Category Archives: Florida

Southern birds at Viera

by Amy Posted on 23 June 2009

Even though we didn’t have a lot of time to go birding while in Florida last week (and even though I’m stretching out those few hours of birding into many posts, ha ha!), it was so much fun to see birds we don’t normally get to see up here where we live. Here are some of the more southern species we saw at Viera Wetlands.

Viera Wetlands

Northern Mockingbirds range into northern Illinois and further during the summer, but we just don’t get to see them much here in Lake County. Once we got into Tennessee though, they were all over the place. They were hanging out at Viera Wetlands, too.

Northern Mockingbird

We only saw one Glossy Ibis at Viera, even though these are pretty common birds in Florida.

Glossy Ibis

We also just saw this one lovely Limpkin.

Limpkin

And some more of the usual Florida suspects…

Anhinga
Anhingas everywhere!

Snowy Egret
Snowy Egret

Tri-colored Heron
Tricolored Heron

Gator
… and lots of these guys

Coming up next… our six lifers at Viera. Stay tuned!

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Birding at Viera Wetlands

by Amy Posted on 22 June 2009

While in Florida last week we did some birding at Viera Wetlands (while waiting out the time between shuttle launch scrubs). We wanted to go to Viera and Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge and weren’t sure which one to visit first. I mentioned our dilemma on Twitter and got this reply from Birdchick: “Do Viera, do Viera, do Viera!” This was very good advice indeed: Merritt Island was actually closed the entire time we were on the Space Coast due to the scheduled shuttle launch. (Birdchick also has some great blog posts about Viera which I would highly recommend to anyone planning a visit there: Birdchick’s Viera Wetlands posts.)

Viera Wetlands Welcome

The Viera Wetlands, actually named the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands at Viera, are owned by the Brevard County Utility Services and are part of a non-traditional water treatment method used by the county. We knew this going in; what we didn’t realize is that the wetlands are perfectly set up for wildlife viewing, with an observation tower and several one-way roads providing routes through the ponds that are absolutely ideal for birding from the car.

Viera Wetlands

We visited two different mornings and almost melted in the heat, which we totally weren’t used to. When we visited on Friday, June 12 it was about 85°F when we arrived with 85% humidity and no wind. We decided to drive the slow dirt roads around the wetlands with our windows open – big mistake. At the end of the day there were about 80,000 mosquitoes in the car. The second time, we left the windows closed and made frequent stops to view the birds.

Art with scope

Amy with scope

Signs at the entrance of the wetlands provided information and explained the rules (stay on the roads, routes are one-way, 10MPH speed limit, etc). There was a sign asking for any Purple Gallinule sightings to be reported (we didn’t see any, unfortunately).

Viera Wetlands

During our visits we spotted just 30 different species, six of which were lifers. We also saw a few birds that are also present up here in Illinois. Some of these old friends are shown below; stay tuned for more in upcoming posts!

Red-winged Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird

Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron

Great Egret
Great Egret

Osprey
Osprey

Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Meadowlark

Pied-billed Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe

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BPW: Green Heron

by Amy Posted on 21 June 2009

We’ve been back from Florida since Friday and I’m getting ready to publish a few posts about the bit of birding we go in while on the road. This Green Heron was one of my favorite sightings. We get them up here in Northern Illinois, but they are so shy here we almost only catch them when they fly over – like they’re in a hurry to get out of view. This one we saw at Viera Wetlands was strutting around like a rock star (and kind of looking like one, too).

Green Heron

Green Heron

Green Heron

Stay tuned for more Florida posts here in the coming days and be sure to visit the other great submissions for this week’s Bird Photography Weekly.

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Posted in Bird Photography Weekly, Florida, Viera Wetlands | 5 Comments

Best Western’s Least Terns

by Amy Posted on 18 June 2009

Earlier this week we stayed at the Best Western hotel in Cocoa, Florida. The first thing we noticed after parking our car was the bird activity concentrated around the roof. Dozens of Least Terns were flying around, many of them carrying fish in.

Least Terns

Least Terns on hotel roof

The hotel had a sign posted in the lobby as a sort of apology for the birds. We thought they were wonderful though, no apology needed! Not even for the little gifts they left on our car each day.

Least Tern Terd

The sign explained that the Least Tern is endangered in Florida. Since the birds are protected, the hotel has consulted with wildlife experts on ways to discourage the birds from breeding on their roof, but it would take some time before they could get rid of them completely. The terns were most active for just a few weeks in the year, and we got to see it. I was very happy that our visit coincided with this activity and we enjoyed watching them doing their thing.

