Birds of Prey & Wetlands
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Florida is a fantastic and wondrous place for its beautiful and often exotic plants and animals. I live in South Florida where it is mostly sub-tropical. The very southernmost area of Florida, by the keys, is tropical. You can find the rare and endangered American Crocodile there. In Florida you can find a variety of ecosystems from mangrove swamps to hardwood grooves. The plants and animals reflect this diversity and you can find osprey, bear, deer, and many plants and animals that you can find no where else.
There is a wide variety of birds in Florida. There are so many birds that representing them on one page would be too much. This page deals mainly with hawks and marsh birds. Other pages will present birds you would find in the trees and lawns and even at the ocean.
All photos copywrite by Gillbert Henry
Please note: The audio and video found on this page are linked files stored on another server. If the links don't work please right click and download the sound.
There is a wide variety of birds in Florida. There are so many birds that representing them on one page would be too much. This page deals mainly with hawks and marsh birds. Other pages will present birds you would find in the trees and lawns and even at the ocean.
All photos copywrite by Gillbert Henry
Please note: The audio and video found on this page are linked files stored on another server. If the links don't work please right click and download the sound.
One Lens Can't Hold It All
Birds are so interesting and there are so many of them one lens can't possibly hold it all. For your convenience I've collected them here.
Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
One of my favorite places to visit is the Loxahatchee Wildlife preserve. The visitor center has a cypress swamp boardwalk that you won't want to miss. Cypress swamps are the most widespread of Florida's stillwater swamps. These swamps occur where depressions expose the shallow water table.The water level of cypress swamps can fluctuate dramatically once or twice a year, exposing the peat floor for weeks to months at a time. This is when the cypress trees seedlings can germinate. It is also when there is danger of fire but fire in a cypress swamp serves a necessary purpose. Fire prevents other trees from establishing themselves. After a fire the cypress trees grow back quickly.
There is an abundant amount of wildlife here but you need to be very quiet. I have seen alligators lounging in the larger ponds, otter frolicking in the undergrowth and owls nesting in the trees.
Bromolaides are abundant and beautiful when flowering. When you visit the boardwalk be sure to use your bug spray for the mosquitoes and I suggest going early before the crowds show up.
Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
Wakodahatchee Wetlands
Wakodahtchee Wetlands is another of my favorite places. The preserve is 50 acres of utilities land that has been developed into a wetlands ecosystem. The utility company pumps millions of gallons of treated water into this preserve. Normally water companies just send the water out in the ocean but this utility company treats it and returns it to the ecosystem.
The wetlands has a board walk that has observation areas along the way. It's a great place for people with mobility difficulties to see wild life. Wakodahatchee also has a resident alligator who has repeatedly built her nest very close to the path. This gives us the opportunity to get close up but not too personal with a mother alligator and her babies. This wetlands is a great place to see nesting birds as well.
Wakodahatchee Wetlands
Florida Habitats
A bird and it's habitat go together.
A bird doesn't have long legs unless it walks in water. It doesn't have webbed feet unless it swims. A birds habitat shapes it. You can't have one without the other.
A bird doesn't have long legs unless it walks in water. It doesn't have webbed feet unless it swims. A birds habitat shapes it. You can't have one without the other.
Hawks - Distinguishing features.
Sharp-shinned hawk - Juveniles brown on back and wings. Underparts with coarse brown streaks. Thin white eyestripe. Underwing white with dark brown barring. Eyes yellow with eye stripe, tail ends with a square tip. Wings short and rounded.
Broad-winged hawk - face dark, throat white, Juvenile similar to adult, but underparts white with streaks down center of breast, and tail buff with thin dark bands. Cooper's Hawk has a much longer tail that extends well beyond the wing tips, a paler face, and a dark cap. The Broad-winged Hawk's central white band is as wide as the black bands.
Red-shouldered hawk - Red-shouldered Hawk has reddish shoulders, a more solid orange chest, longer legs, barring on the wing feathers, and its wingtips are less pointed. The Red-shouldered Hawk also has a banded tail, but the white bands are narrower than the black.
