What a Wrack!

Nothing about today shouted it would be a great day to head to the beach. None the less, that is where we ended up. We even deviated from our usual stomping ground, Jetty Park, but only by a mile. The tot and I stopped off at a small park, loaded the wagon, and headed up the beach. While my son searched for buried treasures, I searched for birds. The weather has been poor the last few days, so I was hoping something unexpected might show up.

As we entered the beach, it was kind of hard miss the massive wrack line that spanned as far as we could see. We headed north, toward Jetty Park, which was a possible destination, so long as the threat of rain remained low.

Semipalmated Plover

I was happy to see that the abundance of sea debris attracted an abundance of shorebirds.

nonbreeding Sanderling

breeding Sanderling

Least Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper?

breeding Ruddy Turnstone

It was a good idea to watch your step today...

Luckily we avoided any painful steps...

Coming into to the port...

 Have a relaxing weekend!

(This little fellow fell out of an oak tree in my yard and landed a few feet from me...thankfully not on me)

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 11/12/12

Its been a while since I've spent a morning birding solo, without my mini-birder, as I did Monday morning. I spent the morning exploring Merritt Island NWR, starting with a drive along Blackpoint Drive. Around the area of the second observation stop, I came across a very large mixed group of ducks. Most have made their way to the area to spend the winter here. I saw the first Northern Pintails, American Wigeons, Gadwalls, and Green-winged Teals of the season. I also saw Blue-winged Teals, Northern Shovelers, and Mottled Ducks.

American Avocet

I saw this solo American Avocet foraging near a small group of Teals. I'm always delighted to see these elegant shorebirds! There were several large groups of waders around. I saw 2 Northern Harriers patrolling the area. There were numerous Belted Kingfishers along the way.Yellow-rumped Warblers, Palm Warblers, Gray Catbirds, Savannah Sparrows, and Common Yellow Throats were abundant. I saw Caspian, Forster's, and Royal Terns. There have been a few recent Gull-billed Tern sightings, but I didn't come across one.  Maybe next time!

Least Sandpiper

I also checked out Biolab Road. Dunlin and Least Sandpipers were plentiful along the shallow shore lines.

Osprey

This Osprey had just caught its lunch.

American Kestrel

Great Blue Heron

The highlight of my day was near the end of Biolab Rd. where I encountered an area populated with over 500 birds. They were mostly waders, Spoonbills, Ibises, Egrets, and Herons, but seeing the mass in action was cool. There was also a large group of White Pelicans that were foraging cooperatively in the shallow waters.

I ended up with a species count of 64 for the morning. I'm looking forward to getting back there soon!

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