Viera Wetlands & Click Ponds

I spend a few hours exploring the Viera Wetlands and adjacent ponds this past weekend. It was fun to see such a great variety of species!

This Red-bellied Woodpecker was hanging around the entrance of the ponds. It made its way up a Sabal Palmetto palm to snack on the small black berries produced by the tree.

If you look carefully you can see the (usually difficult to see) red patch on this male's lower belly.

Across the way from the way from the WP, this Mockingbird was enjoying some berries from the invasive Brazilian Pepper trees.

Palm Warbler were everywhere.

This Swamp Sparrow was hanging in the reeds near the water.

I saw at least 10 Eastern Phoebes, such cute little fellas!

This shrike was resting on a post near the road and didn't seem to mind the passing traffic.

There were a TON of ducks hanging out in the low waters of the ponds. Green-winged Teals were by far the largest group, but there were also Northern Shovelers, Lesser Scaups, Blue-winged Teals, a Canvasback, and I'm sure a few other species I missed.

The quiet, calm scene quickly changed to this...

...when this Northern Harrier made a pass over head.

A group of 10 American Avocets came in for a landing.

This American Bittern was on the move. It was nice to have a different view of one as I usually just see them hiding in the reeds.

Weekend Warblers

As this past Sunday afternoon was slipping away and I was slightly sulking at the thought that the weekend had passed without any birding, I spotted a pleasant surprise. Right in my own backyard lurked this Black-throated Blue Warbler. While conditions were poor for any decent photos, I grabbed my camera to attempt to capture my first photos of this species. I slowly approached the area and the warbler quickly retreated into the brush. I stood motionless for a while and the warbler returned for a little foraging right out in the open.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

I noticed quite a bit of movement in a neighboring  tree and then spotted this Blackpoll Warbler.

Blackpoll Warbler 

This warbler wasn't nearly as shy as the Black-throated. It bounced rapidly from branch to branch, stopping occasionally to glance in my direction.

A few minutes later, in the same tree, I came across a third warbler speices, an American Redstart. I was starting to think I was having a mini fall out in my yard!

This American Goldfinch also stopped by my bird feeder to check out my limited facilities. A few minutes later, the Cardinals moved in and displaced the Goldfinch.

I have never seen any of these species in my yard before and was excited to get to see them close up. Here are a few of the "regulars" that do drop by often...

Cardinal

Red-shouldered Hawk

Painted Bunting

Red-bellied Woodpecker

The Color Purple

Luckily, the light is shining at the end of this busy week's tunnel, and summer break is now only 2 weeks away! I've haven't made it to any of my favorite patches in nearly a week, but thankfully a few kind birds have shown up in some of the places I have made to! Here are a few of the locals (or possibly visitors) that I've encountered....

Sandhill Crane Colt

I've been keeping an eye out for the new Sandhill Crane family since spotting them two weeks ago. Saturday I came across them as I passed through a nearby neighborhood. The chicks, of course, have grown tremendously in just 2 weeks. This one seemed to be aware of the appropriate place to walk as it meandered down the sidewalk.

Sandhill Crane cooling off

I was rather amused to see one of the adults take a detour through a yard to cool off in someone's sprinkler. The rest of the family followed suit. It was quite warm last weekend.

Osprey

I've noticed the Osprey, the one who built the nest in my neighbor's tree, appears to have attracted a mate; way to go! Sunday night, though, some sort of melee broke out when a third Osprey decided to try and get in on the mix. The sun had already set and the residual light didn't work in favor of capturing any decent photos.

This Red-bellied Woodpecker was pulling some unidentifiable matter from the palm tree in my yard.

Semipalmated Plover

We did manage a short trip to the park to help my son expend some energy. I was happy to notice that we were not alone as three Semipalmated Plover had stopped by the river's edge to forage.

Purple Gallinule

"Purple" bird sightings seem to be the theme over the past few weeks . It started with this Purple Gallinule I spotted at the wetlands a week ago. A few other observers I spoke to relayed that there were two in the area and that the Gallinules appeared to be collecting nesting materials. Purple Gallinule babies would be cool to see! I've only seen this species here on one other occasion.

Purple Martin

Today, I came across a small, but noisy flock of Purple Martins. They are not quite as "purple" as the Gallinule, but they were interesting to watch. I noted at least 8 females and 2 males.

Boat-Tailed Grackle

Even though its name doesn't contain the word purple, this Boat-Tailed Grackle was looking quite dapper showing off its iridescent purple and blue in the sun.

Enjoy your weekend!

Coincidences

Not only are they both birds that enjoy pecking wood....

Pileated Woodpecker

but they also enjoyed visiting the same palm tree in my backyard this weekend...

Red-bellied Woodpecker

and while chatting around the tree, they discovered...

Pileated Woodpecker

they use the same hair stylist who LOVES red!!!

The Return of the Mate

In spite of really wanting a change of birding scenery, I ended up at the Viera Wetlands Saturday morning. Our trip didn't last too long as it turned out to be blazing hot, much too hot for the warm clothes my son was dressed in. Where is our winter by the way? We drove straight to the Great Blue Heron nesting area to see if there were any hatchlings yet, which there were not. One good piece of news to report, the proper mate was in place at the site of the angry birds incident from last week.

Great Blue Heron
Viera Wetlands

This guy obviously had a bit more experience than last weeks undesirable male suitor.

He came bearing nesting material.

He came bearing food; what more could a mate ask for.

Glad there was peace back in the nest! Apparently she was glad too!

Boat-tailed Grackle
Viera Wetlands

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Viera Wetlands

Hello, is anyone home?

Happy Gator

Saved by the Red

While Red-bellied Woodpeckers are a common sight in this area, I encountered an uncommon sight of one this week.  As I was driving through a very busy parking lot, a speck of red caught my eye. As I got closer, I realized it was a Red-bellied Woodpecker sitting in middle of the road.

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Rockledge, Fl

Enjoying a few sips of some road runoff, this Woodpecker didn't seemed fazed by the traffic.

I was happy when this guy retreated to a safer location.

Random Birds in the Florida Keys

I had a little bit of time each day to explore a few areas of the Keys for some birds. I visited an area called "Tea Table Relief", as I noted in a few earlier posts, twice, seeing an interesting mix of birds each visit. The birds seen in this area included: Brown Pelicans, a "Great White" Heron, Cormorants, Ospreys, gulls, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Black Vultures, Palm Warblers, Magnificent Frigatebirds, a Northern Mockingbird, a Belted Kingfisher, White Ibis, and several European starlings.

Northern Mockingbird
Florida Keys

White Ibis
Florida Keys

European Starling
Florida Keys

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Florida Keys

Palm Warbler
Florida Keys

Palm Warbler
Florida Keys

A visit to the Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park didn't turn up any birds, but there was some really cool fossilized reefs to check out. There are three quarries and several trails that you can explore on your own or they have guided tours. The park is a good place to see migrating songs, but they have all apparently migrated on.

Fossilized Reef
Windley Key

This Warbler was hanging out in a tree at the hotel in Islamorda. I think it is a Prairie Warbler. Poor guy had some large growth on his leg.

Prairie Warbler
Florida Keys

This is where I was hanging out!

Palm Warblers were found at all the places I visited. This one was at Founder's Park.

Palm Warbler
Florida Keys

Another area I made a very quick trip through was "Anne's Beach" located around MM 74. It is a great place to bird watch as it offers a boardwalk through the mangroves that parallels the shore. Here I only saw 2 birds, but migrating songs can be found here at other times of the year. I'm not quite sure what this one is.

White Rumped Sandpiper
Florida Keys