Yellow Legs

Not sure how most people feel about the end of day light savings time, but I don't mind the change.  I was able to watch the sunrise on my way to work this week. It is my favorite time of day!

Green Heron

I haven't had a whole time for birding, but here are a few shots of some of the birds I saw last month at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Tricolored Heron

Greater Yellowlegs

Hmm, I was beginning to notice a trend, yellow legs.

American Avocets

Belted Kingfisher

Yellow-throated Warbler

Have a great weekend!

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.

Randomness

I have fallen a bit behind in blogging these days as things have been quite busy around here. Here are a few photos of what I have managed to squeeze in over the past few weeks...

A beautiful sunrise over the Indian River Friday morning.

Osprey

An Osprey on a post near my home...what are you lookin' at???

Red-shouldered Hawk

One of the many Red-shouldered Hawks that hang out near my work. I don't usually take my camera to work...I'd be too tempted to go take pictures of the birds...but I did Wednesday as the plane carrying Space Shuttle Endeavour was going to be flying over head. I happened to pick the wrong side of the building to look for it and missed it.  Oh well, at least this hawk flew up next to me:)

Red Knot

This was one of the seven Red Knots that were foraging in the surf along the Atlantic when we made a visit to Jetty Park.

Laughing Gull

Did this Laughing Gull really catch a fish of its own...or did the gull confiscate it from a tern....

While in Lakeland a few weeks ago, I took a sunrise walk at Circle B Reserve. It is such a beautiful place to visit.

While we mostly saw waders and a few hawks, there were plenty of these spiders around. I was glad I didn't accidentally walk into on of these webs!

I saw this young male White-tailed Deer along the side of the road heading out to Moccasin Island on Friday. I'm thinking it might be the same one I saw and posted photos of on 9/8/12 as it was in the same location. Usually by this time of the morning you don't see the deer wandering near this road. I ave to wonder if something may be wrong with this fellow. We stopped a little ways up the road to watch him and take a few photos. He didn't seem to acknowledge our vehicle, but I figured with the first click of the shutter he would take notice, but he didn't seem to hear anything. Out of curiosity, I whistled to see if the deer would respond and it did not.

I know I'm really focused when I'm hungry...maybe that was the case.

Finally when we drove right past him, he looked at us, but did not run. I hope this beautiful boy is okay.

Great Egret

Not much happening at the wetlands. We did have fun watching a pair of Crested Caracara, but I'll save that for my next post.

American Bittern

We found this well hidden Bittern doing its best to blend right in.

Well, this has nothing to do with birds,but...a pair of Donkeys have appeared near our highway exit...we couldn't resist a visit. They are so sweet!!!

Have a great weekend!

Here, There & Everywhere

Sunrise over the Indian River
Rockledge, Fl

We have been out and about to several locations over the past week. Mead Gardens in Orlando was our first stop, a small side trip on our way to an appointment.  This was my second short trip here, and I definitely need to visit when I can spend more time at this beautiful, peaceful location! We only had time to take a walk along the boardwalk, where a handful of birds were out in the early morning sun.

This Great Crested Flycatcher was easy to find as we heard it singing long before we came upon it.

The only time it was quiet was when it was consuming what appeared to be a spider.

Over the weekend we spent time kayaking the 1,000 Islands in Cocoa Beach. The islands are a flood-tide delta deposit formed by a past strong storm surge that came across the barrier island.

The islands are beautiful place to paddle through. They offer views of the rich tropical and temperate plant species as well as numerous species of wading birds, Ospreys, and even songbirds.

We found a handful of White-eyed Vireos in various locations.  I will have to admit finding a songbird from a kayak can be more challenging than when on foot, and trying to taking a photo of one from a moving boat with a wiggly toddler on your lap can be even more arduous.

My paddling helper!

Yesterday we took a bright & early morning trip to the Sebastian Inlet State Park. As I enjoyed the beautiful colors of the sunrise, I began to sense the presence of a ghost....

It turned out to just be this Ghost Crab; it was also enjoying the sunrise!

The cool patterning on the crab helps it to stay camouflaged in the sand, safe from predators.

This Reddish Egret was hanging around the rocks of the jetty.

This intense fisherman (Great Blue Heron) was scanning the surf.

The parking lot appeared to have new security.....strangest place I've seen a Green Heron.

Keep cool and have a great weekend:)

Great Balls of Fire

We headed out of the house a little before 5:30 am yesterday morning to watch the launch of a Delta rocket. We landed at Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral, where there was a lot going on to keep us entertained during the three hour delay.

A pre-sunrise walk on the jetty.

A cruise ship coming into port.

                                                           
                                                           The sunrise from the beach.

A Skimmer skimming the shoreline.

Terns touching down.

A Laughing Gull soaring the skies.

A small crab putting up a fight.

Finally, the Delta rocket launching!