December 31, 2016
This past year I had set a goal to observe at least 300 birds as in travels around Florida. Bob Pelkey and I had traveled to the Panhandle region of the state and all the way south to the Florida Keys. We had some outstanding days like the Hummingbird House in Tallahassee, the Mississippi and Swallow-tailed Kites massing near Belleview in Marion County or chasing Wilson's Phalaropes on Browns Farm Road.
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| Purple Sandpiper at Ponce Inlet |
We also had a few Lifers seen in our own backyard. There was the American Flamingo at Bunche Beach and the Great White Pelican that sent a couple of days at Ding Darling on Sanibel. Down in Naples at Freedom Park was a, rare to Florida, Broad-winged Hummingbird. The Yellow-breasted Chat had been a nemesis bird for me till I was able to finally, see the one that visited Sugden Park in Naples.An extremely rare visitor to this state was a Pacific Golden-Plover seen on a sod farm in Palm Beach County. Then there was those hummingbirds in Tallahassee were I had lifers in a Calliope Hummers and a Black-chinned Hummingbird. This past winter a small flock of Vaux's Swifts could be seen on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. Out on the Gulf of Mexico, as a guest of Dave and Tammy McQuade, in a search for pelagic species I add a lifer in a Band-tailed Storm-Petrel. On Long Key State Park was my first ever pair of Connecticut Warblers and a pair of Orange-winged Amazons in Coral Gables.
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| Vermilion Flycatcher at St Marks NWR |
That goal of 300 birds did come up two birds short. It wasn't for a lack of trying. Some of the species I chased and dipped on included Gadwall, Canvasback, White-tailed Kite, Franklin's Gull, Zenaida Dove (stacked this bird out twice), Smooth-billed Ani, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Cuban Pewee, Brown Creeper and Lapland Longspur. Maybe 2017 could be better.
Year List - 2016 (298)
1 Muscovy Duck - Florida
2 Wood Duck
3 Mottled duck
4 Wood stork
5 Double-crested Cormorant
6 Anhinga
7 Great Blue Heron
8 Great Egret
9 Little Blue Heron
10 Cattle Egret
11 Black-crowned Night-heron
12 White Ibis
13 Black Vulture
14 Red-shouldered Hawk
15 Common Gallinule
16 Ring-billed Gull
17 Mourning Dove
18 Roseate Spoonbill
19 Barred Owl
20 Belted Kingfisher
21 Red-bellied Woodpecker
22 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
23 Downy Woodpecker
24 American Kestrel
25 White-eyed Vireo
26 Blue-headed Vireo
27 Blue Jay
28 Fish Crow
29 Tufted Titmouse
30 House Wren
31 Carolina wren
32 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
33 Eastern Bluebird
34 American Robin
35 Gray Catbird
36 Northern Mockingbird
37 Black-and-White Warbler
38 Common Yellowthroat
39 Palm Warbler
40 Yellow-rumped Warbler
41 Northern Cardinal
42 Common Grackle
43 Pied-billed Grebe
44 Turkey Vulture
45 Killdeer
46 Snowy Egret
47 Horned Grebe
48 American White Pelican
49 Brown Pelican
50 Tricolored Heron
51 Reddish Egret
52 Yellow-crowned Night-heron
53 Osprey
54 Bald Eagle
55 Black-bellied Plover
56 Wilson's Plover
57 Semipalmated Plover
58 Piping Plover
59 Spotted Sandpiper
