A Buffle Bath

I went out to the wetlands yesterday, hoping to see the lone male Bufflehead that has been around the past few days. I spotted him in middle of the southern end of cell 2. We observed him for a little over half an hour. The Bufflehead mostly went about his business, foraging alone, but occasionally tagged along with a nearby group of Hooded Mergansers.

Bufflehead

Watching the Bufflehead preen was amusing. He rolled on to his side and swam in circles as he cleaned his feathers.

Bufflehead & Hooded Merganser

Bufflehead

The Great Blue Herons are hard at work these days. The females are perched upon their chosen Palm Trees.

Great Blue Heron

The males are gathering materials to construct their nests.

This Limpkin was searching for apple snails.

Limpkin

This scene made me smile. Coots are very common and numerous this time of the year at the wetlands. This was the first time though, that I saw a Coot eating off the back of a turtle! The turtle didn't seem to mind the free cleaning.

Eastern Phoebes are also common this time of year.

Eastern Phoebe

Ruddy Duck

Red-tailed Hawk

I saw this young Red-tailed Hawk on a light post near the wetlands.

A Morning Moon

I was able to stop by the wetlands early one morning this week and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise.

I also stopped by the adjacent "Click" Ponds. The word out on the ponds this week was...

...the ducks are coming, the ducks are coming!!! (Note I didn't say anything about decent duck photos coming...the ducks have decided to remain directly in the middle of the pond, far out of my camera's reach). I was excited  to see this mixed group of around 15 that has arrived at the ponds over the past few days.

At the ponds, I saw some Ring-billed and Redheads as well as Mottled, Northern Shoveler, and Blue-winged Teal Ducks at the wetlands.

 We have been seeing lots of Eastern Phoebes over the past month.

This American Bittern looked like it was trying to hitch a ride as it stood on the side of the road. I think it's the first time I've seen one of these elusive birds completely out in the open.

This Snowy Egret wasn't to sure about what was lurking in the water (it was a Soft Shelled Turtle) and decided to speed it up a little to pass by it.

This Red-Shouldered Hawk was  keeping on eye out below for some prey to make its day.

One overcast evening last weekend, we drove the road out to the River Lakes Conservation Area. We saw 5 Kestrels, 1 Bald Eagle, 2 Crested Caracaras, 1 Northern Harrier, and 3 Red-shouldered Hawks! Just before sunset, we saw this Caracara perched on a large pile of discarded sod pallets.

Road to Moccasin Island

A cold front passed through the area this week bringing with it most frigid temps we've experienced this season. I decided to take a drive and see how the birds were keeping warm. We drove the road to Moccasin Island out and back and were pleasantly surprised with the variety of birds that were out and about.

Belted Kingfisher

There were two Belted Kingfishers, about three trees apart from one another, watching the creek for an early morning snack.

Eastern Phoebe

This solitary Eastern Phoebe just seemed to be enjoying the sun.

Savannah Sparrow

Numerous Savannah Sparrows and Palm Warblers were perched along the way.

Palm Warbler

Cattle Egret

There were lots of Cattle Egrets among the cattle as well as along the road chasing down the crickets.

Red-shouldered Hawk

Turkey Vulture

This guy looked like he was daring me to try and steal his raccoon.

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!