Roseate Spoonbill doing the strut.
Then the shake!
Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Florida
January 6, 2020
Roseate Spoonbills
American Avocet Feeding
The sun was up but had ducked behind a cloud that was low on the horizon, creating a milky light. The water was shallow and this American Avocet was among the birds taking advantage of the easy feeding.
White Pelican Touch Down
For such a large bird the American White Pelicans make a delicate landing.
This one was landing on an exposed sand bar in a tidal pond.
He didn’t nail the landing, but his raised wings distracted observers from any mis-steps.
Gotta love those feet!
Great Blue Heron Hunting
Or just standing around giving me a nice view of his body feathers.
Will These Sticks Make a Nest?
This does not look like good support for a Great Blue Heron nest. How would an egg stay put?
Clearly a lot of work has gone into stick gathering and placement in the V of this dead tree.
I’m hoping the prospective parents are just practicing until they locate a spot with more support.
Early Seeding Maple
A maple tree stands on this small island, actually more of a struggle, as it doesn’t stand straight and there isn’t much more to it than what you see here in this image taken this week. This tree is an early bloomer, and a variety with bright red seed pods.
Finding a bird in the right light tucked in among these bright maple seeds is a treat. The next two images were taken a few weeks ago on a windy day when most of the wading birds were staying low. The light wasn’t great but I couldn’t resist the red.
A small flock of White Ibis has had this island on their daily route for most of the winter. I often see them sticking out of the pine trees on the far end of the island and was happy to spot these two on the trail side.
Gadwall
A few Gadwalls have been hanging out at Ravenswood Pond for the winter. They have been pretty quick to move to the middle or far side of the pond if they sense any human activity. On this day this small group took their time passing by me.
They will be heading out soon on their spring migration.
This scene is looking the length of this rectangular, man-made pond. The “skinny tree” I sometimes mention is hosting a Great Blue Heron and can be made out on the right.
There is duck weed all around the pond and some other bright green pond vegetation has thrived on the right-hand side.
Blue-winged Teal
Coming straight at me, this trio of Blue-winged Teals looked like they were on a mission.
Of course they turned, providing a more classic view, which was quickly followed by a view of their tail ends.
Red-bellied Woodpecker Pair
I didn’t have a great view when I first spotted this pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers. I was pretty sure the one on the right zipped into that hole while I maneuvered around the tree between us.
I watched for him to come out before turning my attention to the other one as he was pecking on the tree. Then I could hear the second one calling.
The question then was to keep watching the first subject or risk missing some action there and look for the second. I succumbed to looking and he eventually popped up behind this branch. Or was there the whole time and I just didn’t notice.
He quickly flew off. Meanwhile the first one had moved a little higher, paused a moment, then also flew off.
Pied-billed Grebe and Reflection
Pied-billed Grebes are mighty cute, always looking a little “baby faced.”
On this morning at the Ding Darling Wildlife Drive the water was still and the light very nice for reflections.
Grebes seem to be in constant motion, quickly reversing direction as they search for prey in the water.
This was one of those days that there was so much bird activity I missed a lot of action, including the fly in and landing of a pair of Grebes.
Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge
January 5,2020
