MINWR 9/15/12

I had a hard time deciding where to go this morning...a nice sunrise at Jetty Park or Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, but we decided on the refuge. As we approached our exit on the highway, some large storm clouds appeared along with some rain. I had a feeling it wasn't going to last, and thankfully it didn't.

Luckily for us, with the rain, comes rainbows. And we saw a bunch of rainbows this morning!

We headed out to the shore first, but things were pretty quiet there. I had hoped to see some Black-bellied Plovers, but once again, they were not there.

Ruddy Turnstone

But there were several Ruddy Turnstones foraging in the sand.

Sanderling

And this sweet little Sanderling preening in the sand.

Dragonhunter

This dragonfly was resting along the sea grape plants. After the beach, we decided to make a loop through Black Point Drive. It was pretty quiet there as well. We saw plenty of herons and egrets. We saw 2 Reddish Egrets which are always fun to watch.

Finally, from quite a distance, we saw some of the plovers we were looking for. In this area, we saw the largest number of birds. There were Black-bellied Plovers, Willets, a Caspian Tern, Black Skimmers, Forster's Terns, Laughing Gulls, some Blue-winged Teals, and probably a few others that we missed.

Turkey Vulture

On the way home, we drove along the edge of the causeway where there were numerous Turkey and Black Vultures scuffling over a small dead fish.

Turkey & Black Vulture

I loved the look on the Turkey Vulture's face when the Black Vulture took its food. It looked as if to say..."hey, I had that first!!!".

juvenile Black Vulture

Little did they know, this juvenile Black Vulture was sitting on a jackpot just up the shore.

Dowitcher

We also saw two Dowitchers, which I think were Long-billed....We made one more stop at another small park on the way home.

Northern Mockingbird

We saw some interesting interactions between this Mockingbird and a Brown Thrasher.

The two were attempting to occupy the same tree, but the Mockingbird was not pleased about that.

The moment the thrasher would come out of the brush, the mocker would attack him.

The Thrasher didn't give up though. It kept trying to claim an upper branch. This is about as far as it got.

Loggerhead Shrike 

This shrike was observing the action from the next tree over, wondering what all the fuss was about...

Hope you're having a great weekend:)

Here Kitty, Kitty

While hiking along the sandy trails that wind through the open grassy forest of the St. Sebastian River Preserve this week, I stopped to listen to a call.  "Here kitty, kitty, kitty", nope (my two-year son's favorite word), it was not the owner of a lost feline, it was the call of a Bachman's Sparrow. 

Bachman's Sparrow

It didn't take long to find  this one in a Pine Tree just above us. Bachman's Sparrows can be quite elusive, however, they are generally easier to spot this time of year as they show their faces while singing to one another. Bachman's Sparrows typically dwell in pine woodlands, which are found readily at this preserve.

Pine Warbler

Pine Warblers and Brown-headed Nuthatches are also common dwellers at this location. We saw quite a few of each of  these species on this trip.

The Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, however, continued to elude me, but I'll be back! We were able to find several Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. The hiking continued later in the week at the Cruickshank Sanctuary, our favorite place to visit the Florida Scrub Jays!

Tons of water lilies are blooming in the small creek near the entrance. I liked the way the early morning sun was shining on this pair.

Florida Scrub-Jay

We see this same Scrub-Jay every time we visit the sanctuary. It's easy to identify this one due to its bill deformity~unless there is more than one, but I don't believe that to be the case. We are considering giving him a name, any suggestions?

Monk Parakeet (aka Quaker Parrot)

This Monk Parakeet took us by surprise when it flew in and landed on a branch above us. This was the first I've seen here, but there are a few colonies of these feral birds in Central Florida. South Florida has a larger population of them.

Northern Mockingbird

Young Mockingbirds are every where!

Northern Bobwhite

Ran into Mr. (Bob)White; always a pleasure!

Have a great week!!!

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.

Say What???

I took a mid morning stroll through the wetlands yesterday with my now 2-year old. We didn't cover a very large area, but we did enjoy the interesting birds and behaviors we observed, particularly this pair of terns.

Caspian Terns
Viera Wetlands

Caspian Terns
Viera Wetlands

We came upon these terns as they stood in the road engaging in what appeared to be a heated discussion. These terns produce some interesting loud, harsh croaking sounds.

Amidst the discussion, this tern regurgitated something...

While Caspian Terns are known to provide for their offspring for extended periods, I don't believe that was this tern's intention. Caspian Terns typically feed their young whole fish. Both birds seemed perplexed by the strange object excreted by the tern.

The second tern tried to get a better look.

There was some discussion about what sort of things this tern has been consuming....meatballs???

He decided to plead the fifth...

Blue-winged Teal
Viera Wetlands

The Blue-Winged Teal and Limpkin were both so kind to pose for us.

Limpkin
Viera Wetlands

Northern Mockingbird
Viera Wetlands

The caterpillars don't stand much of a chance against the hungry birds!

Great Blue Herons
Viera Wetlands

This adolescent GBH appeared to be letting mom know it was time for lunch!