Wandering the Wetlands

A pair of Black-necked Stilts had been tending to a nest over the past month at the Viera Wetlands. Last week all four eggs hatched! She was still sitting on the fourth egg the one morning I was there, but it hatched soon after. They are on the other side of the pond, so these images are very heavily cropped. 

Mama Black-necked Stilt & 2 of her chicks

The next day I went back and didn't  see any of the chicks. A little while later, I saw this adult Stilt with a few extra legs!

There are several Mottled Ducks and Mottled families around the wetlands right now.

 This Tricolored Heron was snapping up some breakfast...

...as was this White Ibis!

There are so many species of dragonflies and butterflies every where!

Four Spotted-Pennant

I loved the appearance of eyes on the back of this dragonfly's head.

Spicebush Swallowtail

Viera Wetlands 4/27/13

I made an early morning trip to the Viera Wetlands and adjacent "Click" Ponds this morning. This Loggerhead Shrike was perched on a sign along the narrow road leading into the wetlands. I thought it would take flight as I made my way through the entrance but instead it just glared at me. Maybe it was trying to figure out how to hang me on the fence as it does its other prey.

There are still a handful of active Great Blue Herons at the wetlands. This heron was spending its Saturday morning doing what many of us do, making home repairs. This heron had two young chicks that appeared to be less than 2 weeks old. Mom made multiple trips to some nearby shrubs to gather additional material for the nest.

Across the gravel drive was an active Anhinga nest. This mass of woven sticks was sitting delicately on the side of a palm tree, overhanging the water. The tops of these same palms had earlier in the season been occupied by nesting Great Blues.

I saw four mostly white, fluffy chicks in the nest. Three of them were very active, but I didn't see any movement from the fourth chick. Young Anhinga typically stay in the nest for up to 3 weeks.

In addition to the GBHs and the Anhinga, I also saw a few Green Herons gathering nesting materials. There is also a massive Cattle Egret nesting area at the wetlands. The air space in that area is quite congested with Egrets coming and going as they gather materials. Grackles can also be add to the nesting list. The crows were causing a disruption among the Grackles this morning. I guess I wasn't the only one who wanted eggs for breakfast...

 Black-necked Stilts are still hanging around the ponds and wetlands. I just love to see these long-legged beauties!

Hope you have a great week!

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

Birding the Local Patches

We made it out to several of our local birding patches this past week. We started the week with a visit to the Moccasin Island Tract area. The drive out to the tract often times offers opportunities to view numerous species in action. Today, however, we only observed numerous Cattle Egrets as they mingled with the cattle. Eastern Meadowlarks were the highlight of our stroll along the trail. The Meadowlarks perch on fence posts that runs along the trail, singing to one another.

Eastern Meadowlark 

Our next stop was at the "Click" Ponds, which are location at the entrance to the tract. The ponds continue to be occupied by several varieties of herons and egrets. The Little Blue Herons continue to molt into their permanent blue plumage.

molting Little Blue Heron

The Green Heron and a Snowy Egret took turns chasing one another from this desired perch.  It was a rather unpleasant exchange between these two birds and the Snowy Egret seemed to have the upper hand.

Green Heron

Green Heron

It's always a good idea to scan the bushes, because you never know who my be lurking, like this Red-shouldered Hawk!

Red-shouldered Hawk

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was our next stop. We arrived late morning and it was not a very active time for the birds. The highlights of our trip were seeing this Eastern Kingbird....

Eastern Kingbird

and this foraging pair of Black-necked Stilts.

Black-necked Stilts

St. Sebastian Preserve State Park was also on this week's agenda. I blogged about my birding adventure at the park on my monthly post at Birding is Fun!. Have a great weekend!