My 2009 Year List

I was pretty active with my birding this past year and am diffidently still on a major learning curve. I managed to accrue a 262 count plus at least 6 non-countable birds for 2009. The vast majority were located in south Florida, which does offer some unique and special birding sites. Add to that the spring and fall migrations. Several species are on the endangered species list.

A couple of trips to northern Florida/Georgia and a trip up to Illinois in May for a family function helped to the list. My Life List is at 275 plus the 6 non-countables.

1. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
2. Fulvous Whistling-Duck
3. Snow Goose
4. Ross's Goose
5. Canada Goose
6. Mute Swan
7. Muscovy Duck
8. Wood Duck
9. Gadwell
10. Eurasian Wigeon
11. American Wigeon
12. Mallard
13. Mottled Duck
14. Blue-winged Teal
15. Northern Shoveler
16. Northern Pintail
17. Green-winged Teal
18. Redhead
19. Ring-necked Duck
20. Lesser Scaup
21. Bufflehead
22. Common Goldeneye
23. Hooded Merganser
24. Red-breasted Merganser
25. Masked Duck
26. Ruddy Duck
27. Wild Turkey
28. Northern Bobwhite
29. Common Loon
30. Least Grebe
31. Pied-billed Grebe
32. Horned Grebe
33. American White Pelican
34. Brown Pelican
35. Double-crested Cormorant
36. Anhinga
37. Magnificent Frigatebird
38. American Bittern
39. Great Blue Heron
40. Great Egret
41. Snowy Egret
42. Little Blue Heron
43. Tricolored Heron
44. Reddish Egret
45. Cattle Egret
46. Green Heron
47. Black-crowned Night-Heron
48. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
49. White Ibis
50. Scarlet Ibis
51. Glossy Ibis
52. Roseate Spoonbill
53. Wood Stork
54. Black Vulture
55. Turkey Vulture
56. Osprey
57. Swallow-tailed Kite
58. White-tailed Kite
59. Snail Kite
60. Bald Eagle
61. Northern Harrier
62. Sharp-shinned Hawk
63. Cooper's Hawk
64. Red-shouldered Hawk
65. Broad-winged Hawk
66. Short-tailed Hawk
67. Swainson's Hawk
68. Red-tailed Hawk
69. Crested Caracara
70. American Kestrel
71. Merlin
72. Peregrine Falcon
73. Clapper Rail
74. King Rail
75. Sora
76. Purple Gallinule
77. Common Moorhen
78. American Coot
79. Limpkin
80. Sandhill Crane
81. Whooping Crane
82. Black-bellied Plover
83. Snowy Plover
84. Wilson's Plover
85. Semipalmated Plover
86. Piping Plover
87. Killdeer
88. American Oystercatcher
89. Black-necked Stilt
90. American Avocet
91. Spotted Sandpiper
92. Solitary Sandpiper
93. Greater Yellowlegs
94. Willet
95. Lesser Yellowlegs
96. Upland Sandpiper
97. Whimbrel
98. Long-billed Curlew
99. Marbled Godwit
100. Ruddy Turnstone
101. Red Knot
102. Sanderling
103. Semipalmated Sandpiper
104. Western Sandpiper
105. Least Sandpiper
106. Pectoral Sandpiper
107. Purple Sandpiper
108. Dunlin
109. Stilt Sandpiper
110. Ruff
111. Short-billed Dowitcher
112. Long-billed Dowitcher
113. Wilson's Snipe
114. Laughing Gull
115. Ring-billed Gull
116. Herring Gull
117. Lesser Black-backed Gull
118. Great Black-backed Gull
119. Least Tern
120. Caspian Tern
121. Black Tern
122. Common Tern
123. Forster's Tern
124. Royal Tern
125. Sandwich Tern
126. Black Skimmer
127. Rock Pigeon
128. White-crowned Pigeon
129. Eurasian Collared-Dove
130. White-winged Dove
131. Mourning Dove
132. Common Ground-Dove
133. Monk Parakeet
134. Yellow-billed Cuckoo
135. Mangrove Cuckoo
136. Eastern Screech-Owl
137. Great Horned Owl
138. Burrowing Owl
139. Barred Owl
140. Common Nighthawk
141. Chuck-will's-widow
142. Whip-poor-will
143. Chimney Swift
144. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
145. Belted Kingfisher
146. Red-headed Woodpecker
147. Red-bellied Woodpecker
148. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
149. Downy Woodpecker
150. Hairy Woodpecker
151. Red-cockaded Woodpecker
152. Northern Flicker
153. Pileated Woodpecker
154. Eastern Wood-Pewee
155. Alder Flycatcher
156. Least Flycatcher
157. Eastern Phoebe
158. Say's Phoebe
159. Great Crested Flycatcher
160. Brown-crested Flycatcher
161. Tropical Kingbird
162. Western Kingbird
163. Eastern Kingbird
164. Gray Kingbird
165. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
166. Loggerhead Shrike
167. White-eyed Vireo
168. Bell's Vireo
169. Yellow-throated Vireo
170. Blue-headed Vireo
171. Red-eyed Vireo
172. Black-whiskered Vireo
173. Blue Jay
174. Florida Scrub-Jay
175. American Crow
176. Fish Crow
177. Purple Martin
178. Tree Swallow
179. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
180. Bank Swallow
181. Cliff Swallow
182. Cave Swallow
183. Barn Swallow
184. Carolina Chickadee
185. Black-capped Chickadee
186. Tufted Titmouse
187. White-breasted Nuthatch
188. Brown-headed Nuthatch
189. Carolina Wren
190. House Wren
191. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
192. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
193. Eastern Bluebird
194. Veery
195. Swainson's Thrush
196. Hermit Thrush
197. Wood Thrush
198. American Robin
199. Gray Catbird
200. Northern Mockingbird
201. Brown Thrasher
202. European Starling
203. Cedar Waxwing
204. Blue-winged Warbler
205. Tennessee Warbler
206. Nashville Warbler
207. Northern Parula
208. Yellow Warbler
209. Magnolia Warbler
210. Cape May Warbler
211. Black-throated Blue Warbler
212. Yellow-rumped Warbler
213. Black-throated Green Warbler
214. Yellow-throated Warbler
215. Pine Warbler
216. Prairie Warbler
217. Palm Warbler
218. Blackpoll Warbler
219. Black-and-white Warbler
220. American Redstart
221. Prothonotary Warbler
222. Worm-eating Warbler
223. Ovenbird
224. Northern Waterthrush
225. Kentucky Warbler
226. Common Yellowthroat
227. Hooded Warbler
228. Summer Tanager
229. Scarlet Tanager
230. Eastern Towhee
231. Bachman's Sparrow
232. Chipping Sparrow
233. Field Sparrow
234. Vesper Sparrow
235. Savannah Sparrow
236. Grasshopper Sparrow
237. Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow
238. Song Sparrow
239. Swamp Sparrow
240. White-throated Sparrow
241. Harris's Sparrow
242. White-crowned Sparrow
243. Northern Cardinal
244. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
245. Blue Grosbeak
246. Indigo Bunting
247. Painted Bunting
248. Dickcissel
249. Bobolink
250. Red-winged Blackbird
251. Eastern Meadowlark
252. Yellow-headed Blackbird
253. Common Grackle
254. Boat-tailed Grackle
255. Shiny Cowbird
256. Bronzed Cowbird
257. Brown-headed Cowbird
258. Orchard Oriole
259. Baltimore Oriole
260. American Goldfinch
261. House Sparrow
262. Common Myna
263. Egyptian Geese - (non-countable)
264. Purple Swamphen - (non-countable)
265. Black-Hooded Parakeet - (non-countable)
266. Mitred Parakeet - (non-countable)
267. Yellow-Chevroned Parakeet - (non-countable)
268. Lilac-Crowned Parrot - (non-countable)

