Click, Click Clicking at the Ponds

We stumbled upon a sweet family of fourteen nestled along the shore of the Click Ponds last week. I took a few photos from my car window as we did not want to disturb them. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks are late breeders in Florida, but this seems really late.

I love the stripes on these ducklings. It's amazing how different they look from the adults.

Seeing these tiny little ducklings go bottoms up was too funny.

The birds at the ponds are pretty sparse these days. A Little Blue Heron, numerous Greenies, and a handful of Pied-billed Grebes...

And this Killdeer that was standing in path, and did not want to move.

I walked along the heavily vegetated exterior to see what creepy crawlers were lurking.

There were several of these Gulf Fritillary caterpillars munching away.

Not exactly a fuzzy caterpillar...

I also saw this Gulf Fritillary that was still drying its wings.

There are so many different species of dragonflies buzzing around the ponds right now.

Viera Wetlands 5/11/12

We look a long, early morning walk at the Viera Wetlands Friday morning. The wetlands were open only to foot traffic, which happens periodically after heavy rain. The heat and humidity had let up and the weather was perfect. We didn't see any new species, but the regulars were out in full force. We made our way over to the Great Blue Heron nesting area first. All six of the original juveniles were  still hanging out in their nests. They are now a little over three months old. The GBH chick that hatched about a month and half ago in a nest across the way was putting on quite a show.

I had a few thoughts while I was watching this guy....what kid doesn't enjoy jumping on the bed (or nest in this case) when mom is not looking, or maybe he was just afraid of a bug he seen crawling in his nest.

This was my favorite move. I was now thinking maybe he had some sort of music playing up there. This reminded me of John Travolta's "Saturday Night Fever" pose.

Well, I never really concluded what this guy was up to, but I did start to worry that he might fall out of the nest if he kept this up as there were some really large gusts of wind blowing through. I felt better later when I saw him settled down safely in his nest.

This tiny turtle was resting right in the road as we approached.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Viera Wetlands

The Black-bellied Whistling Ducks are returning in moderate quantities. We saw and heard a few flocks whistling around.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Viera Wetlands

After a long trek around the wetlands, we made our way back to the GBH nesting area, where we were excited to see that 2 of the young Great Blues had made there way down to the water to forage.

Immature Great Blue Heron
Viera Wetlands

While watching this guy, I heard a little rustling in the reeds, only to discover this sweet little one.

Limpkin chick
Viera Wetlands

 Mom and sibling were close by feeding on some tasty Apple Snails. This was a great way to end our visit!

Limpkins
Viera Wetlands

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there, especially the one I admire the most, my mom!

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

Viera Wetlands




Viera Wetlands at dusk





The Viera Wetlands, located at the end of Wickham Rd. in Viera, Florida, is one of my favorite and most frequented birding locations. The loop can be explored on foot, by bike, or in the car. A typical visit allows for the viewing of many of the "regulars" that are found in abundance at anytime of the year. A few of these include Great Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, Great White Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Sandhill Cranes, Pied-billed Grebes, American Coots, Common Moorhens, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Anhingas, and Osprey. Others that I've seen frequenting the wetlands on a fairly regular basis throughout the year include Bald Eagles, Crested Caracaras, a variety of Hawks, Black Crowned Night Herons, Green Herons, Limpkins, Red-winged Blackbirds, Belted Kingfishers, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Mottled Ducks, and Blue-winged Teals. Other wildlife found at the wetlands include deer, raccoons, alligators, turtles, snakes, and otters.



Black-bellied Whistling Ducks



Great Blue Heron

American Coot





Tricolored Heron



Snowy Egret

Anhinga

Sandhill Cranes

Mottled Duck



American Alligator