Cooper's hawk - Immature has thin streaks on breast, rounded banded tail with broad white terminal tail band and yellow eye. Brown back with white spots.
Broad-winged hawk - face dark, throat white, Juvenile similar to adult, but underparts white with streaks down center of breast, and tail buff with thin dark bands. Cooper's Hawk has a much longer tail that extends well beyond the wing tips, a paler face, and a dark cap. The Broad-winged Hawk's central white band is as wide as the black bands.
Red-shouldered hawk - Red-shouldered Hawk has reddish shoulders, a more solid orange chest, longer legs, barring on the wing feathers, and its wingtips are less pointed. The Red-shouldered Hawk also has a banded tail, but the white bands are narrower than the black.
Cooper's hawk - Immature has thin streaks on breast, rounded banded tail with broad white terminal tail band and yellow eye. Brown back with white spots.
Red-Shouldered Hawk
The Red-Shouldered Hawk has a wide territory encompassing the eastern parts of the US from the Atlantic Ocean to Minnesota and south to the Gulf Coast. It can also be found along the Pacific coast from California south to Baja California. It likes things a bit wetter than it's competitor, the Red-Tailed Hawk and is found in lowlands and swampy woods and bogs. It'll hunt by sitting quietly in a tree and dropping down. It eats snakes, frogs, insects and small mammals.The Red-Shouldered Hawk is 17-24 inches large with a wing span of 37 to 44 inches. The male and female hawk look alike but the female is larger. These hawks are year round residents of florida. They have a breeding range in the great lakes areas and will winter in Mexico. They eat small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and crayfish. These hawks are a forest bird and the clearning of forests have led to their decline though the populations seem stable right now.
Audio - Hawk Call
Cooper's Hawk
Medium sized this hawk has broad, rounded wings and a very long, rounded tail. Adults are steely blue-gray above with warm reddish bars on the underparts and thick dark bands on the tail. Juveniles are brown above and crisply streaked with brown on the upper breast. These birds are often mistaken for Sharp-shinned Hawks. Cooper's hawks fly fast, catching their prey with their feet and holding it until it dies. (Falcons bite their prey) They may even drown their prey in water. They specialize in eating medium-sized birds and can be found at bird feeders, waiting for an easy meal. Males are smaller then females. Males build the nest, then provide nearly all the food to females and young over the next 90 days before the young fledge. Osprey
Adult male: Underparts entirely white.
Adult female: Dark speckles on chest & throat. Length: 22 inches Wingspan: 54 inches
A large, narrow-winged hawk that flies on flat wings with a distinct kink at the elbow. Once you see an Osprey flying you'll always recognize one. The wings taper to a rounded tip.
The Osprey eats fish and watching them dive then come up with a large fish is something everyone should see. It is one of the most widespread birds in the world, found on all continents except Antarctica. Females have a dark band on their breasts.
Here we found a male soaring in the clear blue sky. Later we found a female perched high on a wire. Both were photographed with a telephoto lens. They are wary birds with great eyesight are are difficult to get up close to. This female was so far away from us we needed to look through the camera lens to see she was female and yet she was watching us closely as we tried to move closer.
Raptor Eyes
Eagles, Hawks, and Owls have three eye lids, an upper and lower and a third one, a membrane that can be brought over the entire eye, lets them look directly at the sun. Eagles and Hawks have a ring of bony plates that works like a telescope and lets them see near and far.
Great Horned Owl
This owl was one of a nesting pair. You can see it's mate in the photo above. Great Horned Owl are 18 to 25 inches large. Females are larger than the males. While we were there we heard the male calling his "hoo-hoo-hoo" territorial call. All the watchers and people hopeing for a photo of these birds were fairly well back, about 35 feet, out of respect for nesting birds but these birds are also known for being very protective around their nesting sites. Great Horned Owls hunt by perching on snags and poles and watching for prey, or by gliding slowly above the ground. From high perches they dive down to the ground with wings folded, before snatching prey. A Great Horned Owl may take prey 2 to 3 times heavier than itself. They also hunt by walking on the ground to capture small prey or wading into water to snatch frogs and fish. Great Horned Owls eat just about everything. At least 253 different prey animals have so far been identified.
