Recent Happenings

The Click Ponds have been the place to be lately. Birds of all shapes and sizes are congregating in large numbers. Sandpipers, Dowitchers, Avocets, Blue-winged Teals, Shovelers, an assortment of herons and egrets, Cranes, Wood Storks, a plethora of Spoonbills, Forster's Terns, White Pelicans....and the list goes on.

The cranes were a little edgy.

This adult Caracara was being summonsed by its offspring.

Dinnertime for an Ibis!

My first sighting of a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in Florida. It made a brief two day stopover near the ponds for two days. Unfortunately I didn't manage to capture any decent photos of it.

Lots of foraging Forster's; I forgot how fun it can be to try and photograph these erratic fliers.

This Sandhill Crane was having a bit of an identity crisis!

A few more Spoonbills joined the crowd just before sunset!

Good to the Last Bite!

Big appetites seemed to be the theme at the wetlands this week. I came across an array of insects eating insects; interesting stuff!

Eastern Pondhawk with Rambur's Forktail

This Eastern Pondhawk was consuming a female orange-form Rambur's Forktail.

Eastern Pondhawk

Eastern Pondhawk

The next  Eastern Pondhawk I came across had an even larger appetite. The pondhawk was eating a female Needham's Skimmer.

Eastern Pondhawk with Needham's Skimmer

This Blue Dasher settled for a much smaller meal.

Blue Dasher
Pachydiplax longipennis

Blue Dasher
Pachydiplax longipennis

This Rambur's Forktail was taking down a small skipper.

Rambur's Forktail

Rambur's Forktail

A little bit of a messy meal this skipper was!

Rambur's Forktail

Four-spotted Pennant

The visit ended with a stop off at this pelican party.

Many other species arrived shortly after I did.

Good times!

Merritt Island NWR 8/17/13

 I started my early morning visit to Merritt Island NWR with a drive along Biolab Rd. It was a beautiful overcast morning with the sun hiding behind a heavy blanket of clouds for most of the time I was there.

Roseate Spoonbills

The west side of the road was occupied by egrets, herons, and colorful spoonbills.

Reddish Egret 

Tricolored Heron

 The east side of the road was filled with shorebirds, terns, and a few gulls.

Short-billed Dowitchers

Lesser Yellowlegs

A Semipalmated Plover and its peeps

Seaside Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax berenice) ~female

There were thousands of dragonflies around and I enjoyed trying to capture them with my macro lens.

Seaside Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax berenice)

Seaside Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax berenice) ~male

Seaside Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax berenice) ~male

Seaside Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax berenice) ~male

Great Southern White

Viera Wetlands 8/16/12

My son and I took a long overdue trip to the wetlands this morning. I had planned on walking the loops, so I was happy to see the "open to foot traffic only" sign waiting to welcome us. The birds were very active at this early hour, especially with the absence of human activity. The first cell continued to be occupied by a plethora of Great Egrets mixed with a few other waders, including Spoonbills, Snowy Egrets, and Ibises. We saw a large flock of female Red-winged Blackbirds gathered together in the reeds.

Female Red-winged Blackbird

We came upon this young Loggerhead Shrike, a cute little fellow,  standing on top of a headless palm.

Juvenile Loggerhead Shrike

Several cells had very low water levels, which appeared to be attractive to a group of Least and Spotted Sandpipers.

Least Sandpiper

This lone Black-necked Stilt stood nearby.

Black-necked Stilt

The Stilt was soon join by a second Stilt. The Stilts were enjoying the company of one another, until...

Black-necked Stilts

A Tricolored Heron tried to join them. But, as the saying goes, three is a crowd.

Black-necked Stilts & Tricolored Heron

 The pair of Stilts decided to move along.

The action was not limited to just the land; birds were passing by overhead continually.  Unfortunately, I was a little to slow to capture most of them.

Roseate Spoonbill

Little Blue Heron

Viera Wetlands 7/27/12

Things seemed to have picked up quite a bit at the wetlands this week. We saw large populations of the regulars as well as a handful of birds we do not see quite so often. The first cell near the entrance was packed with Great Egrets, we counted close to 50, as well as a mix of Wood Storks, Snowy Egrets, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Great Blue, Green, and Little Blue Herons, and Common Gallinules.

Little Blue Heron

This young Wood Stork was relaxing right next to its parents. The juveniles are almost as adorable as their parents:)

Juvenile Wood Stork

I rarely see Black-necked Stilts at the wetlands , but I counted 8 of them today. This one, which I believe is an immature one, was foraging near 2 adults. These shorebirds are quite intriguing looking. They have such delicate features; got to love those super long, thin legs!

Black-necked Stilt

Roseate Spoonbills are occasionally found at the wetlands. This one was enjoying spending some time all alone, away from the other birds.

Roseate Spoonbill

I wonder how hard it is to clean your feathers with a spoon...

This guy then came along with an apparent disregard for the Spoonbills personal space. The White Ibis looked sort of like a lost, confused tourist, as it walked right into the photo and just stood there...

Speaking of Ibis, there are tons of White and Glossy Ibises at the wetlands right now. Other species noted include: Ospreys, Black Vutlures, Cattle Egrets (tons and tons of them), Tricolored Herons, Red-winged Blackbirds, Boat-tailed Grackles, Least Terns, Mottled Ducks, Belted Kingfisher, and lots of American Alligators.

White Ibis

Gulf Fritillary