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

Estero Bay Preserve State Park in Southwest Florida

Estero River

Tuesday, December 29th, visited Estero Bay Preserve off Broadway in Estero. This tract, known as Estero Scrub River access was added in 2000 to the preserve, when the state purchased this land to forestall a developers plan to convert it into housing. This land is a much needed buffer to try and protect the water quality of Estero Bay. The trails here generally traverse upland pine, scrub oak, salt marsh, salt flats and mangroves. It is also a mitigation area for the relocation of gopher tortoises needing a new home, because of land development. The exotics are also being removed and the transformed back to natural, native Florida. Recently control burns have been used as well, as part of the land management.
Frankly, as side of the many gopher tortoises, bird life is not very abundant. There are usually kettles of vultures with hawks and eagles at times, and in the summer we have Swallow-tailed Kites. There are also many snags so that pileated, downy and red-bellied woodpeckers are present. Watch also for pineland species like doves, eastern towhees, house wrens, blue jays eastern bluebirds and bobwhites. The scrub is also home to the rare and endangered Florida Scrub Jay. The target specialties here are the Florida Scrub Jay, Northern Bobwhites Swallow-tailed Kites and a local Bald eagles’ nest.
Today I spent two hours hiking in the afternoon and found it very quit. But I was after the scrub jay, bobwhites, the eagles’ nest and I also needed to locate an Eastern Towhee. Found some of the trail to be very wet and muddy, but there were no mosquitoes. By February conditions should be even better as the trails dry out.
On my first hike her on February 14, 2008 I was lucky to locate two Scrub Jays and I have never found one since. No bobwhites today either. As for the eagles’ nest, I found the nest tree destroyed by fire. Hopefully they will rebuild nearby. Did find the towhee and had my best bird when a merlin flew and land in a nearby tree. My trip list includes -

Bald Eagles nest tree

The Orange Trail
Salt Flats

Gopher Tortoise

Bronzed Cowbirds in Clewiston

Wanted to do some birding today and the reports of tundra swans in St Johns County, a common eider at Flagler Beach, a masked duck at Veira Wetlands and a La Sagra's Flycatcher in the Everglades National Park were very tempting as Florida Rarities. But the logistics were too difficult as I had some things to attend to in the morning. So I recalled a posting on BirdBrains about Bronzed Cowbirds in Clewiston.

Before heading to Clewiston I had to make a stop up by Lake Placid and did stop a couple of places along the way to bird, including Alva. Here I checked out a dependable location for Red-Headed Woodpecker, which are not common in this area. Next, a few blocks away, the White family of Alva maintances several bird feeders in their front yard, were Painted Buntings, Indigo Buntings, American Goldfinches are often found as well as White-Winged Doves. My Alva list includes - Sandhill Crane, Red-headed Woodpecker, American Crow, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Painted Bunting, Eastern Meadowlark, American Goldfinch.After leaving Lake Placid was able to arrive in Clewiston at 2:45pm. I was following these instructions from Ed Kwater as he posted to BirdBrains on November 15th.

This afternoon at around 1.00 pm I found two Bronzed Cowbirds along the Lake Okeechobee levee in Clewiston. They were with two Brown-headed cowbirds. To get to the spot take route 80/27 from South Bay into Clewiston and turn right (north) on Francisco Street. After a couple of blocks turn left onto Hoover Dike and follow this round past a small marina and up onto the levee. The birds were in a line of small oaks at the base of the levee on the bank of the canal below the levee. They were still there when I left at 2.30 pm. They were not very active but were very tame and were calling repeatedly.

Ed Kwater
Brandon, FL

I drove directly to the levee and park next a tree were at least two Bronzed Cowbirds were setting with several Brown-Headed Cowbirds and a few Boat-Tailed Grackles. The Bronzed Cowbirds were Lifer #275 for me. I plan to return next month to seek them out for my 2010 year list as they will probably move along in the Spring. My Clewiston list includes - Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, White Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Ring-billed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Belted Kingfisher, Fish Crow, Palm Warbler, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Bronzed Cowbird, Brown-headed Cowbird

Common Loons





Piping Plover



December 22nd

Headed down to Bunche Beach early on this chilly morning to see if any mergansers, loons, grebes or white pelicans were to be found today. Found that the tide was very low, which really spreads out the birds. Was able to locate almost all of the expected species, such as Black-bellied, Semipalmated, Wilson's and Piping Plovers

Other species included an Osprey, Brown Pelicans and DC Cormorants. Plus Reddish Egrets, Little Blue Egrets, a Yellow-Crowned Nightheron, White Ibis, Marbled Godwits and Willets. Smaller birds included Least Sandpipers, Sanderlings, Dunlins and Short-billed Dowitchers. The shrubs produced Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers and surprisingly a Common Yellowthroat. There were very gulls - Laughing and a single Ring-billed Gull, and only three Sandwich Terns were seen, There were hundreds of Black Skimmers though. The best sighting were three common loons swimming and diving just off the beach. My attempts at photographing the loons were disappointing as I was not equipped for the situation. I posted the best that I could manage. Hopefully they will hang around and I can find a better picture to post later.

