Beautiful birds….
Volco Rd Bald Eagle fledgling at nest - 3/27/26
Quick update on our eagle chicks. The first site we checked on was the Landis Street nest where I have had no luck spotting any young eagles. Today, we had one adult perched above the nest, but still I did not see any activity in the nest. Since then, an Audubon member who had first informed me of this location contacted me to say that indeed there were two very young birds spotted in the nest. Great news! We will certainly return to check on that nest later nest week and are grateful to our friend Chip for keeping us updated on the activity at this site. Birding is often a “Team sport”.
Meanwhile, we found a single fledgling still hanging around the second nest we check at Volco Road in Edgewater. (Above photo) I photographed him hopping around the nest and then as I took my eye away from the viewfinder, he alighted and flew off to a nearby tree where he disappeared. What a beautiful graceful flight for one who has been flying for only a week or so.
From here, it was on to nest #3 located along Kennedy Parkway in MINWR. We were thrilled to see three strong well developed young eaglets still at the nest.
Rare eagle triplets - Kennedy Parkway - 3-27-26
At the Kennedy Parkway site in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, we can now easily see all three eaglets as they cannot possibly all fit into the nest at once without being detected. Today, they are all out looking for the adults to return with their morning meal. A few stretched wings indicates that these birds will soon join the others we have observed branching and eventually taking their first flights. On to the next nest to see how our little Great Horned owls are doing.
Bairs Cove Road Owlets - 3/27/26
These two young owls are getting bigger and braver by the day, venturing further and further from their nest while awaiting the next meal of a rodent to be brought home by Dad. Mom is close by watching over her brood and making sure they have no problems surviving the rigors of Nature’s way.
Mom is perched nearby keeping a wary eye on her young. 3/26/27
Not too far from the owl nest is Haulover Canal Road leading down to the Indian River Lagoon. For the past couple of years, American flamingos have been sighted here, usually at a considerable distance from land. We missed them the last couple of times we looked, but today they were closer than normal. Still quite a ways out, at least with the 600mm lens and using the Nikon Z8 set to the DX mode to get an equivalent 900mm, I could get a pretty nice image of 9 of these beauties. They have been absent from this far north in Florida for quite a few years, but some pretty strong storms over the past two years have carried these birds up to our “back yard”.
American flamingos - Haulover Canal Rd - 3/27/26
As we watched and photographed the flamingos, we were treated to a spectacular fly-in of a large number of some of the country’s largest birds, the White pelicans. Every year at this time, we see good numbers of these pelicans congregate or “stage” as they get together for the trip back to their breeding grounds in the north-central and north-western parts of the US and into Canada.
White pelicans - Haulover Canal Road/Indian River - 3/27/26
Our final image at Merritt Island is the gorgeous Painting bunting. Although reliable at the Visitors’ Center of the National Wildlife Refuge, you still have to be lucky enough to be there when they come to the local feeder. Such was the case today and I was able to get nice images of both male and female (albeit, at the feeder).
A bright green female Painted bunting stares back at me as I photograph her…. MINWR Visitors’ Center - 3/27/26
The brilliantly adorned male Painted bunting - MINWR Visitors’ Center - 3/27/26
On the way back to our home in New Smyrna, we pass by another of the nests we monitored this year. The young eagles have fledged from this nest as well, and we were lucky enough to see one of the chicks fly away from the nest and into a nearby tree when we arrived on site today. Spotted by eagle-eyed Rosie, I was able to get a nice shot of the eaglet framed nicely by diagonal limbs. You know as a nature photographer that these are elements you strive to “assemble” in your photo, but often, they simply work out nicely without any effort on your part. It’s good to be lucky, and we certainly are lucky being able to spend our winters down here with such good birds, such good habitat, and most importantly such good friends.
Ranken Road fledgling - 3/27/26
