Nice Wild Drive

On a recent visit to Lake Apopka, it was “splash and dash” showers all morning. The sun was still just low enough for this rainbow, which seemed to hug the ground.

low-rainbow

Just as in Merritt Island, ducks are coming in for the winter all across Florida, though they seem to be late in coming to the big parks and refuges. I have seen reports of larger numbers of scaups in neighborhood and commercial development ponds.

hooded-merganser — *Female Hooded Merganser.*

The first Great Blue Heron of the day had speared a large catfish, but seemed to be having trouble figuring out how to eat it.

As is typical of central Florida in winter, there were large numbers of Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Palm Warblers will usually allow you to get somewhat closer to them, especially if there are many of them in the same place. They always seem curious and will stop to watch as I fumble with my binoculars or camera.

palm-warbler

Recently a rare Brown Booby (well, rare for inland central Florida) had been seen around the old pumphouse. I did catch one distant look at a bird that looked suspiciously like a booby, but it was just too far away to be sure. There were Eastern Phoebes, ibises, Ospreys, and (of course) more Palm Warblers around.

Nearby a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk was sitting very close to the roadway in some trees. Both the typical and pale “Florida form” varieties were present throughout the morning.

American Bitterns have been back in the area for a while now, but I finally saw my first of the season (FOS) birds on the first pass through the wildlife drive. One was quite close to the car, much more interested in stalking prey than anything else.

There a quite a few larger alligators along the drainage canals that parallel the roads. Many were well over 2 meters (6.5 feet) long. They were taking advantage of the sun, between rain showers.

One of the larger American Alligators along the wildlife drive.

When you’re this big, you generally have very few worries.

What was really great was seeing Fulvous Whistling ducks for more than 2 seconds! I have this bird on my life list from seeing a bird fly quickly over the car and out of sight one afternoon back in the spring. Since then, any birding adventure where these birds were alleged to be found, I came up empty. It took a second drive around to get them, but this time, I got some really good unaided-eye, binocular, and camera looks at them.

The second group of Fulvous Whistling-Ducks were much closer and were mainly preoccupied with preening. I tried to get two of the duck to look up at the same time, but to no avail.

Here is a link to the eBird checklist:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26049077

And for the less click-inclined (47 species):

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Hooded Merganser
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
American Bittern (FOS)
Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Sora
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Wilson’s Snipe
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Eastern Phoebe
Fish Crow
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Common Yellowthroat
Palm Warbler
Savannah Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle

There are certainly “greener” ways to bird, but some areas are better birded from a car. I try to work harder to reduce my carbon footprint and other disturbances as a result. Also, many birds that are skittish when approached on foot don’t seem to give automobiles much concern.

MINWR/Canaveral II

On Saturday, I went out with Camille to Canaveral National Seashore again, in hopes of getting more pelagic (oceanic/marine) birds, but the combination of weather and circumstance that had hundreds of scoters, gannets, and other off-shore birds coming south along the beach was gone, and very few birds could be seen.

We did make good use of the day to do Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, which was closed when we attempted it last weekend. It seems the ducks are finally arriving, though most of them stayed well away from the roadway.

I made pretty good use of an entry-level spotting scope that was generously given to me over the summer. With it we were able to identify far-off Canvasbacks, Redheads, and Northern Pintails.

blue-winged-teals — *Blue-winged Teals. Some of the huge clouds of incoming ducks we saw all morning were probably teals, although I am sure some were wigeons.*

Here’s a gallery of some of the other sights in and around MINWR:

This Caspian Tern stood apart from the larger flock nearby.

Another mixed flock of terns and gulls

Injured Horned Grebe taking refuge in the Refuge

One of two Painted Buntings making use of the Visitor Center’s feeder.

We ended the adventure with a sighting of 3 Buffleheads. They appeared to be either 1st winter males or females, but it was a nice bonus!

Here a a couple of checklists from the day:

Blackpoint Wildlife Drive:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26034771

Playalinda Beach:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26034778

It was nice to see the duck activity increase, and hopefully we’ll have the usual numbers of scaups, Ring-necked Ducks and Northern Pintails keeping us company until spring!

MINWR/Canaveral Day

Sunday was an epic day-trip around much of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and part of Canaveral National Seashore. It was overcast and windy with intermittent showers, but the birding was worth it. I’ve highlighted a few of the stops here, but you can link to all the hotspots and bird lists at the end of the post, via eBird, for everything seen.