Common Loon off Bunche Beach

Common Goldeneye

Florida rare bird alerts noted the location for a female Common Goldeneye up in Sarasota. After watching the follow-up posting, I elected to twitch after the bird, which would be a lifer for me. The goldeneye was noted to be a companion of a Bufflehead and was to be found at a pond on Fruitville Road two miles east of I-75 in Sarasota. Parking was not permitted on the shoulder of the road, but it would be best to park in the church parking lot across the street. The site is also posted against trespassing, so bird from the sidewalk.

Arrived about 9:00 am and had a little trouble locating the ducks while sorting through the Lesser Scaups and Ring-Necked Ducks present. But when a small number of Hooded Mergansers flew-in the Goldeneye and Bufflehead were found swimming with them.

Afterwards I checked out the nearby Celery Fields hoping to locate Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks. No whistling ducks were present but had lots of American Coots, Moorhens, Blue-Winged Teal and Mottled Ducks. My list for the Celery fields inclded -

Ruddy Duck

Ruddy Duck

Today was able to confirm a sighting of a male Ruddy Duck using a nearby retention lake, which I first noticed yesterday. I don't think that we usually see these ducks in our back yards around here. I am also considering twitching up to Sarasota to follow up on a reported sighting of a female Common Goldeneye, which is diffidently a rarer find. A more distant trip could be to follow up on the sightings of a pair of juvenile Tundra Swans up in St John's County. Ironically I had been considering a trip up to South Carolina to look for Tundra Swans in February.

The Everglades and Lucky Hammock Again - Dec 14th

Made another trip out to Lucky Hammock and the Everglades seeking those special bird species that should be found there in December. Wanted to find Swainson's Hawks, which by this time last year I had several sightings, but don't seem to have found there way to South Florida in 2009. Also have read of several sightings of Shorteared Owls at Lucky Hammock as well as Whipper-poor-Wills, to be seen at or heard at dawn or dusk.
So I gave it a try but missed on all even with arriving at sunrise. Had left home at 4 AM, arriving just before seven. Did see American Kestrel, a Peregrine, several Northern Harriers, a Broad-Wing Hawk and later in the park, a light-morphed Short-tailed Hawk, a Red-tailed Hawk, several Red-Shouldered Hawks and Ospreys, plus an immature Bald Eagle. Another missed species were White-tailed Kites which I looked for both at Lucky hammock and on Research Road in the park.

At Flamingo, the best sighting had to be a hundred American White Pelicans resting out on the mud flats. A large American Crocodile was also at its usual basking site across the canal from the marina.

At Royal Hammock, many dozens of Black Vultures were congregated in the parking lot and along the Anhinga Trail. The trouble in the parking lot was that the vultures were jumping up onto the hoods and roofs of the vehicles there, were they would relieve themselves as well as trying to pull apart any trim they could pull on. My own car was victimized as well.

The birding was not all that good so I left a bit earlier than usual to drive over Florida City to check on the reported Western Kingbirds and Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers. Did locate one of each at the SW 312th Street which was also a reliable location last year.

Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher - December 2008

Then to Cutler Wetlands were avocets and ruddy ducks are reported. Found it rather birdy, but the light and distance made identifying most of the ducks difficult to manage. So I moved on to Kendell.

The traffic was heavy in Kendell as I was arriving in mid-afternoon to look for exotics. At Kendell Baptist Hospital campus was lucky to find a flock of about 30 Mitred Parakeets wheeling about the campus. They would all land in the canopy of a large tree were they virtually disappeared. They blended right into the foliage, but there vocalizations gave them away. After there brief visit they took off away from the hospital. So it was time to head for home. Had considered checking the neighborhood across the street from the hospital for red-whiskered Bulbuls, but fatigue and the heavy traffic dissuaded me from further ventures. Yet I was rewarded in my way out of town with several sightings of Monk Parakeets along Kendell Drive. Was able to get a few pictures of a flock of Monks competing with grackles and mourning doves feeding below a palm tree in a Home Depot parking lot.

Monk Parakeets in Kendell parking lot

Soft Shell Turtle found along the road in The Everglades Park

Florida Gar found along the Anhinga Trail

Young Pied-Billed Grebes

A scene from Mohogany Hammock

American Alligator

Female Anhinga on her nest along the Anhinga Trail



Black Vultures trying to make a meal out of a car



Double-Crested Cormorants

Ft DeSoto and Great Horned Owl

December 1, 2009 - Hit the road about mid-day to travel up to Ft DeSoto Park which is located in Tampa Bay. My goals were for the day were tempered by recent BRDBRAINS posting of a great horned owl, scissor-tailed flycatchers and cedar waxwings, plus any possible relocates of the long-billed curlew, snowy plovers, lesser black-backed gulls or caspian terns. I also was interested in locating any common loons or grebes. See this connect to BRDBRAINS message with an attached photo of the Great Horned Owl at north beach http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/listserv/wa.exe?A2=ind0911&L=brdbrain&T=0&F=&S=&P=146537

Arrived after two plus hours and started by checking out the tierra verde pond where I had Pied-Billed Grebes, lots of FOS Redheads, Ring-Necked Ducks and Lesser Scaups. Also lots of cormorants, various waders and a very active osprey looking for lunch.

Went to East Beach first which did not have any great numbers of shore birds but there was a good variety though. Could see a number of diving birds off-shore. Could make out a loon and some cormorants, but other birds were uncertain. A scope is a must.