60 Willet
61 Marbled Godwit
62 Sanderling
63 Dunlin
64 Least Sandpiper
65 Short-billed Dowitcher
66 Laughing Gull
67 Black Skimmer
68 Blue-winged Teal
69 Ring-necked Duck
70 Snail Kite
71 Northern Harrier
72 American Coot
73 Limpkin
74 Sandhill Cranes
75 Crested Caracara
76 Eastern Phoebe
77 Marsh Wren
78 Swamp Sparrow
79 Red-winged Blackbird
80 Boat-tailed Grackle
81 Indigo Bunting
82 Painted Bunting
83 America Goldfinch
84 House Sparrow
85 Red-headed Woodpecker
86 Green Heron
87 Glossy Ibis
88 European Starling
89 Red-tailed Hawk
90 Eastern Whip-poor-will
91 Tree Swallow
92 Western Sandpiper
93 Ruddy Turnstone
94 Eurasian Collared-Dove
95 Rock Pigeon
96 Burrowing Owl
97 Loggerhead Shrike
98 Florida Scrub Jay
99 Eastern Meadowlark
100 Monk Parakeet
101 American Wigeon
102 Lesser Scaup
103 Bufflehead
104 Red-breasted Merganser
105 Ruddy Duck
106 Short-tailed Hawk
107 American Avocet
108 Greater Yellowlegs
109 Lesser Yellowlegs
110 Royal Tern
111 Merlin
112 Nelson's Sparrow
113 Salt Marsh Sparrow
114 American Bittern
115 Sora
116 Common Ground-Dove
117 Red-Cockaded Woodpecker
118 Northern Flicker
119 Brown-Headed Nuthatch
120 Pine Warbler
121 Eastern Towhee
122 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
123 American Crow
124 Wild Turkey
125 Lesser Black-backed Gull
126 Herring Gull
127 Cedar Waxwing
128 Great Black-backed Gull
129 Snowy Plover
130 American Oystercatcher
131 Black Scoter
132 Barn Owl
133 Wilson's Snipe
134 Pileated Woodpecker
135 Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
136 Northern Waterthrush
137 Sharp-Shinned Hawk
138 Savannah Sparrow
139 Brown-headed Cowbird
140 Gray-headed Swamphen
141 American Flamingo
142 Red Knot
143 Sandwich Tern
144 Northern Parula
145 Magnolia Warbler
146 Cooper's Hawk
147 Nanday Parakeet
148 Purple Martin
149 Hooded Merganser
150 Northern Shoveler
151 Long-billed Dowitcher
152 King Rail
153 Common Loon
154 Forster's Tern
155 Hermit Thrush
156 Black-bellied Whistling Duck
157 Vaux's Swift
158 Carolina Chickadee
159 American Pipit
160 Chipping Sparrow
161 Song Sparrow
162 Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
163 Rufous Hummingbird
164 Black-Chinned Hummingbird
165 Calliope Hummingbird
166 White-breasted Nuthatch
167 Orange-Crowned Warbler
168 Baltimore Oriole
169 House Finch
170 Pine Siskin
171 Redhead
172 Clapper Rail
173 Purple Gallinule
174 Great Horned Owl
175 Vermilion Flycatcher
176 Sedge Wren
177 Northern Gannet
178 Purple Sandpiper
179 Caspian Tern
180 Yellow-breasted Chat
181 Surf Scoter
182 Bonaparte's Gull
183 Long-billed Curlew
184 Western Kingbird
185 Yellow-throated Warbler
186 Hairy Woodpecker
187 Black-throated Green Warbler
188 Prairie Warbler
189 Broad-billed Hummingbird
190 Bell's Vireo
191 Egyptian Goose
192 Bachman's Sparrow
193 Great Crested Flycatcher
194 White-winged Dove
195 Neotropic Cormorant
196 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
197 Great White Pelican
198 White-Crowned Pigeon
199 Common Myna
200 Brown-crested Flycatcher
201 Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
202 Common Hill Myna
203 Ovenbird
204 Swallow-tailed Kite
205 Black-throated Blue Warbler
206 Broad-winged Hawk
207 Cape May Warbler
