Greater Scaup - Day 3 Central Florida Trip

Friday, February 17th



OK!!  Follow Me!!

Spent several hours friday morning exploring Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Traveled the Blackpoint Wildlife Drive and Bio Lab Road. The mourning started out with a nice Peregrine Falcon perched rigt along the road. Quickly added Coots, Hooded Mergansers, Blue-wing Teal, American White Pelicans, Wilson's Snipe, both Yellowlegs and Reddish Egrets. The duck population offered Greater and Lesser Scaup, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintails, Mottled Ducks and Northern Shovelers.

American Avocet

Also could add a conga-line of American Avocets, at least 80, marching in line as they feed. Found several Roseate Spoonbills, Black-bellied Plovers, Dowitchers, Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnovers, Caspian Terns, Dunlin, Least Sandpipers, Forsters Terns, Royal Terns, Belted Kingfishers, and Killdeers. In the lagoon along Bio Lab Road I could add Common Loon, Horned grebe, a pair of male Buffleheads a a lone female Red-breasted Merganser. I had really hoped to encounter rails, but didn't see or hear any today.  Also dipped on the American and Eurasian Wigeons.

Blue-winged Teals

Northern Pintail

Greater Scaup

American Coot

From Merritt Island I headed down to Joe Overstreet Road east of Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Park for a shot at finding a Whooping Crane. Florida's resident whooping crane population is part of an attempt to create a migratory and a non-migratory flocks apart from the wild birds that migrate between Texas and Canada. Dipped on the whoopers, but did find a few Sandhill Cranes, Wild Turkeys, Eastern Meadowlarks, Bald Eagles, Ring-billed Gulls, Glossy Ibis, Cattle Egrets and Fish Crows.  from here the trip was ending and it was time to head for home.

List for the three days totaled (113 )

Canada Goose, Muscovy Duck, Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail,  Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Wild Turkey, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe,  Horned Grebe, Wood Stork, Northern Gannet,  Double-crested Cormorant, American White Pelican,  Brown Pelican,  Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret,  Cattle Egret, Limpkin, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel,  Peregrine Falcon, Common Gallinule,

American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, American Avocet, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling,  Least Sandpiper,  Dunlin, Long-billed Dowitcher, Short-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Snipe, Bonaparte's Gull, Laughing Gull,  Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Glaucous Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Black Skimmer, Parasitic Jaeger, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Great Horned Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker,  Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Say's Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, Carolina Chickadee,  Tufted Titmouse, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Common Yellowthroat, Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Brewer's Blackbird, Boat-tailed Grackle, House Finch, House Sparrow.