Merritt Island NWR--Peacock's Pocket, 8/13/2011

White-Morph Great Blue Heron

Well, this morning was interesting to say the least.  I drove Peacock's Pocket in the Merritt Island NWR.  I like the drive, but it's so expansive that it's hard to get close to the birds.  But I did see some interesting things.  For the first time, I saw a white-morph Great Blue Heron.  It took me a while to make sure, but the large size, thick beak and non-black legs were the giveaway.  I also saw an assortment of shorebirds, including spotted sandpipers, yellow legs and semi-palmated plovers.  The most unexpected find was wild boar.  Unfortunately, they were too far away for me to get even a decent picture, but I uploaded one to my gallery for today anyway.

Osprey

This morning was a morning for irritation.  I overslept an hour because I forgot to take my phone off vibrate.  Then, I was planning to shoot at Orlando Wetlands Park, but traffic was stopped on Rte 420.  After 10 minutes of waiting, I gave up on that.  Then I decided to go to Blackpoint Dr. on Merritt Island, but the gate was closed there due to heavy rains.  But Peacock's Pocket treated me well.  It's just nice to see shorebirds returning.

Laughing Gull

Below you can see the list of species I saw today. A number after the species is the number I saw, and an X means I didn't count them.

Golden Silk Orbweaver

Non-Birds
American Alligator X
Wild Boar 3
Golden Silk Orbweaver 1
Various Dragonflies X

Birds
Mottled Duck X
Double-crested Cormorant X
Anhinga X
Brown Pelican X
Great Blue Heron X
Great Blue Heron (Blue form) X
Great Blue Heron (White form) X
Great Egret X
Snowy Egret X
Little Blue Heron X
Tricolored Heron X
Reddish Egret 3
Green Heron 2
White Ibis X
Glossy Ibis X
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
Osprey X
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
American Coot X
Semipalmated Plover X
Spotted Sandpiper X
Lesser Yellowlegs X
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Forster's Tern X
Royal Tern X
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Northern Mockingbird X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X