Florida Birds - some ID help appreciated

[lvcrtrs]

Well I had 1.5 days nice and 3 days rain, but I was still out there with the camera. Got a few pics but cannot find matches in my book. If you know what these fellas are I'd appreciate knowing (EricD are you out there ). Tx, Sherry

1. Found this guy in Jupiter



2. There were a ton of these in a tree at a rest plaza, very very noisy. Many looked to be all black and the rest like this one. The closest I could find was a Boat Tailed Grackle by picture and description ID??.



3. Rainy day, Central Florida ID??



4. Again stumped, kinglet family??



5. Ahhh, here we go, Osprey. One for me.



6. Late day with the sun going down. Pelican.



7. Egret - Black bill and legs??

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[grafxman]

I'm not an expert but #1 looks like a Phoebe, #2 might be a grackle however the pictures I have show birds with longer bills that curve downward slightly so, if the tree was full of them how about some more pictures, I don't see #3, I don't think #4 is a kinglet however I'm not sure what it is-one of the most important ID feature is bird behavior-kinglets never stop moving-wrens have tails that stick up, etc-I would need more pictures-others here are likely more expert, #7 is a snowy, check this out:



I took this at Merritt Island.

[lvcrtrs]

Grafxman,
Thank you for your time. I didn't take any pics of the tree full of birds (#2). Since this guy had some color as opposed to all black I went for him. They were crazy noisy. It was a quick gas and you know what stop. Ahhh, how funny your egret is on a water pipe too . My book just shows yellow legs and I can see on your pic they are black on the front and yellow on the back. Thanks again. Sherry

[grafxman]

Hi Sherry, I concentrated on the pictures the first time 'round. Then I read what you wrote. #2 likely is a female grackle. They travel in mobs and usually hang out around Wal-Mart parking lots and anywhere else they can find discarded food. If their tails seemed abnormally broad then they were probably boat tails. I still can't see anything at #3.

If you ever get back to FL you should check out Merritt Island. Here are some of my photos I shot in a few hours there:

Merritt Island Animals - a set on Flickr

You can search flickr and find hundreds more. You should also hit the Viera Wetlands. Search flickr for lots of images. The great thing about these places is that they are a short distance from I-95 and you don't have to get out of your car. You just drive through them like you're on an American safari.

[lvcrtrs]

Tx Grafxman, I am hoping to steal a long weekend this summer with intent to go find some places for pics after a quick stop with family in Jupiter again. I can't believe all the pics you got in a short period of time. I will put Merritt on my list. Don't know why you can't see #3, I can, hmmm. Can't wait for retirement so I can stop wedging quickie trips in. The old Winnibago Road Trip is starting to look inviting.

[EricD]

Nice captures!
Here are my thoughts:

1 Eastern Phoebe

2. Female Boat tailed Grackle


3. Loggerhead Shrike


4. Palm Warbler

5. OSPREY



6. Brown Pelican



7. Snowy Egret


Nice collection!!

[grafxman]

When I was there a cold front was moving through and it was spitting rain. The birds were sitting tight. For future reference the Black Point Wildlife Drive should be first on your list of stops, that is right after you go get a map at the visitor center. Here's a link:

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

I vaguely remember a sign that said something about a maximum vehicle length. I don't know if you are taking a Winny but if you are, you might want to check first. Some of the turns are sharp but the road itself is excellent. There were several other cars on the road.

The second drive I would recommend is the Peacock's Pocket Rd. It is the right turn just past the right turn into the visitor's center. The road is very rough but solid. It consists of old pavement that looks as if its been broken up by heavy equipment. I couldn't go any faster than 10 mph. It's a pretty good ways around there. You bear to the right and eventually come out on the main road. On your left is the lagoon and on your right is a huge swampy wilderness. I saw no other vehicles when I was there. Here is a pretty good link and it's different than the link above even though have the same name:

Merrit Island National Wildlife Refuge

There is an excellent map on that page. One of the markers identifies Peacock's Pocket Road. You can zoom in and see what I'm describing. As that page states, the availability of wildlife is highly variable depending on the time of year and what the engineers have been doing with the impoundments.