Yesterday saw me at the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands at Viera again.
Heron activity was more restricted to the reeds, compared to last week, and there were fewer Wood Storks. I noted at least one Sandhill Crane nest mound being constructed and several species gathering nest material.
Sandhill Crane pair getting their nest in order.
Great Blue Heron gathering sticks.
I watched a Wilson’s Snipe forage through the reeds and water lettuce for a while. It’s usually pretty easy to flush this species out before you even see one, so it was a treat to get to watch this one for several minutes.
There were at least a few dozen American White Pelicans on the ponds. On one pond, each bird was swimming more or less alone. Some are beginning to grow “horns” or “mortarboards” on their bills – a sign the breeding season is near.
American White Pelican, gearing up for spring.
On another pond, there was a close group swimming together. I caught them on video as they surged into the center of the pond to gobble up some fish that had evidently schooled there.
//player.vimeo.com/video/86967865
American White Pelicans at Ritch Grissom Wetlands at Viera from CJSF on Vimeo.
There were even fewer ducks than last week. The most numerous are now the Ring-necked Ducks, who were swimming more in their own groups rather than mingling with the American Coots (which were still there in the hundreds).
Some Ring-necked Ducks and Blue-winged Teals.
More evidence of Florida Spring would be found in the territorial calls and displays of the male blackbirds. Both the Red-winged Blackbirds and the Boat-tailed Grackles were calling out, chasing other males away and displaying their plumage to its best effect.
Red-winged Blackbirds show off their brilliant red epaulets to attract mates and impress rivals.
Boat-tailed Grackles rely on their irridescent feathers and loud calls and bill-snapping to stand out.
Here are the species I saw (* denotes species gathering nest material):
- American Robin
- Ring-necked Duck
- Blue-winged Teal
- White Pelican
- Great Blue Heron *
- Snowy Egret
- Cattle Egret
- Little Blue Heron
- Tri-colored Heron
- Green Heron
- Great Egret
- Palm Warbler
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Savannah Sparrow
- Northern Cardinal
- Grey Catbird
- Northern Mockingbird
- American Coot
- Common Gallinule
- White Ibis
- Glossy Ibis *
- Forster’s Tern
- Bonaparte’s Gull
- Osprey
- Turkey Vulture
- Black Vulture
- Crested Caracara *
- Boat-tailed Grackle
- Blue Jay
- Fish Crow
- Belted Kingfisher
- Loggerhead Shrike
- Wilson’s Snipe
- Mottled Duck
- Sandhill Crane
- Common Tern
- Hooded Merganser
- Red-winged Blackbird *
- Common Yellowthroat
- Tree Swallow
- Killdeer
- Eastern Phoebe
- Eastern Meadowlark
- Wood Stork
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
I’ll post some more photos later this week.
Lonely Birder 