On Playalinda Beach, there were huge flocks of Northern Gannets and Brown Pelicans, as well as various terns, scoters, and shore birds.

One small group of White-winged Scoters flew quickly by, as well as more distant, large flocks of likely Black Scoters. There was at least one predatory jaeger (unknown species) and what seemed to be a shearwater of some sort, far offshore.

One Sanderling, well up from the surf, caught my eye. It seemed to be resting, but it kept peeking its eyes out, watching.

After watching for a while, I noticed it was swiveling gently, back and forth. Like a weather vane, the bird was turning to align with the wind, perhaps to keep from getting blown over while it rested on one leg.

There was a mixed group of terns, which included Royal, Forster’s, Sandwich, and at least one Common.

motley-crue — *Mixed flock of terns (with bonus shorebirds behind).*

A few Black-bellied Plovers were working the beach. These birds’ winter plumage is much less dramatic than their breeding plumage, but the way this species moves and stands usually makes it quite easy to pick out in any case (to me they look almost delicate and timid at times).

At the end of Shiloh Road, at the extreme northern end of the Indian River Lagoon, there were hundreds of American Coots. In fact if you include the many rafts of coots along the canal, there was easily over a thousand! There were a few scattered Northern Shovelers, but not much else in the way of duck species. In fact, so far this fall, it seems the ducks have been slow to arrive. There have been no reports of Northern Pintails yet, and just a smattering of Redheads and Ruddy Ducks.

Most of Peacocks Pocket is closed for hunting until February, and a search for reported Nelson’s and Saltmarsh Sparrows along the first part of the road didn’t come up with much.

Blackpoint Drive was unexpectedly closed, perhaps due to one of the massive downpours that were blowing in and out of the area.

Bio Lab Road, however, proved more fruitful, if a bit hard on the nose. From time to time, due to algal blooms and other phenomena, the lagoon will really, really, smell. The wind coming off the water and right into the car (with open windows for birding, of course) was nearly overwhelming at times. It didn’t seem to bother the many Dunlins and Least and Western Sandpipers who were foraging among the stench filled foam at the water’s edge.

Dunlin

Least Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

Here are all the stops and eBird lists for the day, which include the first of season Ruddy Duck at Vista #8, and first-in-forever White-winged Scoters at Playalinda Beach.

Canaveral National Seashore Paystation Area (map):
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25953179

Playalinda Beach (map):
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25953309

Canaveral National Seashore, Vista #8 (map):
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25953139

Canaveral National Seashore, Vista #6 (map):
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25953098

Merritt Island NWR, Shiloh Road (map):
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25953066

Parrish Park (map):
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25952994

Merritt Island NWR, Peacocks Pocket (map):
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25953559

Merritt Island NWR, Bio Lab Road (map):
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25952975

It was a really good day, despite the closure of Peacocks Pocket and Blackpoint Drive. I had never been to Playalinda Beach before, and it was a real treat. If you want a fairly good idea of what the beaches of the Space Coast would be like in their “natural” state, have a visit – but tread lightly. Beach habitats are especially sensitive to human disturbance.

Jonathan Dickinson SP // Hobe Sound NWR

This past Saturday, I traveled south to Jonathan Dickinson State Park (map) with Camille to have a look at the Smooth-billed Ani that had been reported there over the past several weeks. In fact, earlier this year a Smooth-billed Ani was reported at the nearby Loxahatchee area, so this may have been the same bird. The park is also near Jupiter and Hobe Sound, and this was my first visit to the area.

Jonathan Dickinson State Park comprises a large area of ancient sand dunes covered in mixed scrub vegetation. Some of the dunes are relatively high. In fact, the highest elevation south of Lake Okeechobee (well, its nothern limit anyway) is Hobe “Mountain”, at 26 meters (86 feet) above sea level.

overlook1 — *Looking across the ancient dunes of the park from up near Hobe Mountain.*

It isn’t evident in my photos, but the park is fighting several invasive plant species. The most visible is Love Vine, which covers large areas of the scrub. It’s a bright orange vine that looks like spaghetti has been draped over the other plants. The only thing that slows its growth is prescribed fire. There was evidence of at least 2 large fires in both the state park and the Hobe Sound NWR. The native plants are fire tolerant. In fact, many rely on fire for their life-cycles.

