First bird of the day was one of Mary's favorites, a Green Heron.

A couple of Boat-tailed Grackles

Wakodahatchee Wetlands is a water treatment facility, but has a great habitat for birds and well-built boardwalks throughout for visitors.

Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Islands in the water provide roosting and nesting sites for a big variety of birds.

We saw many birds with chicks in nests, like these Great Egrets.

Wood Stork with chicks

A young Cattle Egret trying its wings

Tricolored Heron coming in for a landing

Great Egret flying in to roost

Black Vulture soaring overhead

Wood Stork in flight

Jan packed multiple cameras and lenses to get all the best shots.

Mary, walking the boardwalk

Young Great Egret vies for its parent's attention, with a Wood Stork nest in the background.

Immature and adult Great Egrets

Immature and adult Great Egrets

This adult Wood Stork was reinforcing the nest for its chicks.

The bigger birds seemed to get the higher nest sites. Here Wood Storks nest above, while Cattle Egrets nest underneath them.

Courting Wood Storks

Young Anhingas

Glossy Ibis

Wood Stork sitting on a nest

Two Wood Stork chicks with an adult

A young Wood Stork

Adult Cattle Egret

Young Cattle Egrets clamoring for their parent's attention.

Young and adult Cattle Egrets

Adult and young Cattle Egrets

Adult Cattle Egret feeding its chick

Adult Wood Stork flying overhead

This young Double-crested Cormorant sat placidly on the railing of the boardwalk.

Young Double-crested Cormorant at Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Adult male Anhinga

Adult Anhinga

Young Glossy Ibis

Great Blue Heron

Dragonfly

Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Ft Lauderdale, FL

Fireflag flowers

Young Purple Martins all came to the openings of the nest box when one adult came to feed its young.

Despite efforts to get rid of them, iguanas were everywhere in the wetlands.

Purple Martins

Adult Purple Martin feeding its chick

Young Glossy Ibis

Adult male Red-winged Blackbird

Glossy Ibis flying overhead

The Gray-headed Swamphen is larger than the gallinules, destroys their habitat and displaces them.

Gray-headed Swamphen

Gray-headed Swamphen shows off its big feet.

Gray-headed Swamphen

Gray-headed Swamphen

Purple Gallinule

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron

Snowy Egret

Great Egret

Spatterdock

Young Glossy Ibis

Young Glossy Ibis

Young Glossy Ibis

Young Glossy Ibis

Adult Little Blue Heron in background, with young Anhinga in the foreground

Common Gallinule

Young Glossy Ibis

Young Glossy Ibis

Young Tricolored Heron

Young Tricolored Heron

Young Tricolored Heron

Young Tricolored Heron

Fireflag flowers

Young Wood Storks with an adult nearby

Young Anhingas

A young Wood Stork stretches its wings.

Young Wood Stork

Adult Great Blue Heron with chicks

Great Blue Heron chicks

Great Egret chicks

Great Egret chicks

Great Egret chicks

Great Egret chicks

Adult Green Heron scratching an itch

Double-crested Cormorants at a nest

Adult Green Heron

Adult Great Egret

Cattle Egret chicks and a parent

The adult Cattle Egret was virtually attacked by its offspring demanding to be fed.

Feeding frenzy among the Cattle Egrets

The adult Cattle Egret takes a break.

The three young Cattle Egrets do not stop their clamoring for food.

Back into the fray

Adult Cattle Egret feeding a young one

Adult Cattle Egret feeding young ones

Two juvenile Cattle Egrets compete to be fed with an eager third one close at hand.

Young Cattle Egrets vying for food

Adult and young Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egrets

The parent takes another break.

Great Egret preening

Steve walking the path on the back side of the Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Sign showing the main water plants grown in the wetlands

A pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

The male Black-bellied Whistling Duck tries for a little romantic interlude...

...then busies himself preening afterward.

Preening Purple Gallinule

This iguana fell out of a tree into the water, then climbed onto a nearby bush.

Green Iguana

Preening Purple Gallinule

Purple Gallinule

Young Green Heron

Young Green Heron

There were two young Green Herons near the exit to the wetlands.

Young Green Heron practicing its stalking

Young Green Heron

Young Green Heron

On the other side of the boardwalk was this young Tricolored Heron

Young Tricolored Heron

We saw some splashing around in the water and realized two male Boat-tailed Grackles were fighting with each other.

Two Boat-tailed Grackles fighting with each other in the water

Boat-tailed Grackles

Boat-tailed Grackles

Maybe they were fighting over this female holding nesting material.

This is a map of Green Cay Visitor Center and Wetlands, where we birded after lunch.

Jan, on the boardwalk leading into the Visitor Center at Green Cay

This algae-covered Yellow-bellied Slider was either yawning or silently screaming.

