Snow White Birds

An Egret feeding frenzy.

On your mark, get set, go!

Water ballet!

A meal on the fly.

Gotcha little fish.

Incoming!

This White Pelican did not receive a warm welcome from the Egrets. 

I was happy to see him!

'"Click" Ponds 11/10/12

Great Egret

I spend a short time at the "Click" Ponds yesterday. It was really quiet. The Redheads and Ring-necked Ducks were still there. The Palm Warblers were plentiful. All the Egrets were busy preening.

Snowy Egret 

Black-crowned Night Heron

American Alligator

While the focusing isn't so good on this photo, I like how you can see the pollen collecting on the bee's back.

Zebra Longwing

There were hundreds of Zebra Longwings fluttering around.

Zebra Longwing

A Morning Moon

I was able to stop by the wetlands early one morning this week and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise.

I also stopped by the adjacent "Click" Ponds. The word out on the ponds this week was...

...the ducks are coming, the ducks are coming!!! (Note I didn't say anything about decent duck photos coming...the ducks have decided to remain directly in the middle of the pond, far out of my camera's reach). I was excited  to see this mixed group of around 15 that has arrived at the ponds over the past few days.

At the ponds, I saw some Ring-billed and Redheads as well as Mottled, Northern Shoveler, and Blue-winged Teal Ducks at the wetlands.

 We have been seeing lots of Eastern Phoebes over the past month.

This American Bittern looked like it was trying to hitch a ride as it stood on the side of the road. I think it's the first time I've seen one of these elusive birds completely out in the open.

This Snowy Egret wasn't to sure about what was lurking in the water (it was a Soft Shelled Turtle) and decided to speed it up a little to pass by it.

This Red-Shouldered Hawk was  keeping on eye out below for some prey to make its day.

One overcast evening last weekend, we drove the road out to the River Lakes Conservation Area. We saw 5 Kestrels, 1 Bald Eagle, 2 Crested Caracaras, 1 Northern Harrier, and 3 Red-shouldered Hawks! Just before sunset, we saw this Caracara perched on a large pile of discarded sod pallets.

Stormy Skies

This pretty well sums up the afternoon weather this week.

I made a few trips to the wetlands and ponds this week. The wetlands were closed to cars all week, so we enjoyed several peaceful, long (hot, humid) walks. 

Anhinga

When the sun was out, it was time to dry out!

Double-crested Cormorant

Snowy Egret

At the wetlands, the Cattle Egrets continue to nest. The majority of them nest on a large island in center of the wetlands. The Egrets can be seen coming and going from the mainland, taking nesting material to their own private island.

Cattle Egret

Osprey

Loggerhead Shrike

Great  Blue Heron

The vultures were people watching. 

Turkey Vulture

Have a wonderful weekend:)

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.

Birding at the Inlet

Sebastian Inlet State Park is great place to experience some of Florida's finest birds. I was definitely not disappointed on this week's camping trip the inlet. The park is located along A1A south of Melbourne Beach, Florida, nestled between the Indian River and the shore of the Atlantic. The Inlet is most well-known for its premier surfing and fishing, but offers an extensive variety of activities. 

Juvenile Brown Pelican
Sebastian Inlet State Park

Pelicans, a very common Florida bird, are quite plentiful here.They frequently can be found trying to make friends with the fishermen. The inlet is definitely the place to be for a front row seat of viewing pelicans in action.

Juvenile Brown Pelican
Sebastian Inlet State Park

Brown Pelican
Sebastian Inlet State Park

Heron and Egrets of all sizes, shapes, and colors are also quite plentiful for viewing here.

Great Egret
Sebastian Inlet State Park

Reddish Egret
Sebastian Inlet State Park

Great Blue Heron
Sebastian Inlet State Park

Snowy Egret
Sebastian Inlet State Park

Wood Stork
Sebastian Inlet State Park

Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Caspian Terns, and Black Skimmers were noted on this visit. The park has a protected nesting area for shore birds where numerous birds are offered a place safe from human traffic during their spring time nesting season.

Ring-billed Gull
Sebastian Inlet State Park

Ring-billed Gull
Sebastian Inlet State Park

Black Skimmers
Sebastian Inlet State Park

Shore birds sighted on this visit included Ruddy Turnstones, Willets, and Sanderlings.The only ducks observed were several Red-breasted Mergansers. Northern Mockingbirds, Black Crows, Grackle, and Mourning Doves were also seen populating the area.

Red-breasted Merganser
Sebastian Inlet State Park

Red-breasted Merganser
Sebastian Inlet State Park

Sanderling
Sebastian Inlet State Park