Sunny, 72 degrees, light winds out of the west
Back on February 5th, I posted a photo of two Sandhill cranes standing in front of the door of a Burger King in Viera. I mentioned how so many of the birds in Florida seem to be much more at ease in the presence of humans. I also have posted on several occasions the reports of the “urban eagles” who have their nest in a tree on a very busy street corner in the city of New Smyrna Beach. Well, today’s urban birds are Wood storks and Snowy egrets.
Reliably, there is a large contingent of these birds that congregate at the parking lot, roof, and lawn of a local seafood store around 4:00 PM each day. For several years now, Oceans Seafood attracts these birds each and every day. I’m still not positively sure as to what it is that brings them in, but I can only imagine that it must have something to do with the “left-overs” of the seafood mart.
At one time, it is estimated that there were over 150,000 Wood storks in the southeast. Due to habitat loss through development as well as the disruption of water flow through southern Florida, there has been a decline of the population to around 8,000 nesting pairs. The storks are officially considered an Endangered species. Indeed, for many birders, the Wood stork represents a “life-lister”, and here they are standing around on the roof of a local store. Only in Florida…..
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| Ocean's Seafood Evening Dinner Crowd |
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