More Reading: The Owl Pages website is loaded with a lot of information. If you're nuts about owls this is one site you need to check out!.
How Do Raptors Hunt?
Unlike most hawks which hunt by sight, Marsh or Harrier Hawks are thought to hunt by hearing, using the curved, sound-reflecting facial ruff much like the owl uses theirs. Most hawks, except falcons, strike their prey with all four toes fully open. Falcons will bite the neck of prey. Owls, which can also be considered a raptor, also kill by biting the neck of their prey. Almost all hawks hunt in the day. The Peregrine hunts from great heights, plunging steeply downward with their wings partially closed. The Peregrine's plunge has been recorded at speeds over 150 miles per hour. The Sharp-shinned Hawk flies fast through thick woodland, maneuvering skillfully and will often pluck birds right from the tree branches. Some Hawks, like the Kestrel, Osprey and the young of Red-tailed Hawks, will hover over an area before spotting their prey and dropping steeply down. Hawks will often soar in lazy circles high in the sky as they watch for prey on the ground. Even with this variety of hunting techniques, hawks will most often hunt by sitting on a tree branch, fence pole or other location that gives them a good view of the area and where they can watch for prey before swooping down. The hawks hunting style depends often on weather. On clear warm days look for hawks in the air. On overcast windy days keep an eye on the tree line and fences. Vultures
Up through the mid 1990's vultures had been considered birds of prey like eagles, hawks and owls. They have since been reclassified as part of the stork family. Turkey Vulture
The Turkey Vulture's digestive system has the unique ability to kill any virus and bacteria in the food the bird eats. His diet includes as much as 50% vegetative matter. The vulture's droppings and dry pellets (bolus) are clean and do not carry disease. Turkey vultures soar in the form of a very shallow "V". They soar more and flap their wings less than Black Vultures. They are also larger with wing spans up to 6 feet. Turkey Vultures rely on their sense of smell to find food sources. Black Vulture
The Black Vulture is smaller than the Turkey Vulture and has a short tail, black head and a wing span less than five feet. They are also are more aggressive than the Turkey Vulture. Its shorter, broader wings have white patches near the tips. the black vulture eat not only carrion and refuse but will prey on small mammals, reptiles and young birds. Black Vultures apparently mate for life and can often be seen in pairs. Black Vultures primarily use sight to find food sources. Black Vultures soar with their wings held flat. Anhinga
Snake Bird
34" to 36". A blackish bird with a very long slender neck and long tail. It lives in freshwater ponds and cypress swamps.Its sound is a low grunt similar to the cormorant. It builds a nest in trees and is often in colonies with cormorants. This bird is also known as the Snakebird because its body is submerged when swimming so that only its head and long slender neck are visible.Unlike some aquatic birds, all of the anhinga's body feathers become completely wet upon contact with the water, allowing it to be able to dive through the water more easily. This feature, however, causes it to have little buoyancy, to lose heat quickly, and hinders flight. The Anhinga preys primarily on fish but its diet can also include aquatic invertebrates and insects. Although not a particularly fast swimmer, it is an effective aquatic hunter, relying on its quick neck and sharp bill to catch prey. It targets slower-moving species of fish and stalks them under water, finally striking out with its long neck and spearing the prey with its beak. It then brings the prey above water and jerks it off its bill, manipulating it in order to swallow the fish head first." University of Washington Animal Diversity Web
The Anhinga
Male Anhinga's are more colorful than the female. The female also has two colors on her chest, black with a lighter brown closer to her neck. The male is all black on his chest. The photo's of the bird with the two colored chest are females. The male has the ring around his eye.
Notice the females wide webbed feet.
Look how this anhinga can twist her neck. She can almost tie it in a knot it's so flexible! She doesn't have to turn her head to catch a fish under water. All she does is twist and turn her neck.
