Celery Fields

On our way down to Fort Meyers we stopped by the Celery Fields near Sarasota. We got there a bit late due to there being heavy traffic the entire way there. Once we arrived the wildlife did not disappoint!

Wood Stork making a flyover

There were a couple of Spoonbills far out behind the tall grass. This one finally had enough and flew past the boardwalk.

The Celery Fields have been a great place to see Northern Harriers up close

Northern Harrier flying past

A Juvenile Red Shouldered Hawk found a nice perch on top of a nesting box

Osprey hunting with a very intense look as it zeros in on a fish…

As the Osprey strikes the water, it closes its protective eye membrane in case the fish gets feisty

Osprey grabbing for its target fish…

…Osprey staring at me with its fresh catch

Osprey with its fish

Osprey flying off with its fish

Juvenile Red Shouldered Hawk still hanging out on the nesting box

Belted Kingfisher in a dive to get a fish…

Just before hitting the water, the Belted Kingfisher opens its mouth in preparation to grab a fish…

Going in head first, the Belted Kingfisher is hoping to grab a fish…

…And success! The Belted Kingfisher caught a little fish!

Right before leaving, we saw these 2 Bald Eagles circling high overhead

Bald Eagle flying high above

The Celery Fields is always a great place to go birding. It’s currently under threat of over-development with several builders wanting to subdivide all of the land surrounding the park. While we can’t stop growth, we can hopefully protect these beautiful areas and keep the developers away so that the wildlife can continue to thrive in the areas where they were here before us.