Viera Wetlands

Yellow-rumped warbler

   
     Finally, we are settled into our winter quarters and are anxious to get out into the Florida environs and get birding in some of the most productive birding grounds in the country.  We join two good friends from the "North country" today to visit one of those sites, Viera Wetlands also known as the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands.  The area is a mecca for overwintering wading birds, waterfowl, raptors, and home to several rarities such as the Creasted caracara and Limpkin.  The warblers we will see back in New York in the spring have moved even further south and are not common in the park at this time.  Two however - the Palm and the Yellow-rumped warbler - are very comfortable here in Florida and are some of the more commonly viewed birds in the state at this time of year.

Common yellowthroat

      We did find a third warbler as well.  Wherever wetlands are found across the entire  country, the Common yellowthroat can be found.  Common yellowthroats can be difficult to spot as they prefer to hang in the dense foliage next to the shallow edges of lakes, ponds, and impoundments.  If you hear the familiar refrain of "witchety-witchety-witchety", careful scanning of the vegetation will eventually lead to their movement and if lucky to a good sighting of this striking masked warbler.


     Two birds known to be present in these wetlands are the Least and American bitterns.  They are of course two of the most reclusive birds we birders encounter (or at least would like to encounter) and are more often heard than seen.  The Least flits from reed to reed and tends to stay away from the outside edges of the vegetation.  There are several locations in the preserve which Sharon and I know are often home to these bitterns, but try as we may, the term "elusive" was well applied today.  No sighting and vocalisations were to be found.  The American bittern, however, was more obliging.  The bird pictured above was so preoccupied with his hunt for a tasty morsel in the form of a crayfish that he paid us little heed and was easily seen and photographed though the sparse reeds.

 
      Back in New York, the "default" hawk seems to be the Red-tailed.  While the Red-tail is fairly common down here in Florida, the hawk most often seen and heard is the Red-shouldered.  North of Florida, this hawk has a beautiful rusty chest and head.  Here, however, this hawk is much "blonder" with a more grey head.  The calls are the same as the Red-shoulder north of here sounding like a red-tail calling over and over and over again.  The flight feathers have narrow striking black and white bands easily seen at rest and in flight.  As with most birds in Florida (and I have no theory as to why this occurs) these birds seem much more comfortable with human presence and do not flee a human's approach as quickly as northern birds.


     Our final bird of this report is another Florida icon, the Sandhill crane.  There are actually two populations of these cranes here in the sunshine state.  One population is the migratory birds which are wintering here and will eventually return to their breeding grounds in the northern mid-west of our country.  The second group are residents here and can be seen nesting here in the Grissom wetlands.  It is a remarkable experience to hear flocks of these birds coming into an area in the evening with their distinctive rattling call.  Remarkably, some of these birds have strayed north into New York and it's always a treat to see this rare occurrence.  Here at our winter home, it is a different story with the birds often seen on golf courses and along the roadsides.  It is a different birding world down here for sure.

Impending storm - Viera Wetlands