Beach Birds

 The Least Terns have returned to the area! I saw my FOY Least Tern on Easter morning along the Indian River near my house. This week I saw a dozen of them at the beach near Jetty Park. These tiny terns are rather boisterous and I usually detect their presence upon hearing their distinctive calls. Luckily for this Least Tern, very few gulls were at the beach today so it wasn't harassed when it arrived on the beach with a fish!

Over the past two months, the Royal Terns have been developing their breeding plumages. Breeding plumages can only mean one thing!

Courtship appears to be going well!

Among the large group of Royal Terns and Black Skimmers, there was this lone Sandwich Tern. The tern is also developing its black cap.

I've been to Jetty Park twice over the past two weeks and both times there have been ten or more banded Royal Terns among the large flock. I've only been able to read a few of the many numbers on the bands.

Today, I saw this banded Ruddy Turnstone. The colored flags are much easier to read!

As I walked along the surf, the Skimmers were making their way to the water to cool off.

One skimmer made its way to the water followed by the entire flock...one at a time!

Click Ponds 5/19/12

We went to the Click ponds Saturday morning for a short birding adventure. While the majority of birds we saw were wading foragers, there were a hand full Least Terns dipping and diving from up above.

Least Tern

The ponds were heavily populated with Great Egrets as well as Snowy Egrets. There were probably close to a hundred of these egrets combined.

Great Egret

Frogs were definitely the hot item on the menu. The egrets were pulling up large frogs left and right. The Great Egrets were swallowing them as fast as they were catching them, while the Snowy Egrets took a little more time to enjoy their delicacy.

This Snowy Egret couldn't catch a break and was the subject of multiple harassments. Initially, a Great Egret tried to snatch its frog, then a Crow chased him around for several minutes.

Snowy Egret

The Snowy Egret finally settled back down and the third time was a charm!

Least Bittern

The most exciting encounter of the day was this Least Bittern! While I occasionally stumble upon American Bitterns here, this was my first sighting of the Least. There were a few Black-crowned Night Herons around as well but I didn't manage to snag a photo of one.

juvenile Northern Mockingbird

This young Mocker was quite intrigued by a nearby dragonfly.

Around Town

Amid our different schedule this week,  we were happy to be able fit in a Wednesday evening trip to the wetlands, a Thursday morning walk at the Moccasin Island Tract, and a dreary Saturday morning visit to the Click Ponds.

Least Tern
Viera Wetlands

The Least Terns and I seem to be frequenting the same areas lately. I saw them at both the wetlands and Click Ponds this week and I am still seeing them regularly along the Indian River.

The wetlands have quieted down quite a bit since the departure of the winter birds. The usual Herons, Egrets, Limpkins, Moorhens, Coots, Anhingas, Cormorants, Blue-winged Teals, Pied-billed Grebes, White & Glossy Ibises, and Ospreys were all visible. Red-winged Blackbirds, Savannah Sparrows, a Loggerhead Shrike, and Northern Mockingbirds were a few of the other birds we saw.

Red-shouldered Hawk
Moccasin Island Tract

I saw this Red-shouldered Hawk hanging out on a fence post, pulling something apart, on the drive out to Moccasin Island.

Red-shouldered Hawk
Moccasin Island Tract

Turned out to be an insect with large green wings.

Eastern Meadowlark
Moccasin Island Tract

I think you can guess what we heard on our Moccasin Island walk...

Boat-tailed Grackle
Click Ponds

The Click Ponds seemed overrun with Boat-tailed Grackles and dragonflies. We walked a section of the ponds where we observed a variety of activity in the wooded area that surrounds the ponds. It started with the plump Mockingbird with a bill deformity (I seem to be encountering quite a few of these lately).

Northern Mockingbird
Click Ponds

We saw a pair of Cardinals, a few Yellow-rumped Warblers, several Mourning Doves, and one Common-ground Dove. We also saw a Gray Catbird, who decided to flash us a view its rufous-colored undertail coverts.

Gray Catbird
Click Ponds

We then spotted a large, in-flight raptor headed our way. It turned out to be a Bald Eagle, and it landed on a utility pole in the far distance, but still within view.

Bald Eagle
Click Ponds

Just as I thinking it was exciting to see the Eagle, a pair of juvenile/immature Bald Eagles flew overhead! I have never seen 2 young eagles flying together before. I guess Mom (or Dad) was trailing them to be sure they were staying out of trouble.

Sandhill Cranes 

Sandhill Cranes

I saw this new family of Sandhill Cranes on a quiet street by my house. I took these photos from the car.

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

Osprey
Rockledge, Fl

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!

Least Terns

I spotted a small flock of about 10 Least Terns today foraging on the Indian River. These are the first Least Terns I've seen this season. They usually show up in this area around this time of year and hang around for a few months. These terns are much smaller than other I've seen in this area, including Caspian, Forster's, and Royal Terns. They were quite vocal as they picked little mullet out of the river. A few even stopped by to rest  on the dock next to where we were standing.