Florida Birds - Part 6

If you're a Tern fan, you can find them all over the gulf coast of Florida this time of year. Royal, Sandwich, Forster's, Common, Caspian, and others all hang out together alongside gulls and shorebirds. The Royal terns are easiest to spot in a crowd as they have those giant bright orange bills (see below). The others can easily be identified as compared to the Royals.

The beaches are used my many types of birds, including Snowy Egrets. This one tried its luck foraging in the shallow waves just before sunset.

On another beach, a Little Blue Heron hunted for breakfast at sunrise.

The heron was joined by several Ruddy Turnstones.

I like that these birds don't lose all of their coloring during the non-breeding season, so they are easy to identify in a mixed flock of shorebirds.

Most wintertime shorebirds look more like this (below). Cornell University offers an online self-study Shorebird Identification course, which I recommend taking.

There is no mistaking the Roseate Spoonbill for anything else! I posted some photos of this bird previously, but it deserves more.

Just look at it!

A Spoonbill flying at sunrise:

Another one later in the morning:

Early one morning, we found a couple of Sandhill Cranes foraging in a wetland area.

They were joined by several Gray-Headed Swamphens. This was my first time seeing both species in the wild, so they made my day.

I previously posted a photo of Sandhill Cranes flying, but they're so awesome, here is another one.

This is a Glossy Ibis in flight.

And a Wood Stork in flight:

Double-Crested Cormorant - we have these year-round in NYC.

Bald Eagles can also be found year-round all along the East Coast, but we don't see them as often in the NYC area. When we do, it's usually a big deal.

Next up:  Pelicans!

Florida Birds - Part 5

Continuing with the Florida bird series, here are a few interesting prey captures.

This Laughing Gull surprised us by grabbing a dragonfly (possibly a Giant Darner) right out of the air and eating it.

Another gull found a large shrimp and briefly paused to show it off before being chased around by a bunch of other gulls. A prize like this is worth stealing!

A Black-Bellied Plover pulled up some kind of giant worm. This, too, turned out to be a catch that caused many other birds to try and steal.

One of my favorite bird interactions was this Little Blue Heron catching a fish.

In order to eat the fish, the heron has to spend a bit of time breaking it up. As it does this, note the legs of a gull creeping in on the upper right of the photo below.

As the heron was distracted, the gull made its move.

The heron saw the gull moving in on its lunch and took evasive action.

The heron kept maneuvering to keep its back to the gull as it continued to crush the fish so it could eventually swallow it. 

Meanwhile, a couple of Willets had some kind of disagreement on the beach. The one on the right did not like having the one on the left around and kept hassling it. Their conversation sounded pretty heated.

A more relaxed Willet kicking up some sea foam:

Peeps coexisting peacefully on the beach:

Another Black-Bellied Plover:

Winter time is a challenge for identifying shorebirds as their plumage is mostly drab and some species can look alike. I appreciate the challenge of identifying them this time of year, but I do look forward to summer when all of these birds can be found in their more colorful breeding plumage in the NYC area, in places like Jamaica Bay.

Florida Birds - Part 4

For those wondering if I am still covering East Village red-tailed hawks, Christo and Amelia, the answer is Yes! 

After hawk nesting season drew to a close in September, hawk activity dropped off and there's not much to report. I can say that the fledgling who was taken into rehab in September has been released back into the wild, although not in Tompkins Square Park. To return her there at this point in the year would risk her being chased off by her parents, who are likely to be territorial as their next nesting season starts up. Christo and Amelia raised their offspring as best they could, WINORR did everything they could to help her regain her strength, and she is on her own now.

The adult hawks should start courting behavior in January. Until then, I'm going to post more Florida birds.

 

I saw my first Wood Stork on a trip to Florida a few years ago and I was so captivated by it, I hoped to have the opportunity to see more during this last trip. I was expecting to see some hanging out in wetland areas, so imagine my surprise as I came upon twelve in a city park!

I had no idea Wood Storks were so acclimated to the urban setting. This group seemed right at home in the park, not concerned with any of the people resting on the grass. 

This stork was even brazen enough to dig through someone's lunch.

They are obviously being fed by people, which is not a good thing for wildlife. However, everyone in the park on this day was pretty chill about it and let them be.

This stork appears to be a juvenile, based on the light color of its bill and the downy feathers still on its neck and head.

Compare to an adult:

As there was no lake or pond in this park, the storks made use of this fountain by bathing in and drinking from it.

While White Ibises can be found all over the place, including urban areas, I didn't come across very many Glossy Ibises. This one was seen in a nature reserve.

White Ibis:

And a Common Gallinule. These guys were very vocal.

One of the more common ducks in the area is the charming Black-Bellied Whistling Duck. Their calls sound like squeak toys.

I think they're stunning.

As I need a raptor in every post (LOL), here is an immature Northern Harrrier seen, not in the north, but patrolling a field in SW Florida.

More to come...