Much of the morning was spent staking out an area in front of a pond feature where the bird was most frequently seen. We met with Edna, from New Jersey, who had made the trip specifically to see the bird (later on her husband and son also arrived). She had a sound recording of the calls it was making a day or so prior, and had some tips for where else to look.

The weather was mostly overcast and quite breezy. I know from this past winter that the Groove-billed Anis that were at Lake Apopka were very keen to stay out of sight during the very brisk field trip I attended during the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival.

A short while later, I did catch sight of a large-ish black bird low in the dormant vegetation along the pond. It was the right size and shape for an Ani, but the glimpse was so brief that it was not possible to tell what it was.

Paul Huber came by, too and we saw him a few times near the gazebo by the road near the pond. It’s nice to see familiar faces when you’re out, especially in new places.

Camille also caught a very brief glimpse of a bird in there, but as there were several Gray Catbirds in the same area, it was not conclusive. The breeze kicked up more as the day wore on, likely pinning the Ani down in the dense brush.

We walked part of a Mountain Bike loop, both tp get a feel for the park and to perhaps get a better angle where the bird may have been. In the course of that walk, we did see some birds, including Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Palm Warblers, a Northern Flicker, some Red-bellied Woodpeckers and a Florida Scrub-Jay.

blue-gray-gnatcatcher — *Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.*

The ani had also been seen in the nearby campground, so we walked over and had some tantalizing glimpses of some warbler species and what I am sure was a Scarlet Tanager. I had one good look at the bird in profile: dull yellow with black wings, no wing bars, and a stout bill. It was the right size and shape for a tanager, but mid-November would be VERY late for this species in that area.

We broke for lunch at the Time To Eat Diner restaurant in Tequesta, FL (a very comprehensive menu!) and visited the neighboring Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge. They have a nice nature center there that purportedly has a Red-tailed Hawk and a Barred Owl on display; however, they were having a “day off” when we were there. We hiked one of the loop trails among the dunes there and saw an American White Pelican, more gnatcatchers and a Pine Warbler, among a few others.

pine-warbler

We took the walk up to Hobe Mountain and had a look around at the expanse that is Jonathan Dickinson State Park and the adjacent Loxahatchee River and Cyprus Creek Natural Areas.

overlook2 — *Looking down the long boardwalk that leads up and down Hobe Mountain.*

overlook3 — *A nice view across the park from the observation deck.*

We checked back with Edna and her husband and son by the pond, but the Ani still had not shown itself. We spent the rest of the afternoon waiting for the bird to show, but there was no evidence it was anywhere nearby.

While there, we did see an American Kestrel, a Merlin, a Bald Eagle and several more woodpeckers. An Eastern Phoebe was working the pond edge along with several more Palm Warblers.

Eventually we had to call it a day. Here are links to the eBird lists and a comprehensive list of all the birds we saw on Saturday.

Jonathan Dickinson State Park:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25832080

Hobe Sound NWR:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25832072

Little Blue Heron
Green Heron
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Spotted Sandpiper
Common Ground-Dove
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Eastern Phoebe
Florida Scrub-Jay
Fish Crow
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle

That’s the way it works sometimes. It was a good reminder that the birds are not there primarily for our enjoyment or edification. They are living out their lives and we should feel privileged to have the opportunity to observe and record them. Whenever I feel the urge to crash through the brush or run through a thicket in pursuit of a bird (especially a rarity or a life-bird), I try to check myself. We should never let our zeal for any bird cause us to scare, stress or damage wildlife. It can be hard sometimes, I know.

Will It Fly High Like A Bird Up In The Sky?

This past Sunday was my first birding-specific outing of the year, and I decided to check in on my old favorite haunt, Turkey Creek Sanctuary. The weather has been pretty mild, so I was hopeful for some good bird activity.

The past couple of years have really been a let-down for the Sanctuary. Birds seem to be utilizing the park less and less, and good activity is much more sporadic. I’ve seen a couple of reports via the BRDBRAIN and FLORIDABIRDS-L e-mail lists of some decent sightings there, but my morning was more typical of my other outings there.

One major change in the Sanctuary from two or three years ago is the relative dearth of Northern Cardinals. Regular and long-time readers will note my somewhat antagonistic love-hate relationship with these birds. They are beautiful to see and hear, but they had nearly overrun the Sanctuary. It had gotten to the point that their calls and songs were drowning out those of other birds I was trying to find and observe. Oh, how I wish for the good ol’ days! I saw a total of 2 and heard perhaps half a dozen cardinals for the entire morning.