Next to the dock to see if I could get any better views of diving birds. Sighted the Broad-Winged Hawk on the wire near to were postings had already mentioned past sightings. The dock was loaded with fisherman and the usual birds like Brown Pelicans, Snowy Egrets, and Cormorants found near to fishing piers. But the diving birds were not around. Last January we had a couple off Common Loons right by the dock, but the windy, chilly weather that had keep the dock clear of fisherman that day.

Royal Tern

Spent about an hour looking for the Great Horned Owl at north beach. Had heard a faint hoot but could not locate the bird. Till I met a nice lady at the parking lot as I was giving up and moving on to my next stop. She inquired if I was looking for the owl and I shared how my frustrated search was a bust on the owl, but did yield five warblers. So within five minutes of exiting her car and with the aid of a walker had successfully located the bird. It was all a matter of correctly following the post directions to its roost. Many thanks to her.

Before leaving I double checked the east beach again and found the viewing of the diving birds off-shore Had improved. Several cormorants were obvious, as was a loon, but the duck shaped diving birds needed to be deciphered. They were dark above and a clearly white bottom was definitive. My chooses were between horned grebe and buffleheads. At first I elected for buffleheads, but later concluded that they had to be horne grebes. The use of a scope would have probably solved the dilemma.

My List (62) - Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Horned Grebe, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Magnificent Frigatebird, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Wood Stork, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Broad-winged Hawk, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Black-bellied Plover, Wilson's Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, American Oystercatcher, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Tern, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Black Skimmer, Mourning Dove, Great Horned Owl, Eastern Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, Fish Crow, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird

November Ramblings - October Too

Having failed to post anything for about the past four weeks, I thought I'd put together a summary of some of my birding activities. For example, I was fortunate to come across a resting Chuck-Will's Widow on three occasions in the same week. Before the time-change, it was still dark in the morning as I was leaving work for home, and I was lucky to discover the chuck-will's-widow resting atop a fence post. I was able to repeat our visit with the same bird on the same post a couple more times on mornings with low road traffic. No doubt it is now resting somewhere in Costa Rica or there abouts tonight. Photography efforts only produced the red glow of its eyes. Sightings noted on October 21 and 24

My October list (160) -

1. 
   
   Muscovy Duck
2. 
   
   Canada Geese
3. 
   
   Wood Duck -
4. 
   
   Mallard
5. 
   
   Mottled Duck
6. 
   
   Blue-winged Teal -
7. 
   
   Pied-billed Grebe
8. 
   
   American White Pelican
9. 
   
   Brown Pelican
10. 
    
    Double-crested Cormorant
11. 
    
    Anhinga
12. 
    
    Magnificent Frigatebird
13. 
    
    Great Blue Heron
14. 
    
    Great Egret
15. 
    
    Snowy Egret
16. 
    
    Little Blue Heron
17. 
    
    Tricolored Heron
18. 
    
    Reddish Egret
19. 
    
    Cattle Egret
20. 
    
    Green Heron
21. 
    
    Black-crowned Night-Heron
22. 
    
    White Ibis
23. 
    
    Glossy Ibis
24. 
    
    Roseate Spoonbil
25. 
    
    Wood Stork
26. 
    
    Black Vulture
27. 
    
    Turkey Vulture
28. 
    
    Osprey
29. 
    
    White-tailed Kite
30. 
    
    Snail Kite
31. 
    
    Bald Eagle
32. 
    
    Northern Harrier
33. 
    
    Sharp-shinned Hawk
34. 
    
    Cooper's Hawk
35. 
    
    Red-shouldered Hawk
36. 
    
    Broad-winged Hawk
37. 
    
    Short-tailed Hawk
38. 
    
    Red-tailed Hawk
39. 
    
    Crested Caracara
40. 
    
    American Kestrel
41. 
    
    Merlin
42. 
    
    Peregrine Falcon
43. 
    
    Clapper Rail
44. 
    
    Common Moorhen
45. 
    
    American Coot
46. 
    
    Limpkin
47. 
    
    Sandhill Crane
48. 
    
    Black-bellied Plover
49. 
    
    Snowy Plover
50. 
    
    Wilson's Plover
51. 
    
    Semipalmated Plover
52. 
    
    Piping Plover
53. 
    
    Killdeer
54. 
    
    American Oystercatcher
55. 
    
    Spotted Sandpiper
56. 
    
    Greater Yellowlegs
57. 
    
    Willet
58. 
    
    Lesser Yellowlegs
59. 
    
    Marbled Godwit
60. 
    
    Ruddy Turnstone
61. 
    
    Red Knot
62. 
    
    Sanderling
63. 
    
    Semipalmated Sandpiper
64. 
    
    Western Sandpiper
65. 
    
    Least Sandpiper
66. 
    
    Pectoral Sandpiper
67. 
    
    Dunlin
68. 
    
    Short-billed Dowitchers
69. 
    
    Long-billed Dowitchers
70. 
    
    Wilson's Snipe
71. 
    
    Laughing Gull
72. 
    
    Ring-billed Gull
73. 
    
    Herring Gull
74. 
    
    Lesser Black-backed Gull
75. 
    
    Great Black-backed Gull
76. 
    
    Caspian Tern
77. 
    
    Forster's Tern
78. 
    
    Royal Tern
79. 
    
    Sandwich Tern
80. 
    
    Black Skimmer
81. 
    
    Rock Pigeon
82. 
    
    Eurasian Collared-Dove
83. 
    
    Mourning Dove
84. 
    
    Common Ground-Dove
85. 
    
    Monk Parakeet
86. 
    
    Yellow-billed Cuckoo
87. 
    
    Burrowing Owl
88. 
    
    Chuck-will's-widow
89. 
    
    Chimney Swift
90. 
    
    Ruby-throated Hummingbird
91. 
    
    Belted Kingfisher
92. 
    
    Red-headed Woodpecker
93. 
    
    Red-bellied Woodpecker
94. 
    
    Downy Woodpecker
95. 
    
    Hairy Woodpecker
96. 
    
    Northern Flicker
97. 
    
    Pileated Woodpecker
98. 
    
