The Grackle Is Such An Underrated Bird. One Of My Faves.

I guess everyone was feeling a little camera shy today!

BOTD: Black-Crowned Night Heron

^Image credit: Chuck Homler

Black-Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

Black-Crowned Night Herons, as their name suggests, are mainly nocturnal, feeding at night or in the early morning. When hunting, they stand still at the water's edge, waiting to ambush prey, which includes a wide variety of aquatic and non-aquatic creatures. They are one of several heron species to have been observed engaging in 'fish baiting', tossing objects into the water to distract fish and striking when they get close.

Great blue heron in Kiwanis Park, Melbourne, FL.

Several blue heron families roost in trees around the park so at dusk you see so many herons flying in for the night, right next to the busy causeway.

In an incredible turn of events, the bird buddy captured two birds at two different feeders! The male cardinal giving a knowing look to the camera while the blue jay eats in the background is pure gold! The video also shows the blue jay coming back for more snacks after the cardinal leaves.

Stoplight birding: pileated woodpecker edition! Saw this guy at an intersection on US 1 near Turkey Creek and snapped the worlds most ok iPhone photos.

Such a busy morning at the bird feeders! The video starts with a male and female cardinal at the bird buddy while a catbird hangs out at the platform. Once the cardinals are gone, a grackle claims his spot at the platform feeder after shooing away the catbird.

A busy morning at the bird feeder! Two male common grackles show up early in the video follows by an appearance from a female cardinal. I love being able to see the size difference between the two species.

Florida scrub jays at the Cruickshank Sanctuary in Rockledge, FL

Views from the North Sebastian Conservation Area.

An early visit from the male cardinal, about midway though a catbird flys into the platform feeder in the background. The surprise visitor is somewhat unidentified, either a female cardinal or one of the shy juveniles that is hanging around but hasn’t made an official visit to the bird buddy yet!