What were plentiful were the American Robins and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Right upon entering the park and nearing the boardwalk, the first of what would be at least half a dozen overflights of a 10 or 15 American Robins flew overhead. American Robins are migratory; birds from the southern USA make their way to Florida and Mexico for the winter, while birds from further north move into the southern USA. The end result is a north-south shift of the the robins’ range, out of Canada, with a large section of the country having robins all year, though probably not the same robins. I never saw any robins in the park, just flying high over my head, en route to whatever winter roost they will use until they leave in the Spring.

I caught up to a small flock of gnatcatchers on the boardwalk and enjoyed watching them hop and flit about the tree-tops, singing out their wheezy little calls. I was also watching the group closely because often other small birds will associate with the gnatcatchers. Sure enough, a small group of Blue-headed Vireos was there in the same tree. Both the gnatcatchers and the vireos are quite active, but I managed to snap some photographs, clearly showing the Blue-headed Vireos’ diagnostic fieldmarks: white spectacles on a gray head, with yellow flanks and an olive-greenish tail.

bh-vireo — *This Blue-headed Vireo was palling around with some Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.*

A breeze picked up by mid-morning, sending leaves and other debris swirling around the more open areas. By this time of year at the Turkey Creek Sanctuary the deciduous trees have dropped most of their leaves and the canopy is much more open, which makes observing any overflying birds (like the American Robins) easier. On this day I noted White Ibises, Black and Turkey vultures, a Double-crested Cormorant, and even a high-soaring Anhinga. A pair of Ospreys also went by, calling to each other as the wind swiftly carried them out of sight.

Some typical winter residents were also present, though in very low densities. I saw a single Yellow-throated Warbler, one Downy Woodpecker and two Ruby Crowned Kinglets. My very first visit to this park in 2002 coincided with a mass visitation of kinglets. There were literally hundreds of them throughout the park, hopping on the boardwalk railings and filling the adjacent trees with chittering notes.

I took the opportunity this trip to walk the Scrub Trail. I tend to neglect this trail, mainly due to low bird activity, but it’s a nice loop off the trail leading to the jogging and exercise paths.

As I returned back along the western and northern edge of the park toward to exit, I caught the song of a Yellow-throated Vireo over the fence-line. It sound like it came closer a few times, but I never did catch sight of it. I hung around for a while (getting a fire-ant bite on my finger for my troubles) before moving along and out.

Species seen by approximate order of identification:

Black Vulture
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
White Ibis
American Robin
Northern Cardinal
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Blue-headed Vireo
Carolina Wren (♫)
Fish Crow
Turkey Vulture
Yellow-throated Warbler
Downy Woodpecker
Gray Catbird
Anhinga
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ovenbird
Palm Warbler
Blue Jay (♫)
Double-crested Cormorant
Yellow-throated Vireo
Osprey
Red-bellied Woodpecker (♫)

Happy New Year everyone, and here’s to another great year of birding!

Will It Go ‘Round In Circles?

Another year and we’ve about circled around again. It’s fitting that I end the year at the same place I ended last year: at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge’s (MINWR) Blackpoint Drive. This year I saw some of the same cast of players as last year, but hopefully with a keener eye and with some surprises on the way.

The main stars this time were the Roseate Spoonbills. At several points along the drive, several cars were pulled over and everyone was out taking pictures of relatively large flocks of spoonbills. I was fortunate to catch a good look at this pair, pictured below. I’ve not seen an immature Roseate Spoonbill until now.

spoonbills-young-old — *An immature Roseate Spoonbill (left) and an adult (right) with a White Ibis in the foreground.*

The spoonbills were aggressively feeding with a group of mixed herons and ibises, along with smaller interlopers like Hooded Mergansers and Boat-tailed Grackles.

As I made my way around Blackpoint Drive, the most obvious birds just about everywhere were the American Coots. It must not take much to make a coot happy. They are generally present in large numbers, especially during the winter. Unlike Common Gallinules, American Coots seem to thrive equally in brackish or fresh water. Overwintering ducks often raft with them, I imagine for protection (safety in numbers).

coots-n-things — *Going incognito: Look closely and you’ll see Lesser Scaups and Pied-billed Grebes in with the American Coots. I think there’s even a RIng-necked Duck back there somewhere.*

I was surprised to learn this past year that Reddish Egrets are actually fairly rare and of conservation concern in Florida. I’ve only seen them at MINWR and at Fay Lake Wilderness Park. I was able to make a short video clip of one feeding, using it’s characteristic “drunken” dance strategy.

