Space Coast: Sunday

My colleague, new to WildBird and birding, sounded enthusiastic about dipping his toes into it, so he and I joined Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik at Viera Wetlands -- officially known as Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands at Viera -- on Sunday morning. When we arrived, Clay provided good looks at two perched Bald Eagles. What better way to begin a sunny, warm day?!


Slowly driving around the manmade wetlands -- attached to a wastewater treatment plant in Melbourne -- we saw a plethora of species: White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, American Coots, Double-crested Cormorants, Blue-winged Teal, Common Moorhens, Tricolored Herons, Great Blue Herons, Pied-billed Grebes. Oh, the list goes on and on.

The highlights for me included this rather nonchalant creature foraging out in the open (do you recognize it?)


and the Crested Caracara sporting colored leg bands and a radio transmitter that perched in a couple spots within our view.

Another highlight was hearing my colleague point out two wrassling birds -- Red-bellied Woodpeckers -- in the trees next to the auto route. I think the birding bug might've bitten 'im.

Then we joined the Sunday social and keynote at Fox Lake Park, where festival attendees ate lunch while sharing the highlights of their experiences. The incredible weather provided a fitting touch to the end of the festival.

After Chris Wood and Jessie Barry of Cornell Lab of Ornithology concluded the photo quiz, I briefly introduced the keynote speaker, Pete Dunne. Pete's talk, "Twenty-five Things that Changed Birding," stemmed from an article he wrote for WildBird in 2006. That's when WildBird celebrated its 20th anniversary, and I asked Pete to write about 20 milestones in the last 20 years.

Sunday's talk naturally deviated a bit from the article and included time for attendees to suggest other catalysts. I enjoyed the back-and-forth between Pete and everyone else.

That night, I got to share dinner with various colleagues, including one of my favorite birders, Austin Bouton (yep, from the "Adventures with Austin" column in WildBird). Have you tried the corn fritters with cinnamon butter? Heaven!

Space Coast: Friday

My flight landed in Orlando about 6 a.m., so after a rather leisurely breakfast and retrieval of a rental car, I reached Titusville -- site of the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival. Off Hwy. 1, the hotel lobby yielded Panamanian colleague Carlos Bethancourt as well as two WildBird contributors, Kevin Karlson and Jeff Bouton. Always good to see far-flung friendly faces all together.

After a nap, I ventured to Brevard Community College and investigated the vendors in the gymnasium. That's where I met Cracker, a Crested Caracara, at the booth for Audubon Center for Birds of Prey. The education bird apparently was born without bones in its left wing.


These raptors always have intrigued me. It might be the delightful contrast between the orange bare skin and the gray-blue beak. It might be the shape and size of that hooked beak. It might be its status in the falcon family yet its unfalconlike behavior; do you see any resemblance to a Peregrine?


Those dark feathers make a great mullet, no? Eventually, the silent raptor graced us with a few chirps -- which sounded like quickly striking typewriter keys. Birdchick might post a video clip of the caracara's sound.

Then Birdchick and I visited a local birder's home with the hope of seeing Painted Buntings. The generous fellow allowed us into his home with views of his seed feeders. The bright, male and female finches graced us with long looks of their beautiful plumage. Birdchick obtained photos and video of her former nemesis bird.

The long day ended with Clay Taylor and Fritz of Swarovski Optik. The powder-sugared corn fritters proved to be my downfall. Between that admission and this photo, you might know where we enjoyed a filling meal.