Double-Crested Cormorant
30" to 35". A dark bird with a slender body, the hooked bill is usually tilted upward when swimming. It has an orange throat pouch. It's sound is a deep guttural grunt. It lives near lakes, rivers, swamps and coasts. It breeds in colonies and makes a nest of sticks in a tree or cliff. These birds migrate in large v-shaped flocks like geese but are silent when flying."Pursuit-diving is the technique used to capture prey items. The bird dives from the surface and propels itself through the water using its feet. Prey are captured in the bill, and upon return to the surface, prey items are manipulated with the bill until the prey can be swallowed head first. Neotropical cormorants plunge-dive from the air, alone or in groups. Others may forage singly or in groups. Some species are cooperative foragers: groups swim together on the surface, moving in a coordinated fashion to drive schools of fish, then dive in unison to capture fish. Some species also join mixed-species foraging flocks."
University of Washington Animal Diversity Web
Audio - Cormorant
Cormorant Romance
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A Cormorant catches a fish
These video's are not easy to shoot. Neither Cormorants nor Anhingas are predictable when under the water and you have to guess where they just might come up. When I shot this the water was very calm and the bird was fishing close to the surface so I could follow the panicked fish. Even with this advantage it took a long time to catch the Cormorant surfacing.
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Cormorant vs Anhinga
Cormorants swim close to the surface where you can see their backs. Anhinga's swim deeper in the water. They are also called the "Snake Bird" because all you see of the Anhinga is it's neck and head above the water.
Great Blue Heron
This bird is 39 to 52" tall (almost 4 1/2 feet) with a wingspan of 70" (almost 6 feet). When flying it folds it's neck (the sandhill crane flies with it's neck extended). It's sound is a hoarse guttural squawk. It nests in trees and sometime on the ground concealed in reeds and grasses. It nests in colonies. These large birds eat fish and frogs, small mammals, reptiles and sometimes other birds. Great Blue Heron romance
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The Legs Are The Clue
Many of the birds in florida are white and easily confused. This is how it goes:
Yellow Legs, Yellow bill = Great Blue Heron
Green Legs, Black on bill = Little Blue Heron, immature
Black Legs, Black bill, Yellow feet = Snowy Egret
Black Legs, Black Bill, Black feet = Reddish Egret, immature
Black Legs, Yellow bill = Great Egret
Great Egret
You can find this bird in freshwater and salt marshes and even out your back door. It will feed alone and eat fish, frogs, snakes and crayfish in shallow water. It will slowly walk along the edge of the water, leaning forward almost eagerly, then stabbing into the water for it's dinner. Audio - Egret
Egret mating dance
This egret is trying to get the attention of the other by raising his head high then bringing it down and bouncing on the branch. Once in a while he'll also shake his wings.
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Little Blue Heron
Length: 22 inches Wingspan: 41 inches. The two sexes similar.They are medium-sized, long-legged, long-necked waders who usually holds neck in an "S" curve at rest and in flight. The bill long and pointed and they have dull green legs.
Little Blue Heron - Immature
Immature birds are mostly white with pale slate-gray tips on primary wing feather. Legs of young birds are yellowish-green. Immature birds retain their yellowish legs during the second year.See how much this bird looks like the Snowy Egret but his legs are green. The Snowy Egret has black legs.
Snowy Egret
A small, all white egret with black bill and legs and yellow feet. They feed in flocks with other waders in a wide variety of shallow marshes. They'll use different ways of feeding including running through shallow water and flying low to strike at prey where water is too deep for wading. Their most common prey are small fish, insects, crustaceans, and shrimp. These birds were grabbing the fish from some boys who were siening for bait. Black-Crowned Night Heron
The books say this bird has a black crown and back but in the field and in this photo it appears blue. It has a distinctive red eye though and when breeding it has two or more white plumes on the back of the head. It is mostly a night bird and so is seldom seen. It's harsh barking squawk is often heard at dusk or later. Night Heron
The red eye isn't as noticeable in this video bit it's there. It was a special treat to find one out after sun rise. Here I've found two and put the video together.