    Eastern Wood-Pewee
99. 
    
    Eastern Phoebe
100. 
     
     Great Crested Flycatcher
101. 
     
     Western Kingbird
102. 
     
     Gray Kingbird
103. 
     
     Loggerhead Shrike
104. 
     
     White-eyed Vireo
105. 
     
     Yellow-throated Vireo
106. 
     
     Blue-headed Vireo
107. 
     
     Red-eyed Vireo
108. 
     
     Blue Jay
109. 
     
     Florida Scrub-Jay
110. 
     
     American Crow
111. 
     
     Fish Crow
112. 
     
     Purple Martin
113. 
     
     Tree Swallow
114. 
     
     Northern Rough-winged Swallow
115. 
     
     Cliff Swallow
116. 
     
     Barn Swallow
117. 
     
     Carolina Chickadee
118. 
     
     Tufted Titmouse
119. 
     
     Carolina Wren
120. 
     
     House Wren
121. 
     
     Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
122. 
     
     Eastern Bluebird
123. 
     
     Swainson's Thrush
124. 
     
     Hermit Thrush
125. 
     
     Gray Catbird
126. 
     
     Northern Mockingbird
127. 
     
     Brown Thrasher
128. 
     
     Tennessee Warbler
129. 
     
     Nashville Warbler
130. 
     
     Northern Parula
131. 
     
     Magnolia Warbler
132. 
     
     Yellow-rumped Warbler
133. 
     
     Black-throated Green Warbler
134. 
     
     Yellow-throated Warbler
135. 
     
     Pine Warbler
136. 
     
     Prairie Warbler
137. 
     
     Palm Warbler
138. 
     
     Black-and-white Warbler
139. 
     
     American Redstart
140. 
     
     Ovenbird
141. 
     
     Northern Waterthrush
142. 
     
     Common Yellowthroat
143. 
     
     Hooded Warbler
144. 
     
     Summer Tanager
145. 
     
     Scarlet Tanager
146. 
     
     Eastern Towhee
147. 
     
     Northern Cardinal
148. 
     
     Rose-breasted Grosbeak
149. 
     
     Indigo Bunting
150. 
     
     Painted Bunting
151. 
     
     Bobolink
152. 
     
     Red-winged Blackbird
153. 
     
     Eastern Meadowlark
154. 
     
     Common Grackle
155. 
     
     Boat-tailed Grackle
156. 
     
     Brown-headed Cowbird
157. 
     
     Baltimore Oriole
158. 
     
     House Sparrow
159. 
     
     European Starling
160. 
     
     Common Myna
     　
     November 2nd Trip to Lake County (42) - My Nemeses Bird was the Say's Phoebe, which is a rare bird in Florida. Seems a single individual Say's Phoebe has been wintering in the same field on Ranch Road outside Astatula in lake County, a four drive from my home. Twice last winter I went up to Lake County seeking - twitching- the Say's as a life count and with making three visits to the site on each trip and struck-out. The sad thing here is that a great number of birders had basically driven up to the location and quickly sited the bird for there tick.

So My daughter Katie and I headed north, birding along the way. We started at Harns Marsh with a FOS Savannah Sparrow, Limplin and Snail Kites, - Mottled Duck, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Osprey, Snail Kite, Common Moorhen, Limpkin, Palm Warbler, Savannah Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Boat-tailed Grackle. Then made a stop in Alva to locate the Red-Headed Woodpeckers - Mourning Dove, Red-headed Woodpecker, Loggerhead Shrike, Blue Jay, Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Meadowlark We located a pair of Creasted Caracaras in Gladys County - Great Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Crested Caracara, American Kestrel, Sandhill Crane, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, American Crow. Arrived at Ranch Road and did have a brief, distant view of the Say's Phoebe, which was not too satisfing, but finally took care of my nemesus bird - Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis, Bald Eagle, American Kestrel, Eastern Phoebe, Say's Phoebe, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Pine Warbler, Palm Warbler, Eastern Meadowlark. Before heading for home we checked the nearby Lust Road, which has been a good source for locating western kingbirds, various sparrows and an ash-throated Flycatcher, which is another western bird that seems to like this area. But again, not today. Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Sandhill Crane, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Eastern Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, American Crow, Gray Catbird, Palm Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird

November 5th Bunche Beach - A sundown visit to Bunche Beach was rewarded with a fly over of a Caspian Tern. I had gone down to the beach with the idea of perhaps locating the Caspian tern that had been reported earlier on Ft Myers Beach, as we rarely find them in our locality. My List - Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Reddish Egret, White Ibis, Wood Stork, Osprey, Black-bellied Plover, Wilson's Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Caspian Tern, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, House Wren, Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal

November 8th Harns Marsh - Another visit to Hans Marsh in Lehigh Acres found it very busy even with the heavy winds that day. But most of the activity was not on the eastern marsh area because of the winds, rather on the other side off of the Harns Marsh Elementary School site. Found hits on Blue-Winged Teal, FOS Green0Winged Teal, Snail Kites, Limpkins, Northern Harriers and Sandhill Cranes. Lots of vultures. My List - Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Snail Kite, Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, American Coot, Limpkin, Sandhill Crane, Solitary Sandpiper, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle

November 9th Collier County (71) - Started the day at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Collier County, then to Eagle Lakes in east Naples and back into Lee County at Bunche Beach to see if T.S. Ida was blowing in any pelagic species toward shore.

