Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawks are common in this area. I saw this large raptor perched on power line (certainly not the prettiest perch) close to my home.

Red-tailed Hawk
Rockledge, Fl

The squirrels in the area most certainly want to steer clear of those talons!

Black Skimmers

Black Skimmer
Titusville, Fl

Black Skimmers are one (of my many) favorite birds to observe. They have such interesting features. They have a unique large, orange and black bill, and their lower mandible is longer than their upper.   I  really enjoy watching them "skim" the water's surface for prey. I didn't observe any skimming on Saturday when I saw this group of Black Skimmers on the shore of the Indian River just east of the Max Brewer causeway. They were mingling with some gulls and terns in an area that provided some protection from the wind.

Great Black-backed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull
Titusville, Fl

The Great Black-backed Gull is the largest of the gulls. They visit this area in the winter, however I very rarely see them. I saw this one today on the east side of the Max Brewer Causeway, the main road that leads to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refugee. Standing near some Sanderlings, perspective to just how enormous this gull is can be seen.

This one was actually very polite as you can seeing him waving good bye to me as I left.

How do you like your Fish?

Still moving for this Osprey.

Osprey
Cocoa, Fl

Maybe it was just my eyes, but this fish appeared to still be moving, even with its head gone.

Tern Bully

I witnessed an incident of Tern bullying as I was leaving the wetlands this evening.

Caspian Terns
 Viera Wetlands

This Caspian Tern landed with his freshly caught meal while being pursued by a fellow tern.

Showing his less than friendly face, he encouraged the other tern to give up its fish.

Which he did, without much of a fight.

Forster's Terns

Forster's Tern
Rockledge, Fl

Forster's terns are medium sized terns that are found in Florida during the winter. I found this Forster's tern along the shore of the Indian River in early January. There was a small group of them among a larger group of Royal Terns and Laughing gulls.

Forster's Tern
Rockledge, Fl

Forster's Tern
Rockledge, Fl

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

"Great White" Heron

The "Great White" Heron as know as a white morph Great Blue Heron is subspecies of the Great Blue Heron. These large white herons are found commonly in the Florida Keys and uncommonly in other parts of the southern peninsula of Florida.

"Great White" Heron
Florida Keys

"Great White" Heron
Florida Heron

The white morph Great Blue Heron closely resembles a Great Egret, but can be distinguished by its pale legs and heavier bill. I saw this white morph in the "Tea Table Relief" area. It was hanging out there both times I visited the area.

Also in the Keys, and other parts of southern Florida, where white and blue forms of Great Blue Heron overlap, there is an intermediate morph bird known as the "Wurdemann's Heron". I saw one interesting looking Great Blue Heron hunkered down in the mangroves. At first I thought maybe it was a juvenile GBH, then I thought it could be one of these mixes, but I'm really not sure. It had quite a bit of white on its head and neck. I wish I had taken more photos of it.

Ospreys in Action

Osprey
Florida Keys

The Ospreys that I saw while visiting the Florida Keys last weekend put on quite a show. This guy looked like he was practicing his balancing skills.

Osprey
Florida Keys

There is a large population of Osprey throughout the Keys. Driving along the Overseas Highways, I noted numerous elaborate nests that were currently being occupied by Osprey. I also had a chance to see this pair starting their nest.

I watched the Ospreys from an area called "Tea Table Relief", which is located just north of the bridge to Tea Table Key. The Ospreys made repeated attempts to break branches off the nearby low lying mangroves. They worked hard for their nesting materials, which is why I felt bad for them as most it fell to the ground.

This Osprey was apparently getting on his partner about dropping all the nesting material!

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