Gannets and Loons

Common Loon on a pond in San Carlos Park


Was very interested to see if I could relocate the common loon I had found on December 31st. Left work about 7am with the weather clear, breezy and about 43degrees and headed directly to Domestic Avenue to check out the ponds. No ducks, a pied-billed grebe and only one coot located, but the loon was easily found and was very active, including calling that eerie loon call.
My next option was to head home for some much needed sleep or to make a quick trip to Bunche Beach to look for red-breasted mergansers or white pelicans. With the successful locate in mind I choose to go to the beach.




Sanibel-Captiva Audubon Society on a bird walk at Bunche Beach with Sanibel Lighhouse visiable across the bay.

Upon arrival I located a Spotted Sandpiper on the exposed mud below the bridge and ran into a birding group from Sanibel-Captiva Audubon Society here for a bird walk event on the beach. The weather was still cold and breezy, but unfortunately the tide was extremely low. These factors all contributed to poor birding. I was invited to join up with the Audubon group which offered up some excellent opportunties. Because we quickly had a couple of Bald Eagles, another Common Loon and several first year Northern Gannets and at least one older gannet. These gannets were a complete suprise. Certianly a good way to start out the year. Before leaving we also had a single American White Pelican, a couple Piping Plover, a Semipalmated Plover, a couple more Spotted Sandpipers and a couple of Yellow-Crowned Nightherons. Really not a bad morning.

More Common Loon

A Common Loon



On the way home from work I did a little birding with the idea of maybe finding a Grasshopper Sparrow in the brush and fence lines along Domestic Street, which is off of Alico Road in San Carlos Park. I hadn't found any Grasshopper Sparrows yet this year, but last year I did find some at this location. Toward to end of the dead end street exists several man-made ponds, probably for water control. Currently they host a few grebes, coots, Mottled Ducks, lesser Scaups and occasionally Ring-necked Ducks. But today I found a lone common loon working the middle pond looking for breakfast. While attempting to get a few poor quality pictures I could hear a faint loon call, as I had heard many many years ago up in Minnesota. Because it was so low I suspect it actually came from a buddy in another nearby pond. Seems to me that it is very unusual to find these birds here as they would normally be expected in salt-water bays while they visit Florida.

Hopefully it'll stick around till tomorrow so I can start the 2010 Bird Count with a Common Loon. maybe Grasshopper Sparrow as well.





One of the ponds










+List from this location include -Lesser Scaup, Common Loon, Brown Pelican, Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, American Kestrel, American Coot, Mourning Dove, Savannah Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark

Six Mile Cypress Slough

Had an hour or so to burn while waiting on my daughter's class to end, so headed over to the nearby Six Mile Cypress Slough to bird the boardwalk. Did not expect any thing special as June is a quite time here for birding. The boardwalk yielded several Carolina Wrens, Cardinals and Blue Jays plus Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers and Tufted Titmouse. The best sighting was a Yellow-Crowned Nightheron. Lacking were woodpeckers, waders, any kind of warbler, cormorants and anhingas.
Earlier in the day I did have a visit at work from our residental Barred Owl and the Common Nighthawks were calling as well. And as I was leaving work at dawn, could hear cardinals and Pine Warblers singing in the trees. White-tailed deer (4) were also feeding along side the road. Before getting home, checked out the Burrowing Owls on Domestic St. Found two of the owls on the fence, plus could hear an Eastern Meadowlark welcoming the new day. More common nighthawks peeping overhead.