“What will we do with a drunken egret? What will we do with a drunken egret? What will we do with a drunken egret? Early in the morning!”

MINWR is a good place to find Northern Pintails, too. Pintails are dabblers; they tip back-end up to reach their food and then briefly upright themselves before tipping back down again. Dabblers will often synchronize their tip-ups, looking like some mad duck Esther Williams wannabes.. This would seem to be counter to an effective predator look-out system, since there is significant time where their heads are all underwater, but it seems to work.

pintail-male — *Male Northern Pintail after coming upright. This one has either recently lost or has not yet grown in his long “pintail” for which the species gets its common name.*

Both species of scaups were present, though as usual the Lesser Scaups far outnumbered the Greater Scaups. There are a couple of good pointers for telling the two apart, especially if they are both present near each other. I’ll have that as an upcoming post, after the New Year holiday.

g-scaup — *Oh, great, a scaup! He is Greater than any other scaup I’ve seen!*

Scaups are diving ducks. Like grebes, they will often quickly submerge when they feel threatened and resurface quite a distance from where they first went under water. This can cause some consternation when trying to focus on them in a viewfinder and suddenly they have vanished and you have to remember to put the camera down and wait for it to resurface.

invisible-scaup — *This is not a photo of an American Coot. OK, well, it IS a photo of an American Coot, but it’s SUPPOSED to show a Greater Scaup.*

Blackpoint Drive is definitely a “waders and rafters” sort of experience for many visitors. There might be the occasional hawk or eagle, and in the shallower sections there can be sandpipers and other shorebirds. But even with my 8x40s the shorebirds can be hard to distinguish. I did bump into a couple that had a nice digiscope out and that was useful in identifying some gulls, terns and sandpipers. There were hundreds of Dunlins, but also a few yellowlegs (both Greater and Lesser species) and some Black-bellied Plovers. Black-bellied Plovers seem so gentle and almost fragile in their winter plumage. They walk very delicately, compared to the frantic running and dashing of the yellowlegs, and the purposeful striding of the Willets.

Just as last year, flights of American White Pelicans soared overhead. I am always awed and impressed with these huge birds. They are ponderous, yet graceful and majestic, yet slightly goofy.

On the other side of MINWR from Blackpoint Drive’s entrance, just a short drive away, is the short Scrub Ridge Trail. This trail loops through a small section of upland scrub vegetation adjacent to the marshes and ponds and provides some habitat for Florida Scrub Jays. There had been an e-mail alert the previous day about a Groove-billed Ani sighting near the parking area, so I was hopeful, especially after missing the ani pair that had been seen at Lake Apopka. Unfortunately, I did not see the ani, but I did encounter a family of Florida Scrub Jays. These jays were much more skittish and more prone to hide than the ones I’ve seen at the Malabar Scrub Sanctuary.

scrubjay — *This jay acted as a sentinel for the others who would dash out into the grass or shrubs for a few seconds before launching up and over the tops of the bushes and out of sight.*

Along the Scrub Ridge Trail the most numerous birds were the Tree Swallows, Yellow-rumped Warblers and Palm Warblers. I heard a few Eastern Towhees, and one female Northern Harrier raced past, scattering coots in a nearby pond. After completing the trail loop, it was time to head home.

Here’s the complete species list, roughly in order of confirmed identification:

Great Egret
White Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Snowy Egret
Glossy Ibis
American Coot
Boat-tailed Grackle
Red-winged Blackbird
Reddish Egret
Little Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Wood Stork
Double-crested Cormorant
Fish Crow
Pied-billed Grebe
Northern Pintail
Blue-winged Teal
Tri-colored Heron
Hooded Merganser
Lesser Scaup
Northern Shoveler
Ring-necked Duck
Caspian Tern
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Dunlin
Belted Kingfisher
American White Pelican
Willet
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Black-belled Plover
Anhinga
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
Osprey
Merlin
American Wigeon
Eastern Towhee (♫)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Florida Scrub Jay
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Tree Swallow
Northern Mockingbird
Downy Woodpecker

That likely ends by birding excursions for the year. It was fun to come full-circle to MINWR, and the adventures will continue, with the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in January, and a short trip to see my friend Laura for Superb Owl Sunday!

