The Click Ponds: Part I & II

 Saturday afternoon's dreary and dismal weather was a stark contrast to Monday's sunny, blue skies. I went to the Click Ponds, located adjacent to the wetlands, on both of these days. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary on Saturday, but I did enjoy the variety of birds I was able to see.  I spotted two Common-ground Doves in a tree near the entrance. These doves are a bit more interesting than their Mourning counterparts; they have bright chestnut primaries that are visible when in flight. They are also the smallest of the dove family.  The trees and bushes to the right of the ponds were loads with birds. There were large numbers of Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers and probably quite a few others that I missed. Boat-tailed Grackles and Robins were also abundant throughout the area.

Juvenile Red-winged Blackbird
Click Ponds

I also saw two juvenile Red-winged Blackbirds who appeared to be under the guidance of an adult RWBB.

American Robin
Click Ponds

The visiting Robins were on mission to consume every berry in the area and a Green Heron was fishing from some old pipes.

Green Heron
Click Ponds

While I was sitting in my parked car observing some Hooded Mergansers, a Wilson's Snipe flew right in front of my car. It then proceed to loop around me again, land in the reeds right in front of me, and, strangest of all, just stare at me. This is the second one I've seen in the past week.

Wilson's Snipe
Click Ponds

Monday I spotted this American Bittern who was relatively out in the open, for a Bittern anyway.

American Bittern
Click Ponds

Female Boat-tailed Grackle
Click Ponds

As I was watching some Boat-tailed Grackles dance around I noticed a small Sora hiding in the reeds. This is the first time I have seen one here. I wasn't able to get a decent photo as the Sora was doing its best to stay concealed.

Hiding Sora
Click Ponds

This Palm Warbler appears to be developing its breeding plumage noted by the rufous cap that is developing.

Palm Warbler
Click Ponds

This young Mockingbird was waiting at the exit to wish us farewell.

Northern Mockingbird
Click Ponds

They're Here!!!

I was ecstatic to see some Great Blue Heron babies yesterday!!! I visited the wetlands on Sunday's very gloomy afternoon. Three nests had babies, all which, I believe hatched in the past 4 days. Some appeared to have hatched in just the last day or so. Hopefully the sun will come back soon, so I can get some better photos!

I'm guessing the chick in this nest may have hatched first as it was larger than the others.

This nest appeared to have two hatchlings. The Great Blue Heron mom seemed stunned by her new addition.

I believe these hatchlings are only a day or two old. There appeared to be two in the nest.

Jetty Park

My son and I made an impromptu trip to Jetty Park late Friday afternoon hoping to catch the launch of a Delta rocket, as well as, of course, some birds. We were able to manage alittle bit of both!  Jetty Park is located in Cape Canaveral and is home to a beautiful beach, a very large fishing pier, and a campground. We walked to jetty first, catching sight of some fishing Brown Pelicans, Royal Terns, and a few gulls. We then headed up the beach to see a flock of gulls. Ring-billed and Laughing Gulls were there in large numbers.

Laughing Gull
Jetty Park

Ring-billed Gull
Jetty Park

This guy was bracing himself for the very large gusts of wind that were whipping sand across the beach. I realized with only one minute to spare that it was nearly launch time. I was thankful we didn't miss it as this was the third attempt at launch.

We next ventured to the boardwalk, scanning the growth for some song birds. There were several Mockingbirds singing. The sun was beginning to set as we saw two Gray Catbirds playing in the hardwoods. We also saw a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Gray Catbird
Jetty Park

We then headed back to the beach and I was very glad we did as a very large mixed flock was settling in for the evening. The highlight for me was watching the Black Skimmers.

Black Skimmers
Jetty Park

Black Skimmers

Laughing Gull

Ring-billed Gull

White Ibis

The White Ibis is a distinctive bird found commonly in Florida. Ibis can be seen here year-round probing in yards or wading in the water.

White Ibis
Rockledge, Fl

 Ibis are tactile feeders; they use their long, down-curved bills to feel for insects, frogs, snails, snakes, and small fish.

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

Warblers at the Park

This past weekend, I stopped off at the beach in Cape Canaveral to see if any different gulls or terns were mulling around. They weren't and the wind was ripping, so away I went. I passed by a really small park with many different types of trees, so I decided to stop and see if any birds were out and about. Turned out to be quite enjoyable as I quietly sat on the ground and listened to the variety of songs. I didn't see a very large number of species, but I did see some interesting interactions.There were several dozen Yellow-rumped Warblers enjoying the berries on the ground.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

A few Palm Warblers were also in the area.

Palm Warbler

I even picked up a new lifer, one of the smallest warblers, a Northern Parula. I only caught a quick glimpse, snapped a few photos, and off it went.

Northern Parula

Northern Parula

There were several Northern Mockingbirds enjoying the berries as well. This one was taking a rest in the bushes after consuming its lunch.

Northern Mockingbird

There was also a pair of Eurasian Collared-Doves engaging in some sort of interaction. It looked like they were fighting, but they could have been mating. They would lift a few feet off the ground, then collide with one another midair I thought someone was going to end up with a broken wing. I didn't manage to get any presentable images of that, sorry.

Viera Wetlands at Sunset

Changing things up this week, I headed over to the wetlands after work on Monday. I decided to diverge from the usual activities as I noticed the sky displaying some unusual cloud formations. The wetlands is a great place for sunsets, which I thought these clouds might bring.

I saw the usual variety of herons, waterfowl, songbirds, and raptors. I also spotted a Wilson's Snipe, which I have only seen there on one other occasion. This fellow only made a split second appearance and was off. This is a photo of the one I saw at the Wetlands in November of 2010.

Wilson's Snipe
Viera Wetlands

This Hooded Merganser was doing its best to camouflage itself among the hundreds of Coots.

Palm Warbler
Viera Wetlands

Red-winged Blackbird
Viera Wetlands

Most of clouds dispersed by the time the sun went down, but we enjoyed the sunset none the less.

Happy Hour

Over the past few weeks our yard has been overtaken by some migratory visitors, mainly American Robins. To alleviate some of the congestion at my neighbor's bird bath, my son and I decided to set up our own watering hole. Our two for one offer seemed to be quite the deal! (Note: don't judge me on appearance of our make shift bird bath, the birds had only good things to say)

It only took about 15 minutes for the word to get out. The Robins definitely dominated the water. Cedar Waxwings were among the other birds looking for a cool beverage, but were often kept at bay by the Robins.

The Cedar Waxwings decided they needed a plan to overthrow the Robins.

Incoming!

Finally, a truce!

Well, almost!