Blitz

Tuesday November 1st

Sometimes, for fun, I like to spend a day on a Birding Blitz. Today the weather was nice, so spent about eight hours hitting venues around Lee County. Set a goal of sighting one hundred species and did find a few interesting ones, but only tallied seventy-five.

Sandhill Cranes at Harns Marsh

Purple Gallinule at Harns Marsh

Several of the venues were not very birdy, and actually dipped on some common species, like Blue Jays and Catbirds. Some other birds I expected to find, but missed included Ruddy Turnstone, Wilson's Plover, Reddish Egret, Common Ground-Dove, Red-headed Woodpecker and Eastern Meadowlarks. 

Gray-headed Swamphen at Harns Marsh

Red-Shouldered Hawk in Lehigh Acres

Some of the good sightings included Florida Scrub Jays in Lehigh Acres, a Coopers Hawk at the Wellington Road Red-headed Woodpecker Colony (no woodpeckers were present though.), Marsh Wren, Gray-headed Swamphen and Purple Gallinule at Harns Marsh, first-of-the season Dunlins at Bunche Beach and the Peregrine Falcon at the Pink Shell Resort on Ft Myers Beach.

Might repeat this event around the end of the month. More wintering species will be present. Maybe I could exceed the century mark

Today's List

Muscovy Duck, Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Wood Stork,  Magnificent Frigatebird,  Double-crested Cormorant,  Anhinga, Brown Pelican,  Great Blue Heron, Great Egret,  Snowy Egret,  Little Blue Heron,  Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret,  Black-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis,  Glossy Ibis,  Roseate Spoonbill,  Black Vulture,  Turkey Vulture,  Osprey,  Northern Harrier,  Cooper's Hawk,  Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Purple Gallinule,  Gray-headed Swamphen, Common Gallinule,  American Coot, Limpkin,  Sandhill Crane,  Black-bellied Plover,  Piping Plover, 

Dunlin at Bunche Beach

Marbled Godwit,  Sanderling,  Dunlin,  Western Sandpiper,  Short-billed Dowitcher,  Spotted Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs,  Willet,  Laughing Gull,  Royal Tern,  Sandwich Tern,  Black Skimmer,  Rock Pigeon,  Mourning Dove,  Belted Kingfisher,  Northern Flicker,  Pileated Woodpecker,  American Kestrel,  Peregrine Falcon,  Eastern Phoebe,  Loggerhead Shrike,  Florida Scrub-Jay,  Fish Crow,  Tufted Titmouse,  Marsh Wren,  Carolina Wren,  Blue-gray Gnatcatcher,  Eastern Bluebird,  Northern Mockingbird, European Starling,  Black-and-white Warbler,   Palm Warbler,  Prairie Warbler,  Savannah Sparrow,  Northern Cardinal,  Red-winged Blackbird,  Common Grackle,  Boat-tailed Grackle, House Sparrow.

Ring-necked Ducks at Harns Marsh

Mottled Duck at Harns Marsh

Short-billed Dowitcher