*Corkscrew Swamp offered its usually waders and fall warblers. Did attempt to locate painted Buntings, which I apparently just missed near the Bunting House feeder. Was lucky to spot a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird at the butterfly garden by Blair House. My list - Anhinga, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Wood Stork, Black Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Sandhill Crane, Mourning Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Common Grackle

*Eagle Lakes is were I had located a pair of Wood Ducks back in July. Did not find them on this day but did find lots of American Coots, FOS pair of Ring-Necked Ducks, several Mottled ducks and few Blue-Winged Teal. My best bird was a Merlin. My list - Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Wood Stork, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, American Kestrel, Merlin, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Eastern Phoebe, Blue Jay, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, European Starling, Palm Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle

*Bunche Beach did not offer any pelagics, but did see most of the usual peeps, waders and shore birds. The most interesting sighting was a lone female Lesser Scaup sitting in the surf near shore, but was uncooperative for any closer view as it paddled out into the bay. My list - Lesser Scaup, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Black Skimmer

November 9th & 10th T.S. Ida - Tropical Storm Ida was churning in the Gulf of Mexico on its way to landfall in Alabama and sometimes these storms especially the hurricanes can push pelagic species toward shore. In September 2008 had some luck on Bunche Beach with three Bridled Terns. This storm, though it did create some winds, did not seem to offer up anything special at the beach. I checked Bunche Beach on the 9th and early on the 10th I was checking Little Estero Lagoon on Ft Myers Beach. Most interesting were the nine or so Magnificent Frigatebirds that were soaring above the shore and a count of 50 (counted them twice) American Oystercatchers huddling out of the winds. My list - Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Magnificent Frigatebird, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Osprey, Black-bellied Plover, Snowy Plover, Wilson's Plover, Semipalmated Plover, American Oystercatcher, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Herring Gull, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Black Skimmer

November 16 Dade County Visit (72) - Left home in San Carlos park at 3:30 am with a goal of arriving at Lucky Hammock at sun rise, the rest of the day included stops in The Everglades, Culter Wetlands and Cutler Marsh, plus any sighting in Florida City and Homestead. For me. I enjoy spotting any of Florida's established exotic species, and anytime I am in South Florida I am looking for parrots and other species. While gassing up the car for my drive home for the day I was able watch a flock of Common Mynas wire sitting and bathing in puddles along a busy intersection. earlier at another nearby intersection I had a flock of six or seven long-tailed green parrots fly by. Sadly I was able to get any better notes on the parrots, but I do not think that they were monk parakeets. Made a point of checking a site in Florida City that often yielded western kingbirds and scissor-tailed flycatchers last year, but were not evident on this day. Understand that they have finally moved back in December.

*Lucky Hammock & The Annex - Arrived just at sun rise and checked the road for whipper-poor-wills or any nighthawks. But it started out a bit quite. Was hoping to find western kingbirds as I had last month, plus white-tailed kites and to see if any swainsen's hawks were on hand. Well none of any of these were found today. Did find a young Peregrine Falcon resting on a low bush in the field as well as several American Kestrel and a couple of hunting Northern Harriers. Sandhill Cranes and dozens of Wood Storks flew over head. The Hammock and adjacent bushy area yielded a female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, a Least Flycatcher, several Eastern Phoebes, a Northern Waterthrush, a solo Tree Swallow, Great Crested Flycatcher and White-eyed Vireo. The fields yielded several sparrows. I had figured that most were Song Sparrows and the rest were Savannah Sparrows. But I was put straight immediately when I had posted finding Song Sparrows on the TAS message board. As the following comment was a sent to me. "It's a common mistake anywhere in South Florida. SOSPs are exceedingly rare below Lake Okeechobee. . . ." Others also commented on the TAS site. Seems that some savannah sparrows sport similar breast markings as song sparrows. But who is to say that I had not actually located six song sparrows well south of there normal range. Misplace birds are located all of the time. But I do not have any cred with the birding world, at this point. So, without evidence may claim is rejected. My list - Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Wood Stork, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Sandhill Crane, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Least Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Tree Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Yellow-throated Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Savannah Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle

*Everglades National Park was not too special on my visit. Checked out the Anhinga Trail but it was mostly a few waders and anhingas. American Crows and Black Vultures dominate the parking lot. Hiked the Snake Bight Trail which was not too troubled with mosquitoes or birds. The best viewing was a flock of American White Pelicans flying over-head and Broad-Winged Hawk soaring above the boardwalk at the Florida Bay terminus.. At Mrazak Pond we had Blue-Wing Teal, a female Northern Shoveler, a couple of Pied-Billed Grebes, and all the waders. At Flamingo we had the usual Ospreys, Bald Eagle and a lone Red-Breasted Merganser.

My list - Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Red-breasted Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Willet, Laughing Gull, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Phoebe, American Crow, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Mockingbird, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler, Eastern Meadowlark, Common Grackle

*Cutler Wetlands had a lot of ducks, mostly American Coots, Mottled Ducks and Blue-winged Teal. Might have ID'd more, but needed a scope. Hoping for american avocets, but settled for Long-Billed Dowitchers My list - Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Pied-billed Grebe, Great Egret, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Northern Harrier, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Long-billed Dowitcher, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle

Cutler Dump Marsh is a location that featured a tropical kingbird in residence last year and had read that it had returned. But not today. Best sighting was a FOS Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker.
My list - Blue-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Coot, Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Loggerhead Shrike, Palm Warbler

Back to Babcock-Webb

Hit the birding trail for the fourth day in a row, Tuesday, October 20th, by checking out Babcock-Webb WMA in Charlotte County. The location is famous for the big three rareities for south Florida of the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, Bachman's Sparrow and Brownheaded Nuthatch and on the this trip I miss on all three.

Arrived about 8:45am and had quick hits on a Red-Tailed Hawk, sandhill Crane, Pine Warblers, Eastern Meadowlark and a Yellow-shafted Flicker. The birding slowed down from here on. Found lots of noisy Gray Catbirds and FOS House Wrens. Usually raptors aren't very plentifull here, but seems that migration was contining with sightenings of Red-Shouldered Hawk, American Kestrel, Broad-Winged Hawk and a couple of Sharp-Shinned Hawks. By 11;30 I was on my way home. Needed to get a much needed nap in before going into work

My list - Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, White Ibis, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Sandhill Crane, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Chimney Swift, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Eastern Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, Blue Jay, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Pine Warbler, Palm Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle

Back to Lucky Hammock, The Everglades & Cutler Wetlands - October 19th

LUCKY HAMMOCK

On Monday October 19th I still had the bug to cash-in on the big cold front fall-out in the Miami area that stung us on Sunday's hawk watch on Sanibel Island. I had the day off and arrangements had been made to free-up my time, so I ventured over to the east coast.
To reach my first stop by sunrise, I had to leave home at 4am. This stop was at what some birders call Lucky Hammock and The Annex on Aerojet Road. This just outside of the eastern entrance to Everglades National Park. The attached posting on the TAS message board, noted an exciting list of birding opportunities like White-Tail Kites, Short-Tail Hawks and Western, Eastern and Gray Kingbirds plus a Philadelphia Vireo. Arrived just before sun-up and drove the length of the road looking for any nighthawks or chucks-poor-widows. None found. But a Norther Harrier quickly arrived on sight and a roosting White-tailed Kite was noticed sitting atop a bush in the field. The kite soon took off in the early morning. Short-tailed Hawks began to show up and several, both light and dark were active in the area. It was still windy like Sunday which tends to keep many birds buried in the shrubbery, but the hammock area yielded some good birds. They included a female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, several American Redstarts, a female Painted Bunting. A couple of pairs of Sandhill Cranes came in to the nearby fields.

