Coming & Going

Traffic at Click Ponds can be quite minimal at times. A handful of common herons and egrets and Coots are always a guarantee  Yet, I find myself  there each week as it's quiet and peaceful and there's always a chance of finding something out of the ordinary. For the past two weeks, though, the ponds have been packed; I've probably seen more species in these past two weeks than I have over the past two years.

The White Pelicans have definitely been a highlight for me. With the ponds being so small, I've had a chance to watch these huge birds in action at close range. These migrating groups are most likely passing through as they make their way north. The first day I saw about 35 of them, a few mornings later there were over 150. By that same afternoon, they were just about gone. I arrived early on this past Sunday morning to find just this low key trio. I did wonder why they didn't leave with the large group.

No sooner did I look up to see a new group arriving. They flew past me to the west.

Then made the turn back towards the ponds...

and down they came.

I often saw the pelicans paired up with their fishing partners, Double-crested Cormorants. Check out the size difference in the bills of these two species below.

I'm pretty sure the White Pelicans wiped the ponds clean of all fish!

Many different species of ducks have also stopped by.

Mottled Duck and ducklings

male Ruddy Duck

Ring-necked Duck

American Wigeon pair & Coot

Killdeer

The lower water levels have attracted some long legged friends.

Black-necked Stilt & Lesser Yellowlegs

Thanks to this Stilt I was able to see just how shallow these ponds are.

There was even a pair of Bonaparte's Gulls hanging around. They seemed to be struggling to "fit in". They first to try to join this group of ducks, but that didn't go so well. Where did everyone go? Was it something we said??

Bonaparte's Gulls

The gulls thought maybe they would fit in better with the pelicans.

Many species are now displaying their breeding plumage.

Great Egret in breeding plumage

Tricolored Heron in breeding plumage

Anhinga in breeding plumage

Black-crowned Night Heron

I came across a bird I haven't seen in quite some time at the Viera Wetlands yesterday morning. The Black-crowned Night Heron, typically most active in the evening, is most often found foraging for prey in the reeds along the edge of the water. This heron was soaking up some rays after the previous night's cold front significantly dropped the temperature.

Black-crowned Night Heron
Viera Wetlands

Here are a few others I've seen this week.

Canvasback and Ring-necked Ducks
Viera Wetlands

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks
Blue Heron Wetlands

Pied-billed Grebe
Blue Heron Wetlands

Back Again

To the Viera Wetlands and Click Ponds, that is. There really are alot of great places to go birding around here, but the wetlands are really close. 

Glossy Ibis
Click Ponds

Glossy Ibis can found regularly at both the Click Ponds and the wetlands. This beautiful bird is most often found foraging in the mud or shallow waters along the shores of the wetlands. 

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Viera Wetlands



This Red-bellied Woodpecker, which actually has a red head, not a red belly, was enjoying a day of tree hopping.

 

Hooded Merganser
Viera Wetlands

  I spotted 4 Hooded Mergansers,
2 male and 2 female, all actively diving for food.





  



Osprey
Viera Wetlands



Belted Kingfisher
Viera Wetlands

This Belted Kingfisher was on the prowl for his next meal.



Male Blue-winged Teal
Viera Wetlands

 This Teal was showing a little wing during his preening.


Female Blue-winged Teal
Viera Wetlands

This female Teal hanging out with a Coot, close to the other group of 1 male and 4 female teals. I wonder if they kicked her out.



Ring-necked Ducks
Click Ponds

 Not a decent photo, but this group of Ring-necked Ducks was spotted in the middle of the second pond.