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!

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

Snow White Birds

An Egret feeding frenzy.

On your mark, get set, go!

Water ballet!

A meal on the fly.

Gotcha little fish.

Incoming!

This White Pelican did not receive a warm welcome from the Egrets. 

I was happy to see him!

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 11/12/12

Its been a while since I've spent a morning birding solo, without my mini-birder, as I did Monday morning. I spent the morning exploring Merritt Island NWR, starting with a drive along Blackpoint Drive. Around the area of the second observation stop, I came across a very large mixed group of ducks. Most have made their way to the area to spend the winter here. I saw the first Northern Pintails, American Wigeons, Gadwalls, and Green-winged Teals of the season. I also saw Blue-winged Teals, Northern Shovelers, and Mottled Ducks.

American Avocet

I saw this solo American Avocet foraging near a small group of Teals. I'm always delighted to see these elegant shorebirds! There were several large groups of waders around. I saw 2 Northern Harriers patrolling the area. There were numerous Belted Kingfishers along the way.Yellow-rumped Warblers, Palm Warblers, Gray Catbirds, Savannah Sparrows, and Common Yellow Throats were abundant. I saw Caspian, Forster's, and Royal Terns. There have been a few recent Gull-billed Tern sightings, but I didn't come across one.  Maybe next time!

Least Sandpiper

I also checked out Biolab Road. Dunlin and Least Sandpipers were plentiful along the shallow shore lines.

Osprey

This Osprey had just caught its lunch.

American Kestrel

Great Blue Heron

The highlight of my day was near the end of Biolab Rd. where I encountered an area populated with over 500 birds. They were mostly waders, Spoonbills, Ibises, Egrets, and Herons, but seeing the mass in action was cool. There was also a large group of White Pelicans that were foraging cooperatively in the shallow waters.

I ended up with a species count of 64 for the morning. I'm looking forward to getting back there soon!