The Annex area was not nearly as birdy because of the winds. Lots of Gray Catbirds were vocalizing but skulking in the brush. A a very late Gray Kingbird fought the winds in its effort to sit on the power lines. Never did find any eastern Kingbirds, but I did run into Larry Manfredi, who showed me were a Western Kingbird was sitting. The Gray and Western would be keeping each other company. Larry Manfredi is a noted local birder and guide. His web site is very valuable in the search for south Florida and Caribbean specialties. Larry spend a half hour with me, sharing information on the background to this location and how best to look for certain specialities. I would love to book a trip with him some day.

My list - Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Wood Stork, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Gray Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, American Redstart, Northern Cardinal, Painted Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle

THE EVERGLADES

Probably are Short-billed Dowitchers

Enter Everglades national Park about 11:00am and spent the next four and half hours looking for birding hot-spots. They were not to be found here today. Took a stab at the Western Spindalis in Long Pine campgrounds, but not much of anything was found there. Not much was found anywhere. Ventured all the way to Flamingo were a few shorebirds and several Ospreys were present. Had a bald eagle soaring above Eco Pond. Noted several flocks of Wood Storks moving back into south Florida. Today there was a large American Crocodile basking on the shore across from the marina at Flamingo.

My list - Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, White Ibis, Wood Stork, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, American Kestrel, Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, Blue Jay, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Palm Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Towhee

CUTLER WETLANDS

Left the park for my final stop before heading the three hour drive home. Headed over to the Homestead-Cutler Ridge area to a site known as Cutler Wetlands, which is a surface water management sight. While sitting at a red light at US 1 in Homestead I was able to locate a pair of Common Mynas among the hundreds or so crows, grackles and starlings hanging out at the intersection, by the white spots under there wings as they flew from one resting spot to another.

The extreme variety of birdlife found at Cutler Wetlands makes it a must stop location. Past sightings have included sacred ibis, flamingo and yellow-headed blackbirds. Today we had Long-Billed Dowitchers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Spoonbills and Blue-Winged Teal.

My list - Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Great Blue Heron, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, Rock Pigeon

Sanibel Lighthouse Hawk Watch

Had been looking forward to the Audubon of Southwest Florida's Sanibel Lighthouse Hawk Watch for some time. Because of work I missed last year's event, but showed up the very next day to take a try on my own. Luckily I ran into Vince McGrath who had lead the prior day's hawk watch. This one-on-one was a great learning experience for me. We had well over 100 American Kestrels, a few Merlins, Peregrins and Ospreys. had a number of Sharp-Shinned Hawks and many Swallows. I think we even had a Bald Eagle.

My list for October 13, 2008 -Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Snowy Egret, Black Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, American Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Black-bellied Plover, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Palm Warbler, Brown-headed Cowbird

So this year, we had a very nice cold front arriving right on time for this years scheduled hawk watch on Sunday October 18th, 8am - 10am. My debate was to show-up for the scheduled event or come on my own the following like last year due to the fact that I was getting off of work at 7:00am Sunday morning. Because of the potential bird fallout from the cold front was such a great opportunity I elected to struggle with my constant bane of sleep derivation and headed over to Sanibel Island on Sunday straight from work. The weather was very windy and chilly by Florida standards. But those strong winds had actually blown the birds away from southwestern Florida. Turns out Miami and Key West had outstanding birding that Sunday. So our birding was very slow. Very few song birds were on hand. Our first hwak arrived at 9:45am - a Sharp-Shined Hawk. By the time I left at 11am we had about 16 American Kestels, a dozen Sharp-Shinned Hawks, a couple of Broad-Winged Hawks and a few Ospreys were present. Also had about 6 Merlins with one individual we found very entertaining as it was aggressivelly interacting with another Merlin and the other hawks present. Prehaps those birders still on hand managed an outstanding sighting like a mississippi kite or something like that. You just never now when something exciting might show up. But not for me. It was time for some sleep for me.

My list - Brown Pelican, Osprey, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, American Kestrel, Merlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Rock Pigeon, Chimney Swift, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Boat-tailed Grackle

Birding Trip to Fort George Island - Jacksonville, Florida

Joined up with a Duval Audubon Society bird tour Saturday, October 3rd on Fort George Island, lead by National Park Service Ranger, Roger Clark. Excellent event. Started at dawn riverside at Kingley Plantation Preserve, over to Ribault Club, then to Huguenot Memorial Park ending at various roadside sites near to New Berlin Road. Had four lifers including Carolina Chickadee, Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, Great Black-Backed Gull and Clapper Rail (only heard several over the course of the day actually). I recorded 84 hits, but the group recorded 105 hits for the day. Ironically our final, but unrecordable birds were three mute swans found on an isolated lake in a half-built out subdivision.

My List for the Day--- Wood Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Pied-billed Grebe, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Wood Stork, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Clapper Rail, Common Moorhen, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Spotted Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Sanderling, Pectoral Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Black Skimmer, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Chimney Swift, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Swainson's Thrush, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, European Starling, Tennessee Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Summer Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Painted Bunting, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Baltimore Oriole

Kingsley Plantation and Ribault Club are a part of Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve which is operated by the National Park Service. On the day we visited the local PBS station ran a documentary they created about this local National Park Service facility to compliment the the rollout of the Ken Burns "National Parks" documentary that PBS is now featuring. Our tour leader for the day was one of the national Park personal interviewed for the program.