They were constantly flying and it was very hard to take photos of them. Occasionally one or two would briefly land on the roof. In the video you can see we managed to catch one preening a bit.

Least Tern on hotel roof

The last time we were treated to birds living on the property of our hotel was when we stayed at the Amar Sina hotel in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. They had a pigeon tower on the roof and I liked to go and spy on the sleeping pidges when we walked by at night. 🙂

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Still hot, still waiting

by Amy Posted on 15 June 2009

Today we visited the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. During our visit, we learned that the next launch attempt for Endeavour will be early Wednesday morning, which means we need to get there late Tuesday night. We’re still melting here with temperatures (upper 80’s to mid 90’s) and high humidity that we’re just not used to. This Rock Pigeon we saw yesterday at the Intracoastal Waterway Park under the Merritt Island Causeway was pretty hot, too. From a distance we saw it swimming in the Indian River. At least, it looked like it was swimming. It was probably standing on a rock in the river but whatever it was doing, it was getting pretty wet. You can see the wet, disheveled feathers in this photo I took shortly after it left the water for a sunbath on the railing. I wish I could have jumped in the water, too.

Hot Pigeon

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Posted in Florida, Pigeons!, Travel | 2 Comments

Gruesome scene at wildlife sanctuary

by Amy Posted on 14 June 2009

We visited Ulumay Park Wildlife Sanctuary yesterday. The 400+ acre park, known as a bird reserve with a natural lagoon and heron rookery, is managed by Brevard County. We drove along the dike road to the platform over the lagoon. It was close to midday so the bird activity wasn’t too great. We did see one Great Blue Heron hunting close to the platform and a Great Egret hunting across the lagoon. We also spotted our first manatees of the trip here. But a gruesome sight really spoiled our visit: dead birds caught in fishing lines. Don’t scroll down if you want to avoid seeing photos of dead birds.

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Monofilament fishing lines like these are a danger to aquatic animals as well as birds. The Monofilament Recovery & Recycling Program has fishing line recycling bins in over 40 different Florida counties. Unfortunately there was no recycling bin at the platform at Ulumay, although there was a trash bin. Please, recycle your fishing lines and if you see discarded monofilament take a moment to dispose of it properly.

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I found summer!

by Amy Posted on 11 June 2009

Summer had yet to arrive in our part of the country when we left home yesterday. The high temp in our part of Lake County, Illinois was just 60°F whereas the normal is 76°F. Tomorrow & Saturday are predicted in the low 70’s. After driving south for the past two days, I know where summer has been hiding. OMG it’s hot here!

This afternoon we had a hot, sweaty picnic at the lovely Georgia Veterans State Park where we were joined by curious Northern Mockingbirds and a few Common Grackles watching us from Spanish moss-covered trees. We took a short walk there after lunch and actually saw our first ever Tufted Titmouse. They range in our part of Illinois but for some reason they are kind of hard to find in our county.

We’re now staying at a hotel close to the Space Coast with the main goal of seeing the Space Shuttle launch on Saturday morning. But first, some (hopefully good) birding!

There is a group of Least Terns flying around the roof of our hotel, transporting fish and making a lot of noise. Are they feeding young?

While trying to make a video of the tern shenanigans, this flock of White Ibis flew by. Can’t wait to see some more southern birds tomorrow!

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Vulture Migrates In Cargo Class

by Amy Posted on 24 December 2006

An unhealthy vulture found in an Oak Park Illinois parking lot last month is heading south for the winter, on a commercial flight from Chicago to Tampa.

The Willowbrook Wildlife Center cared for the vulture until it was healthy again. The bird would be unlikely to survive the winter in Chicagoland so sending it to the usual winter hangout for vultures is the best solution.

Now, the center is caring for a Scarlett Tanager that survived a cat attack in October. Tanagers typically travel as far south as South America during the winter migration. The Tanager will remain in the center for the winter and be released in the spring. And a Great Blue Heron found injured in Lisle earlier this year will be driven south to Texas by a center volunteer.

Read more about these unusual wildlife rescues.

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Posted in Florida, Illinois, North America, Offbeat, Rehabilitation | Leave a comment

Wading Bird Numbers Up For South Florida

by Amy Posted on 30 October 2006

“An annual survey found nearly 55,000 nests in the Everglades and surrounding nature areas this season — the second time in four years breeding has reached levels approaching the 1940s, when flocks of white ibis, snowy egret and other birds could fill a marsh sky. And that’s a ‘conservative estimate,’ said Mark Cook, a senior environmental scientist with the South Florida Water Management District, which compiles the South Florida Wading Bird Report that was released this week.” Read the full story in the Miami Herald.

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Posted in Aside, Florida, North America | Leave a comment