i heart florida birds: Brown Pelican

Showing posts with label Brown Pelican. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Jetty Park 1/20/13

We went to Jetty Park early Sunday morning to see if the Razorbill reported Saturday afternoon was still around. I felt hopeful as we pulled up and saw a small crowd of people checking out some action in the channel. It turned out to be a submarine navigating its way out of the port, which was pretty cool to see, but not quite as cool as a Razorbill would have been...

Gulls never seem to let any birds (or people) eat in peace. If a bird is brave enough to return to the beach with its catch, they can be sure a hot pursuit is imminent. As we walked out on the jetty, we saw this Ring-billed Gull getting a taste of its own medicine as it was relentlessly tagged teamed by a Great Black-backed Gull and immature Herring Gull (I think).

The Ring-billed Gull didn't seem intimidated and held on to its meal. I lost sight of them after a few minutes, so I missed the final outcome.

I saw this Bonaparte's Gull floating close to the rocks along the jetty. These handsome birds look similar to the Laughing Gulls that heavily populate the area year round.

This Royal Tern didn't seem to the Sanderling that was foraging underneath him.

There is always a large group of Skimmers at Jetty Park. The flock can usually be seen resting on the beach. A few of the Skimmers decided it was feeding time, and put on quite a show as they skimmed back and forth along the beach.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Huguenot Memorial Park

I've wanted to check out Huguenot Memorial Park, near Jacksonville, for quite some time, so I was happy to see it was only a few miles from where we were camping last week. The park is known to be a popular destination for Gulls, Terns, Skimmers, and a variety of shorebirds. Since I hadn't been to the park before, I didn't know that high tide wasn't a very good time for a visit. Beach volleyball anyone?

This is the same net at low tide. Is it just me or is that quite a tide?

This park has an interesting layout. It is actually shaped a bit like a horseshoe and is surrounded by three different bodies of water. The top photo was taken from the Ft. George River inlet side. The below photo was taken from the St. Johns River side, near the inlet. The Atlantic Ocean can be found on the east side of the park.

Since it was high tide, we spent most of the time observing the birds in the St.Johns River.

There was a large group of young Pelicans near the shore. The rest of the birds seemed a little preoccupied.

There was quite a crowd of birds escorting this fishing vessel in.

From a distance, I saw this enormous group of Black Skimmers heading towards me. The photo shows only about half of the group.

We came back for another brief visit later in the day at low tide. The beach is open to traffic at this time. The only other people out on this day were kite surfers due to the weather. Tall dunes outline the "horseshoe" shape of the park. The off limits center between the dunes is a critical wildlife nesting area where hundreds of shorebirds and terns nest each year.

We saw another large group of Skimmers, lots of Herring Gulls, as well as Laughing & Ring-billed Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Royal, Caspian, & Forster's Terns resting on the beach. There were Plovers and Sanderlings foraging in the surf.

At the end of the beach on the Atlantic side, there is a large rock jetty with a beach area that also a popular resting place for the birds. I briefly peeked over the wall and it appeared to be most of the same species as the other the group.

I look forward to coming back here soon!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Afternoon Delight

Spending time, usually in the late afternoon, watching the plethora of activity on the Indian River is a favorite activity around my house. On this particular afternoon last week, we came out to see six pelicans, three Ospreys, and a hand full of Least Terns dipping and diving into the large schools of mullet.

This Osprey made several circles around us before scooping up its fish. The Osprey grabbed the fish, a rather light meal, with one talon before circling around and heading back towards us.

Osprey
Rockledge, Fl

We have seen the Least Terns nearly everyday since their recent arrival in town. I'm usually initially alerted to their presence by their distinctive calls, which sound remarkably like my dog's squeaky toys. It's a rather unmistakeable sound!

Least Tern
Rockledge, Fl

At the end of the dock we visit, there are a few pilings that are quite popular with the birds. During the near 30 minute visit, the Least Terns, a Brown Pelican, and a Cormorant all popped in.

Least Terns
Rockledge, Fl

Over the past month, I've noticed that many of the Brown Pelicans are in various stages of breeding plumage development.

Brown Pelican
Rockledge, Fl

I photographed this Brown Pelican a little later in the evening.

Brown Pelican
Rockledge, Fl

Double-Crested Cormorant
Rockledge, Fl

In addition to the birds, a small pod of dolphins came into the area. They were quite active, and may possibility have been mating.

I liked this Dolphin, swimming on its back!