Additional birds from Pine Island Conservation Area, December 21, 2014

Roseate Spoonbill
Black Vulture
Wood Stork
Little Blue Heron
American White Pelican

Long Walk on the Shortest Day

Sunday morning, I decided to check out Pine Island Conservation Area to see how it’s settling in for the winter. The restoration efforts continue for the southern half, but little has changed for the rest of the park.

I always underestimate Pine Island, and it always ends up taking longer to do whatever I’m trying to accomplish there compared to other birding spots. The main pond is over 1.35 km (.84 mi) long, and I walked a total of 6.5 km (4 miles). Bird densities are usually low, except for the vultures, so you have to work a bit for it.

My day was significant for a couple of reasons. One, was sighting a yellow variant of a House Finch. I’ve seen orange variants described, but never a yellow one. I first noticed a normal reddish individual and then the yellow one nearby. At first I thought it was a warbler with a deformed beak, but after a prolonged look in the binoculars, all the patterns and shapes of a House Finch were there. The call notes from the individual were also in keeping with the rest of the House Finches in the branches close by. The bird came into the light, during a 2nd sighting, enough for two photos, only one of which it wasn’t facing completely away from the camera.

Unusual or “aberrant” plumages, while rare, are normal. There are even occasional reports of yellow cardinals!

Another great find was a flock of American Wigeons sitting at the far end of a secluded pond. I could only see them through some dense understory and they were back-lit, but I’ve included this photo. The glare was so bad in the binoculars that I had to rely on this photo to identify them.

I don’t often see American Wigeons, but when I do, I prefer they aren’t back-lit and far away.

Pine Island usually has large groups of both Black and Turkey vultures, but this time as they took to the sky on the first thermal of the day, they had a diverse mix of soaring birds with them. In a single large kettle (that’s a group of birds circling in a thermal together) I saw Anhingas, Ospreys, Wood Storks, Red-shouldered Hawks and even some gulls and terns, in addition to both vulture species.

Nothing says “Good morning!” like a swarm of vultures!

I scared up a number of egrets and herons through the morning, with the Tri-colored Herons being the most vocal and skittish, as usual. There were fewer waders in the main pond than I expected, but there were a few larger alligators around the area, so perhaps they sought out a safer place to be.

“Not if I see you first!” said the 10-foot gator.

There was this nice group of waders, though. A nearby Red-shouldered Hawk had them a little on edge, but they had obviously found a great foraging area, so they stood their ground. Eventually the commotion generated by the Common Gallinules annoyed it enough to fly away, and everyone calmed down enough for me to get this group shot.

A motley crüe…er, crew, of waders!

My morning ended with a nice mixed flock of finches and warblers, including a Prairie Warbler, a very yellow Palm Warbler with some grayer friends, and a few Yellow-rumped Warblers and House Finches for good measure.

Identified birds, in approximate order of confirmation:

Black Vulture
Bald Eagle
Tri-colored Heron
Double-crested Cormorant
Turkey Vulture
Palm Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Common Gallinule
Little Blue Heron
Royal Tern
Savannah Sparrow
Eastern Phoebe
Great Blue Heron
Cattle Egret
White Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Wood Stork
Osprey
Anhinga
Ring-billed Gull
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common Ground Dove
Pied-billed Grebe
American Wigeon (FOY)
Boat-tailed Grackle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Killdeer
Carolina Wren (♫)
Common Yellowthroat
House Finch
Red-bellied Woodpecker
American White Pelican
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Glossy Ibis
Prairie Warbler
Green Heron
Pileated Woodpecker

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukkah, and Happy whatever holiday you choose to celebrate!

Striking it Ritch in Viera

The bird population at the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands continues to change and grow as winter sets in. I identified almost 50 different bird species on Sunday, plus a handful of ambiguous sightings. More duck populations are arriving, with Lesser Scaups, Ring-necked Ducks, Blue-winged Teals, Canvasbacks, Redheads, and a Hooded Merganser all present.

