Bird Weekly – Photo Challenge – Reflections of Birds

Welcome to Week #41 of the Bird Weekly Photo Challenge. Week #41 challenge is reflection of birds. The bird(s) and it (their) reflection of themselves and your choice.

The feature image is a Roseate Spoonbill all tucked in on one leg as the sun was starting to fade in the sky.

Reminder – Calendar change

I am taking next week off, so no Bird Weekly on April 2nd, but I will have a roundup from this week that will post on April 2nd. You will still have up until midnight on Thursday, April 1st to get your entries in for Reflections. I will post it first thing Friday morning before we head out on our adventure. I will be back on April 9th. The theme for that week is Birds you saw within the past two weeks.

Flock of Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Sandpipers and Herons with their reflections cast in the mudflats at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, Florida.

re·flec·tion: noun

the throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it.

“the reflection of light”

For chasing down birds and getting the reflections of said bird, you most likely need water. You all may come up with some creative ways to get reflections, but all mine are hanging out in their habitat.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs standing near a fallen palm frond in shallow water with a beautiful reflection.

Lesser Yellowlegs can be found in mudflats and marshes and are distinguished by guess what, yep their yellow legs. They are larger than a Dunlin and smaller than a Greater Yellowlegs at 9.1-10.6 inches (23-27 cm). They have a straight bill that is just a bit longer than their head. This bird can be found in the majority of North America, South America and parts of Europe. Note: there are a couple of other sandpipers with yellow legs so check your identities. I’m here to help with that if you need me.

Blue-winged Teals

A flock of Blue-winged Teals are resting and foraging in the mangroves at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge.

Blue-winged Teals are small dabbling ducks, only a bit larger than a Green-winged Teal and are dwarfed by the Mallard. They are distinguished by the white crescent behind the bill and a powder blue patch on their upperwing coverts when in flight. During migration, there can be as little as 2 or a large flock. My observation is they start mating up during migration before heading to their mating grounds. They do not breed in Florida, so what they do once they leave here is a mystery to me.

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret is foraging in the mangroves leaving several rings in the blue water as it patiently walks forward providing a disturbed reflection.

The lighting was perfect for capturing this Snowy Egret patiently fishing in the mangroves down the #3 trail on Black Point Drive where the bird blinds offer photographers a place to capture some awesome birds. Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, Florida.

Glossy Ibis

Glossy Ibis was posed up for this shot. I captured a beautiful reflection on the left in the blue water, but I also got his shadow on the right side.

I not only got the reflection of this Glossy Ibis, but I got his shadow as well. I was surprised to see the shadow when I pulled this photo up on the large screen. How about that “over the shoulder look”? The calmness of the water with a slight ripple made by this juvenile made this a perfect reflection shot.

Little Blue Heron

Little Blue Heron perched on a fallen tree limb in the swampy area in Gainesville with an almost perfect mirror reflection of itself.

This is one of my favorite Little Blue Heron photos EVER! I’ve shared it on my blogs before, but it needed to be shared here again. Balanced on that thin tree limbed that fell into the pond left me speechless when I saw the almost perfect mirror image in the water.

Reddish Egret

Reddish Egret doesn't stay still long and this one was stalking the fish with its energetic movements in the mangroves. A beautiful shadow is cast from the sun beginning to go down from the west.

The Entertainer of the Year award goes to the Reddish Egret. Their spastic movements trick fish. They prance and dance around, flapping their wings and using the open wings to shadow the water for them to better see the fish. They are not patient like other egrets and herons. The scene is like a disorganized ballet when you see them in their finest moments.

Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill is being indecisive with resting and foraging. Looked right at me in all pink and white with a beautiful pink reflection in the blue water.

This Roseate Spoonbill wasn’t sure if he wanted to take a nap or actually fish. The sun was shining directly on him and it wasn’t a perfect shot, but he was close to the road. His head is a little too bright but all the other colors came out great for contrast.

Sanderling

Sanderling paused for a second for me to capture this shot at Little Talbot Island State Park in Jacksonville, Florida.

One of my favorite shorebirds is the Sanderling. They move their short little legs along the shoreline of the sandy beach in search of tiny prey left by receding waves. Sanderlings will often regurgitate sand pellets studded with fragments of mollusk and crustacean shell after foraging along the beach. They are difficult to capture in a photograph as they don’t stay put for long. Because they forage in the wet sand, at the right angle, you can get a nice reflection shot. I had about 2 seconds to get my images when this one paused.

Canada Geese

Canada Geese frequent the cemetery where relatives are resting. There was a medium size flock floating in the pond, reflections cast as they swam by.

Occasionally, we visit the cemetary down the road from our house. Frank’s parents are there with some of our friends. We will say hello to everyone and do a little birding while there. Canada geese are a popular species in the pond.

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge Badge

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is Birds. I’m linking to her post in case you want to link your Bird Weekly to her challenge. Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge starts on Wednesdays and goes until Tuesday. The theme is different every week. Check out her page for upcoming themes.

Upcoming challenges can be found on my Bird Weekly Challenge Page.

Next time…Week #42 – Birds seen in the past two weeks. Hope you get a chance to go birding between now and then. This post is set for April 9th.

Bird Weekly Challenge Badge.

Lisa Coleman

, , , , , , , , ,
, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

96 responses to “Bird Weekly – Photo Challenge – Reflections of Birds”

    • I hope you see them at some point. January & February this year turned out to be great down in Viera and Merritt Island. We saw a bunch of them. They were here in Jax in December. Need a road trip. 🙂

  3. I love the water birds. At our home in Florida they used to fly in and walk around our back yard. Here in MA they like to hide in the waters of the deep wood.

  22. Great photos Lisa!! I just love seeing reflections in the water. Of birds and of plants and surrounding objects. The spoonbill and the heron would be my top favorite photos but I enjoyed them all! 😊
    And I think it’s lovely that you can visit the cemetery and feel the peace that water and birds will bring 🤗

    • Thank you Lisa! You perfectly described the feeling of going to the cemetery. One of the Audubon ladies visits our cemetery just to sit on a stone bench and bird. 🙂

  26. […] Yesterday morning I went back to our wetlands park for the first time since they removed some of the dried reeds to open up the water areas. Not only did I discover some new birds, but I captured some beautiful reflections perfect for Lisa Coleman’s Bird Week Challenge: Reflection of Birds. […]

Discover more from

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading