Eastern Sky

Indian River Sunrise
2/16/12

Reddish Egrets

One of the highlights of my trip to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge was watching the Reddish Egrets in action! In addition to exhibiting lovely colors, these egrets engage in some very entertaining feeding tactics.

Reddish Egret
MINWR

Reddish Egrets appear to be dancing as stalk their prey by running vigorously through the shallow waters.

 Reddish Egrets also use a tactic known as "canopy hunting" where they raise their wings to reduce the glare on the water. This improves their ability to see prey.

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 2/11/12

I set off for an early morning trip to MINWR on Saturday. The sky looked less than promising for some favorable light as I drove off, however, as I approached Titusville, clear blue skies came through. I made a quick stop at the Max Brewer Causeway and then headed to Black Point Wildlife Drive. My first stopping point offered a abundant display of active birds. There were numerous Reddish Egrets, most whom were boasting their breeding plumages, dancing about as they pursued their prey. There was a diverse group of water birds, including Northern Pintails, a Horned Grebe, Lesser Scaups, Northern Shovelers, Blue-winged Teals, Double-crested Cormorants, Coots,  a Lesser Yellowlegs,  Dowitchers, Pelicans, and a Roseate Spoonbill (and I'm sure a few other I don't remember).

Pair of Northern Pintails
MINWR

Pair of Northern Pintails
MINWR

Lesser Scaup
MINWR

Horned Grebe
MINWR

At the Max Brewer Causeway, I saw the usual gaggle of Ring-billed and Laughing Gulls. I also saw 4 of my favs, the Great Black-backed Gulls. There were two mature adults, one probable third year, and one first year. They were all equally monstrous  in size, however their coloring and bill markings differed. The Great Black-backed Gulls are very skittish in comparison to the other gulls. Check out the size of the bill on the third year gull!

Adult Great Black-backed Gull
Titusville, Fl

Great Black-backed Gull (third year)
Titusville, Fl

Great Black-backed Gull (first year)
Titusville, Fl

Angry Birds

While most of nesting herons at the wetlands seemed to be bonding well, one nest appeared to be having some issues. I think most likely that the male trying to land in this nest was not the mate, therefore the female was not happy with him stopping by. Regardless of the issue, this male heron was extremely persistent and was not taking no for an answer. I watched him try and land in the nest repeatedly for two hours.

Angry Great Blue Herons
Viera Wetlands

Exchanging some unpleasentries.

Better get movin!

Don't even think about coming over here!

The answer is still no!

Saved by the Red

While Red-bellied Woodpeckers are a common sight in this area, I encountered an uncommon sight of one this week.  As I was driving through a very busy parking lot, a speck of red caught my eye. As I got closer, I realized it was a Red-bellied Woodpecker sitting in middle of the road.

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Rockledge, Fl

Enjoying a few sips of some road runoff, this Woodpecker didn't seemed fazed by the traffic.

I was happy when this guy retreated to a safer location.

Weekend Trip to the Wetlands

Anhingas
Viera Wetlands

Just a few photos from last weekend's trip to the Viera Wetlands.

Red-winged Blackbird
Viera Wetlands

Nesting Anhinga
Viera Wetlands

Breeding Glossy Ibis
Viera Wetlands

Great Blue Heron
Viera Wetlands

Common Yellowthroat
Viera Wetlands

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black -backed Gull
Rockledge, Fl

Last weekend, I came across an enormous Great Black-backed Gull. This weekend I came across its lesser counterpart. This Lesser Black-backed Gull is most likely in its 3rd year as it still has some black on its bill. The lesser is a smaller, slimmer gull with a thinner bill and yellow legs. I spotted him visiting my neighbor's piling, which has had a quite a diverse group of guests in the past month.