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Green Heron
Green Herons are the most common heron in Florida but they are not often seen. Despite it's iridescent colors it blends into the brush very well and people don't usually notice it until it flushes. When hunting, a Green Heron will perch unmoving at the waters edge untill a hapless fish swims by and the Green Heron grabs it with it's sharp bill."The species is especially notable for its remarkable feeding habits, which include the fabrication and use of bait to attract fish. The Green Heron feeds opportunistically on a wide variety of aquatic creatures, including worms, insect larvae, mature insects, crustaceans, fish, frogs, snakes, and rodents. It forages in shallow water or on rocks or branches above water, standing still and watching the water, then darting its head and neck out to seize prey. Notably, Green Herons sometimes use bait to attract fish. They use both lures, such as feathers and leaves, and live bait, such as worms and insects. Green Herons have even been observed breaking sticks into small pieces to use as bait, one of the few examples of tool-making by birds."
from Cornell Lab of Ornithology "All About Birds"
Audio - Green Heron
Tri-colored Heron
A slender gray-blue heron with rufous neck and white belly. It makes guttural croaks and squawks. "Formerly called the "Louisiana Heron," this is one of the most abundant herons in the Deep South. The Tricolored Heron is extremely slender and moves gracefully as it searches about for frogs or fish. Despite its relatively small size, it forages in deep water; often its legs are completely under water, and the bird appears to be swimming. Tri-Colored Heron Mating Dance
Tri-Colored Heron's stretch their necks up then bob their heads as they clack their bills. Notice how blue this one's bill has become.
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Black-Necked Stilt
Stilts once bred as far north as New Jersey. Their decline was due to excessive hunting. In the nesting season they are particularly aggressive and will often fly low over people. You can find Stilts in grassy marshes, mud flats, pools, shallow lakes and both fresh and alkaline water. They probe in mud with slender bills for food. The Black Necked Stilt
Hear and watch the black backed stilt at Wakodahatchee wetlands
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Willet
The Willet is a shore bird and is the only sandpiper who breeds as far south as Florida. It has a bold black-and-white wing pattern seen in flight. The Willet is fairly large at 13 o 16 inches. Endangered Birds
- Arctic Peregrine Falcon
- Bachman's Warbler
- Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow
- Florida Grasshopper Sparrow
- Ivory-billed Woodpecker
- Snail Kite
- Wood Stork
Threatened
- Audubon's Crested Caracara
- Bald Eagle
- Florida Sandhill Crane
- Florida Scrub Jay
- Least Tern
- Piping Plover
- Roseate Tern
- Southeastern American Kestrel
- Southeastern Snowy Plover
- White-Crowned Pigeon
- Whooping Crane
Species of Special Concern
- American Oystercatcher
- Black Skimmer
- Brown Pelican
- Burrowing Owl
- Limpkin
- Little Blue Heron
- Marian's Marsh Wren
- Osprey (Monroe County only)
- Reddish Egret
- Roseate Spoonbill
- Scott's Seaside Sparrow
- Snowy Egret
- Tricolored (Louisiana) Heron
- Wakulla Seaside Sparrow
- White Ibis
- Worthington's Marsh Wren
Green Winged Teal
The Green Winged Teal breeds from New York, Nebraska and California north to the Aleutians, northern Alaska, Manitoba and Quebec and winters south to Central America. The North American and Eurasian forms use to be considered different species. Eurasian males have a horizontal white stripe along the side of their bodies instead of a vertical stripe down the breast. Every year some Eurasian "Common Teals" show up in the States which makes us believe they are breeding here. Green Winged Teal are one of the fastest flying ducks. Blue Winged Teal
The Blue Winged Teal is a marsh duck that usually winters south of the United States but will sometimes winter and occasionally breed here in Florida. "Fast and wary, Blue-winged Teal fly in small groups or flocks, turning in unison and flashing the blue area of the wing. Like most ducks, it goes through an eclipse plumage and molts most of its feathers simultaneously, including the primaries, and so is flightless until new feathers grow in." eNature.com Blue-Winged Teal showing off his wing.
