A Tern? (certain) Royal Tern? (maybe) - Looking for a fish? (certain)
When I look at birds while wearing my camera, most people I pass ask, "What did you see?" This is a response to that question.
The first photo is of a tern. But, which one. I thought Sandwich Tern. A couple birders (What's this Bird?) think this is a Royal Tern rather than a Caspian or Sandwich Tern. Rebekkah Leigh LaBlue who studied Least Terns in college wrote:
Personally, I would say no to Sandwich.I’ll also say the angle and backlit nature of the photo DOES make it hard to concretely discern the color of some features, but the bill here—to me!—looks orangish. Even if it were an immature bird (which have more orangey beaks), this far into the first winter the beak would have gone black (with the characteristic yellow tip, like it was dipped in mustard—hence the Sandwich Tern name). Making less assumptions about the color, the bill looks too large, pointy, and thick at the base for a Sandwich Tern.
This tern is overall larger-looking to me. I also think the wing tips look too dark for a Sandwich Tern (but whether this is just backlighting is hard to say).With that really pointy and chunky-based beak, darker wing tips, and what looks like a black cap, I’d suggest this is more likely a Royal or Caspian Tern. The cap on a Caspian extends below the eye; it does not on a Royal; I can’t tell here which is true.All said, I think it’s hard to positively name a species here. But I DO think—personally!—you can rule out Sandwich. I can't confidently ID more specifically than that. (But my gut says Royal, for what it’s worth.) Would love someone else to throw in their two cents, also, since I've likely made a lot of assumptions, here!
I saw a male Northern Shoveler.
It's bill is BIG (about 2.5 inches) and shaped like a shovel. "The bill has about 110 fine projections (called lamellae) along the edges that act like a colander filtering out tiny crustaceans, seeds, and aquatic invertebrates from the water (All About Birds)."
Two photographs, both Yellow-rumped Warblers. I still need help identifying warblers! They are so fast and we have many varieties during Florida's winter.
I saw a Great Blue Heron.
I saw an Anhinga.
Anhinga dries its wings looking out over the big pond. "Supple in water, clumsy on land, the anhinga is most serenely at home in the air. When not otherwise engaged, it spirals upward to breathtaking heights. There, with others of its kind, it rides the wind for hours on end for no apparent reason other than the simple joy of soaring." - Book of North American Birds, p. 341.
I saw two White Pelicans flying over.
Or, from another view, is that the sky looking back at me?
I saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker in its nest or where it sleeps.
