The Little Nuthatch — tri-colored heron
St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.
great egret roseate spoonbill st. augustine alligator farm tri-colored heron wood stork
St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park. It's a tourist attraction for alligators, with a large bird rookery where the wild birds naturally nest. I have wanted to visit for years and finally made it! My first time out there and definitely not my last. I was particularly excited to see Roseate Spoonbill's and Wood Stork's nesting as I had yet to get a good look at their nesting sites elsewhere. There are a number of other birds nesting there as well, especially Tri-colored Heron's and Snowy Egret's. .
Rookery time.
anhinga cattle egret gatorland great egret snowy egret tri-colored heron wood stork
And more baby bird action! A trip to the Gatorland bird rookery offered a lot of looks at nesting Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Tri-colored Herons, Anhingas, and Wood Storks. Many are nesting right off the boardwalk and are easy to watch interacting.
A cold and windy morning.
alligator american avocet american white pelican canaveral national seashore gopher tortoise merritt island nwr north carolina raccoon tri-colored heron white ibis
On Wednesday a cold front rolled in, bringing clouds and wind up to 30 mph. I had the day off so I headed out to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge for the sunrise. With the cloud cover it was no great sunrise, but it was still incredibly beautiful. The wind!! I often see wild boar in the water, but seeing a raccoon was a first for me.
Summer is here!
barred owl brown thrasher green heron pileated woodpecker tri-colored heron
Happy first day of Summer! What a great Spring it was. I hope that Summer will be great too. I've been having so much fun outside, but I dread the upcoming heat and mosquitoes. I have held strong in spending 30 minutes outside every day this month. Here are a few photos from this last week and a half. Pileated Woodpecker's Tri-colored Heron This gorgeous Barred Owl made my day, and see the little Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher next to it in this photo? That little bird was making a huge fuss when the Owl landed on that tree, but...
Wading birds.
great blue heron merritt island nwr snowy egret tri-colored heron white ibis
The birds are beautiful out in their breeding plumage. From Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on Friday... White Morph Great Blue Heron (Great Egret has black legs.) Snowy Egret Great Blue Heron...bad hair day? Juvenile White Ibis Tri-colored Heron