7-9-19 J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and Bailey Tract Species List and Summary

Today we decided to go back to the NWR to see if we could see as much as yesterday! We arrived here in the afternoon, to a short rain shower. This caused us to not see as much, but we still saw some rather interesting things. There were many Great Egrets in trees across the water; I could count 16, but there were most likely more. This is our entire NWR list:
16 Great Egrets
2 Great Blue Herons
1 Yellow-Crowned Night Heron
1 Northern Cardinal
1 Anhinga
1 Osprey
After the refuge, we decided to take a hike at the Bailey Tract, an extension of the refuge with several miles of trails. We hiked the American Alligator trail, as it is the best trail to see the black-necked stilts that are nesting on the sandbar! While we were walking, I got a very alligator "vibe" if you will, but alas, we saw no alligators. A short ways down the trail, we saw a very dark, bluish heron. I thought it was a dark morph Reddish Egret, but it turned out to just be a dark Little Blue Heron. It seemed too big for a little blue, but it did have the same coloration as most Little Blue Herons. Here is our complete list from the Bailey Tract:
1 Black-Necked Stilt
1 Little Blue Heron
4 Killdeer
1 Red-Bellied Woodpecker
I hope to return to the Bailey Tract and refuge soon!
Gracie McMahon

Posted on 18 August, 2019 14:27 by