Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 11/12/12

Its been a while since I've spent a morning birding solo, without my mini-birder, as I did Monday morning. I spent the morning exploring Merritt Island NWR, starting with a drive along Blackpoint Drive. Around the area of the second observation stop, I came across a very large mixed group of ducks. Most have made their way to the area to spend the winter here. I saw the first Northern Pintails, American Wigeons, Gadwalls, and Green-winged Teals of the season. I also saw Blue-winged Teals, Northern Shovelers, and Mottled Ducks.

American Avocet

I saw this solo American Avocet foraging near a small group of Teals. I'm always delighted to see these elegant shorebirds! There were several large groups of waders around. I saw 2 Northern Harriers patrolling the area. There were numerous Belted Kingfishers along the way.Yellow-rumped Warblers, Palm Warblers, Gray Catbirds, Savannah Sparrows, and Common Yellow Throats were abundant. I saw Caspian, Forster's, and Royal Terns. There have been a few recent Gull-billed Tern sightings, but I didn't come across one.  Maybe next time!

Least Sandpiper

I also checked out Biolab Road. Dunlin and Least Sandpipers were plentiful along the shallow shore lines.

Osprey

This Osprey had just caught its lunch.

American Kestrel

Great Blue Heron

The highlight of my day was near the end of Biolab Rd. where I encountered an area populated with over 500 birds. They were mostly waders, Spoonbills, Ibises, Egrets, and Herons, but seeing the mass in action was cool. There was also a large group of White Pelicans that were foraging cooperatively in the shallow waters.

I ended up with a species count of 64 for the morning. I'm looking forward to getting back there soon!

St.Sebastian River Preserve State Park

I took an early morning drive through the northeast section of the St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park this morning. It's a very peaceful and beautiful place to visit with a variety of habitat to explore. The park consists of four quadrants which cover over 22,000 acres. It is located in southern Brevard and northern Indian River counties. Here is a link to a map of the park: www.floridastateparks.org/lib/img/park/parkmap/sts-map.jpg

The day started out with sunny skies, but heavy cloud  cover moved in quickly as colld front pushed down from the north. We stayed on Buffer Preserve Drive while looking for birds, but there are miles of trails that can be explored on foot, or even by horse, but we don't have a horse. There is a manatee overlook at the end of the drive, but we didn't make it quite that far today. At this time of  the year, it's a great place to observe lots of  the "sea cows" as the canal offers warm water and a lack of boat traffic in that area.

Northern Mockingbird
St. Sebastian Preserve State Park

This Mockingbird is perched on a tree that is burned out. At the park, there is notable evidence of fires in many areas. The majority of these are from "prescribed burns", fires set intentionally to restore and maintain the communities. Without these fires, the pine flatwoods, as well as other plants and some animals that depend on these types of communities would be destroyed.

American Kestrel
St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

The Kestrel was definitely the most popular bird of  the day. I saw at least seven of them! Such a beautiful bird.

Eastern Phoebe
St. Sebastian River State Park

We only counted 11 species on our trip, not very impressive. I have higher hopes for the next trip, which I'm hoping will be soon. There are Red-Cockaded Woodpecker colonies that reside on the preserve and I'm hoping to see them!

Moccasin Island Tract

An early morning hike at the Moccasin Island Tract in the River Lakes Conservation area was a great way to start this warm, breezy, sunny day. The tract is about a 5,000 acre recreation area, west of Viera, along the eastern bank of the St. John's River. The trails are open to hikers, bikers, and horse back riders. At this time of the year, you must head south on the trail, to avoid the presence of hunters.

I knew it was going to be an exciting day as a Northern Harrier passed by as I stepped out of my car. In the parking area, you could hear the wonderful melody of the Eastern Meadowlark, and I quickly spotted several nearby. My son and I enjoyed their song for a bit before heading down the trail.

Eastern Meadowlark
Moccasin Island Tract

The Northern Harrier passed by a few more times. There were numerous Sandhill Cranes out foraging in the muddy, open fields.

Sandhill Crane

There was a flock of hundreds of Glossy and White Ibis that continuously relocated to various sections of the field. It was quite a sight!

Glossy Ibis

A Great Blue Heron landed just ahead of us on the trail.

Great Blue Heron

We ended the day we three more raptor sightings!! A Red-shouldered Hawk, a Merlin and an American Kestrel were all perched in various trees along the drive out.

American Kestrel

Here are a few more pictures of the area, taken on previous trips.

Eagle's nest