Another trip yesterday to the east central coast of Florida: Jetty Park in Cocoa and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (Black Point Wildlife Drive) in Titusville. Wow – it was a poor day for sunrise photos, an OK day for bird photography, and a great day for birding!
Dawn yesterday was nothing to get up for – cloudy, dim, no color. But we were up and out, so I made a photograph anyway.
Danger
That taken care of, I switched cameras and used the Sigma 150-500mm to scout shorebirds. There were many Gulls (Laughing, Ring-Billed, Herring), Pelicans and Black Vultures, a few Royal Terns, Black Skimmers, Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings, Northern Mockingbirds, and Ospreys, and a Reddish Egret, and Snowy Egret. I also saw a couple of Hawks and was puzzled by the look of this one that flew over the jetty and out into the inlet until I got home and did some research. I’ve never seen a Peregrine Falcon in the wild before yesterday!
Peregrine Falcon
Reddish Egret in the surf – quite a “do”
By the time we moved up the coast to MINWR, it was a bit brighter and the conditions were better for photography. We’d heard about a sighting of a Redhead duck and wanted to see if we could find it. We came across it about half way round the drive on the right hand side swimming with several other ducks. I think it’s amazing how a few bits of data over the internet can lead to sighting a semi-rare (for Florida) bird. With so much information available it’s a great time to enjoy this kind of thing.
Other birds we saw on BPWD: American Avocets, Common Snipe, Lesser Yellowlegs, American Robins, Roseate Spoonbills, Gulls, Belted Kingfishers, Northern Harrier, Northern Shovelers, Coots, Greebes, Green Wing Teals, Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, Tri-colored Herons, Snowy Egrets, Reddish Egrets, Great Egrets, and others.
Once again, a wonderful day outside in our natural Florida paradise.
I’ve posted a few more of my photos on Flickr. You can see them in this Jetty Park set and this MINWR set.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved
You take some great photos! Thanks for sharing them.
I would like to invite you to visit our community in north-central Florida. Madison, Florida, is the home of many native and migrating birds and is open to visit by birders.
Our county has a low population, is home to minimal industrial development and boasts three rivers and numerous lakes, springs and swamps. The Liddell Brothers Nature Center, located on the campus of NFCC, is a featured site on the Great Florida Birding Trail and is open to visitors year round.
Thanks, Rick. I haven’t been there yet, but it looks like a great place. –Ed