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Viera Wetlands
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| The one bird species that most represented the Wetlands had to be the American Coot. | The distinctive reddish shield on the Coot's forehead is visible here. |
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| A vegetarian diet is good enough for the Coot. | The constant worried calls of the Coot make for a very nervous bird. |
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| A White Ibis expresses annoyance with the field trippers. | An Eastern Phoebe exhibits a yellow tint on its belly marking its winter plumage. |
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| A female Grackle eyes the grass for prey. | A tinge of red overhead marks a Red-winged Blackbird landing amongst a small flock of Red-wings searching the grass for prey. |
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| This talkative Loggerhead Shrike was representative of a number of Loggerheads found along the north side of the Wetlands. | Though they did a good job of keeping to themselves, these three Sandhill Cranes were part of a much larger flock seen at a distance around the Wetlands. |
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| This Sandhill Crane, unlike its other brethren, made a turn toward the camera before flying off. | The top of this dead palm tree developed into a real drama. Here a Northern Mockingbird takes offense at a Belted Kingfisher to start the ensuing commotion. |
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| The Belted Kingfisher flees from the annoying Mockingbird. | The Mockingbird did not last long for it soon abandoned the tree top to a Red-bellied Woodpecker, left, and a Loggerhead Shrike, right, who both took umbrage at the presence of the other. |
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| The Red-bellied Woodpecker claims victory when the Shrike abandons the struggle. | A nearby Great Egret takes no part in the fray. |
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| The aggressive Red-bellied Woodpecker abandons his hard won dead palm for a nearby tree. | Here he shows off the tinge of red on his belly that gives him his name. |
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| An incredible sight---a Northern Harrier, left, and a Bald Eagle hunt the same stretch of wetlands. | The Eagle lands atop a palm tree. |
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The Bald Eagle soon left leaving the Northern Harrier to terrorize the more pacific denizens of the Wetlands. |
| The victims of the Northern Harrier's attentions were the Blue-winged Teal, like this female, left, and male. |  |
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Fellow field tripper Susan Boyd estimated there had to be over 1,000 Blue-winged Teal in the Wetlands. |
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The sudden appearance of the Harrier diving down on the Teal caused mass confusion amongst the restive ducks who rose en masse in alarm. |
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The Teal swept around in rapid flight. |
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Confused by the swarm, the Harrier flew off to look for less daunting prey while the Teal landed to form another formidable raft. |
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Safety in numbers, the raft contained a few Green-winged Teal of which at least two are visible here. |
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| Another incredible sight; a Crested Caracara passes by with a satellite transmitter strapped to its back trailing the antenna. | A brief encounter with a juvenile Hooded Merganser produced a hurried image. |
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| A pair of Northern Shovelers---the female is seen here---was a unique find. | The female Northern Shoveler preens her feathers. |
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| The dark billed male Northern Shoveler had some comments to make to his mate. | An upended Shoveler looks for something to eat. |
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| A Glossy Ibis brings a morsel out of the mud. | The Glossy Ibis is tormented by an itch. |
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| A disheveled looking Osprey dries its feathers after failing to catch a fish in a spectacular dive into one of the wetland ponds. | The Osprey catches sight of a possible nuisance overhead. |
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| One of a pair of Bald Eagles soars overhead. | A preening Anhinga dries its wings. |
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A Mottled Duck wonders what all the fuss is about. |
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What appears to be an elderly Red-bellied Turtle basks in the Sun. |
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A wary young Alligator along the shoreline moved away as the field trippers passed. |
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| Images & text by Bob Montanaro. | |
All
images and text copyright Pelican Island Audubon Society. E-mail: piaudubon@bellsouth.net |
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