January 28 - Viera Wetlands

I was awake at 5:30, so got up to a cloudy 49° morning.  It was no longer raining, but was still moderately windy, with about 15-knot winds from the northwest.   The seas off Port Canaveral were 10-12 feet and up to 15 feet, with a 4 foot swell and wind chop on top of that, so I’m kind of relieved that the pelagic trip was cancelled.  It would have been a nasty boat ride, even with a larger boat than those used by the Westport Charter fleet.  One thing I’ve long since learned was that “if the skipper doesn’t think it’s a good idea to go out, he’s absolutely correct!”

At 10 a.m., I decided to walk down the road toward the Viera Wetlands, which are wastewater settling and recharge ponds for the local water and sewer folks.  The wind was still blowing a bit as I headed out of the neighborhood, supervised by one of the local Black Vultures.

 
The Folks in Florida have different yard birds than we do in the Puget Sound region.

Glossy Ibis as a Yard Bird

En route, there was a bit of a breeze, but I had good views of the local warblers,

"Western" Palm Warbler

as well as the water birds in the ponds along the way.

I did see my first Blue Jays of the trip . . .  I’m surprised that I had spent several days in Florida without seeing the species, although I’d heard several prior to this.  Red-bellied Woodpeckers are really common in the 'burbs

They're called Red-bellied 'cause they have red bellies

Mockingbirds checked me out, and didn’t seem too concerned that I was in their neighborhood,

Northern Mockingbirds - Common in Florida; Very Much Not So in Washington

although the Loggerhead Shrikes were less confiding.

Unsafe at any speed . . .

At one vacant lot, there were hundreds of Tree Swallows descending on the wax myrtle bushes.  I couldn’t tell if they were eating the berries or foraging for insects in the foliage, but they would weigh down the branches, take off, and swirl down to another bush. 

All Tree Swallows, so far as I could tell . . .

Swirling lower and lower . . .

 . . . and landing in the Wax Myrtle by the hundreds!

I got to the wetlands, named for Ritch Grissom.

After yesterday’s 3 ½ inches of rain, vehicles were prohibited until the road dried out a bit longer.  There are several acres of ponds, with cattails, grasses and reeds to absorb the nitrogen from the treated effluent water.

The treatment plant is adjacent to the wetlands

"Clean" water goes into the wetlands

The wetlands provide habitat for the wildlife, and opportunities for birders, joggers, and nature lovers.  The water management folks have provided roads & trails with observation decks

There are lots of interpretive signs for birds and bugs

Of course, there were no butterflies out while I was there . . .

But I learned about them in spite of myself

and the local vegetation
The site has rules.  There are always rules.  One is “Don’t feed the ‘gators!”
I got some nice views of the water birds

The immature-plumaged Little Blue Heron is neither

But, the adult fits the bill . . .

Common Gallinules are, well, common here

White Ibis

Wood Storks have these cool pink feet . . .

Headless Limpkin comes in for a landing

Pied-billed Grebe

There were a few alligators who wished that the ambient temperature was a bit higher.

This is a cool alligator . . .

Being cold-blooded, they didn’t move fast, unless one approached a little too close or too quickly.  Fortunately, these 5-footers were solely interested in getting back to the safety of their marsh.

My, what big teeth you have, Grandmother!

Besides alligators, there were other reptiles about, including this softshell turtle.  It appears, from its 20-inch size, to be a female.  Males are smaller, about 10-12".

Apalone ferox - the softshell turtle

I stayed on the dike, although some nice habitat along the perimeter seemed to beckon.  But, the area was closed to the public.  ¿Quien lo sabe?

Bridge to Nowhere, Florida style

You may get bored looking at someone else’s shots of birds, but I can never get enough of seeing these species.

I don't see many Palm Warblers in the Pacific Northwest, so I enjoy them while I'm here

And, the same with the Boat-tailed Grackles

These two Caspian Terns caused a traffic jam.
They were apparently adult and mostly-grown child, altho' I suppose it could be a female begging from a male in a courtship behavior thingy.  The one with the submissive posture kept uttering the juvenile begging calls, which the adult seemed to not quite ignore.  It seemed more like, “yes, young man, you are hungry.  I suggest that you go out and get your own dinner…”

The Roseate Spoonbills also caused a bit of a Viera traffic jam,
although there were plenty flying overhead and feeding in the marsh

Who doesn't like big, pink birds?

At about 3 p.m., Marty called, and I was pretty close to the parking lot, so I told her to come pick me up. We packed to leave the Sunshine State tomorrow to return to the gray skies of the Pacific Northwest.

