Adult Wood Stork in flight, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, FloridaAdult Wood Stork in flight – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 320, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light

Wood Storks are the only storks that breed in in North America and they are our largest wading bird. They remind me of the storks I used to see nesting on top of buildings and chimneys in Germany when I was a little girl but they are two different species.

When I lived in Florida there were times that I would see Wood Storks at Fort De Soto and once in a while I would get lucky and find them in flight. The day I photographed this Wood Stork several of them circled before they landed in a lagoon right in front of me.

They might look like big black and white birds but if you catch them in the right light their black feathers can display iridescent reds, golds, greens and blues and in this frame the reds show on the tail feathers and the greens show on the primaries.

Breeding Wood Storks are found in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina and in some areas of the Caribbean and Mexico.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Wood Stork photos plus facts and information about this species.