St. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge, FL

 Through the haze of controlled burns, we arrived at St. Mark's NWR early on March 2nd. Clouds and smoke, yes, but the weather brightened by mid-day. We birded the Lighthouse pond, along the road, and various ponds and marshes. 

Most are easily accessible by car. Migratory waterfowl was the main show as was the mating rituals of the Common Gallinule.

Here is a sampling of what we saw:

Lots of Boat-tailed Grackles.

Green-winged Teal:

Greater Yellowlegs:

Osprey:

 Willet:

Tricolor Heron:

Savannah Sparrow:

Common Gallinule (territorial dispute):

Common Gallinule (breeding):

American Alligator:

Wakulla Springs State Park, FL

 The first day of March was warm, humid, and a bit overcast at the lovely and a bit mysterious Wakulla Springs State Park in Florida's Panhandle. Most of the birds showed themselves at the swimming area and across the way where alligators swam nice a slow. "Creature From the Black Lagoon" was filmed here in 1954 but the gilman kept out of site. 

 

Some of the birds that didn't mind being photographed are:

Hooded Merganser (female)

Anhinga:

Osprey:

And White Ibis: