Yawn. Right? Birds with mohawks. Ridiculous. But it’s fantastic!
Maybe it was the wind. Maybe it was mating season. I don’t know why so many of the birds we saw at the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands had mohawks! It made for some interesting photos though.
Located in Melbourne, Florida, this water reclamation constructed wetlands is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail. The wetlands are home to a variety of different birds and tons of alligators. A gravel road makes a number of loops around the area, allowing visitors to explore from the safety of their cars. We opted to walk the roads. The second time we visited, that was the only option as the area was temporarily closed to vehicles. The alligators didn’t seem to mind us walking by them. I would recommend keeping your distance from them, just to be safe.
Alligator
Great Blue Heron mohawk
Mohawk!
There were baby birds and birds without mohawks to photograph as well.
Do you see what I see? Bird’s nest! (Scroll down for a close up)
Birds nest
pretty flowers
Birds having a conversation
Baby Great Blue Heron
Alligator
Sandhill Crane
Baby Sandhill Crane
Family of Sandhill cranes
lunch time!
A mohawk transformed into a rat tail?
Great Blue Heron
White Ibis having lunch!
pretty flower
Enjoying the view from one of the shaded lookouts
If you decide to visit the wetlands, take water, sunscreen and a hat if you intend to walk around. We only found two shaded spots in the entire area. We don’t know all the names of the birds we photographed, so if you know what the ones didn’t label, let us know what they are!
Jill is the founder, writer, photographer and travel agent at Chasing Adventure Travel. An adventure travel blog that has morphed into a travel agency, specializing in Active and Adventurous Travels.
Jill has traveled worldwide and spent almost 2 years traveling continuously with her husband. She has traveled to resorts, crossed an ocean on a cruise ship, motorcycled multiple times around Europe and experienced self-guided long term travel.
~ Dreamer, doer and energetic go-getter. Curiosity has inspired adventurous world travel. Imagination is everything ~
*Chasing Adventure Travel is in affiliation with Nexion Canada.
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