12/6 Wood Storks!!

On my way to the lighthouse, along the park road, I had noticed some large birds.  When I came back two hours later, they were sitting in the grass in the very same spot, so I stopped.

I had been suspicious that these were wood storks, but I was about 80' from them, and most were sitting in the grass.  I did not want to disturb them if that was what they were because they are very rare.  So I quickly took a couple of closeup photos and rode away.  When I downloaded the photos this evening, it was clear that I had been right.  The first photo shows the group, with four birds sitting and one standing.  (There is a red X over a smaller crane standing among them.)

And here is a closeup of the bird on the far right so you can see how these ugly birds look in case you ever see any:

I learned about woodstorks about 30 years ago when my kids and I visited the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Southeastern Florida and saw them nesting very high in bald cypress trees.  They have declined in number substantially since then, but have had a little rebound in the last few years. 

You can learn more about them here:  http://birds.audubon.org/species/woosto