Lark Sparrow at Ft DeSoto

Thursday, February 2nd

Lark Sparrow at Ft DeSoto

Royal Tern

Headed back to Ft DeSoto to look for the Lark Sparrow and rose-breasted grosbeak reported there. Made a quick stop in Sarasota and checked out Ackerman Park (mostly Northern Shovelers) and Founders Club ponds.  The Common Goldeneye was easily seen at the Flounders Club and can add Lesser Scaup, Ring-billed Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, Blue-winged Teal and Mottled Duck.  Also had a couple dozen Black-bellied Whistling Ducks on a pond at Tadum and Fruitville Roads

Red-breasted Merganser

Spent four hour at Ft DeSoto enjoying a beautiful day.  A group of birders but me onto the Lark Sparrow and they had successfully sighted the rose-breasted grosbeak earlier in the day.  However I was not so lucky on the grosbeak. Did observe several Common Loons and Red-breasted Mergansers off the beaches and a Horned Grebe at the East Beach turnaround. Also saw most the expected shorebirds and gulls including about 25 Red Knots.  Did come across a Great Horned Owl and a small group of warblers - Pine, Palm, Northern Parula and Yellow-rumps. Had a flock of seventeen Nanday Parakeets show up at the bay pier parking lot.

Great Horned Owl

On the way home I rechecked on the Fork-tailed Flycatcher near Cockroach Bay and was rewarded to see that it was still present

It was a good day

Ring-billed Gull

Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Day's List - (81)

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, Wood Stork,  Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, American Coot, Sandhill Crane,  Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover, Willet,  Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collard-Dove, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Nanday Parakeet, Great Horned Owl,  Belted Kingfisher, Fish Crow,  Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Tree Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Northern Parula, Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lark Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird