OneWoman's View
Natalie Ammarell Photography
2024 Photography
Merritt Island NWR, Florida
Missed my trip to the eastern NC coast this year because I was still dealing with a lingering combination respiratory/Covid bout. I did, however, manage to get to nearby Jordan Lake to see our resident eagles. One day, 10 were visible perching here and there.
I was hoping to travel to Arkansas to witness the eclipse in totality. But finally I decided that that 32 hours in a car over a 5-day period was not exactly what the doctor ordered. Instead, I sat for two hours on the little golf course out back, on a gorgeous and clear day, and watched the partial eclipse. Partial or total, the fact is that an eclipse is a wonderful reminder of the larger context in which we exist.
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As consolation, we did start getting spring quite early this year and I (and others) have often thought back to the spring of Covid (2020). I found the abundance very comparable and the floral displays impressive.
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Tulips on February 14th!
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Itoh Peony - which I first ever saw during that spring of Covid!
I've observed this cherry tree since 2020 and this year the blooms were so thickly clustered that they were practically dripping off the branches!!
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Finally, I got on the road in April. A revisit circuit through many of my favorite "bird places" in South Carolina and north/central Florida. April is not the best time to visit the wildlife refuges because so many birds have gone to their nesting places. But the rookeries, on the other hand, are buzzing with activity and full of nests with roosting moms, attentive dads, and chicks galore!
First stop, Crystal Lake in Beaufort, SC - hardly a lake, but a lovely pond setting where the early Yellow-Crowned Night Heron pairs were starting to nest. The beds of sticks were still flimsy and plenty more birds were yet to come in the next weeks - and then the eggs - the chicks - the fledglings!
On to Cypress Wetlands in Port Royal - a favorite place - small rookery. That early in the nesting season, it was chock full of storks - putting them easily in camera range instead of at their usual treetop spots. Got lucky and saw/recorded one mating pair - these are huge creatures and it always amazes me that they succeed amidst the entangled wings and feathers and legs and long bills!
The signs of a rich nesting season were already present. The great white egret practicing its rituals; the roosting green heron; and the common gallinule chick learning from mom.
For many years, a special interest of mine has been what I call "the co-existence of species" - that is, in any one place, the degree of mixing of species that can be seen. Cypress Wetlands, being a small but highly desirable environment, is one place where the co-existence of species is truly present. The heron above completely uninterested in the frequent mating by storks or any other neighbors. The gallinules that have no qualms about bringing their chicks into the company of turtles twice their size.
Makes no difference because each species is totally absorbed in carrying out its own genetic mandate, reinforced each generation by their successful propagation...
Even the gators lurking in the foliage immediately below the nests have their role: clean up the eggs and chicks that fall from the nests...a yolky experience for the witness.
As was true at Crystal, the yellow-crowns were just starting to arrive and establish their nests - elusive as ever...
And now on to Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, which used to be one of my favorite places. But since it reopened last year after major restoration efforts, it has been a bit disappointing. The distribution of water has changed, leaving fewer rich habitats for the various species. Add to that the emptiness connected to nesting season, this stop was not very fruitful.
Among the beautiful water lilies and prolific pads, I did observe a new behavior that I had never seen before. I had always thought the many red-wing blackbirds that inhabit the marshy areas fed primarily off the marsh plants. But here I saw one prancing from lily pad to pad and actually putting beak under pads to flip them up in search of insects (I presume).
During my drive that afternoon to Ponte Vedra, FL I began to focus on the reality that this part of the world was experiencing a heat wave, with temperatures rising to the mid-90s - not exactly April weather, even in Florida! The next day I revisited the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve. Long ago, I had attended a bird photography workshop in this location, but had not had a chance to explore the dam and surrounding areas. Interesting but I did not hike into the trails and deeper areas. As near all dam areas, lots of cormorants and pelicans.
It was just after noon and the heat was very high when I arrived at the rookery at Alligator Farm. A zoo, I know, but still one of my favorite places to get sharp, close-up shots of the nests and chicks of roseates, egrets, storks, herons and (if that's your interest) gators, gators, gators. While I had planned to spend the entire afternoon here, I was forced to shorten my photo session and seek the wonderful breezes across the street on the beach at Anastasia State Park.
I enjoy taking what I call "Mutt and Jeff" photos of siblings hatched at considerably different moments. Apparently, egrets (to the right) do commit siblicide, but doesn't seem to be in the cards for this odd pair! The roseate series above suggests that in fact the older sibling showed some behaviors more like tending to the little one.
This topmost branch in the rookery is one of the most coveted perching spots for great white egrets, snowy egrets, storks and roseates. It was long ago, when I first saw this more or less "friendly" competition for space, that I began to formulate my first thoughts about the co-existence of the species...
The nest with this chick was also very high up and I got the immediate impression of a prayer for food - more food!! I had never seen such prominent green skin tones on egret chicks. When I looked it up, turns out that this is characteristic of an African subspecies of the great white egret. So the world wide movements and mixing continue!
Pushing south to the "space coast" - still in terrible heat - my next stop was one of my favorites: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. On a Saturday morning, I had first to contend with a very large group of bikers (of the noisy, motor variety) who arrived at just the same moment as I. It took about half an hour for them to all straggle through, with their din and dust, before I was able to start my wanderings through the refuge. After the bikers, my first encounter was with a lovely bird I thought was a Willet, but soon discovered to be a Greater Yellowlegs - slightly smaller, with thinner beak and more attractive, I think...
One of the reasons I like this refuge is that it has such varied habitat. Along with the brush and wildflowers and little ponds seen above, there is lotsa water - including the Atlantic Ocean, Indian River, Banana River, several large lagoons, and more! Imagine how each acts upon the small-ish island, along with the winds and temperatures.
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While the Atlantic Ocean might not be conducive to dancing, the Reddish Egret finds many of the other waters on Merritt Island to be just perfect for that! There are shots elsewhere on this website catching them dancing in the waters shown to the left. On this trip, I found a different kind of location for an equally entertaining dance!
At this time of year, I was delighted to encounter a number of Roseate Spoonbills - my logo bird! The image at the very top of this collection catches a stunning moment in a series that I shot of this particular bird and a companion heron who kept trying to move in on it.
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Onward to nearby Orlando Wetlands where, I will admit, the heat almost got me. This place has changed dramatically since I last visited. A new Education Center has been built and many of the natural paths I wandered have been turned into more formal visit routes. Still, a rich habitat, with much water vegetation and quite a few species to be seen - including this joker of a stork!
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One thing I've learned over the years is that when you visit a certain place makes all the difference! And so, on this trip I saw many Roseate Spoonbills and Storks mixing together in a pond - perhaps driven there by the heat. Also, Ibis and ducks. A relief: not so many Egrets!!
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It's probably a very good thing that I forgot to stick an extra camera battery in my pocket when I set out to visit Orlando Wetlands. My camera just stopped and I, who was truly feeling the effects of the heat, went back to the sweet A/C of my car!
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Fresh the next day I made the turn toward the north and visited one of my former favorites, Apoka Lake Wildlife Drive. This dirt road wanders 11 miles through a variety of habitats. But recently I've been disappointed to find that those pesky touristas, who became prevalent during Covid and honestly couldn't care less about the wildlife, persist - making the visit rather challenging for the rest of us. The usual great richness of species this place used to offer was again absent. I now go back primarily for the great views that can be had of Ospreys. And I did manage to catch one pair - on a very sparse nest And a hawk!!
And so ended my nostalgia circuit in Florida. Unable to resist one more stop, on drive home through South Carolina I stopped at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuges - a rookery place that I like but that sometimes offers an interesting mix of species. Following are a few images captured there - including a Tricolored Heron who just couldn't stop dancing! Most interesting was the Armadillo that caught me by surprise, thus yielding just a blurry photo.
This guy was a real twirler!!