The video doesn't do the wing color any justice. It's a beautiful blue that this video doesn't show very well.
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Mottled Duck
Mottled ducks are found only in North American and are year-round residents. They are found in freshwater wetlands, wet prairies and flooded marshes. They stay in the same area year-round. Mottled ducks breed once a year and most are paired up by November. Their young hatch in February. Mottled ducks eat aquatic invertebrates and small fish, snails, crayfish, beetles, dragonfly nymphs, fish, seeds, grasses, and aquatic vegetation. They rarely dive for food but when they do, it is for minnows. Pair formation occurs early, with nearly 80% of all individuals paired by November. Breeding starts in January, continuing through to July and usually peaking in March and April. Protecting the native Mottled Duck
The Florida Fish & Wildlife conservation Commission's site on Mottled Ducks states:
The Florida mottled duck is one of a few non-migratory ducks in North America. It occurs only in peninsular Florida where it is found both on the coasts and inland. Introduced mallards are interbreeding with our native Florida Mottled ducks resulting in hybrids of the two species. The potential consequence is the loss of the mottled duck as a distinct species in Florida. Historically, mallards occurred in Florida only as winter migrants. However, there are now mallards in Florida year-round. These new residents were put here, mostly by private citizens who purchased domesticated mallards and released them on local ponds, lakes, and canals to enjoy watching them. and are reproducing in the wild with our Florida ducks. The result is that fewer and fewer pure-bred Florida ducks are left.
What can you do to help prevent the extinction of the Florida Mottled duck?
Do not release mallards, and do not support existing feral mallards by feeding or sheltering them. Tell friends and neighbors not to release or support Mallard ducks.
But how can you tell if the mallard duck is feral or naturaly occuring?
In Florida, wild mallards are protected and can not be touched unless you have special permits. But natural mallards are migratory. If the mallard you are watching is here in the summer, it's a feral duck. These birds can be removed by Department of Agriculture- Wildlife Services officials who have the proper permits. And if you would like additional information about the feral mallard hybridization problem, please call 321-726-2862.
The Florida mottled duck is one of a few non-migratory ducks in North America. It occurs only in peninsular Florida where it is found both on the coasts and inland. Introduced mallards are interbreeding with our native Florida Mottled ducks resulting in hybrids of the two species. The potential consequence is the loss of the mottled duck as a distinct species in Florida. Historically, mallards occurred in Florida only as winter migrants. However, there are now mallards in Florida year-round. These new residents were put here, mostly by private citizens who purchased domesticated mallards and released them on local ponds, lakes, and canals to enjoy watching them. and are reproducing in the wild with our Florida ducks. The result is that fewer and fewer pure-bred Florida ducks are left.
What can you do to help prevent the extinction of the Florida Mottled duck?
Do not release mallards, and do not support existing feral mallards by feeding or sheltering them. Tell friends and neighbors not to release or support Mallard ducks.
But how can you tell if the mallard duck is feral or naturaly occuring?
In Florida, wild mallards are protected and can not be touched unless you have special permits. But natural mallards are migratory. If the mallard you are watching is here in the summer, it's a feral duck. These birds can be removed by Department of Agriculture- Wildlife Services officials who have the proper permits. And if you would like additional information about the feral mallard hybridization problem, please call 321-726-2862.
Pied-Billed Grebe
This smallish duck eats small fish, crustaceans, and aquatic insects but is especially fond of crayfish, which it crushes easily with its stout bill. When alarmed, this grebe often sinks slowly into the water, resurfacing out of sight among the reeds. But it can also dive with amazing speed, a habit that has earned it the nickname "Hell-diver." It is also called the "Dabchick" in some areas. It is the most common nesting grebe in the East. How do birds get their color?
