Spoon-Feeding at the Polk Rookery

May 29, 2011 - Herman took my dad and me out in his boat again this morning.  The Polk Rookery has changed considerably since my last visit in March.  Then the birds were building their nests, and Great Egrets, Wood Storks dominated the Brazilian Pepper.  Today the rookery was filled with fledgling birds of…... Read more

Incredible Morning at the Alligator Farm Rookery

May 14, 2011 - Augustine Alligator Farm's bird rookery.  It's right at peak season and the rookery, and the activity is awesome!  Some Great Egrets are still building nests, others have tiny babies, and still more have fledglings who know how to leave the nest but still haven't figured out how to feed themselves. …... Read more

Mothers and Babies at the Circle B Bar Reserve

May 8, 2011 - Mother and Baby Limpkin https://vimeo.com/338669386 We made our way back out to the Heron Hideout trail, where we looked for Purple Gallinules (none today).  Dyeyo spotted a lone Roseate Spoonbill flying over the marsh.  I managed to get a few quick shots before he flew out of sight.... Roseate Spoonbill…... Read more

Spring Morning at Viera Wetlands

April 17, 2011 - Cattle Egret A Roseate Spoonbill flew past.  We saw a total of three this morning (or maybe it was the same bird that moved around as much as we did?) Roseate Spoonbill Then we started crossing the cells diagonally and found a bunch of photographers watching a Great Egret nest. …... Read more

Let’s Go Build a Nest! (Polk Rookery)

March 20, 2011 - Augustine Alligator Farm Rookery, this one is totally wild.  There were hundreds of birds there, most of them sporting their breeding plumages.  We saw Great Egrets, Wood Storks, Roseate Spoonbills, Black-Crowned Night Herons, White Ibises, Great Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, Tricolored Herons, Little Blue Herons, Brown Pelicans, Double-Crested Cormorants, Anhingas,…... Read more

Hoodies at the Circle B Bar Reserve!

January 29, 2011 - Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks A Roseate Spoonbill was in his usual place on Marsh Rabbit Run, just past the "Four Corners" intersection with Heron Hideout.... Roseate Spoonbill We checked for the rails that have been hanging out at the Four Corners intersection.... https://vimeo.com/341231911 Species List: American Bittern, American Coot, American Robin,…... Read more

Roseate Spoonbill

Frosty Morning at the Circle B Bar Reserve

December 29, 2010 - White-Eyed Vireo Dyeyo joined me as I reached the end of the Marsh Rabbit Run trail.   The first thing we saw as we hit the Wading Bird Way (well, besides the obvious pelicans and coots!) was a Roseate Spoonbill asleep on a pile of vegetation very close to the trail. …... Read more

Roseate Spoonbill

What’s Going On Up There?

December 17, 2010 - American Kestrel Farther up the Heron Hideout trail, a Roseate Spoonbill was spooning in one of the few remaining pools.  Circle B needs a good tropical wave to linger for a few days to raise the water levels in the marsh.  For the spoonbill, I had to set negative exposure…... Read more

Roseate Spoonbill

More Winter Birds Have Arrived at the Circle B Bar Reserve

November 12, 2010 - This morning there were at least one hundred birds, including five or six Roseate Spoonbills, and my first-of-season Greater Yellowlegs and Lesser Yellowlegs.... Roseate Spoonbills A lone Wood Stork stood in the midst of the action.... Species list: Anhinga, American Coot, Bald Eagle, Belted Kingfisher, Black-Bellied Whistling Duck, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher,…... Read more

Roseate Spoonbill

The Coots have Returned to the Circle B Bar Reserve

October 17, 2010 - Besides seeing the first American Coots of the season, this morning we saw a juvenile Bald Eagle doing some nice close fly-bys, three Roseate Spoonbills, and plenty of Gray Catbirds and Eastern Phoebes.... I saw a single Roseate Spoonbill a few weeks ago, but it's been a long time since…... Read more

Baby Roseate Spoonbills at the Alligator Farm

June 11, 2010 - Augustine Alligator Farm's bird rookery had a record-breaking four Roseate Spoonbill nests this spring.  Two sets of chicks hatched a few weeks ago, but they are not visible from the boardwalk.... Baby Roseate Spoonbill Dyeyo and I watched and waited for the babies to wake up, and we were rewarded…... Read more

Spoonbills and baby birds at St. Augustine Rookery

May 8, 2010 - After hearing about all the roosting roseate spoonbills at the St.... Tri-colored heron chick There were many roseate spoonbills roosting in the rookery.  Supposedly there are at least three nests with eggs, but we couldn't find them.  One of the photographers with the really fancy lenses told me that the…... Read more

Limpkins feasting on apple snails

February 7, 2010 - Palm Warbler There were several roseate spoonbills at Circle B today.  We see so many neat birds here, that I forget that some of these birds are pretty rare.  It's fun to see them up close.  This one doesn't have the same dark brilliant colors as the spoonies that I…... Read more

Bird-watching at Circle B Bar Reserve

December 23, 2009 - Great Egret (and poor fish) The Heron Hideout wasn't as busy as our last visit, but we did see a bunch of herons, and this roseate spoonbill.... Roseate spoonbill There are so many anhingas at this reserve!  The line, "Hey, there's an anhinga displaying!" has almost gotten to be a…... Read more

Our first visit to the Circle B Bar Reserve

November 8, 2009 - Tri-colored heron Mixed in with the white ibises and great egrets were a bunch of roseate spoonbills.  I'd never seen a spoonbill before, and their bills really do look like spoons!  It was fun to watch them fishing.... Roseate spoonbill Rich and I saw an eagle flying over the highway…... Read more