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| Female Northern Shoveler MINWR |
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| Roseate Spoonbill MINWR |
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| Willet MINWR |
Showing posts with label Northern Shoveler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Northern Shoveler. Show all posts
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Time to Reflect
Here are a few of my favorite moments of reflection at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge last week.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Dirty Ducks
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| Northern Shoveler Viera Wetlands |
The most eye catching feature of a Northern Shoveler tends to be its oversized bill. I came across this preening male at the Viera Wetlands this past weekend. As the Shoveler preened I was able to get a look of its bill from every angle.
The Northern Shoveler has an elongated bill, with the shape being similar to that of a Spoonbill only on a much smaller scale. Their bill also has comb-like protrusions on its edges which help strain the water from the food when the Shoveler is foraging.
A female Blue-winged Teal arrived and decided her feathers needed some maintenance as well.
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| Female Blue-winged Teal Viera Wetlands |
Next, the male Blue-winged Teal came by, but he claimed he was clean enough.
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| Male Blue-winged Teal Viera Wetlands |
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Viera Wetlands 01/29/12
I took a drive through the Viera Wetlands Sunday afternoon. I saw the usual variety of water birds, including Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Tricolored Herons, Little Blue Herons, Limpkins, Anhingas, Cormorants, and Ibises.
Digging down as far as its neck would go, this Limkin brought up and consumed 4 snails in the 15 minutes I was watching. Limpkins feed almost exclusively on Apple Snails. I didn't get any decent photos of the Limpkin with a snail.
This immature White Ibis was foraging for bugs in the grass. The wetlands is home to numerous White and Glossy Ibis.
The Anhingas are beginning to nest at the wetlands. This one is displaying its breeding plumage.
There were several Northern Shovelers present, as well as Blue-winged Teals, and Hooded Mergansers. There are also thousands of American Coots making the wetlands their home right now.
Looks like I wasn't the only one tidying up the house on Sunday! I saw 4 pairs of Great Blue Herons currently nesting.
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| Limpkin Viera Wetlands |
Digging down as far as its neck would go, this Limkin brought up and consumed 4 snails in the 15 minutes I was watching. Limpkins feed almost exclusively on Apple Snails. I didn't get any decent photos of the Limpkin with a snail.
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| Immature White Ibis Viera Wetlands |
This immature White Ibis was foraging for bugs in the grass. The wetlands is home to numerous White and Glossy Ibis.
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| Anhinga Viera Wetlands |
The Anhingas are beginning to nest at the wetlands. This one is displaying its breeding plumage.
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| Northern Shoveler Viera Wetlands |
There were several Northern Shovelers present, as well as Blue-winged Teals, and Hooded Mergansers. There are also thousands of American Coots making the wetlands their home right now.
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| Great Blue Heron Viera Wetlands |
Looks like I wasn't the only one tidying up the house on Sunday! I saw 4 pairs of Great Blue Herons currently nesting.
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