A Few More Beach Birds

We spent another morning at Jetty Park on Friday. Not only did we enjoy a beautiful morning, but there were plenty of birds to enjoy as well! 

Black Skimmer

This Black Skimmer looked like some of us feel by Friday! While it looks like this Skimmer may have crashed and burned, it is actually just resting. That large bill gets heavy!

Black Skimmer

Black Skimmer

Last week there was quite a bit of skimming action going on, but this week, with the exception of a few joining the group, the Skimmers were all resting. I counted 32 of them with 8 being juveniles.

Willet

This lone Willet was practicing its one legged balancing skills.

Magnificent Frigatebird

This juvenile Magnificent Frigatebird took a brief break from soaring the high skies to make a low pass along the beach where the large group of Terns, Gulls, and Skimmers were resting.

After a quick check of the beach action, the Frigatebird was gone. This is the second Frigatebird I've seen at Cape Canaveral in past month.

Red Knot

This nonbreeding Red Knot was foraging in the swallow tide with two others. Other birds that we observed include Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns, Least Terns, one Long-billed Dowitcher, one Semipalmated Plover, and numerous Sanderlings.

Sandwiches on the Beach

This past weekend I went to Jetty Park a little after sunrise and got a chance to enjoy a few Sandwiches on the beach. 

One of the first birds I spotted as I made my way to the beach was a Magnificent Frigatebird circling the sky above the inlet. This is the second one I've seen over the past week as I also saw one near the Sebastian Inlet. Numerous Ospreys and a few Black Vultures were also soaring the skies. 

I was most excited to see a few Sandwich Terns that were standing proudly among the Royals.

Sandwich Terns are handsome looking, medium sized terns.

This Laughing Gull discovered a healthy-looking breakfast in the surf; a washed up bone!

Thanks for stopping by!

Magnificent Frigatebirds

We spent this long weekend in the Florida Keys, primarily in Islamorda. I was able to see one bird I was really hoping to see, the Magnificent Frigatebird. I had read that these were resident birds of the area, so I had been watching for them. I actually saw three of them, all of which were inflight. They were still quite a sight! I was photographing some other birds on the north side of the Tea Table Key bridge when I noticed two Frigatebirds were patrolling the area from the sky. I believe one was an adult male and one was a juvenile. The pictures are from quite a distance (with a 300 mm & 1.4x), cropped for a closer view.

Juvenile Magnificent Frigatebird
Florida Keys

Juvenile Magnificent Frigatebird
Florida Keys

Juvenile Magnificent Frigatebird
Florida Keys

Male Adult Magnificent Frigatebird
Florida Keys

From what I've read, the juvenile continues to be be fed by the female for up to one year. The male usually abandons the female and juvenile by the time the juvi is half grown. These two were definitely sticking together, making very wide aerial circles of the area.

The next evening I came back to the same bridge in hopes of seeing the Frigatebirds again. This time,  however, I only saw one, which I believe was an adult female. The bird made one pass, but this time actually went right over my head. I was of course frantically attempting to get some photos.

Female Adult Magnificent Frigatebird
Florida Keys