to it, so no hiking was required.  I didn’t try baiting the birds with peanuts.  I believe doing so is strongly discouraged, though several birders I met at the Venice rookery told me they often give them nuts.