208 Yellow-throated Vireo
209 Chuck-Wills-Widow
210 Brown Thrasher
211 Northern Bobwhite
212 Red-breasted Grosbeak
213 Magnificent Frigatebird
214 Red-eyed Vireo
215 Worm-eating Warbler
216 Prothonotary Warbler
217 Scarlet Tanager
3 Mottled duck
4 Wood stork
5 Double-crested Cormorant
6 Anhinga
7 Great Blue Heron
8 Great Egret
9 Little Blue Heron
10 Cattle Egret
11 Black-crowned Night-heron
12 White Ibis
13 Black Vulture
14 Red-shouldered Hawk
15 Common Gallinule
16 Ring-billed Gull
17 Mourning Dove
18 Roseate Spoonbill
19 Barred Owl
20 Belted Kingfisher
21 Red-bellied Woodpecker
22 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
23 Downy Woodpecker
24 American Kestrel
25 White-eyed Vireo
26 Blue-headed Vireo
27 Blue Jay
28 Fish Crow
29 Tufted Titmouse
30 House Wren
31 Carolina wren
32 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
33 Eastern Bluebird
34 American Robin
35 Gray Catbird
36 Northern Mockingbird
37 Black-and-White Warbler
38 Common Yellowthroat
39 Palm Warbler
40 Yellow-rumped Warbler
41 Northern Cardinal
42 Common Grackle
43 Pied-billed Grebe
44 Turkey Vulture
45 Killdeer
46 Snowy Egret
47 Horned Grebe
48 American White Pelican
49 Brown Pelican
50 Tricolored Heron
51 Reddish Egret
52 Yellow-crowned Night-heron
53 Osprey
54 Bald Eagle
55 Black-bellied Plover
56 Wilson's Plover
57 Semipalmated Plover
58 Piping Plover
59 Spotted Sandpiper
60 Willet
61 Marbled Godwit
62 Sanderling
63 Dunlin
64 Least Sandpiper
65 Short-billed Dowitcher
66 Laughing Gull
67 Black Skimmer
68 Blue-winged Teal
69 Ring-necked Duck
70 Snail Kite
71 Northern Harrier
72 American Coot
73 Limpkin
74 Sandhill Cranes
75 Crested Caracara
76 Eastern Phoebe
77 Marsh Wren
78 Swamp Sparrow
79 Red-winged Blackbird
80 Boat-tailed Grackle
81 Indigo Bunting
82 Painted Bunting
83 America Goldfinch
84 House Sparrow
85 Red-headed Woodpecker
86 Green Heron
87 Glossy Ibis
88 European Starling
89 Red-tailed Hawk
90 Eastern Whip-poor-will
91 Tree Swallow
92 Western Sandpiper
93 Ruddy Turnstone
94 Eurasian Collared-Dove
95 Rock Pigeon
96 Burrowing Owl
97 Loggerhead Shrike
98 Florida Scrub Jay
99 Eastern Meadowlark
100 Monk Parakeet
101 American Wigeon
102 Lesser Scaup
103 Bufflehead
104 Red-breasted Merganser
105 Ruddy Duck
106 Short-tailed Hawk
107 American Avocet
108 Greater Yellowlegs
109 Lesser Yellowlegs
110 Royal Tern
111 Merlin
112 Nelson's Sparrow
113 Salt Marsh Sparrow
114 American Bittern
115 Sora
116 Common Ground-Dove
117 Red-Cockaded Woodpecker
118 Northern Flicker
119 Brown-Headed Nuthatch
120 Pine Warbler
121 Eastern Towhee
122 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
123 American Crow
124 Wild Turkey
125 Lesser Black-backed Gull
126 Herring Gull
127 Cedar Waxwing
128 Great Black-backed Gull
129 Snowy Plover
130 American Oystercatcher
131 Black Scoter
132 Barn Owl
133 Wilson's Snipe
134 Pileated Woodpecker
135 Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
136 Northern Waterthrush
137 Sharp-Shinned Hawk
138 Savannah Sparrow
139 Brown-headed Cowbird
140 Gray-headed Swamphen
141 American Flamingo
142 Red Knot
143 Sandwich Tern
144 Northern Parula
145 Magnolia Warbler
146 Cooper's Hawk
147 Nanday Parakeet
148 Purple Martin
149 Hooded Merganser