A QUICK RUN UP TO GEORGIA

The day following the Fort George Island event, my daughter and I ran up into Georgia to Crooked Lake State Park before heading heading back south to Ft Myers. Crooked Lake State park features salt marshes and upland forests. http://gastateparks.org/info/crookriv/

We stayed for a couple of hours and the best sighting was a Hermit Thrush.

My list - Double-crested Cormorant, Great Egret, White Ibis, Osprey, Cooper's Hawk, Laughing Gull, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit Thrush, Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Towhee, Northern Cardinal, Boat-tailed Grackle

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Today Monday, September 28th, I arrived at Audubon's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary just after daybreak. Spent the next four hours birding the boardwalk through this ancient cypress swamp. The sanctuary was hopping with four active species - Carolina Wren, White-Eyed Vireo, Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers and Common Grackles. Was hoping to hit on a major warbler fall-out. Did hit on five warblers - Common Yellowthroat, Prairie Warbler, Nothern Parula, Yellowthroated Warbler and a female American Redstart. But no real fall-out today. Missed on reported Prothonotary Warbler, Ovenbird and Northern Waterthrush. Also missed were Ruby-Throated Hummingbird and Painted Bunting. But had two very good hits on other birds while stacking out the Bunting House feeder for bunting activities. Seems we had some migrants passing through as I had two Veery and a lifer with an excellent look at a Yellowthroated Vireo. Came across three FOS Gray Catbirds as well. Other sightings include Red-Shouldered Hawk, Great Crested Flycatchers, White Ibis (only waders in the swamp due to deep water), Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker and Downy Woodpecker

Ft DeSoto Park

On Monday, September 21, 2009 my daughter Melissa and I traveled up to St Petersberg from Ft Myers to bird Ft DeSoto Park. The park is on Mullet Key near to the Skyline Bridge in Tampa Bay. We had a good birding day back last April during the spring migration. We missed out on having a great day like when birders hit the island during a "Fall-Out" of large flocks of exhausted migrants. But we did OK especially with the ficus tree at the headquarters building. Our list for that day included Mottled Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Magnificent Frigatebird, Great Egret, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Osprey, American Coot, Black-bellied Plover, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Least Tern, Common Tern, Royal Tern, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, Gray Catbird, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Palm Warbler, American Redstart, Kentucky Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Summer Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Orchard Oriole, House Sparrow

But as for a good fall migration day we seemed to be a bit early and had zero luck with only finding a few Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, a few eastern Kingbirds and a couple of Gray Kingbirds. However the shorebirds were very good. We easily found the resident Long-Billed Curlew and was happy to locate Caspian Terns at both the East Beach and North Beach locations. We don't see Caspian Terns down in Lee County. In fact I hit it as my lifer just last February over at STA-5 in Hendry County. http://www.audubonswfl.org/STA5.htmonswfl.org/STA5.htm. It was a good day with terns with five species. It would have been nice to locate a Black Tern, but it is probably already too late in the season. I thought that I had a Lesser Black-Backed Gull at North Beach, but could not get a good viewing, but did have one perched on a pole road-side as we were leaving for the day. Again these gulls don't come further south to Lee County, so it was a good catch.

My list for this visit - Brown Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, White Ibis, Wood Stork, Black-bellied Plover, Wilson's Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover, American Oystercatcher, Willet, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Common Tern, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, Gray Kingbird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, European Starling

Update on the Yamata Scrub Least Grebe

The following was just posted on the FloridaBirds-L message board, by John Shelly
" One of the 4 Least Grebes that Dave & Lee Hasse discovered last year on9/21/08 is back at the north pond at Yamato Scrub which is about half amile east of the intersection of N. Congress and Clintmore Rd. in BocaRaton."
Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy these rare birds again.

To Twitch or Not To Twitch

This past winter, while visiting Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, I found myself in conversation with a Brit - I’ve met a lot of Brits here birding Florida - as we were waiting patiently at the Bunting House feeder for Painted Buntings to make an appearance. He proceeded to ask me if I Twitched. Not being familiar with the phrase, he explained that it was the chasing after a rare bird sighting. Hopefully to add it to your life list. My answer has to be yes. However, my handful of disappointments had begun to curb my twitching activities.
Sometime the chase was easy, like when I found a fresh posting on Birdbrains about a Scarlet Ibis at nearby Lakes Park in Ft Myers. Well within ten minutes we were out of the door and had my tick within a half-hour of reading the posting. Some other successes include Whooping Cranes, and Harris Sparrow in Paines Prairie, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers in Florida City, A Ruff in Myakka State park, the Tropical Kingbird in Homestead, a Masked Duck in Lake City and Purple Sandpipers in Ponce Inlet
Sometimes the chase is a bust. Twice I headed to Ranch Road in Lake County to add the, easily locatable Says Phoebe, which is a rare vagrant to Florida and to the near by Lusk Road location for an Ash-Throated Flycatcher. Many people had successfully located the birds, but I wasn’t so lucky. The much posted about Fork-Tailed Flycatcher last November, that was hanging around the Pelican Island WMA, disappeared just prior to my arrival. I had also twice ventured to Key Largo looking for White-Crowned Pigeons and only found mosquitoes. Purple Swamphens were supposed to be easy to find in Pembroke Pines, but seems that the population had been removed as they are exotics.
Looked for Chestnut-Fronted Macaws and other parrots around Kendall- Miami area. Also missed Spotted Orioles and Red-Whiskered Bulbuls in Kendall several times. Also need to add my many failures at locating the Smooth-Billed Ani near the Ft Lauderdale airport.
So now I have to ask myself where to it is worthwhile to twitch on the latest rarities. I passed on the Greater Sand-Plover in Jacksonville due to distance and costs, being broke actually, which was a shame as many observers were also able to add Artic Terns to their life lists too. Now we are hearing about a rare vagrant pair of Sulphur-Bellied Flycatchers in the Annex area near the Everglades, were I was just a week earlier. But I don’t think I can head back anytime soon. So-to-twitch-or-not-to-twitch

Below is an excellent site for explaining about Twitching and other aspects of birding
http://www.zestforbirds.co.za/twitch.html