More Black....

Well, more black skies that is, if you live in this part of Florida. The Sunshine State has definitely not been living up to its name! There has been a tropical storm lingering in the gulf, which is now finally making its way across northern Florida. We have resorted to doing some of our usual activities in the rain....running in the rain, bird watching in the rain, hiking in the rain....We usually start out when there is a brief break in the weather, fooled by the almost decent looking skies. Yesterday, however, seeing black at the Click Ponds turned out to be a good thing! 

Black Tern

We came across 2 Black Terns!!! I have never seen them at the ponds, so I was super excited to get a chance to watch them racing about (in the rain). They didn't come very close, so I only ended up with these poor photos, taken from the car...

Black Tern

About ten minutes later, it was not longer raining and the sun was fighting with the clouds as it attempted to break through.

Common Gallinule family

I also saw this Common Gallinule, which is quite common here, with its brood of seven chicks! The typical familes I've seen here and at the wetlands usually only have 2-3 chicks. Sorry Gallinule, but these are probably the least cute chicks I've seen...

Green Heron

There continues to be a healthy population of active Green Herons feeding on frogs, fish, and even dragonflies.

Green Heron

Queen

There are also very large numbers of dragonflies and butterflies.

Florida Soft Shell Turtle

The wetlands have been closed to cars for the past few weeks so we have been walking, but we usually don't make it too far before the rain returns.

The weather has not been too kind to the migrating seabirds passing by this area. There have been numerous news stories this week about the unusually high numbers of migrating Greater Shearwaters (close to a hundred) that are showing up on the beaches in very poor condition. Even with treatment at the local wildlife hospital, most have not survived. Hopefully the weather will be improving soon!

Impatiently Waiting

Since it had been nearly two weeks since my last visit, I decided to take a quick trip to the wetlands after work today to see how the Great Blue Heron kiddos were doing. All six Great Blue Heron chicks are doing well! There is even one new chick in a nest close by. The Mama, or possibly Daddy, of one of the nests arrived shortly after I got there and was greeted by two hungry, hostile juveniles.

Great Blue Heron parents continue to feed their young for 60 days at which point the chicks are fully grown and able to fledge from the nest.

The chicks were more than ready for their meal and quickly got into position to receive their regurgitated dinner.

The large chicks made it clear they were very hungry! Feeding these two looked like a dangerous job!

Chicks can become aggressive to one another at feeding time.

Luckily it didn't take the parent very long to cough up some dinner. The parent quickly left the chicks to consume their dinner.

This chick resides in the neighboring nest. The chicks are all around 50 days old so it won't be much longer until they are on their own!

Learning the Ropes

Sandhill Crane Chick
Melbourne, Fl

I came across a family of 4 Sandhill Cranes this past week and enjoyed watching them work together as they foraged for bugs, mainly grubs, just off a popular shopping mart. Sandhill Cranes chicks initially feed by pecking the food from their parents bill.  They soon learn how to feed on their own. Their parents, however, continue to assist with feeding and protecting them for nearly a year.

The adult Cranes were foraging deep in the ground as the chicks watched intently for their share of the grubs.

This guy got a little worn out from all the hard work!

Growing Like Weeds

The Great Blue Heron chicks are approximately one month old. It is amazing to see how quickly they grow!  The chicks typically fledge around 2 months old, so they have to grow quickly to reach heights of 3 to 4 feet in a  two month period!

Great Blue Heron chicks
Viera Wetlands

These are the youngest two of the group, and may be closer to 3 weeks old. Those wings still have a ways to go to reach a 6 foot wing span!

This chick is the oldest one of the bunch. Quite a difference a week or two can make in the length of the wingspan.

Great Horned Owl Chicks

A little over a month ago I noticed two ears protuding from an Osprey's nest in a tall Pine tree. I knew instantly it was my favorite raptor, the Great Horned Owl, residing in the enormous nest that had been built by an Osprey. Great Horned Owls are known for taking over nests rather than building their own. I quickly turned around and drove past the nest a second time, this time seeing the owl clearly. I was super excited to discover this owl nesting along the main highway I travel regularly to work. I have been viewing the nest regularly and on this past Monday noticed the adult was not in her position. I thought it was possible that there were no successful hatchlings and she left, as that was the case of the nesting GHOs on my street last year. On Wednesday,  though, two white, fuzzy heads were visible! I stopped  by on my way to MINWR on Saturday and took a few photographs. It was early morning when I photographed these chicks high up in the Pine; they sure are adorable!

Great Horned Owl Chicks

Great Horned Owl Chicks

Great Horned Owl

Great Blue Heron Chicks

There are now at least four nests with chicks at the Viera Wetlands.

I believe this chick is the oldest of the group. The chick is approximately 1 1/2 to 2 weeks old.

This is the second oldest chick, just a few days younger than the chick in the first photo. The Great Blue Heron mom seemed a bit more relaxed today. Two chicks were spotted in this nest on Sunday, but I only saw one on this occasion.

Or maybe she was just completely exhausted.

Mom, I'm hungry.

Wake up Mom!

This is the most recent nest to have hatchlings. There are three chicks in this nest. The third chick lifted its head twice, but appeared very weak.

It's hard to believe a Great Blue Heron's wings are ever this tiny! The chicks in the fourth nest were not visible as they were resting.

They're Here!!!

I was ecstatic to see some Great Blue Heron babies yesterday!!! I visited the wetlands on Sunday's very gloomy afternoon. Three nests had babies, all which, I believe hatched in the past 4 days. Some appeared to have hatched in just the last day or so. Hopefully the sun will come back soon, so I can get some better photos!

I'm guessing the chick in this nest may have hatched first as it was larger than the others.

This nest appeared to have two hatchlings. The Great Blue Heron mom seemed stunned by her new addition.

I believe these hatchlings are only a day or two old. There appeared to be two in the nest.