150 Northern Shoveler
151 Long-billed Dowitcher
152 King Rail
153 Common Loon
154 Forster's Tern
155 Hermit Thrush
156 Black-bellied Whistling Duck
157 Vaux's Swift
158 Carolina Chickadee
159 American Pipit
160 Chipping Sparrow
161 Song Sparrow
162 Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
163 Rufous Hummingbird
164 Black-Chinned Hummingbird
165 Calliope Hummingbird
166 White-breasted Nuthatch
167 Orange-Crowned Warbler
168 Baltimore Oriole
169 House Finch
170 Pine Siskin
171 Redhead
172 Clapper Rail
173 Purple Gallinule
174 Great Horned Owl
175 Vermilion Flycatcher
176 Sedge Wren
177 Northern Gannet
178 Purple Sandpiper
179 Caspian Tern
180 Yellow-breasted Chat
181 Surf Scoter
182 Bonaparte's Gull
183 Long-billed Curlew
184 Western Kingbird
185 Yellow-throated Warbler
186 Hairy Woodpecker
187 Black-throated Green Warbler
188 Prairie Warbler
189 Broad-billed Hummingbird
190 Bell's Vireo
191 Egyptian Goose
192 Bachman's Sparrow
193 Great Crested Flycatcher
194 White-winged Dove
195 Neotropic Cormorant
196 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
197 Great White Pelican
198 White-Crowned Pigeon
199 Common Myna
200 Brown-crested Flycatcher
201 Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
202 Common Hill Myna
203 Ovenbird
204 Swallow-tailed Kite
205 Black-throated Blue Warbler
206 Broad-winged Hawk
207 Cape May Warbler
208 Yellow-throated Vireo
209 Chuck-Wills-Widow
210 Brown Thrasher
211 Northern Bobwhite
212 Red-breasted Grosbeak
213 Magnificent Frigatebird
214 Red-eyed Vireo
215 Worm-eating Warbler
216 Prothonotary Warbler
217 Scarlet Tanager
218 Least Tern
219 Gray Kingbird
220 Eastern Screech Owl
221 Black-Whiskered Vireo
222 Wood Thrush
223 Tennessee Warbler
224 Hooded Warbler
225 American Redstart
226 Blackpoll Warbler
227 Summer Tanager
228 Orchard Oriole
229 White-winged Scoter
230 Parasitic Jaeger
231 Common Tern
232 Blue Grosbeak
233 Barn Swallow
234 Pomarine Jaeger
235 Pacific Golden Plover
236 Common Nighthawk
237 Peregrine Falcon
238 Yellow-headed Blackbird
239 Black-necked Stilt
240 Bobolink
241 Solitary Sandpiper
242 Blackburnian Warbler
243 Gull-billed Tern
244 Chimney Swift
245 Yellow-billed Cuckoo
246 Least Bittern
247 Gray-Cheeked Thrush
248 White-rumped Sandpiper
249 Connecticut Warbler
250 Roseate Tern
251 Antillean Nighthawk
252 Cave Swallow
253 Semipalmated Sandpiper
254 Bronzed Cowbird
255 Mitred Parakeet
256 Orange-winged Parrot
257 Common Hill Myna
258 Tropical Kingbird
260 Pectoral Sandpiper
261 Fulvous Whistling-Duck
262 Cliff Swallow
263 Stilt Sandpiper
264 Wilson's Phalarope
265 Black Tern
266 Shiny Cowbird
267 Whimbrel
269 Yellow Warbler
270 Louisiana Warbler
271 Eastern Wood-Pewee
272 Bridled Tern
273 Sooty Tern
274 Band-rumped Storm-Petrel
275 Upland Sandpiper
276 Eastern Kingbird
277 Cerulean Warbler
278 Chestnut-sided Warbler
279 Canada Warbler
280 Blue-winged Warbler
281 Veery
282 Bay-breasted Warbler
283 Acadian Flycatcher
284 Swainson's Thrush
285 Bank Swallow
286 Northern Pintail
287 Green-winged Teal
288 Red-breasted Nuthatch
289 Winter Wren
290 Brown Booby
291 Lark Sparrow
292 Mallard
293 Groove-billed Ani
294 White-crowned Sparrow
296 Canada Goose
297 Brewer's Blackbird
298 Brant
