Kicking off wildlife shots in the new year - the following shots were taken on the New Year's Day holiday of Monday, 1/2/2023.  It was nice to have the extra day off for a 3 day weekend, and the wetlands were a nice place to spend that day.The following shots were taken at Green Cay and Wakodahatchee wetlands, with the A6600 - splitting between the FE 200-600mm G OSS lens and the FE 100-400mm GM OSS lens, all handheld.  All shots are posted at 2400 pixels on the long side if you view them in original size:First, the 200-600mm shots:Poking its head above the grasses in the distance was this Wilson's snipe.A lovely pied-billed grebe, with such fine feathers that look like hair or fir, yet somehow stay completely dry when they go under waterA belted kingfisher, flying over the waters to look for any fish to dive onA female red-bellied woodpecker checking out the start of a nest hole in a palm tree.A ruby-throated hummingbird enjoying the selection of firebush blooms.An even more rare sight - a hummingbird NOT in flight!  They're so tiny that it's almost impossible to see them when they're just resting on a branch - I was fortunate to follow this one back to the perch, allowing me to see where it landed.A blue-grey gnatcatcher hopping onto a branch right in front of me, and ready to hop off to another branch just a second later.Beautiful male red-bellied woodpecker in gorgeous lightClose up of the male red-bellied woodpecker as it hunted around the trees for a mealAnd now switching to the 100-400mm lens:A black-and-white warbler, with something juicy to eatBlack-and-white warbler, back on the hunt for more food - at the end of a branchChecking out the end of the branch - could be something hiding in there!Black-and-white warblers can even defy gravity, walking upside down to check out the bottom of the branchesA female anhinga, on a favorite post to dry off her wingsIt's a favorite thing for anhingas to do - as evidenced by another female anhinga, on another perch, drying offComments, questions, and critique welcomed and encouraged, and very much appreciated!

Because I've been doubling up posts to get caught up for the last 6 months, I haven't bothered to post any overflow or extra shots from the same shooting periods.  But now that I'm generally caught up, and not many bites so far, seemed like a good time to post up a few extra:We usually get one or two Wilson's snipes at a time - and some years I never spot one.  The past few years, we've been getting as many as 3-4 at a time.  This winter, we've had as many as 14 show up and hang around!  Here was a gaggle of 5-6 of them hiding back in the reeds where you could barely notice them - another batch of 4 was nearby, and the solo one from the first post, making for at least 10.That female red-bellied woodpecker checking out the holeAnother look at the ruby-throated hummingbird perched and still for a changeRuby-throated hummingbird heading off to another flowerHummingbirds love the firebushSampling more bloomsThe lovely male red-bellied woodpeckerThe black-and-white warblerBlue-grey gnatcatcherYellow-rumped warbler on the side of a treeMale anhinga with a fish catchOne more black and white warbler