Birds get their color from two methods. One is by pigments, or chemicals in the feathers or skin. Pigments absorb different wavelengths of light and reflect others. The reflected light reach our eyes and the different wavelengths give us the different colors. The shortest wavelengths give us violet and the longest give us reds. A cardinal has pigments that absorb all wavelengths except the longest wavelengths, so we see the bird as red. When no light is reflected we see black, when all light is reflected we see white.The other method used to get color is by structure of the feather. This is how the blue and iridescent colors are produced. Blue is produced by tiny particles of the feather that are smaller than the wavelength of red light. These particles can affect only the shorter blue wavelengths and reflect the blue light in all directions so they are always seen as blue.
Iridescent colors are made by parts of the feather that are turned so that a flat surface faces the light. The structure is varied and as each flat surface faces the light different colors are reflected. So as the bird moves or the feather moves, the color changes and appears iridescent.
Common Gallinule or Moorhen
13" Common Gallinule or Moorhens as they are more often called make a squawking sound much like coots. Other calls sound like frogs and are harsh in tone. They live in freshwater marshes and ponds with cattails and other aquatic vegetation. Their nests are in shallow platforms of dead cattails, rushes and other marsh plants, built up a few inches above the water level. Males build several nests on the pair's territory which are used by the female and newly hatched young at night. Purple Gallinule
11-13" Purple Gallinule's make a squawking and crackling sound along with guttural grunts. They like freshwater marshes with lily pads and other aquatic vegetation. Their nests are of dead stems and leaves of water plants placed on a floating tussock or in a clump of sawgrass. This bird is often seen walking on lily pads. Gallinule's eat fruit and plants as well as worms, leeches, eggs and insects. Audio - Gallinule
American Coot
Coots are the most aquatic members of their family, moving on open water like ducks and often feeding with them. Coots feed in many ways: by diving to the bottom, dabbling at the surface, grazing on land near shore. Freshwater Marsh and Wetlands
At the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
Freshwater marshes are open wetlands with grasses and other grass-like plants. Standing water occurs here for much of the year. Marshes generally contain few trees and shrubs.
Freshwater marshes filter water.
As water passes through it is slowed by the grasses, suspended dirt and other particles drop out, and the water is cleaned.
Wetlands are transitional areas between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water. Marshes are wetlands dominated by herb-like plants. Trees and shrubs cover less than 33% of the area. Significant amounts of organic matter accumulate. These areas plants are largely herbs, a few shrubs and very few trees.
Wood Stork
Wood Storks are 3 feet tall, have a 5 foot wing spread and weigh 4 to 7 pounds. They use feel instead of sight to find food and they do this by sweeping their beaks back and forth in shallow, plant filled and often muddy water. They eat mostly fish. They live in the Everglades and other wetlands that have alternate wet and dry spells that produce the shallow concentrated pools of water they need to find food. Human water management in Florida has disrupted the seasonal wet and dry periods of the Everglades, reducing the Wood Storks ability to find food and placed this bird on the endangered lists. 
White Ibis
This bird is common in our city yards. A flock of White Ibis can be seen walking along, pecking at the ground for insects. They will also eat crabs, crayfish and small amphibians. White Ibis fly from their roosting sites to feeding grounds and back again at night. They travel in long lines or V- shaped formations and are easily identified by their black wing tips. Glossy Ibis
The Glossy Ibis is a recent new comer to Florida. It is believed that they came to South America in the 19th. century. It has slowly increased it's range. The Glossy Ibis eats crayfish. Along the coast it mainly eats fiddler crabs. It'll also eat insects and snakes, including the water moccasin. Roseate Spoonbill
The Roseate Spoonbill a large wading bird with pink plumage and a distinctive spatulate bill. Breeding in the United States is restricted to coastal Texas, southwestern Louisiana, and southern Florida. Their breeding range extends south from Florida through the Greater Antilles to Argentina and Chile. They inhabit marshes, swamps, ponds, and rivers within their range, feeding in both fresh and saltwater wetlands.Spoonbills consume a varied diet of small fish, amphibians, aquatic invertebrates, and some plant material. They feed in the early morning and evening hours by wading through shallow water with their bills partially submerged. As a Roseate Spoonbill walks it swings its head back and forth in a sideways motion. When the bird feels a prey item it snaps its bill closed, pulls the prey out of the water, and swallows it.
