They may move slowly, but Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) can strike like lightning to grab a fish or snap up a gopher. In flight, look for this widespread heron’s tucked-in neck and long legs trailing out behind. Though great blue herons hunt alone, they typically nest in colonies. They prefer tall trees, but sometimes nest in low shrubs. Females produce two to seven eggs, which both parents protect and incubate. Chicks can survive on their own by about two months of age.

The Great Blue Heron is replaced in the Old World by the very similar Grey Heron, which differs in being somewhat smaller (90–98 cm), with a pale gray neck and legs, lacking the browner colors that Great Blue Heron has there. It forms a superspecies with this and also with the Cocoi Heron from South America, which differs in having more extensive black on the head, and a white breast and neck.

Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica. Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water. They are close relatives of the moorhen. (c) Greg Bishop The waterborne American Coot is one good reminder that not everything that floats is a duck. A close look at a coot—that small head, those scrawny legs—reveals a different kind of bird entirely.

This is one of the smallest herons in the world, with perhaps only the Dwarf Bittern and the Black-backed Bittern averaging smaller in length. This Least Bittern is often an elusive bird. They spend much time straddling reeds. When alarmed, the Least Bittern freezes in place with its bill pointing up, turns its front and both eyes toward the source of alarm, and sometimes sways to resemble wind-blown marsh vegetation. The bolder Heron to the right is a typical Green Heron, still secretive though.

The Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico. Adult Double-crested Cormorants are black or dark brown and have an orange-yellow patch of skin at the base of their bills. In breeding plumage, adults have two whitish tufts behind their eyes, hence the description "double-crested."

The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. Whether poised at a river bend or cruising the coastline with slow, deep wingbeats, the Great Blue Heron is a majestic sight. This stately heron with its subtle blue-gray plumage often stands motionless as it scans for prey or wades belly deep with long, deliberate steps.

A Coot and some Teal swimmng around at Viera Wetlands in Eastern Central Florida

Sandhill Crane Portrait from Viera Wetlands in Eastern Central Florida (Grus canadensis)

The Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) is a member of the tern family Sternidae. It breeds inland in North America and winters south to the Caribbean and northern South America.

The Forster's Tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, but will also hawk for insects in its breeding marshes. It usually feeds from saline environments in winter, like most Sterna terns. It usually dives directly, and not from the "stepped-hover" favoured by the Arctic Tern. The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.

This is a small tern, 33–36 cm long with a 64–70 cm wingspan. It is most similar to the Common Tern. It has pale grey upperparts and white underparts. Its legs are red and its bill is red, tipped with black. In winter, the forehead becomes white and a characteristic black eyemask remains. Juvenile Forster's Terns are similar to the winter adult. The call is a harsh noise like a Black-headed Gull.

Osprey hunting in Viera Wetlands in Brevard County Florida

Man made wetland habitat and wildlife refuge Viera Wetlands in Brevard County, Florida

Vieara Wetlands a man made wildlife refuge in Brevard County Florida

Viera Wetlands is a man made fresh water bird and wildlife refuge in Brevard County Florida

Viera Wetlands, a man made wetland habitat and wildlife refuge.

Hunting Osprey perched in Viera Wetlands refuge in Brevard County Florida

Two juvenile Great Blue Herons playing while waiting for mom to come back with more fish.

Ringed Neck Ducks at Viera Wetlands

Ringed Neck Ducks at Viera Wetlands