Viera Wetlands, 12/8/2012

American Bittern

This morning I decided to drive down to Viera Wetlands.  When I arrived it was very foggy.  I was somewhat disappointed, since I couldn't photograph anything any distance away without losing detail.  So of course, this is is when the Peregrine Falcon decided to appear.  I found it perched on one of the dead trees.  It was not that far away, and on a clear morning, I think it would have given me some very nice photos, but this morning, I had to shoot through through the fog.  There were many other nice things to find here, though.  A Common Yellowthroat was very cooperative, as was an American Bittern.  Later on I found a Raccoon near the edge of the water.  After making my first pass around the wetlands, the fog had pretty much cleared, so I decided to make another pass and hope that the falcon was still around.  It was not.  But, while looking for it, I saw a flash of blue-gray and another flash of brown.  I looked over and found an American Bittern with a frog in its mouth being chased by a Great Blue Heron.  The bittern landed a little ways off, but then the heron decided to try to steal the frog a second time and the bittern flew right toward me, still with the frog in its mouth.  One of my shots came out very sharp.  It may be my favorite photo of the year. Other highlights from the morning were an American White Pelican, a Great Blue Heron beginning to think about its nest, and three Buffleheads at the click ponds.  I also found one Limpkin that appears to have a bill deformity--the upper mandible appears to be bent.

Peregrine Falcon in the Fog

Caspian Terns in the Fog

Brown-headed Cowbird

American Bittern

Common Yellowthroat

Raccoon

American Bittern with Frog

American White Pelican

Great Blue Heron

Limpkin with Bill Deformity

Bufflehead