It may have been responding to this approaching lizard.

Turtle and lizard

Is this an Eastern Fence Lizard?

The Yellow-bellied Slider at Green Cay was having a busy day.

A curious Green Heron

Green Heron at the edge of the water at Green Cay

Green Heron

The Green Heron climbed onto the fallen palm trunk the lizard had just vacated.

The turtle noticed the Green Heron approaching.

Yellow-bellied Slider and Green Heron

The turtle kept its eye on the heron as it approached.

It was hard to tell what the heron's intentions were.

The heron tentatively put its foot on the turtle's back...

...and then appeared to be stepping up onto the turtle's shell...

...but the turtle was having nothing of itd, jerked to the side suddenly and the heron flew.

But the turtle did not dive into the water; it re-situated itself on the fallen palm.

View of Green Cay wetlands from the boardwalk

Looking back down the boardwalk toward the Visitor Center

A local woman gave Steve and Jan some information about where to find nesting Black-necked Stilts and took them to the location.

A Cattle Egret flew overhead.

Black-necked Stilt sitting on a nest

Nesting Black-necked Stilt

A second Black-necked Stilt was nearby.

White flowers

White flowers

A pair of Mottled Ducks

Farther along the boardwalk, we found a second Black-necked Stilt on a nest.

Then we spied a couple of young Least Bitterns making their way through the Arrowhead plants growing in the water.

Young Least Bittern

Young Least Bittern

One of the young Least Bitterns came out into the open for a great view.

Young Least Bittern at Green Cay Wetlands

Young Least Bittern

The young Least Bittern gave us a variety of poses.

Young Least Bittern stretching its neck

Young Least Bittern

Young Least Bittern

Young Least Bittern

Young Least Bittern

Young Least Bittern

Young Least Bittern

Young Least Bittern

Young Least Bittern

Young Least Bittern--last photo, I promise

Mother Mottled Duck with her chicks

Mottled Ducklings

Purple Gallinule

Gray-headed Swamphen

Great Egret

This adult Least Bittern was more reticent than the young one.

Adult Least Bittern

Adult Least Bittern

Male Red-winged Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird nest

Duck Potato blossoms

White wildflower

White wildflower

Great Egret

Cattle Egret

Young Red-shouldered Hawk in a nest in a palm tree

Young Red-shouldered Hawk

Young Red-shouldered Hawk

Young Red-shouldered Hawk

Young Red-shouldered Hawk

Alligator Apple or Swamp or Pond Apple

Alligator Apple

Purple Martins

White-winged Doves

White-winged Dove stretching its wings

Tricolored Heron on the boardwalk rail at Green Cay

From Green Cay, we went to Brian Piccolo Park in Davie, FL, to look for Burrowing Owls. They were so close Steve and Mary were able to sit on park benches to photograph them.

Jan, photographing Burrowing Owls at Brian Piccolo Park

The nesting burrows were marked with rope borders to prevent their being disturbed and perches were erected in each plot.

A Burrowing Owl near the opening of its burrow

Burrowing Owl

Sign designating the owl habitat

Young Burrowing Owl on the L and adult on the R

Parent and young Burrowing Owls

Adult Burrowing Owl

Burrowing Owl

Burrowing Owl

Burrowing Owls at their nest in Brian Piccolo Park, Davie, FL

Burrowing Owl

Adult and young Burrowing Owls

Immature Burrowing Owl

This adult Burrowing Owl appeared to be chewing a stick--or picking its teeth.

Burrowing Owl

Burrowing Owl

The young Burrowing Owl looks like it's chewing on some dried out carcass; Mary thought it must be a toad or a squirrel.

Then it takes it over to the opening of the burrow...

...and drops it back in the hole where it had gotten it.

Young Burrowing Owl

Young Burrowing Owl looking into its burrow where it had dropped a piece of a carcass

Young Burrowing Owl

Trying it again

Young Burrowing Owl chewing some unknown blob

The adult Burrowing Owl comes to inspect

The adult Burrowing Owl appears to be inspecting whatever the young one dropped into the burrow...

...and then goes in for a closer look.

After conferring...

...the adult seems to agree it's not worth pursuing.

Steve and Jan scope out another burrow.

Jan, photographing Burrowing Owls

Another young Burrowing Owl

Young Burrowing Owl

These two Monk Parakeets were perched on the power line at the west edge of the park.

Two Monk Parakeets performing synchronized preening

Monk Parakeets at Brian Piccolo Park, Davie, FL

Monk Parakeets

Nearby, in the fading light, was this Loggerhead Shrike.

Mourning Dove

Monk Parakeets

Looks like a young Loggerhead Shrike

The smaller Monk Parakeet nest, on powerlines on the west side of the park

The bigger communal nest of the Monk Parakeets, our last photo of the day