It was cloudy most of the morning with a few breaks of sunshine which transformed the Wetlands from looking like this:

To this:

There were several species of terns flying and diving for fish. I didn’t see any Least Terns, but in addition to the larger Caspian and Royal Terns there were several Forster’s Terns making circuits over the water. The terns were using the stiff northerly breeze to help them hover over a promising spot before diving in. Then they turned and used the tail-wind to speed around for another pass. Forster’s terns come to the Wetlands every winter and are among the most active feeders.

In the summer Forster’s Terns have entirely black caps, but here you can see the extended black “ear patch” of its winter plumage.

There have been Northern Harriers patrolling the Wetlands for the past two visits. This harrier was resting after cruising the marshes and stirring up trouble, scattering coots and ducks everywhere.

Male Northern Harriers are gray and the females brown. Have a look at those talons.

Most visits to the Wetlands include a Crested Caracara sighting. Longer-time followers of the blog know that I don’t manage to get many photographs of them, for some reason. This time there were two in flight a bit of distance away.

Even from this distance, the Crested Caracaras’ distinctive field marks are obvious.

Living in Florida, it is easy to overlook the White Ibis. Here they often descend on lawns and golf courses in small flocks. Ibises use their long curved bills to probe deep in the mud and soil for insects, crustaceans and small invertebrates.

Ibises look kind of like Gonzo, from The Muppets. Also, I never realized they had blue eyes!

There were plenty of Palm Warblers and some Yellow-rumped Warblers along the edge of the outer driving loop. I saw a few Eastern Phoebes and a pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers. Woodpeckers will often hide behind tree trunks, alternating between sidling up the tree, out of view, and popping out to have a look at where the potential predator is (that would be me, from a woodpecker’s perspective).

“Hey, are you still here?”

Roseate Spoonbills don’t often come down to feed at the Wetlands, but this one obliged and let observers come within 10 feet or so before briskly walking away until it felt a bit safer. Spoonbills use their unusually shaped bills to sense for small prey items in the mud and water.

The head makings make it look like this bird has headphones on.

Spoonbills are pink because they often eat prey that are high in pigments called carotenoids. This is the same reason why flamingos are pink.

I was pleasantly surprised by a grouping of mixed ducks. There were Ring-necked Ducks (male and female) and a male Redhead with a couple of females. Also present were two female Canvasbacks. I had to double check that the male Redhead was not a Canvasback, as the species do look similar.

A duck social mixer.

Female Canvasback on the left, female Redhead on the right. It’s a little hard to see because of the viewing angles, but the Canvasback has a longer, straighter bill that starts at her forehead.

The American Coots continue to gather in larger groups, or “rafts.” When a harrier or other bird of prey flew by (not always making a hunting run), the entire raft scrambles. Coots are poor flyers and generally make a loud, splashing ruckus as they skitter along.

Panic At The Disco. You can see a Blue-winged Teal on the left about 15 seconds in.

Here is a list of the identified species from the day, roughly in the order I saw them:

Cattle Egret
Double-crested Cormorant
Boat-tailed Grackle
Northern Mockingbird
Sandhill Crane
Forster’s Tern
Great Egret
Little Blue Heron
Northern Harrier
Blue-winged Teal
American Coot
Common Gallinule
Palm Warbler
Wilson’s Snipe
White Ibis
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Limpkin
Pied-billed Grebe
Ring-necked Duck
Eastern Meadowlark (♫)
Black-crowned Night Heron
Anhinga
Turkey Vulture
American Kestrel
Fish Crow
Eurasian Collared Dove
Savannah Sparrow
Common Yellowthroat
Snowy Egret
Crested Caracara
Tri-colored Heron
Glossy Ibis
Black Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Royal Tern
Caspian Tern
Roseate Spoonbill
Northern Shoveler
Green Heron
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-winged Blackbird
Osprey
Lesser Scaup
Redhead
Canvasback
Hooded Merganser
Ring-billed Gull
Loggerhead Shrike

I believe this was the single “biggest” day in terms of species count since the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival for me. I don’t normally focus on that, but given the level of activity I felt it was noteworthy. The 2015 SCBWF registration should open soon, and I am really looking forward to that.

Outtakes from Viera, FL, October 12, 2014

Outtakes from Viera, FL, October 12, 2014. Left to right, top down:

American White Pelican in sod field
Flock of Roseate Spoonbills (alternate shot)
Little Blue Heron, front aspect
Loggerhead Shrike (alternate view)

Click images to enlarge and browse.

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