It’s always exciting to spot a secretive American Bittern stalking around in the marsh. Unlike other herons who will often fly off when disturbed, the well-camouflaged Bittern will frequently stay right where it is, trying ever so hard to hide amongst the tall leaves. To enhance the effect of pretending to be part of the plant life, “alarmed birds ‘skypoint’, swaying […]
Category Archives: Marsh/Wetlands
BirdNote recently highlighted this quote from an opinion piece in the Washington Post by Wendy Paulson of the Bobolink Foundation. I couldn’t agree more: ‘My hope is that when we emerge from this troubling time, people around the globe will find themselves more keenly aware of how blessed we are by the gifts of the […]
Adult Roseate Spoonbill above and his younger juvenile friend below were in attendance. You can easily tell who’s who by the differences in the colors of their heads, necks, bills, and the intensity of their pink plumage.They always make quite a showing at the Space Coast Birding Festival💕. These lovelies were all seen on Black Point […]
I attended the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival for the second time this year, one of the largest birding festivals in the U.S. Much of the Festival takes place close to one of my favorite birding spots, Merritt Island NWR, near Kennedy Space Center and Titusville, Florida.One of the birds frequently seen along Black Point Wildlife […]
Great Blue Herons work diligently on building their new nests at this time of year, spending much of their day collecting and adding branches.I watched as Mr. GBH flew off to the woods, looking for just the right branch. He thought about taking this long, bulky stick back to the nest, but later decided against it in favor […]
This quiet little Green Heron stood almost perfectly still in the shadows. He was barely noticeable and never stirred from this spot. Only his head moved. I assumed he had one leg tucked under his body, as these birds often do. But it’s also possible that he was missing a limb. I’ve always been amazed by how […]
Two very charming White Pelicans were sunning themselves on a sand bar one day . . .. . . preening and looking quite lovely. . . . . . older on the left, younger on the right. When all of a sudden, a newcomer flew in and landed right on their sandbar. Hmmmm . . . […]
This thoughtful Wood Stork‘s shaggy appearance makes him look like a wise old bird. But his pale, pinkish beak, and gray neck and head feathers, tell us that he is a juvenile, and distinguish him from older Wood Storks, who have dark bills and bald, scaly heads (see the ID section on All About Birds – Wood Stork)The […]
iBird Plus describes the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher’s vocalization as “a distinctive, whining ‘pzzzz’ with a nasal quality”, and that’s exactly how I knew this little fellow was nearby.I was looking the other way when I heard that unmistakable squeaky call. I turned around was treated to the sight of this diminutive Gnatcatcher hopping about in full view!Gnatcatchers are non-stop foragers, […]
We encountered a lovely little group of Roseate Spoonbills the other day. This one scarcely lifted his head to look around before digging in again to gulp down some more brunch.Once the Spoonbill turned to face me directly, I couldn’t help but notice his girth (combined with the green duckweed clinging to his bill!). Now, […]
