Yellow Legs

Not sure how most people feel about the end of day light savings time, but I don't mind the change.  I was able to watch the sunrise on my way to work this week. It is my favorite time of day!

Green Heron

I haven't had a whole time for birding, but here are a few shots of some of the birds I saw last month at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Tricolored Heron

Greater Yellowlegs

Hmm, I was beginning to notice a trend, yellow legs.

American Avocets

Belted Kingfisher

Yellow-throated Warbler

Have a great weekend!

Please Obey All Signs

We took a trip out to Moccasin Island today, and it was just one of those days. You know, the kind of day when you feel like someone is always watching you. As we began our ascent up the road we encountered this adult Caracara schooling her young on how to keep the traffic moving.(I assure you I didn't stop to take this photo)

Adult & Juvenile Crested Caracaras

The patrols were definitely out today. We encountered this Red-shouldered Hawk at the next sign along the road.

Red-shouldered Hawk

The hawk initially seemed very serious about enforcing the sign, even gesturing to it to be sure we saw it.

Red-shouldered Hawk

But, the hawk decided to abandoned its post about a minute later to retrieve something of interest.

Next, we came across some cattle that had gone AWOL. They stood in the road for a few minutes, staring at us down, forcing us to ignore the sign and stop. They eventually moved and we continued on.

White-tailed Deer

We came across this handsome young man as he wandered along the road. He took off in bounding leaps as  we drove along, but it wouldn't be the last we saw of him.

Common Ground Doves

These little Common Ground-Doves, along with a handful of others, found the middle of the road to be a wonderful place for a rest.

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallows were everywhere. Many of them were resting along this pretty wire, tired from their daily high paced activity.

Eastern Meadowlark

We arrived at the empty parking area, and decided on a walk up the southern trail. The area surrounding the parking field was full of Eastern Meadowlarks. We didn't end up walking to far as the mosquitoes were really hungry and my son decided stomping in a huge puddle was more fun than going for a walk.

We saw the young deer again as we were leaving. It was about a mile up the road from where we first saw it. Once again it decided not to stick around.

We made a loop around the Click Ponds on our way out. Things were very low key there. We did see nearly a dozen young Green Herons.

And one juvenile Night Heron.

This gator decided it was time for his morning exercise, a few laps around the pond!

Lily Ducklings

We spent the past week exploring the sights and sounds of Chicago. We saw this Mallard family among the pads of the lily pool near Lincoln Park.

The ducklings made their way over and under the large floating mats.

They sure were adorable!

This Green Heron was trying to get a better look at the approaching youngsters.

Here, There & Everywhere

Sunrise over the Indian River
Rockledge, Fl

We have been out and about to several locations over the past week. Mead Gardens in Orlando was our first stop, a small side trip on our way to an appointment.  This was my second short trip here, and I definitely need to visit when I can spend more time at this beautiful, peaceful location! We only had time to take a walk along the boardwalk, where a handful of birds were out in the early morning sun.

This Great Crested Flycatcher was easy to find as we heard it singing long before we came upon it.

The only time it was quiet was when it was consuming what appeared to be a spider.

Over the weekend we spent time kayaking the 1,000 Islands in Cocoa Beach. The islands are a flood-tide delta deposit formed by a past strong storm surge that came across the barrier island.

The islands are beautiful place to paddle through. They offer views of the rich tropical and temperate plant species as well as numerous species of wading birds, Ospreys, and even songbirds.

We found a handful of White-eyed Vireos in various locations.  I will have to admit finding a songbird from a kayak can be more challenging than when on foot, and trying to taking a photo of one from a moving boat with a wiggly toddler on your lap can be even more arduous.

My paddling helper!

Yesterday we took a bright & early morning trip to the Sebastian Inlet State Park. As I enjoyed the beautiful colors of the sunrise, I began to sense the presence of a ghost....

It turned out to just be this Ghost Crab; it was also enjoying the sunrise!

The cool patterning on the crab helps it to stay camouflaged in the sand, safe from predators.

This Reddish Egret was hanging around the rocks of the jetty.

This intense fisherman (Great Blue Heron) was scanning the surf.

The parking lot appeared to have new security.....strangest place I've seen a Green Heron.

Keep cool and have a great weekend:)

More Black....

Well, more black skies that is, if you live in this part of Florida. The Sunshine State has definitely not been living up to its name! There has been a tropical storm lingering in the gulf, which is now finally making its way across northern Florida. We have resorted to doing some of our usual activities in the rain....running in the rain, bird watching in the rain, hiking in the rain....We usually start out when there is a brief break in the weather, fooled by the almost decent looking skies. Yesterday, however, seeing black at the Click Ponds turned out to be a good thing! 

Black Tern

We came across 2 Black Terns!!! I have never seen them at the ponds, so I was super excited to get a chance to watch them racing about (in the rain). They didn't come very close, so I only ended up with these poor photos, taken from the car...

Black Tern

About ten minutes later, it was not longer raining and the sun was fighting with the clouds as it attempted to break through.

Common Gallinule family

I also saw this Common Gallinule, which is quite common here, with its brood of seven chicks! The typical familes I've seen here and at the wetlands usually only have 2-3 chicks. Sorry Gallinule, but these are probably the least cute chicks I've seen...

Green Heron

There continues to be a healthy population of active Green Herons feeding on frogs, fish, and even dragonflies.

Green Heron

Queen

There are also very large numbers of dragonflies and butterflies.

Florida Soft Shell Turtle

The wetlands have been closed to cars for the past few weeks so we have been walking, but we usually don't make it too far before the rain returns.

The weather has not been too kind to the migrating seabirds passing by this area. There have been numerous news stories this week about the unusually high numbers of migrating Greater Shearwaters (close to a hundred) that are showing up on the beaches in very poor condition. Even with treatment at the local wildlife hospital, most have not survived. Hopefully the weather will be improving soon!