Viera Wetlands eBird Checklist is Here

January 24 - Washed Out, then Washed Up

I was up with the 4:15 a.m. alarm, and drove up to the Scottsmoor Kangaroo Express station to meet the other birders for the Space Coast Bird Festival’s field trip for Shiloh’s Sharptails, Marshbirds and More.  About 20 of us assembled, used the store’s restrooms and bought our coffees, then drove out to the marsh access, which is part of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  It was beginning to sprinkle, as we left, and I’d offered local birder Elza Phillips a carpool ride.  As daylight broke, it was obvious that a rain squall was blowing toward us from the southwest.

Things are always blurry before I've had my second cup of coffee . . .

Soon, the rain began in earnest, and thunder and lightning – coupled with the weather forecast for the next 3 hours - convinced the trip leader Mitchell Harris to wisely cancel the field trip.  Most of us were crazy enough to go birding in the heavy rain, but when the lightning flashed, we counted “one-one thousand, two BOOM!”  Not wishing to be the tallest objects on the marsh was the better part of valor.

As most of the group headed back to EFSC,

The Venue for the Space Coast Bird & Wildlife Festival

there was a short break in the storm, and Elza and I stayed to bird for a short time before following everyone back to Titusville.

Cattle Egrets in the Rain

There, Elza and I piled into my rental car, and we headed out toward the auto tour route at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

As we crossed the bridge over the Indian River, we pulled into the parking lot for Parrish Park,

Greeted by a Boat-tailed Grackle

where we saw a flock of Black Skimmers on the roadway.

These birds have such impossible profiles!

Black Skimmer

Most of the Black Vultures were soaring past us,

but several were drying their wings after the morning rains were slacking off

There was an obliging Cattle Egret in the shrubbery, and I had forgotten that they can show a dark tarsus (lower leg) and a yellow tibia.

The Skimmers took off,

and it was time for us to head down the road to the Pumphouse Road turnoff to check for birds.  The big draw here was a large flock of Coots and a flock of American Wigeon.

Across the highway, we turned onto the West Gator Creek loop drive.  In the mile-and-a-half traveled, we saw 30 species of birds.  I love seeing Ground-Doves, but the ones here kept running away ahead of the car, before flying off

Ground Doves frustrating my attempts at a decent photo

The water level was pretty high here,

but that kept the wading birds up where they could be easily seen

Snowy Egret

What's not to love about large pink birds?  Roseate Spoonbill

I was thrilled to see the Horseshoe Crabs along the shoreline, mating by the thousands

During the breeding season, horseshoe crabs migrate into shallow waters, where the male selects a female and clings to her back.

The male is the little one on the female's back

You can often see several males surrounding a female and all fertilize together.

Horseshoe Crab cluster-hugs

A female will then dig a hole in the sand and lay her eggs while the male (or males) fertilize them.  She will lay between 60,000 and 120,000 eggs in batches of a few thousand at a time.

I think this one is "Barnacle Bill"

The pincer of a Blue Crab was in the Flotsam

Finishing that loop, we continued down to the Black Point Wildlife Drive.

The USFWS has artistic signs - even during the Government Shutdown

This is a fantastic auto tour route, providing views of

Snowy Egret has black legs and a black bill with yellow "lores"

Immature Little Blue Heron has blue-grey legs and a bluish bill

White Ibis

Tricolored Heron

A very dapper Anhinga in Breeding Plumage

More Big Pink Birds! . . .

 . . . next to Big White Birds

We finished the loop around 1:45 p.m., and we parted company in New Smyrna Beach, as I had another field trip through the Bird Festival in Daytona Beach.  The Gull Fly-In at Daytona Beach Shores trip was led by Amar Ayyash & Michael Brothers, and we met at the Frank Rendon Park and beach access

According to the program, “This beach has what may be the largest congregation of gulls on any beach in the US. In addition to the amazing array and density of gulls, the birds allow close approach. This presents an extraordinary opportunity to observe and photograph minute details on each species, and a chance to compare various plumages and age classes.”

The hype is true.  There were zillions of gulls on the beach, and more flocks further up the beach to the north,

as well as more yet offshore, waiting to return to the beach for their night roost.

There was a gap in the gull flock, due to the presence of a Peregrine Falcon, which actually grabbed a Laughing Gull just over the head of Amar!  I missed getting a shot, of course . . .  The Peregrine did keep the flocks stirred up for the entire afternoon

Studying the many plumages of the gulls, I enjoyed this pink-legged & red-billed Laughing Gull, which stood out from its more-somber neighbors

Amar and Michael gave the group great information on the gulls we were seeing

And described the Cannonball Jellyfish (Stomolophus meleagris) that were washed up on the beach.

These are not supposed to ‘sting’ people, but some folks have reported that they have a toxin that you might adversely react to.

We left at dark as the birds were settling down, and I enjoyed learning more about the East Coast birds