I do have video of this bird feeding. I will get that on here as soon as I possibly can. Thanks for your patience
Additional Resources from Amazon
Birding Books on Amazon
What do you think?
Let me know if you've found this article helpful and interesting. Do you have any favorite places to see wildlife in Florida?
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JeanJohnson
Jul 1, 2011 @ 10:37 pm | delete
- Nice bird lens, I've been working on one myself. BIrds are wonderful.
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vallain Dec 28, 2009 @ 8:24 am | delete
- Very informative. I lensrolled it to my Identify Water Birds lens.
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BlueMtnWildlife
Mar 11, 2009 @ 11:31 pm | delete
- Very informative! I've never seen all the different types of herons...we only have the Great Blue in NE Oregon. It looks so funny when they decide to hunt the mice in the fields, those long legs belong in the water. 5 stars
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Resources & Web Sites
When we moved to Florida my photographer husband and I set out to learn everything we could about our new home. Now, several years later and hundreds of fun excursions into the wild, which sometimes was as far away as our back yard, we've learned a lot. Most of our information has come from the Internet. The Internet has always been a wonderful resource of information. And when we couldn't find the information about a creature we discovered we contacted people at collages and organizations through the Internet. Following are some resources that have been useful to us.
Please let us know if any links are broken. Thank you.
Please let us know if any links are broken. Thank you.
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- A comprehensive guide to birds.
- USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
- Not as fancy as the Cornell Lab's site but very informative.
- AvianWeb
- AvianWeb's focus is on pet birds but they have a good section for backyard and wild birds.
- The Vitrual Birder
- Grab your binoculars and check this site out.
- Florida Naster Naturalist Program
- From the University of Florida, this site is a great place to find information on that hard to find animal. The site lists birds, mamals, reptiles and plants. I have also e-mailed a few of the people listed to help identify a bug or two. They're wonderful.
- Animal Diversity Web
- From the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. I just love this site! It's beautifully done and gives you much more than most sites.
- Your Florida Backyard
- A resource for people who want to create natural areas in their backyards. Also contains information on certification programs for backyard habitats.
- eNature
- A very comprehensive site with field guides tailored to zip codes.
Our Favorite Web Sites
I love everything wild and have explored a wealth of web sites. I want to share these with you here. You will find sites about birds but you'll also find much more.
Please visit them. Come back and vote on your favorites. Readers votes will move links up or down on this list. If you have a favorite site suggest it and let others vote on it.
Connecticut (CT) Wetlands Delineation Services
Offering Wetlands Soils Delineation & Watercou more...1 point
www.backyardjungle.org/
0 points
Pets-Pet Owners-Pet Care-Nature of Animals.
Nature of Animals offers many facts on animals and more...0 points
www.animalfact.com/
0 points
www.worldwildlife.org/
0 points
The Electronic Zoo
Large Collection of Animal related Internet Resour more...0 points
nature.org/
0 points
zooweb.com
zooweb.com0 points
www.hhmi.org/coolscience/
0 points
eNaturalist
Information on North American animals and plants w more...0 points
www.kaytee.com/home/
0 points
American Birding Association
0 points
Welcome to Burke's Backyard
0 points
animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/
0 points
www.nwf.org/kids/
0 points
Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center information on B more...0 points
Reptile Shops
Are you looking for the right online shop where yo more...0 points
Link Exchange
If you have a Squidoo lens or other web page post it here. Add this Squidoo site to yours.
http://www.squidoo.com/Florida-Nature
http://www.squidoo.com/Florida-Nature
- JoanneGreco's guide to bird watching
- Bird watching is FUN! It gives you a great excuse to leave your television behind and venture out into the elements. Need a good reason to head out and go for a walk? Bring along your binoculars. It provides a healthy activity that just about Anyone can enjoy. You don't even need to venture beyond your own back yard. Brd feeders placed on window sills allow individuals with limited to enjoy birds with little or no effort.
by WebCat
I'm so glad you stopped by. I hope you enjoy your time and drop me a line to say hello.
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