Low 60’s, Breezy and Light rain
It’s Sunday morning here in New Smyrna Beach. The Daytona 500 is this afternoon and the NBA All-star game is this evening in Orlando. Basically, the traffic around here is going to be miserable all day, so I’ll stick around home and check out one little retention pond along Callilisa Creek 10 minutes down the road. The weather is not conducive to having a lot of bird activity as most have hunkered down and are awaiting the front that is on its way.
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| Snowy egrets feeding on the retention pond at Callilisa Creek |
In the retention pond, there is a collection of about a dozen Snowy egrets, a couple of White ibises including one juvenile in its “calico” plumage, and one Tri-color heron. It’s interesting to watch the egrets take a couple of steps and then stir up the bottom with one foot while watching to see what happens to pop up in front of them. There is little territorial thing going on as well. When one egret wanders in too close to the area where another is feeding, there are “words” and a brief skirmish follows. Then, it’s back to stirring up the bottom and feeding on whatever appears.
The best sight of this dreary day is down by the gravel beach along Callilisa Creek. A lone juvenile Spotted sandpiper is working his way up and down the 10 foot beach front. When the bird reaches one end, he promptly does a 180 degree turn and starts back in the opposite direction. Each time he has his back to me, I take another step towards him and let him make shorten the distance between us as he looks for another morsel, oblivious to my presence. By the time he is ready to move on, I wonder if he ever really did know that I was there and only 20 feet away from him. The bird leaves and it is time for me to do likewise. Even on a dark dreary rainy day, there is always something to watch in the natural world, and I’ll be out each and every day of this year to see what Mother Nature has to offer.
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| Juvenile Spotted sandpiper (note no residual spotting on rear flanks) |
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