World Wetlands Day

 In honor of the World Wetlands Day, Feb 2nd here a few birds that use the wetlands. But there are so many more species of birds that use wetlands.

Purple Gallinule

Sora

Virginia Rail

Least Bittern

Clapper Rail

Clapper Rail with chicks

American Bittern

Purple Gallinule & Tri-colored Heron

Double-crested Cormorant

Anhinga

South Cape Meadows ~ Birds

This morning I went over to the South Cape Meadows to see the Virginia Rail that has been seen this summer.  Baby Virginia Rails have also been reported.  Seeing these would be the first time I have seen and not just heard a Virginia Rail.  I also wanted to see the Least Bittern that has been hanging around. The Least Bitterns are reportedly breeding again at the Meadows.  I was successful in seeing both species.

Least Bittern

Juvenile Glossy Ibis

Virginia Rail

Virginia Rail

Virginia Rail chick

Common Yellowthroat

Barn Swallow

Florida Trip Wrap Up

Female Blackbird

It was a great trip for both of us. I saw 6 life birds and my friend had 8 or 9 life birds with a total of 72 species of birds.  We also saw too numerous to count American Alligators, many Green (native) Anoles, & Brown Cuban Anoles, 2 Florida Soft-shelled Turtles, a White-tailed deer, many different species of dragonflies and butterflies.  I think my toughest life bird to get was the Least Bittern and was happy to see 3 of them during the week.

Least Bittern

Viera Wetlands Park & Click Ponds, Viera, FL

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks ~ Viera Wetlands

Another highly recommended birding site is the Viera Wetlands so it was our first stop today. It is water treatment plant and it allows birders to ride, bike or walk along the berms looking at all of the species of birds that call it home.  We had heard that it was a great site to see Least Bitterns which would be a life bird for both of us.  It was great even in the off season so I can imagine how wonderful it must be in winter and spring.  We were excited to see 2 Least Bittern at Viera Wetlands and then another one at the Click Ponds.  Seeing the ducks up on the dead palms was cool especially when a second duck came out of the top. There were lots of butterflies over at the Click Ponds in addition to the birds.

Cattle Egret ~ Viera Wetlands

Least Bittern ~ Viera Wetlands

Queen Butterfly

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly